75192 - AGRICULTURAL AND RURAL DEVELOPMENT POLICIES

Conoscenze e abilità da conseguire

Al termine del corso lo studente acquisisce adeguati strumenti per comprendere ed analizzare la politica agraria a livello comunitario ed internazionale. Lo studente analizza con particolare attenzione alcuni aspetti specifici del sistema agro-alimentare e le sue implicazioni con la sicurezza alimentare, con il mercato mondiale, con l'ambiente e con il sistema degli aiuti allo sviluppo.

Contenuti

PART 1 AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD POLICIES (30 hours)

Food systems are facing unprecedented challenges and transformations that are calling local, regional and national governments and international intergovernmental organizations to take action in response to human needs, social changes, climatic events, domestic and international pressures. The first part of the course is aimed at exploring agricultural and food policies in city-region food systems, including urban centers and rural areas, and national and international settings.

Setting the context (3 hours)

Agricultural, food and rural economics: basic elements. The role of governments in food and agriculture; Governments, versus corporations, versus non-governmental organizations; Policy objectives: from addressing market failures to food security to rent seeking; Agriculture and natural resources; Sustainability and circular economy.

How to write a policy paper (2 hours)

This seminar aims at providing the basis for writing the policy paper requested at the end of the course by exploring the basic strategies, mechanics, and structure that are characterizing policy papers in their different forms.

Using foresight in policy making (2 hours)

Futures thinking and foresight tools provide policy makers with a structured approach to policy making that is robust and responds to long-term change. What is a foresight? How does it work?

Exploring future pathways for a sustainable food system transformations (6 hours)

Joint workshop to explore possible future pathways towards a sustainable food system transformation, addressing structural gaps and underlying drivers in the context of the European Green Deal.

EU farm and food policies: a brief history (2 hours)

The evolution of the Common Agricultural Policy; Current EU farm commodity programs: policies and implications.

US farm and food policies: a brief history (2 hours)

The evolution of the Farm Bill; Current US farm commodity programs: policies and implications.

Trade policies (8 hours)

Measures for protection and trade distortions; Analysing markets: what to look for; Importer and exporter policies: basic analytical tools; WTO: Uruguay round, boxes of support, Doha and other trade negotiations.

Food security and nutrition (3 hours)

Food security: definitions, the 2008 World Food Crisis, international responses to hunger; Food and nutrition programmes.

Emerging food and agricultural policies (2 hours)

How to feed the world in 2050?

 

PART 2 SUSTAINABLE DIETS AND URBAN FOOD POLICY LAB (30 hours)

The lab will take advantage of a situated collaborative learning approach based on a combination between theoretical seminars and group exercise working on challenges related the transition to healthy diets and sustainable urban food systems. The challenges will change every year and will be identified and discussed at the beginning of the class.

Policies for sustainable urban food systems (2 hours)

Do food companies control food policy? The raise of supermarkets. From supermarkets to alternative food networks and city-region food systems. The role of urban food policies.

The food we eat: consumer behaviour, food choices and dietary habits (6 hours)

Fast food: fast food taxation and regulations in US and EU. Organic, local, and slow food: consumer preferences, business decisions and government policies. Agriculture, food and nutrition.

The food we waste (4 hours)

Food loss and waste: definition and quantification. Economic, technical, social and institutional drivers of food loss and waste. Applying behavioral approaches to food loss and waste. The role of social norms in food waste generation, prevention and reduction. The role of marketing standards. Innovation for food loss and waste reduction. Policy interventions addressing food loss and waste prevention and reduction.

New frontiers in food consumer science (6 hours)

Tools and strategies to enable food consumer science to became more data driven and better support evidence-based public food policies and private strategies. Joint activity with the H2020 CONMFOCUS project: https://comfocus.eu/vision/

Public canteens as space for food system transformation (4 hours)

The LARISO laboratory. Targeting multiple benefits in public canteens. Promoting healthy diets and food waste reduction. Designing and implementing behavioural experiments in public canteens.

Measuring food systems sustainability (8 hours)

Using life cycle thinking to measure environmental, economic and social impacts of food systems and develop evidence-based public agricultural and food policies as well private strategies.

At the end of the course the student is able to:

• map the different stakeholders operating the food and farming sectors in different territorial settings;
• recognize policy formulation and implementation processes;
• understand and evaluate objectives, instruments and strategies that characterize agricultural, food and rural policies;
• identify and recognize how to assess the environmental, economic and social impacts of food systems (by using integrated life cycle thinking approaches);
• frame and analyze specific challenges as the promotion of sustainable farming systems, the raising of urban farming systems, the reduction of food losses and waste, the true cost of food, the transition to healthy diets, the role of citizens and consumers in the promotion of sustainable food systems.

NB IMPORTANT: Students from the Laurea Magistrale in Sviluppo locale e globale and the students from the Laurea Magistrale in Scienze e gestione della natura should contact the lecturer before the beginning of the Course (September).

Testi/Bibliografia

Tim Lang. Food Wars: the Global Battle for Mouths, Minds and Markets. Routledge, 2015 (selected chapters).

Teachers' own material: presentations, accompanying material, relevant papers on agricultural and food economics and policy.

Metodi didattici

Front loaded and active learning methodologies; group and individual exercises; seminars and case studies.

Modalità di verifica e valutazione dell'apprendimento

Students who attended at least 70% of the lectures will be required to produce a review/policy paper of around 3500 words. A concept note of the review/policy paper will be presented and discussed during the class. The final version of the policy paper will be presented and discussed during the exam after the end of the class. The paper should be submitted at least three working days in advance.

The final grade for the module will be calculated thusly:

• In class grade: policy brief, case analysis, articles revision and discussion, and other class activities (40% approximately)
• Policy paper preparation and discussion (60% approximately)

Non attending students will be requested to take an oral exam and to produce a review/policy paper of around 3500 words. The review/policy paper will be presented and discussed with the lecturer. The oral exam will start from the discussion on the paper and it will consist of questions related to the course material. The topic of the policy paper should be agreed with the lecturer.

The final grade will be calculated thusly:

• Policy paper preparation and discussion (40% approximately)
• Oral (60% approximately)

Strumenti a supporto della didattica

Laptop, beamer, flipchart, others.

Orario di ricevimento

Consulta il sito web di Matteo Vittuari

Consulta il sito web di William Henry Meyers