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Want to farm but have nowhere to learn? Fully funded specialized program with no qualification requirements, but you must farm for four years after graduation

General News By Emily Carter 0 views

To speed up the training of new farmers, the Council of Agriculture will expand its publicly funded agricultural training programs next year, announcing that "tuition and miscellaneous fees will be fully waived for four years." National Chiayi University will open two classes, while National Pingtung University of Science and Technology and Mingdao University will each open one class, totaling 172 places next year. Publicly funded students will study farming for the first three years, be sent to farms for internships in the final year, and must also stay in agriculture for four years after graduation, in the hope of raising the rate at which new farmers remain in farming.

Council of Agriculture Minister Tsao Chi-hung and Department of Guidance Director Chang Chih-sheng repeatedly stressed that publicly funded agricultural students are not meant to solve the agricultural labor shortage. "Manpower and talent are not the same thing!" Chang pointed out that agriculture is indeed short of labor, butthe labor shortage must be solved through labor-shortage measures such as the "2+2 plan"

Chiayi University: publicly funded programs have a high rate of staying in farming

As a long-established agricultural university, National Chiayi University has already run two cohorts of publicly funded agricultural student programs: in Academic Year 104 it independently recruited 30 publicly funded agricultural students; in Academic Year 105 it expanded recruitment to 45; next year it even plans to recruit 80.

"In addition to our rich resources in the College of Agriculture, we can also combine the expertise of other colleges on campus to further contribute to agriculture." Chiayi University President Chiu Yi-yuan explained that, for example, the Department of Life Sciences can study how to create added value for agricultural products; the College of Science and Engineering can invest in research and development of agricultural machinery; and the College of Management can even help build the Internet of Things.

Lee Tang-cha, director of the preparatory office for Chiayi University's Farm Management Degree Program, further stated that as early as ROC year 73, Chiayi University had run a publicly funded program in the Department of Agricultural Production Management, which operated for sixteen years. "At that time it trained more than a thousand students who entered agriculture, and the rate of staying in farming reached 87%, with even nearly thirty alumni receiving the Shennong Award and being named outstanding farmer models." Lee said that at the time it attracted many students aspiring to farm and second-generation farmers to apply, but later the Ministry of Education's policy shifted, and the publicly funded program was therefore discontinued.

 

Members of the public can also apply

Among the publicly funded students who appeared at today's press conference, one was particularly noteworthy: he is Tseng Kuan-wei, a 38-year-old retired soldier

Tseng Kuan-wei retired five years ago and immediately went into asparagus farming, figuring things out from scratch; when he learned that Chiayi University had begun admitting publicly funded agricultural students, Tseng made up his mind to apply. "Because I have no farming foundation, the courses at the farmers' academy were relatively hard for me to absorb, and I hoped to build systematic knowledge from university courses." Over the two years since enrolling, he has indeed learned a great deal about production techniques, business management, and pest and disease control.

Now, Tseng Kuan-wei returns to campus to study in his spare time from farm work; Lee Tang-cha said that to accommodate these students who have farm work on their hands, the school's scheduling is also very flexible. "We have classes in the morning, classes in the evening, and even classes on holidays and during winter and summer vacations." This gives students more flexible room to choose courses.

"But for a new farmer like me who came to farming halfway through life, the biggest difficulty is still obtaining land." Tseng Kuan-wei pointed out that although there is a farmland bank, the matching rate is really not high, and it took a great deal of effort to find farmland at first.

Chang Chih-sheng said that applicants to the publicly funded agricultural program are not divided by age or background. "There is no age limit. Whether a high school or vocational high school graduate, or a member of the public, as long as they have the heart to farm, they can apply." But in order to find the truly right people and raise the rate of staying in farming, besides the written exam, the school also conducts interviews and family visits, "to make sure they really have the aspiration, and that their family supports them."

The Department of Guidance also promised that if graduates have no farmland, the Council of Agriculture will provide guidance measures such as priority land purchase and startup loans to help new farmers get established.

The Department of Guidance also stressed, "After graduation, they must stay working on a farm or in an agricultural enterprise for four years!" Chang Chih-sheng said that if graduates do not engage in agricultural work after graduation, they will have to repay the public funding proportionally; after graduates start working, they must also accept assessment and guidance.

[Admissions Information]

Chiayi University Farm Management In-Service Bachelor's Degree Program
Registration: 106.04.12-106.05.2
Written exam: 106.05.21
Interview: 106.07.08-106.07.09
Admission quota: 80

NPUST Department of Food Science, Technological Agriculture Group
Registration: 106.01.03-106.01.23
Written exam: 106.02.11
On-site visit: 106.03.08-106.03.17
Oral exam: 106.03.25
Admission quota: 45

Mingdao University Precision Agriculture Publicly Funded Program:
Registration: 106.01.09-106.05.14
Oral and written exams: 106.05.20
Results announced: 106.5.23