The novelistic curriculum reform of the agricultural sciences and the sustainability: new demands, old problems

Abstract

The change of direction in discussions about development that contemporary societies are demanding
and undertaking, place increasingly at the center of the debate and the political game the ideals of
sustainability. The proposals arising there from derive and require a new vision of science and
technology. Thus, to promote sustainable agriculture the formation and therefore the profile of
professional technicians may not be the same as that faced by the agriculture called "modern", because
the formative process of the agricultural sciences must provide substantial change in their educational
concepts and teaching practices. This process should lead to a professional profile that exceeds the
limits of specialization, with broad cultural background and that is able, from a systemic and the complex
approach of the reality, to establish systematic and coherent relations between the various areas of
contemporary knowledge.