The global food system faces a range of economic, social, political, and environmental challenges. In this unit you will explore emerging challenges in agricultural systems in Australia and around the world, and assess opportunities for development of sustainable management solutions. Case studies will be drawn from a range of contexts across the globe, with a particular emphasis on resource-limited settings, including low- and middle-income countries. You will explore the effects of resource availability and management actions on primary production and discuss the social, economic, political, and ecological dimensions associated with them. You will undertake an investigation into a current challenge confronting a food or fibre production system and offer practical strategies for sustainable agricultural systems.

Every unit is reviewed for enhancement each year. At the most recent review, the following staff and student feedback items were identified and recommendations were made.

Feedback from Student feedback

Some students expressed that content from some guest lecturers was material repeated from other units that the students had previously undertaken. This, the students reported, resulted in a lack of engagement on their part. Though, some students would not have taken these other students.

While this unit's forthcoming update unit proposal will mitigate some of these issues, guest lecturers should be requested to modify their content, where possible, to suit the specific aims and learning outcomes of this unit.

Feedback from Unit coordinator reflections

This unit's theme is rather broad. While this lends itself to a varied exploration of sustainable and resource-smart food production, AGRI13009 would benefit from a refined and updated focus.

Many of AGRI13009's themes explore sustainable development and global challenges to food production. To give the unit some more coherence and focus, this unit should be updated to explicitly align content with the sustainable development goals and international agricultural development. This will provide greater coherence across the unit and align with CQUni's strategic plan and research strengths.