WHEN I was at school sometime in the last century, the boys doing the agriculture course were the dumbos.
They arrived off the bus looking seedy and smelling of milk and cowshit. Which was not surprising – they’d probably been up since dawn helping dad bring in the cows and milking them.
The course went for only three years and then they went back to a life of drudgery with dad.
They’re probably all millionaires by now.
The brighter rural kids did the so-called academic course and went on to university and, if they were clever, graduated as lawyers and accountants, or, if not, drug dealers and journalists.
The inbetweeners – the one’s too bright to be dumb but not bright enough to be clever – went to Massey or Lincoln to do an ag diploma, or, if they enjoyed rugby and partying, stayed a few more years for a degree.
That was back then. I’m sure it’s not like that now.
Since my day, the cadet scheme has been started, thrived, faltered, kicked in the backside and, according to recent accounts, now seems to be faltering again.
At Massey and Lincoln, today’s students have had it drummed into them that they are there to work, not shirk like mum and dad did, and the unis are turning out some bright young men and women who will go far.
Unfortunately, it appears there’s always a demand for lawyers and accountants (not to mention drugs dealers and journalists).
So, we have the Primary Industry Training Organisation that is now keen – after a nudge from farmers – to set up a ‘‘gold standard’’ cadet training programme.
And we have the universities working hard to attract more students into the sciences.
That’s great. But the big problem is numbers. Not enough people are interested in a career in agriculture. It’s long been a bone of contention.
But at last something is being done on a scale that promises realistic results.
The pilot curriculum being trialed at Hamilton’s go-ahead St Paul’s Collegiate School is the real McCoy – not another ag course for students who can’t manage much else.
It is taking only the best and brightest who are already doing chemistry, physics, maths, and offers a huge range of agribiz subjects – finance to marketing to science to technology.
Seven other top schools are lined up to follow suit in Southland, Otago, Canterbury, Manawatu, Hawke’s Bay and Auckland.
New Zealand’s bold plan to double the value of exports by 2025 needs 1000 graduates a year.
We need more skilled farmers and agricultural scientists, technicians and advisers.
Not lawyers, not accountants (or dugs dealers or journalists).
