The objectives of the course are aimed at:- provide fundamental knowledge on food production with particular regard to primary production and the complex interaction that exists between environmental conditions, agriculture, genetic resources, food availability and food safety.- Analyze specific case studies related to the relationship between climate change and food production in different geographical areas.
Course contents summary
The contents of the course are designed to understand the complex interactions between climate change, agriculture and food security. The main environmental factors, biotic and abiotic, that affect agricultural production and the possible control measures to counteract the negative effects will be analyzed.Furthermore, transformations in agriculture and in food systems, from pre-production to consumption, needed to maximize the co-benefits of climate change will be evaluated.
Climate change: causes and effects related to food production. How to cope with the expected increase in global food demand in the coming decades. Agriculture has a strong impact on the environment and climate; moreover, climate change affects the quantity of food production and its location.Main factors that determine production reduction: high temperatures, drought, salinity, pathogens.The stressors and risks posed by climate change to the various sectors of genetic resources for food and agriculture are many.Genetic resources for food and agriculture play a significant role in mitigating and adapting to the consequences of climate change in support of efforts to achieve food security and food quality objectives (food security vs food safety).Systems to reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to food production without reducing production levels: better integration of innovative techniques and production methods.Technological solutions to increase the resilience of cultivated species.Balance between production and quality levels (food security vs food quality and safety)
Genetica, biotecnologie e agricoltura sostenibile, di Maarten J. Chrispeels, David Sadava, Editore: Idelson-GnocchiA cura di: F. SalaData di Pubblicazione: 2005EAN: 9788879474191ISBN: 8879474197Climate change effect on crop productivityedited by Rakesh S. Sengar and Kalpana SengarBoca Raton, FL : CRC press, 2015 XXIV, ISBN 9781482229202Anno pubblicazione 2015The slides utilized during lectures will be available on the platform Elly (http://elly.sea.unipr.it). The access is restricted to registered students. Other bibliographic materials will be provided on the same platform.
The course will be conducted through frontal lessons on the specific topics of the program, with the help of slides. The teaching material will be available on the Elly platform. However, it is highly recommended to use a text for individual study.
Assessment methods and criteria
The assessment of learning will be carried out with an oral exam based on: i) presentation of a scientific topic, chosen by the student, taken from scientific literature; ii) one question about the topics treated within the course. The final score will be calculated considering: a) choice of the topic and of the sources for the presentation (20%), b) re-elaboration and talking skills (50%), c) knowledge of the topics of the course (30)%.