Spikes in food prices and fears stirred up by a changing climate, increasing energy and water needs and the increasing concentration of power in global food systems have heightened concerns about food security, inequality and the sustainability of agriculture. In the context of these immense challenges, including ongoing challenges facing ‘globalised agriculture’, the course introduces students to critical policy debates regarding how agriculture might develop in a fashion that minimises environmental and social inequalities and vulnerabilities. Scholars are deeply concerned with the conditions under which specific policies and projects can support a sustainable development agenda that is more friendly to the poor and to the environment.   

Students will engage with key concepts and competing theories and approaches to agri-food issues. This includes competing explanations of the causes of food insecurity and crises, and the critical examination of the connections between agriculture, poverty and rural development. The course focuses on debates between advocates of 'mainstream' development approaches and alternative approaches that challenges conventional wisdom regarding pathways out of poverty, climate adaptation and transitions to sustainable agriculture. Students are encouraged to draw on a wide range of scholarly approaches to think critically about how to address the challenges posed by climate change, human rights, hunger and inequality. In undertaking this course, students will therefore gain capacities to research and analyse critical agri-food issues and communicate arguments about possible policy implications and options on cases of their choosing.