Agriculture, Economics and Nature
Sound economic thinking is crucial for farmers because they depend on good economic decision making to survive. Governments depend on economic information to make good policy decisions on behalf of the community. This course will help you to contribute to better decision making by farmers, or by agencies servicing agriculture, and it will help you to understand why farmers respond to policies and economic opportunities in the ways they do. You can use this course to improve your skills and knowledge and to assess whether this is a subject that you’d like to study further. The course includes high-quality video lectures, interviews with experts, demonstrations of how to build economic models in spreadsheets, practice quizzes, and a range of recommended readings and optional readings. Assessment is by quizzes and a final exam.
The key economic principles that we’ll learn about can help us understand changes that have occurred in agriculture, and support improved decision making about things like agricultural production methods, agricultural input levels, resource conservation, and the balance between agricultural production and its environmental impacts.
There are literally thousands of agricultural economists around the world who work on these issues, so there is a wealth of knowledge to draw on for the course.
Watch a brief video about our course here: https://youtu.be/Y8OGswUXx48
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Syllabus
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
Week 1
Agricultural production and prices, and agriculture’s reliance on natural resources
Week 2
Resource and environmental challenges facing agriculture
Week 3
The economics of agricultural inputs
Week 4
The economics of land conservation
Week 5
The economics of agri-environmental projects
Week 6
Government policies in agriculture
Week 7
Final Exam
FAQ
When will I have access to the lectures and assignments?
Access to lectures and assignments depends on your type of enrollment. If you take a course in audit mode, you will be able to see most course materials for free. To access graded assignments and to earn a Certificate, you will need to purchase the Certificate experience, during or after your audit. If you don't see the audit option:
The course may not offer an audit option. You can try a Free Trial instead, or apply for Financial Aid.
The course may offer 'Full Course, No Certificate' instead. This option lets you see all course materials, submit required assessments, and get a final grade. This also means that you will not be able to purchase a Certificate experience.
What will I get if I purchase the Certificate?
When you purchase a Certificate you get access to all course materials, including graded assignments. Upon completing the course, your electronic Certificate will be added to your Accomplishments page - from there, you can print your Certificate or add it to your LinkedIn profile. If you only want to read and view the course content, you can audit the course for free.
Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.
Reviews
This was a fantastic learning experience. Professor Pannell is a brilliant teacher, researcher, reasoner, economist! This course was interesting, relevant and useful - I highly recommend it.
Thank you very much for this beautiful course. So many concepts, clearly explained and with great passion. Best wishes from Montevideo, Uruguay.
Great course, I learned a lot of new and interesting things. I wish I could go and continue my studies by going to UWA, maybe in the not-so-distant future :)
Its a great learning experience and I enjoyed studying farm economics, nature, and agriculture. Thank you for a pleasant learning experience.
