Systems Analysis and Design of Agri-food Systems in a Changing Climate

Scope and objectives

The agri-food sector is central to addressing critical global challenges such as food security, sustainability, and climate change. Various challenges, such as rapid population growth, urbanization, increasing wealth, and shifts in consumption patterns, are putting pressure on our agri-food systems. These challenges affect the systems' capacity to supply nutritious food and support livelihoods while maintaining environmental sustainability. The agri-food systems are also influenced by and contribute to issues like extreme weather events linked to climate change, land degradation, and biodiversity loss. To effectively respond to these challenges, a holistic and sustainable systems-based approach is necessary, considering the diverse and intricate nature of the problems at hand.

By focusing on “Systems Analysis and Design of Agri-food systems in a changing climate (SYSTEMS SA)”, ELLS demonstrates its commitment by addressing real issues and contributing to solutions that directly impact society. SYSTEMS SA will address current global concerns, attracting students interested in becoming “change agents” with a systemic approach.

The systems approach will allow students to connect previously gained specific and fragmented knowledge in order to design and propose solutions for actual and future problems. This approach provides students with much in-demand skills, increasing their range of future action options and making their profiles more attractive to employers and academia.

Through international collaboration with partners, we aim to promote student mobility, providing diverse perspectives and enriching education and research. Mobility programs will enable cross-cultural competence, while industry partnerships can offer internships and networking opportunities, improving post-graduation employability. Moreover, SYSTEMS SA will encourage innovation and entrepreneurship. Its focus on systems analysis and modelling provides valuable skills for the transition of European agriculture and associated food sector towards sustainability and resilience. The ultimate objective of SA SYSTEMS is to enhance the educational experience and career perspectives for ELLS students and lifelong learners, aligning with the evolving demands of the job market and global challenges.

SYSTEMS SA will also stimulate collaboration among teachers and scientists in order to share education materials and develop joint research and education projects on Systems Science.

The learning outcomes of SYSTEMS SA include:

• Methodologies for the diagnosis, analysis, simulation and design of complex systems applied to agriculture and its interface with broader food systems, generally qualified as agri-food systems (AFS). These systems are also interlinked with markets and value chains, policies and other sectors like energy;
• Future-oriented explorations of agri-food system transitions and transformations towards resilience and sustainability using quantitative scenario-based approaches that generate information for improved management of AFS and for policymaking.;
• Multi-criteria analysis encompassing various sustainable development goals and multi-level approaches encompassing the field, farm, landscape and socio-ecosystems levels of AFS with frameworks allowing interdisciplinarity and transdisciplinarity;
• Integration of stakeholders and their decisions in the analysis, assessment and design of innovations and transformative pathways of AFS.