A new Deakin course offering addresses the worldwide need for more agricultural professionals.
To meet the demands of Australia’s growing agribusiness sector, food and agribusiness is now offered as a major in Deakin’s internationally-recognised Bachelor of Commerce.
With the world’s population expected to reach 9.8 billion in 2050, the food and agribusiness sector has never been more important in Australia.
This continued growth means that even more agriculture professionals are now needed to contribute to the global resolve to produce healthier and more socially and environmentally-responsible food.
Available from Trimester 1 2019, the Food and Agribusiness major’s strong practical focus equips students to be work-ready through real-world economic, financial, marketing, accounting and management learning.
It also provides strong links to industry and technology experts, governments and other key stakeholders through a variety of workshops, industry and farm visits, and applied agribusiness projects.
Dr Risti Permani, Senior Lecturer in Agribusiness with Deakin Business School (DBS), is responsible for developing the teaching, research and community engagement program of the Food and Agribusiness major.
She says that agribusiness is a thriving discipline that refers to the collective business activities in food, fibre and agricultural supply chains.
‘It’s not just about farm management but also about business activities at the processing, distribution, supporting services, and consumer levels,’ she explains.
‘There is a strong demand for agribusiness graduates locally, nationally and globally. In response to this demand, we’ve designed a new major in partnership with industry to help address rural and regional skills shortages.’
Dr Permani says that with the world-wide shift towards more complex, technology-intensive agricultural systems and management, there’s now a need for more advanced agricultural skills.
‘This shift has led to an increase in global demand for Australian expertise in food and agribusiness to provide a full range of on and post-farm services.’
Offered at Deakin’s Warrnambool and Cloud Campuses, the Food and Agribusiness major comprises eight units which may also be undertaken as individual elective units.
Non-commerce students may also choose the units as electives provided the units fit within course requirements and pre-requisites are met.
Units in the Food and Agribusiness major include:
- MAB242 Agribusiness Governance
- MAB251 Agribusiness Resource Management
- MAE203 The Global Economy
- MAE256 Analytical Methods in Economics and Finance
- MAB341 Global Challenges: Food, Water and Climate
- MAB352 Agribusiness Technology
- MAB353 Applied Agribusiness Project
- MIS313 Strategic Supply Chain Management
Want to know more?
Deakin’s Bachelor of Commerce provides the technical skills and professional capabilities to be a confident business leader for today and the future. Find out more via our Bachelor of Commerce page.