Program Overview

We provide an exciting mix of academic rigour, place-based and hands-on learning.  This gives students great opportunities to engage with a variety of agribusinesses in New Zealand. 

The goals of this program include enabling students to gain an in-depth understanding of:

• Global trends in agricultural sustainability and sustainable land management, challenges and manifestations of these trends in Aotearoa New Zealand.

• Political, economic and cultural models of agriculture.

• Situating agriculture in an ecosystems framework. Aligning land use with land use capability and landscape resilience in a manner compatible with existing and future ecological, social, cultural, economic, and political contexts.

• A systems approach to socially and culturally durable, economically viable, and politically expedient pathways enabling a transition towards agricultural sustainability and ecological resilience at scale.

We aim to empower students with experience, tools, professional, and life skills to engage with sustainable food systems and to be pro-active, solution focused practitioners.

 

Learning Journeys

The bulk of the program is delivered in Te Waipounamu the South Island of New Zealand.  

Students live and travel together with faculty and staff.  The program starts and finishes at the EcoQuest Centre in Whakat?wai. The team travels south via Taranaki and Wellington. Once we get to the Tasman District, we spend time at several locations that enable us to make the most of the diverse landuse and agribusiness in this district. Field trips also take us to Nelson, Marlborough and Canterbury . 

Each week has a theme closely related to the particular land-use, agriculture practices and produce of the locality we are in.  Field visits and the associated learning opportunities focus on topical, real-time case studies in a variety of production systems (including a variety of cropping systems) and agribusiness.  

Lectures, tutorials, discussions, peer-teaching, assignments and project work are all part of the program.  To gain practical skills and experiences, and to increase competency in farm and food systems related work, students will be on farm / agribusiness placements for a total of 20 working days (two placements of 10 days each) as part of the ‘Agricultural production and business practice’ course. Students will be at these placements with several peers, accompanied by a staff member. During these farm placements faculty will spend time with all students to guide their learning and on-farm experiences.  

We stay overnight on a marae during each semester, giving students lived experience of M?ori culture and the re-assertion of traditions which are key elements in the transition to sustainable practices in agriculture and food systems in Aotearoa New Zealand.

 

Farm Placement

As part of the program, students spend 20 days (commonly two placements of 10 days each)  in placements on farms or in agribusiness. Students have the opportunity to engage in hands-on agribusiness/farm activities, longitudinal monitoring of effects of management practices and strategies on soils and crops, as well as explore business models, and local market dynamics. Students translate their academic learning to make significant contributions in real time. Students are at the placements in small groups, which enables teamwork and provides peer support.  Faculty and staff accompanies students on these placements.