Bridgwater College’s Cannington Centre and organic farming charity the Soil Association have teamed up to include organic farming within the college’s range of undergraduate qualifications.

Heralding the new partnership this week, the Soil Association said that the new training opportunities reflect a growing interest in organic food and farming, and that the organic modules were added in response to demands from students to learn about innovative sustainable farming practices.
 
Cannington’s Head of Land based provision, Jeremy Kerswell, commented on Tuesday,“We have seen a growth in the demand for new sustainable farming practices from producers and growers, across our engagement with employers in agriculture and horticultural industries. This exciting partnership is vital to ensuring that the future needs of the industry are met.”
 
From September 2015, students on the Higher National Certificate in Horticulture will study organic principles and practice as a core module. The college will offer tailored intermediate and advanced level apprenticeships in organic agriculture and horticulture. The college is also developing a new module within the BSc Hons. in Agriculture focussing on organic principles and practices, to run from September 2016.

The modules will also be available as stand-alone courses for people wanting to develop their knowledge of organic horticulture and agriculture.
 
Liz Bowles Head of Farming at the Soil Association added, “We are seeing more and more interest in organic farming techniques from increasing numbers of farmers, whether organic or not. These new qualifications will enable more young people to find out about organic farming practices and how they might apply them within their careers in the land based sector”.

Although there has certainly been renewed interest in organic amongst consumers, the organic land area in the UK continues to contract. The latest government figures show that in 2013, organic farmland declined by 3.9 percent and land undergoing conversion to organic dropped by almost a quarter.

Although sales of organic have recovered over the past two years, having dropped off in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis, the number of organic producers in the country continues to fall. Meanwhile, the sector has continued to grow over much of the rest of Europe.  

Further information is available from Bridgwater College.