The urgent and escalating global demand for food, exacerbated by the rapidly changing climate conditions, has created a landscape fraught with pressing challenges for productive systems. These systems are now more than ever compelled to devise sustainable and resilient strategies that can effectively reduce waste and ensure the food and nutritional security for the population. The integration of aquaculture and agricultural systems, exemplified by aquaponics, has emerged as a promising avenue toward enhanced production potential while ensuring sustainability. This integration offers diverse benefits, including increased productivity, diversification, and environmental stewardship. However, the application at a commercial scale, in urban areas, and the generational transition are critical challenges that must be addressed.
To improve food production systems, it is necessary to access knowledge and technologies and develop new skills, especially among young people facing a complex landscape. An international multisectoral collaboration project was developed among SLU, UNCIBNOR, and the Technological University of Bahia Banderas (UTBB) to address this. This project was divided into three phases: 1. Analysis of educational challenges within agro-aquaculture systems in the Bahia Banderas region, 2. Comparison of curricula from national and international universities, 3. Identify improvement points for application within the integrated systems laboratory in collaboration with UTBB-CIBNOR. Among the significant results was the emphasis on teaching practical concepts such as resilience, adaptation, and problem-solving through the application of technology. These results are outcomes and stepping stones to further progress and innovation. They also allowed: i) strengthening the curriculum with three new subjects and a training area to address circularity and resilience in agro-aquacultural systems, ii) management of new technologies (IoT, AI), and iii) waste management and transformation. The complete action plan and its results will be presented at the conference. The project aims to empower young people to contribute to urban areas’ food production, resilience, and adaptation. These efforts aim to provide students with significant access to skills, technology usage, and efficient and sustainable productive processes to develop strategies that build a stronger community and social cohesion. Acquiring these skills will enable students to combat social exclusion, inequalities, and unemployment by developing projects focused on strengthening food production in urban areas, improving production on family lands, and undertaking projects that promote local growth. With the experience of CIBNOR, UTBB, and SLU’s sustainability expertise, this project aims to serve as a model of cooperation to achieve more sustainable cities, circular productive processes, and more significant equity through access to quality education for young people. Given the close alignment of UTBB’s bachelor’s program with the entire food production chain, a substantial regional impact is expected. A notable transformation is also anticipated as these students come from families involved in the three primary sectors. Therefore, promoting actions that enhance productive capacities, especially in vulnerable areas, is crucial. By bolstering the skills of young people, we are investing in our cities’ future resilience and prosperity.