Teaching agrobiodiversity: a curriculum guide for higher education

In recent years, research has yielded a rapidly growing knowledge base on how agricultural biodiversity is linked to food security, nutrition, livelihoods, environmental sustainability and climate change. It is now urgent to inform higher agricultural education systems accordingly, with a view to integrating such knowledge into curricula. At present, agrobiodiversity courses or programmes are rare or non-existent, according to regional consultations with universities in 2009 and 2010.

This book discusses key issues in agrobiodiversity education and presents a curriculum framework of 14 topics central to agrobiodiversity processes, conservation and management. Each topic is briefly introduced along with key learning points, suggested contents, a bibliography and a list of internet resources. The Guide is flexible to fit a range of institutional settings. It suggests suitable entry points for quickly integrating aspects of agrobiodiversity into existing courses. It could be used in formal curriculum reviews and in designing short training courses.