Education and information dissemination for sustainable agriculture and environment

Moving towards sustainable agriculture is one of the seventeen interlinked global goals of the United Nations to achieve sustainable development. Higher education institutions can have a significant impact on achieving this goal by training the future generations of agricultural professionals and farmers and by disseminating the information to public, private and civil sector stakeholders. These institutions should make changes in their curriculum, research and development activities according to the needs of the new generations and land use stakeholders in global developments in sustainable agriculture and environment. This chapter brings together a collection of information on sustainable agriculture and the impact of higher education and information dissemination on it. The education and research programs should be science-based but practical and problem-oriented for systems management and development. Divisions and boundaries between disciplines should be removed and an interdisciplinary structure for integrated systems development and land use management should be achieved in which communication between all agricultural and land use stakeholders is essential for exchanging information and continuing cooperation for local, national and international development. Information communication technology systems, in turn, play a remarkable role in generating sustainable land use information and sharing the knowledge and innovations for adoption by farmers and service providers. Familiarity with such systems is essential both in education and in applying up-to-date information for sustainable development.