VISION:

To sustainably feed the world’s expanding population is widely recognized as among the greatest challenges of our society.

In today’s interconnected world, this challenge is inherently of global scope. It also requires transformations of the world’s agricultural and food systems based on ideas and innovations that cut across geographical, cultural and disciplinary borders. The need for transformational changes motivated five top-ranked academic institutions in the domain of agricultural, food system and  environmental sciences to join forces and form the Agrifood 5 (A5) Alliance. 

The A5 founding members—China Agricultural University, Cornell University, University of California, Davis, University of Sao Paulo, and Wageningen University & Research—are recognized globally for their scientific knowledge, research expertise, teaching and training in sustainable agriculture and food systems.

E-learning
Bring E-learning to the forefront. Most of our A5 members are developing MOOC’s or other distance-learning courses, but have done so independently using different existing platforms. The main objective would be to create a central archive of existing and joint E-learning courses. Moreover, joint E-learning coursework will be developed specifically for universities in the developing world, so students globally can take advantage of the course content.
Summer School
Develop A5 summer school courses available to students from throughout the world. Courses offered through A5 will be selected based on student interest and the level of global engagement sought.
 Workshops
Convene workshops that discuss and highlight transformations for agri-food, with topical areas of wide interest by all stakeholders such as academia, policy-makers, industry, and consumers. Topics will focus on raising awareness, public engagement and knowledge sharing, and improving the dialogue between agriculture and society.

Leadership
Engage with university leadership worldwide to promote transdisciplinary teaching and research and increase their engagement with communities off-campus to build public support, awareness and trust. For example, UC Davis is committed to a ‘Global Education for All’ initiative, ensuring that every student graduates with the knowledge, skills and experiences that will prepare them to thrive in today’s global, interconnected world where they must communicate and collaborate with people across diverse backgrounds and perspectives.
Integrate
Integrate issues of global sustainability into the undergraduate and graduate curricula. A5 addresses global sustainability challenges across disciplines and geographies. For example, meeting the challenge of global food security involves not only improved agricultural yields but also better crop nutrition, clean and disease free water and soil, market access and growth of value chains, reduced gender biases and general social, political, geographical and institutional considerations.