Integrated Methods for Analysis and Assessment of Agricultural Livelihood Systems Toward Sustainability – A Report on Curriculum Development for a Master-Level Subject

Abstract

Agricultural systems and rural livelihoods continuously evolve as a result of interactions between the local farming systems and global, regional and national driving forces. Agricultural technologies and agricultural, environmental and rural development policies are increasingly designed to contribute to the sustainability of agricultural systems and associated livelihoods. In higher education on agriculture , environment and rural development there are grand needs for developing capacities for integrated system assessment for agricultural and livelihood systems. This report presents the curriculum development of a subject titled “Integrated Methods for Analysis and Assessment of Agricultural Livelihood Systems Toward Achieving Sustainability” in master education programs, or in the last year of undergraduate programs. The course is designed to improve both knowledge and practical skills for learners in sustainable intensification (SI) from the view of the socio-ecological system science, and relevant system-based quantitative methods for assessments of SI adoption and impacts (both ex-post and ex-ante) at household-farm and community-landscape scales. The subject will bring state-of-the art knowledge/methods and outputs from research activities within the CGIAR Research Programs (CRP) on Dryland Systems (DS) and Grain Legumes and Dry Cereals (GLDC) conducted in Burkina Faso and other developing countries about learning. Research materials (data, operational methods/tools, research publications) and sites from CGIAR-DS and GLDC will be used as learning materials and practical fields, respectively. The curriculum has successfully passed the evaluation during the workshop for revising training programs and curricula at the Institute for Rural Development (IDR) of the University of Bobo, held from 1st to 4th June 2021 in the town of Banfora. The UNB Scientific Committee Meeting on the 30th July 2021 approved the proposed curriculum and decided that the new curriculum will be implemented starting from the new batch of MSc student to be recruited in the next academic year.