Food Environment Education: Agricultural Education in Natural Resource Manage

By Lindsay Falvey

Book Id: WPLBN0002170346
Format Type: PDF eBook:
File Size: 1.83 MB
Reproduction Date: 1996

Title:	Food Environment Education: Agricultural Education in Natural Resource Manage
Author:	Lindsay Falvey
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Agriculture, Science
Collections:	Authors Community, Education
Historic Publication Date:	1996
Publisher:	Crawford Fund and the Institute for International Agricultural Research

Member Page:	Lindsay Falvey
Citation APA MLA Chicago Falvey, B. L. (1996). Food Environment Education: Agricultural Education in Natural Resource Manage. Retrieved from http://self.gutenberg.org/

Description
Foreword It was agriculture that enabled human beings to become producers rather than hunters and gatherers, and in doing so to settle into communities. From these earliest settlements have developed the elaborate and complex societies of today. During all these millennia, we have tended to take agriculture for granted. This is unfortunate, and unfair by all those - farm men and women in the fields, scientists in their laboratories, and policy makers in parliaments and elsewhere, for instance - who have contributed to the development of agriculture; an enterprise that is as significant as it is exciting. The history of modern agriculture which has made possible the greatest leap in well-being that the human family has yet experienced, has seen the integration of research-based knowledge with traditional wisdom to bring about great improvements in agricultural varieties, farming techniques and management practices. The consequence of that “marriage” has been undreamed of increases of food productivity which served as the center of concentric circles of progress. Understanding that process and, more important, the substance that made - and can continue to make - that process work, is the task of agricultural education. The origins of agricultural education as we know it today, and the challenges that lie ahead of it, are the central themes of this marvelous little book by Dean Lindsay Falvey. This is a very personal book. It is not just a scholarly recounting of events, an arid collection of theories, or a series of anecdotal episodes strung together. It bespeaks intense knowledge of the subject and material as well as personal experience in the field. Most of all, however, it presents agricultural education as a societal endeavor whose future development is of clear relevance to the progress of all people everywhere. It is presented with a rare combination of erudition and a warm sense of humanity. The major challenge for the future, as he points out, is for agricultural education to explore and fully comprehend the complex interactions of science, people, and the environment; to strengthen its relevance by grappling with the scientific issues, both national and international, that affect the continued transformation of agriculture and the protection of the natural resources on which agriculture depends. 12 For all those like myself who believe that agriculture and agricultural research, more specifically, stand at the very heart of the future of humanity, it is important to be aware of the strength and the weaknesses of current agricultural education. It is only from that starting point that we can move towards ensuring that agricultural education remains relevant, interesting, and vibrant. Dean Falvey makes a signal contribution to helping us acquire such understanding. He makes the material easily accessible in an engaging and “user friendly” style. He has organized his text in such a way that it can attract many classes of readers. He caters to the needs of browsers, dedicated readers who have not succumbed to the “sound bite syndrome”, teachers who seek out resource material, students who want to be inspired, specialists who are interested only in information on a particular topic, or even those who do not wish to handle a book at all but want access to it in electronic form. For those who want their minds to soar, there is poetry as well. This is truly a book for our times by an author whose knowledge and interests are not bound by time. From yesterday’s experience he challenges us to create bright tomorrows. Dare we evade that challenge? Ismail Serageldin Chairman, The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research Vice President for Environmentally Sustainable Development, The World Bank

Table of Contents
Table of Contents List of Boxes ix Acknowledgments xi List of Acronyms xii Forward by Ismail Serageldin xiii To The Reader xv Chapter 1. NATURAL RESOURCES 1 Concern 1 The Underlying Resources 3 Land and Soil 3 Water 7 Atmosphere 12 Biodiversity 15 Forests 17 Management of Natural Resources 19 Chapter 2. FOOD AND AGRICULTURE 23 The Development of Modern Agriculture 23 Population and Food 27 Future Food Demand 30 The Agricultural Environment 34 Irrigation Potential 36 Poverty 37 Investment 39 Sustainable Food Production 42 Sustainability and Image 45 People and Agriculture 47 Towards an Alternative Approach 51 Chapter 3. UNDERSTANDING AND EDUCATION: ENVIRONMENTAL EMPATHY 55 Awareness 55 Bread Baskets of the World 58 The Global Need 59 The Imperative of Education 60 Public Environmental Education 63 Changes in Agricultural Education 66 Information or Knowledge 70 Chapter 4. HIGHER EDUCATION IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 75 Note: Page numbers may differ in e-version Why Higher Education? 75 6 The Alternative - “The Noble Savage” 79 Universities in LDCs 80 Natural Resource Management Education 82 Issues in Environmental Education 84 Foreign Assistance 91 Case Studies and Models 94 Rates of Return 100 The Future 102 Chapter 5. VOCATIONAL EDUCATION AND TRAINING IN LESS DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 107 Definitions 108 Differences from Developed Countries 109 Institutional Rigidity 110 Modes of Delivery 111 VET in Agricultural Extension 113 Agricultural VET 116 Competence and Equity 118 Demand and Needs 120 Future Agricultural VET 122 Chapter 6. EDUCATION IN MORE DEVELOPED COUNTRIES 127 History 127 Agricultural to Environmental Education 133 Image 134 Changes in Agricultural Education 137 New Education 140 The Present Paradigm 141 Changes in Universities 144 Vocational Agricultural Education 145 Urban Influence 147 Environmental Education 148 Modifying Existing Programs 151 Chapter 7. INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT AGENCIES AND THE CGIAR 157 International Agencies 157 Research - The Entry Point 160 CGIAR 163 Linkages to NARS 167 Constraints and Options for Collaboration 168 Major Constraints 169 Mechanisms to Address Constraints 170 Level of Current Interaction Universities from MDCs 171 171 7 Integration of Research, Education and Extension 172 Future Changes 173 IARC’s and Universities: The Overall Picture 174 Chapter 8. EDUCATIONAL OUTREACH: EXTENSION 179 Origins of Educational Outreach 179 Investments and Inputs 180 Behavioral Change 182 Communication and Technology 184 Research Focus 188 Extension Systems 190 The Training and Visit System 192 Education, Equity and Competence 194 Curricula 197 Environmental Extension 200 Interactive Technology 202 A Future for Extension 203 Chapter 9. LEARNING NATURAL RESOURCE PRINCIPLES Learning The Employment Environment How We Learn Changes in the System The Student’s Dilemma The Manager's Dilemma Learning in Natural Resource Management The Virtual University Catalyzing the Change Chapter 10. CREATING THE FUTURE Trends In Agricultural Education The Responsible Response Relationships Between MDCs and LDCs A Designer Future Prophets And Profits References Index 207 208 209 211 212 212 216 218 219 223 225 226 229 231 232 238 243 259