Agri Systems Management

Sometimes strange things happen in the world. In the West - particularly in Europe and the US - the farmers' situation is completely different from the one in other parts of the world. In the Western world, agricultural raw materials are rather cheap and the heavily subsidised products are `sent´ to the world market. However, labour and land are expensive.

The result: the intensive and specialised agriculture or animal husbandry is more profitable because large harvests are produced in a relatively short time using a lot of fertilisers or feed and large machines. Outside the EU, the situation is totally different. One of the few sources of income for governments in these countries is the taxation on imported products, such as fertilisers, nutrients and machines. This makes them expensive for the farmers there. However, labour and time are cheap. And there is usually an abundance of land. When the farmers ultimately offer their products on the world market, they lack the subsidies provided to Western farmers.

In the domestic market, prices are often lower than world market prices. Can you survive as a farmer in this situation? This is possible. And the bachelor Agri Systems Management will prove it. The approach: companies with an optimized use of labour, land and capital goods for a system of sustainable production. However, the perfect mix is different in each region, but the principle remains the same.

Following the Bachelor Agri Systems Management, you mix with people from all over the world! This is the best preparation for an international career, as you will learn how to communicate with people from all kinds of cultures and with new ways of thinking, feeling and working.

Specialisations

Fair Trade Management (4 years Bachelor, 2 years Final Phase Bachelor)

You will be following objective specific courses, doing practical periods and preparing an exciting graduation assignment. In the third or fourth year you will make a choice out of many available minors. A minor is actually a short course of your own choice. It can be specialistic or broad, in which case it can add to your interests and talents.

The programme is competency based: each theoretical subject supports workgroup situations in which students tackle practical problems and explore workable solutions. This means that you will be active from day one, learning to work independently as you collaborate with others. The programme culminates in practical placements and a thesis project conducted in an international setting.