Food security academic programs: A primer

A proliferation of academic programs concentrating on food security, coupled with the global increase in funding for agricultural development, is expediting entry for people looking to start a career in the burgeoning sector. “Many of today’s major challenges – including energy security, national security, human health and climate change – are closely tied to the global food and agriculture enterprise,” said a 2009 report from the National Academies. “Academic institutions with programs in agriculture are in a perfect position to foster the next generation of leaders and professionals needed to address these challenges.” Food production experts suggest a variety of areas students may want to focus on – from soil science and engineering to land issues, genetics and women’s empowerment. However, a university degree is no sure ticket to a career in food security. “Do they have a major or a minor at the undergrad level in international development or international agriculture? Even though I would ask that question, I don’t think it’s a key problem,” said Edwin Price, director of the Norman Bourlag Institute for International Agriculture at Texas A&M University. “I would urge them to get a strong background in a field of their choice. There’s really not a discipline to be left out.” Students should weigh potential opportunities and curricula when choosing schools, said Jeff Simmons, president of Elanco, the animal health division of the pharmaceutical firm Eli Lilly and Co. Elanco provides financial and in-kind support to Heifer International, a non-governmental organization that donates livestock to impoverished communities as a way to increase livelihoods and accessibility to food. A proven track record in executing similar partnerships can be helpful for those looking to work in private sector development, said Simmons, who holds a bachelor’s degree in agricultural economics and marketing from Cornell University. Gregory Vaughan, an agrarian development expert living in Tunja, Colombia, went to Europe for graduate school after studying crop science as an undergraduate at the University of Illinois in Champagne. He studied sustainable agricultural development at Agris Mundus, a degree program jointly run by six universities, including the Dutch institution Wageningen, which Vaughan said is world-renowned for its food security work. “This program in Europe is a blend of agronomic knowledge and approaches with people-based economic and social approaches that I couldn’t find in the U.S.,” he said. He mentioned the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research’s research centers and the Agricultural Research for Development, or CIRAD, in France as other examples of outlets for studying food security beyond U.S. borders. Terisa Turner, an associate professor in the department of sociology and anthropology at Guelph University in Ontario, Canada, and a former energy specialist for the United Nations, said many academics in North America are working to restore the “service roles” that agricultural universities used to play in promoting food security. Students interested in a “community-focused” model, she said, should explore universities aligned with movements such as La Via Campesina, an international organization devoted to defending peasant and family farming. “There was agricultural extension, free seed, free advice. Public universities were at the service of farmers at the local level,” she said. “That’s all been killed. Now, it’s all about corporate subsidies for graduate studies, and universities have been forced into a service model for corporate profit. Furthermore, corporations use the universities as a smoke screen to give legitimacy to their products.” The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization’s website maintains a list of agricultural universities worldwide, as does USDA’s website. Price, of Texas A&M University, named the following U.S. universities as being most active around the issue of food security: Cornell University, University of California, Davis, Iowa State University, Purdue University and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Below are other institutions with a reputation for offering strong agricultural development studies: Auburn University • Location: Auburn, Ala., USA• Degrees on offer: Certificates, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 11,207• Student body: 24,602• Average tuition: USD21,916 for non-Alabama residents; USD7,900 for residents Auburn partnered with the U.N. World Food Program in 2004 to launch Universities Fighting World Hunger, a consortium of higher education institutions dedicated to advancing academe’s influence in eradicating world hunger. UFWH comprises more than 120 universities across six continents. Harvard University • Location: Cambridge, Mass., USA• Degrees on offer: Certificates, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 3,788• Student body: 29,900• Average tuition: USD31,456 With a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Harvard opened the Agricultural Innovation in Africa project within the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs in 2009 to do research on the impact of climate change and food shortages. Institut Pertanian Bogor • Location: Darmaga, Indonesia• Degrees on offer: Certificates, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 1,251• Student body: 18,264• Average tuition: USD826 for domestic students; USD2,682 for international students IPB is a leader in the area of tropical agricultural research and education.IPB has cooperative relationships with many leading agricultural universities worldwide, including Texas A&M. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology • Location: Kumasi, Ghana• Degrees on offer: Certificates, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 3,000• Student body: 25,000• Average tuition: USD1,000 for domestic students; USD5,000 for international students The College of Agriculture and Natural Resources Management at KNUSThas partnerships with renowned Dutch and Canadian agricultural universities. KNUST is a leading African center for technical education. Universidade de São Paulo • Location: Sao Paulo, Brazil• Degrees on offer: Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 5,632• Student body: 75,662• Average tuition: Free The Luiz de Queiroz College of Agriculture, or ESALQ, was founded in 1901 and integrated into the USP system in 1964. USP has been named the top university in Latin America and included in the top 50 universities worldwide by several ranking services. Universitaet Hohenheim • Location: Stuttgart, Germany• Degrees on offer: Bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 2,059• Student body: 7,158• Average tuition: USD1,356 The German Council of Science and Humanities has called the faculty of agricultural sciences at Hohenheim “the most networked and thematically broadest; one of its kind in Germany.” In March 2010, the university inaugurated its Food Security Center to make scientific contributions toward eradicating hunger and malnutrition. University of the Philippines Los Baños • Location: College, Laguna, Philippines• Degrees on offer: Certificates, bachelor’s degree, master’s degree, doctorate• Faculty size: 800• Student body: 10,000• Average tuition: USD900 The College of Agriculture at UPLB won the Ramon Magsaysay Award, the Asian equivalent of the Nobel Prize, in 1977 for its efforts to modernize South Asian agriculture. Many recognize the college as the premier Asian institution for agricultural studies. U.S. agriculturist Edwin Copeland founded the UPLB College of Agriculture in 1909. This is just a selection of top food security programs around the globe. Please comment below if you would like to highlight additional university programs, and don’t forget to tell us what makes them unique. Read more food security career advice: - Ending Global Hunger: Preparing for a Career in Food Security - Hunger Project Seeks Fundraisers - Business Expertise Sought to Fight Malnutrition - Competencies Sought in a World Food Program Job Candidate Read more career advice articles.