A Global Perspective on Agricultural Skills Development

1. A Global Perspective on Agricultural Skills Development David Acker College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Iowa State University, USA October 4, 2012

2. Presentation Order A: 6 global mega trends B: Link: Learning and food security C: 9 current challenges of rural AVET/SD D: Opportunities for AVET/SD E: Supply side: Example of good practice F: 10 questions we need to address

3. My Background • Taught at AVET institutions in Greece and Tanzania for 8 years • Professor of agricultural education 24 years • Ph.D. in Vocational Education • education that prepares trainees for jobs

4. AVET / SD ?? Agricultural Vocational Education & Training Skills Development

5. A 6 Global Mega Trends Impacting Agriculture Sustainability

6. Factor # 1 PopulationGrowth Today: 7,041,455,295 2025: 8,000,000,000

7. Pressure

8. Factor # 2Demand for Food Today: 1 billion hungry 2025: Demand will double

9. Rising incomes = Rising demand for food

10. Factor # 3Energy Demand

11. Food and Fuel • Will energy demand compete with our ability to produce enough food?

12. Factor # 4Water: Quality and Quantity

13. 2020: 20 countries will be water scarce

14. Factor # 5Climate Change

15. Climate Change • 1 billion people at risk of increased water stress

16. Factor # 6Political Stability • Never been a famine in a democracy • Politically destabilizing food price spikes could come at any time

17. Number of Failing States

18. B Link: Learning and Food Security

19. Education for Rural People The role of Education, Training and Capacity Building in Poverty Reduction and Food Security Co-Authored with Dr. LaviniaGasperini, FAO

20. AVET/SD Contributes to MDGs Especially: • MDG 1: Eradicating extreme poverty & hunger • MDG 2: Education for all • MDG 3: Gender equity, empowering women • MDG 7: Ensuring environmental sustainability

21. Most of us believe we need to invest in education: Prerequisite to reducing poverty, increasing food security, growing rural jobs

22. What research supports this belief? “Rural primary education was by far the best predictor of rural food security.” de Muro & Burchi, 2007

23. Agricultural Efficiency • 4 years of education contributing, on average, an 8.7 %productivity gain over those with no formal education Carnoy, 1992

24. C 9 Current Challenges of AVET/SD in Rural Areas

25. Urban Bias Challenge # 1 70% of the world’s poor live in rural areas Public expenditures favor urban populations

26. Access to AVET/SD Challenge # 2 • Obstacles: • Fees • Transport/Distance to school or training site • Government and donor funding

27. Quality of AVET/SD Quality depends on: relevance facilities trainers materials evaluation leadership curriculum community links Challenge # 3

28. More than Farming Rural Space: Farming Ag-related businesses Transport Telecom Trading Construction Water Challenge # 4

29. Constrained information flow reduces efficiency of the training–to–employment continuum Challenge # 5 Weak Market Signals • Enabling Environment: • Government policies that favor economic development • Access to capital • Needed: • Job specific technical skills • Generic life skills • Socialization • Empowerment/Confidence • Entrepreneurship • Basic Citizenship • Numeracy • Key Ingredients: • Employer needs • Job info available • Job placement • Employer/applicant contact

30. Gender Responsive Learning Environments Girl/women friendly schools, training centers Safe accommodations for girls/women Flexible timetables Take-home food for girls Challenge # 6

31. Accommodating Non-traditional Learners refugees and displaced persons people in inaccessible, remote areas nomadic and pastoral communities out-of-school youth disabled persons ethnic minorities retired child soldiers working children Challenge # 7

32. Recruitment and Retention of AVET/SD Staff in Rural Areas Challenge # 8

33. Effective Pro-Rural Policies Motivating major changes in policy and resource allocation to favor rural citizens Challenge # 9

34. D Opportunities for AVET/SD

35. Emerging Opportunities for AVET ICT: Digital/mobile devices

36. ICT – Online Video Resources (100+ Online Units) “Identify and mark livestock” (India): “Paddy seedling transplantation” “How to milk a cow by hand”

37. Double food production To achieve sustainable food security we must: • double the quantity of food produced • do so in a doubly green manner • Green technologies • Opening new lands to production • Sustainable intensification on existing land

38. Doubly Green Revolution • Conservation agriculture • Agroforestry – Trees for Food Security • Integrated pest management • Urban farming • Reduce harmful chemicals • Alternative fuels for farm equipment

39. How can we help rural people respond to these opportunities? • Rural people are involved in agriculture + more • Skills development programs must respond to agricultural opportunities, as well as other employment options in the rural space.

40. Demand-based skills development for farm and non-farm enterprises • Need to make farming more productive, profitable, sustainable, resilient • Technical job skills • Life Skills • Ability to analyze • Ability to contextualize Heinemann (2011)

41. Enterprise training, particularly for women • “Integrating agricultural training with enterprise training can help women smallholders to manage and market their farm production more effectively. “ (Collet and Gail, 2009)

42. E Supply SideCase Example of Good Practice: Primary Schools Engaged in AVET/SD

43. Primary Schools - Shortcomings • Attitudes • Manual labor on school farms used as punishment • Agriculture is the occupation of last resort

44. Primary School: Short Comings • Curriculum • Nationally standardized curricula focuses on those students who are expected to continue their education at the secondary school level • Lack of agriculture in curriculum • Lack of practical agriculture skills

45. Primary Schools - Shortcomings • “Pressure to achieve Universal Primary Education goals regardless of its practical meaning for rural communities.” Source: FAO Workshop on Education for Rural People, Addis Ababa

46. Primary School - Shortcomings • “Education alienates young people from agriculture: school leavers desire white collar jobs; can end up back home with nothing.” Source: FAO Workshop on Education for Rural People, Addis Ababa

47. Future Farmers and Leaders • Primary school students are future farmers and future rural community leaders • This is a key audience to reach early

48. UGANDAVEDCOMakerere University Iowa State University Good Practice: • Agriculture is part of national primary school curriculum in Uganda • Enhancement: School gardening program teaches: • Agriculture skills • Nutrition skills • Small business skills

49. Uganda School Gardens • Students eat the garden produce • University students & professors as role models • Lends new prestige to agriculture careers

50. Agriculture Skills Development • Agriculture in the classroom and field • Learning in science, economics, management, technology, responsibility