This course provides a general introduction to the agri-food sector and the complexity of sustainable transition pathways in food systems, addressed to students without prior academic background in agriculture. It is organised in four modules, moving from a shared understanding of food systems and their challenges (Module 1) to transition dynamics and political economy (Module 2), agroecological and alternative models (Module 3), and the practical challenges of transition (Module 4). Two complementary lenses structure the course throughout: the food value chains approach and the territorial approach.
The ten sessions cover: (S1) What is a food system - boundaries, actors, and systemic frameworks (multi-level perspective, social-ecological systems); (S2) The origins, drivers and consequences of agricultural modernization; (S3) Collective organisations in agri-food - cooperatives and their governance; (S4) Transition and transformation - analytical frameworks and a role-play exercise; (S5) Power, inclusion and the political economy of food, including food sovereignty, security, democracy and autarky; (S6) Governance, public policies and evaluation metrics (EU CAP, land access, territorial food-policy instruments); (S7) Agroecology principles and farming systems; (S8) Values-based value chains, alternative food networks and territorial food systems; (S9) Living through the practical constraints of transition, including lock-ins and resilience, grounded in a possible field visit; (S10) Designing sustainable food futures - a collective simulation exercise applied to the Walloon agri-food system.
The Walloon Region is used as a cross-session case throughout the course, through a group assignment progressively built by students and debriefed collectively in the final session.