Chiayi University cultivates publicly funded agriculture students with a 3-year full scholarship
The average age of farmers in our country is as high as 62, and the Ministry of Labor is expected to introduce agricultural workers from Myanmar on a small scale this month, but this is considered a temporary fix rather than a real solution. Facing the crisis of a gap in agricultural manpower, how to connect the resources of industry, government and academia to attract young people to return to farming, the Council of Agriculture studied the matter for nearly 1 year and launched the "New Generation Agricultural Worker Cultivation Program." It has now commissioned National Chiayi University to pilot a publicly funded agricultural student cultivation plan. This summer vacation, it will match local agricultural research and extension stations with agricultural vocational high schools, allowing those students to use the summer vacation for career exploration, thereby more systematically retaining young people willing to devote themselves to agriculture for the long term.
In the "New Generation Agricultural Worker Cultivation Program" drafted by the Council of Agriculture, it is expected to invest 3 billion over 6 years to guide 12,500 young people to become farm operators or cadres. The case recently passed review by the National Development Council, and the Council of Agriculture is writing a medium- and long-term plan. Once the details are finalized, it will be reported to the Executive Yuan.
National Chiayi University Publicly Funded Agricultural Student Program 30 Places, 3 Years of Full Scholarships
The publicly funded agricultural student program currently commissioned by the Council of Agriculture for pilot implementation at National Chiayi University refers to the publicly funded student system for the agricultural products management department once offered by Chiayi Agricultural College in the 1980s. Comparable to the treatment of publicly funded teacher education students, publicly funded agricultural students receive full scholarships for the first 3 years of study, including main and side food expenses, annual book expenses, uniform expenses and visit travel expenses. In the 4th year, only tuition and miscellaneous fees are subsidized, and publicly funded students must intern for 1 year at their own family farm or a related agricultural enterprise.
The plan was discussed by the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Education, and it was finally decided that National Chiayi University would pilot it first, admitting 30 publicly funded students in the Farm Management Section of the Department of Horticulture in the continuing bachelor's program. Kuo Kun-feng, section chief of the Extension Division of the Office of Academic Affairs, admitted that in fact many schools actively inquired in order to develop school characteristics, but because National Chiayi University had prior experience with a publicly funded program, it was decided to cooperate with it first. Also, in consideration of resource allocation and future farm management thresholds, priority admission is currently given to second-generation farm youth and graduates of agricultural schools.
Chou Jo-nan, deputy director of the Office of Academic Affairs, said that neighboring Japan and South Korea both have similar systems to help young people return to rural areas and engage in management work. In particular, South Korea established an agriculture and fisheries university to cultivate talent through publicly funded students, with a retention rate in farming of nearly 90 percent, which indirectly prompted the Council of Agriculture to pilot this plan.
Lee Tang-cha, director of the preparatory office for the Farm Management Degree Program at National Chiayi University, said that aside from forestry projects, admitted publicly funded students will certainly come into contact with knowledge courses in agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry over these four years. The difference is that the publicly funded program will especially offer courses in farm business management and farm household bookkeeping, in the hope that after graduation students can truly apply what they have learned.
Kuo Kun-feng added that for those who actually go into farming after graduating from the publicly funded program, the government will also give priority to introducing resources such as special counseling for young farmers and incubation bases to help young farmers obtain land, handle startup loans and other matters.
Agricultural Research and Extension Stations Cooperate with Local Agricultural Vocational High Schools to Provide 100 Intern Places
As for the agricultural vocational high school part, the Council of Agriculture is expected to launch the "Career Exploration" plan this summer vacation, entrusting each district agricultural research and extension station to cooperate with local agricultural vocational high schools. Kuo Kun-feng said that taking the Hualien Research and Extension Station as an example, the station must coordinate with Hualien Agricultural School, select farm sites for students' summer career exploration, and go to the school to conduct promotion. Before career exploration, the station must first offer 3 to 5 days of courses to give students basic knowledge and practical experience. In this way, it is hoped that the past gap in understanding between agricultural school students and farm operators can be resolved.
"Once students have a preliminary understanding of the farm, farm operators can also better assign appropriate work to students, rather than doing it if interested and leaving if not interested."
Kuo Kun-feng said that the plan currently initially sets 100 places, and students going to farms for internships will be more goal-oriented. At the same time, during career exploration, the research and extension station, school and farm will interact closely as three parties to understand students' exploration status and provide timely assistance. He further pointed out that within the Council of Agriculture, there is even greater hope that these students with a high willingness to farm will continue upward in the future to specialize in the publicly funded agricultural student program at National Chiayi University, extending all the way downward and deeply cultivating second-generation farmers, so that "those who study agriculture are truly willing to farm."
The registration date for publicly funded agricultural students at National Chiayi University runs until 5 p.m. on May 6, and all registration is online. The registration website is https://admissions.ncyu.edu.tw/extedu/. Young students interested in farming may take action as soon as possible.