Education and training in organic agriculture: the Nordic region and the USA - Organic Agriculture: A Global Perspective - page 385

Chapter 16
Education and training in organic agriculture: the
Nordic region and the USA
Nadarajah Sriskandarajah*, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Denmark,
Charles Francis, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway and University of
Nebraska, USA, Lennart Salomonsson, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden,
Helena Kahiluoto, Agrifood Research, Finland, Geir Lieblein, Norwegian University of Life
Sciences, Norway, Tor Arvid Breland, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway,
Ulrika Geber, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden and Juha Helenius,
University of Helsinki, Finland
*Dr Nadarajah Sriskandarajah, Section for Learning and Bioethics, Food and Resource Economics Institute, Royal Veterinary
and Agricultural University, Rolighedsvej 26, Frederiksberg C 1958, Denmark. Tel: [phone], Fax: [phone],
Email: [e-mail]
The importance of education in organic agriculture is growing in many countries, as demand
in the marketplace for organic food expands and farmers respond by increasing organic certi-
fied areas. Traditionally, most training in organic production practices and systems has taken
place on farms, as students apprentice themselves to practising farmers and 'learn by doing'.
Only recently have formal educational programs emerged as important in the Nordic region as
part of the university and technical school system. Most learning opportunities in the United
States of America (USA) are still found on farms or in special apprenticeship programs on
some university or college campuses.
The term 'ecological agriculture' is commonly used in some countries in the Nordic region,
and is used here to designate organic farming and gardening. The term 'organic' is widely used
elsewhere in Europe and in most English speaking countries. In this chapter the terms are used
interchangeably.
This Chapter begins with an overview of ecological farming and considers the place of edu-
cation within it. Focusing primarily on the goals and structure of courses and curricula in the
academic environment, our own experience as a small group of educators in setting up course
units and programs in the Nordic region and in the USA is presented. Important questions
related to agricultural education are considered, and the chapter concludes not with a recipe
for a program in organic agriculture, but with a set of perspectives considered useful for the
conceptual and structural changes needed towards designing an appropriate learning land-
scape for organic agriculture. The term 'course' is used here to denote a course unit, and is also
called a 'subject' in some situations.
Oeriew of organic farming and education
Evaluation of educational opportunities needs to be made in the context of the growing organic
food production and marketing sector. In Europe, the annual growth in organic farming areas
ranges from 10% to 30%, depending on the country (Dabbert et al . 2004). In terms of area,
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