NES8105 : Global Challenges in Sustainable Agriculture & Food Security
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Hannah Davis
- Lecturer: Professor David Manning, Dr Tom Reershemius, Dr Fritha Langford, Professor Yit Arn Teh, Professor Lynn Frewer, Prof. Neil Boonham, Miss Caroline Crow
- Other Staff: Mrs Lorna Smith
- Owning School: Natural and Environmental Sciences
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
The overarching aim of this module is to prepare students to work in the areas of sustainable, fair and equitable food production, distribution, development and policy that meets the targets of the FAO’s Zero Hunger SDG (SDG 2) as well as addressing SDGs linked to poverty reduction (SDG 1), climate action (SDG 13) and life on land (SDG 15). The module aims to introduce a broad range of global challenges in food security and critically evaluate strategies to address these challenges.
Outline Of Syllabus
The module will cover:
Foundational knowledge needed to develop a common understanding of the terminology, history, social and environmental context that frames the global food security issue. This will include: history of agricultural development globally, diversity and colonialism, the Green Revolution, the challenge of rising populations and changing diets, the emergence of the sustainable intensification paradigm.
Global challenges in Food Security, including: climate change, resource limitations particularly access to land, water, loss of biodiversity, biosecurity/plant health, land degradation, livestock security, animal welfare, the role of animal agriculture, GHG emissions, the yield plateau.
Strategies, systems and technologies to address the global food security challenge which could include: precision agriculture, genetic modification of crops, agroforestry, integrated pest management, organic agriculture, regenerative agriculture, agroecology.
Case studies in Sustainable Agriculture and Food Security, with a focus on developing and improving academic skills, including; academic reading and writing, critical thinking and library skills. Developing critical evaluation of peer-reviewed studies on strategies and programmes to promote food security in a range of global contexts.
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 26:00 | 26:00 | Preparation for group presentation |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 12 | 1:00 | 12:00 | Lecture/ case study on a specific global challenge and a proposed system/approach/ |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 1 | 3:00 | 3:00 | Introductory lecture on key concepts in food security, global challenges and sustainability |
| Guided Independent Study | Assessment preparation and completion | 1 | 36:00 | 36:00 | Tariff for an assessment worth 60% of a 20 credit module |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Practical | 2 | 1:00 | 2:00 | Library and academic skill facilitated sessions. |
| Structured Guided Learning | Structured research and reading activities | 3 | 15:00 | 45:00 | 15 hours per week for first 3 weeks |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 9 | 2:00 | 18:00 | Workshops to follow lectures, students use what they have learned in the lecture to work on an academic skill. |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Workshops | 2 | 3:00 | 6:00 | Student group presentations and debate |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Fieldwork | 2 | 6:00 | 12:00 | Field trips on human impacts on land and alternative food systems |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 40:00 | 40:00 | N/A |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The lectures are used to provide core, factual knowledge that students need to list and describe the historical, social and environmental factors affecting food security and the global challenges needed to be addressed when considering the UN SDGs. They provide an opportunity to interact directly with the lecturer and question, challenge and interrogate new information under the guidance of the lecturer.
The following workshops are designed to allow students to explore a topic in more depth, critically evaluate information presented in the lectures and through wider reading, develop their own arguments on the topics presented.
Field trips provide context and case studies in the real world to reinforce the theoretical information from the lectures.
Independent learning activities allow the students to build their knowledge base on Global Challenges in SAFS. They also provide the students with practice in accessing information from a range of sources, identifying credible information sources, and critically evaluating information sources.
The presentations and debates give the students experience in formulating their own arguments, working in teams substantiating them with evidence from peer-reviewed literature and presenting them orally.
All of these activities build a core set of skills in critical evaluation of information and development of independent, substantiated arguments that will be applied and assessed in the final essay.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oral Presentation | 30 | 1 | A | 40 | Group presentation 30 minutes length in total (5 minutes per group member). |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | M | 60 | 2500 word essay critiquing an AI response. |
Formative Assessments
Formative Assessment is an assessment which develops your skills in being assessed, allows for you to receive feedback, and prepares you for being assessed. However, it does not count to your final mark.
| Description | Semester | When Set | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Prof skill assessmnt | 1 | A | group-work debate |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
In all of these authentic assessments, knowledge of the key, foundational knowledge about global challenges in sustainable agriculture and food security will be tested.
The group oral presentations allow the students to build skills in collaborative group work and time management. This assessment is set at the beginning of week 1 and completed toward the end of the module. The presentation also provides an opportunity to explore information on a key topic in Global Challenges in SAFS and to critically evaluate and synthesise that information. The assessment also helps students to build skills in design and delivery of an effective presentation.
The debate (formative assessment) is also a group activity and preparation is in a relatively short timescale, providing students with the opportunity to develop strategies to work collaboratively towards a tight deadline. The format of this presentation (debate) requires students to confidently and assertively express their arguments orally.
The critique is an effective way to assess skills in accessing and critically evaluating information, synthesising research from a range of sources and developing their own coherent and persuasive arguments using evidence from the literature.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- NES8105's Timetable