Agroecology meets social needs, provides solutions for food security and responsible to climate change resilience

Agriculture is under great pressures to ensure food for more than 7 billion people in our planet, the impact of climate change and the Covid-19 pandemic. The Word Bank’s survey (2017) in Vietnam showed that the degradation of land and water resources and agricultural environmental pollution in some places has taken place at an alarming rate. In order to overcome these issues, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) has recommended 10 basic principles of agroecology that have advantages over modern agriculture through effective management of natural resources, reduction of emissions and materials. agricultural inputs, increase production efficiency, ensure safety of agricultural product quality and health of soil, genetic resources. Furthermore, the Resolution of the 13th Party Congress (February 26, 2021) advocated the conversion of agriculture to ecological agriculture in order to maintain stability in food production, and prevent natural disasters and epidemics.

According to Prof. Dr. Hoang Thi Thai Hoa (the dean of faculty of Agronomy, Hue Agriculture and Forestry university), survey results of 100 universities in Asia that have specialized training in agriculture, but do not have a master's degree in Agro-ecology. Similarly, the survey results of the Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Vietnam National University of Agriculture show that many universities in Vietnam have training programs for agronomy, horticulture, animal husbandry, and veterinary medicine, aquaculture, forestry, but the master program  in Agro-Ecology is still a gap.

Supported by the Project: Developing the Master of Agro-ecology (CDAE) training program under the Erasmus+ program funded by the European Community, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment (VNUA) and Faculty of Agronomy (Hue University of Agriculture and Forestry) is in the process of developing a master's program in Agroecology. This is a program will create opportunities to train professionals in the field of agriculture. Bachelors in agriculture, forestry, irrigation, aquaculture and environmental science, sustainable agricultural development can apply for admission to the Agro-Ecology program at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture in March 2022. The training program has a duration of 60 credits with a training duration of 2 years, built on the basis of the National standard training framework and consultations of the European partner universities. Besides the lecturers of the Vietnam National University  of Agriculture, experts from the Vietnam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Institute for  Agricultural Environment, the Soil and fertilizer research Institute will participate in teaching and guiding the master students to conduct their theses.