International

Perspective on

Agricultural Education

and Training

A presentation in 3 parts

• The Role of AET

• The New Challenges for AET

• Future Directions for AET

AET System

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1. The Role of AET

• In the past, the traditional role of AET has been

to develop human resources needed for the

agriculture sector - in particular for production

agriculture

• Tertiary and Higher AET has traditionally

provided trained manpower for agricultural

support services, especially research, education

and extension.

Changes which have

Impacted on AET• cut backs in govt/public service employment

• privatised advisory/support services. The private

sector has replaced or is replacing the public sector

as the leader in making direct contact with farmers

• wider access to knowledge and information (IT) by

the traditional clients of AET

• climate changes (global warming)

• genetic engineering (use of bio-technology)

• environmental concerns . Commercial agriculture is

seen as a polluter of natural resources

• sustainability

• (in LDCs)

• -increasing food insecurity for many

• -widening gap between rich and poor

• (in developed countries)

• -number of family farms has decreased (fewer employed)

• -size of farms has grown (mechanisation)

• -Overproduction (quotas)

• -increase in off-farm business enterprise

• -growing public concerns about the effects of food production on the environment and the move towards locally grown products (food miles)

• -niche (and organic) products

• -on-farm processing and diversification (tourism, game farms, fisheries, horticulture)

• (additionally in LDCs)

• increasing food insecurity for many

• widening gap between rich and poor

• (in developed countries)

• number of family farms has decreased (fewer

employed)

• size of farms has grown (mechanisation)

• overproduction (quotas)

• increase in off-farm business enterprise

• growing public concerns about the effects of food

production on the environment and the move towards

locally grown products (food miles)

• niche (and organic) products

• on-farm processing and diversification (tourism, game

farms, fisheries, horticulture)

The effect of these changes on

AET• decrease in number of students entering

agriculture courses

• too many unemployed and unemployable

graduates (wrong skills not transferable, skills

needed for self employment).

Response of AET

• to widen the client base

• to include new subjects in the curriculum

(management, IT, environment, sustainable

agriculture)

• to shift from pure production degrees to a

greater emphasis on management,

conservation, and agribusiness

• to offer more flexible learning modes

Criticisms of AET

• lack of clear policy framework for AET

• too narowly focused on physical and biological processes

and largely ignore social change processes

• seperated from the larger education system and lack of

mechanisms to coordinate different agencies (and

ministries) concerned

• lacking in relevance and increasingly divorced from the

needs of the labour market and stakeholders.

• institutions isolated from extension and research and

from rural communities

More importantly,has been the failure of the traditional AET model to significantly impact on poverty reduction and improve livelihoods for the majority in rural areas.

“I have often said that the most profoundchallenges to South Africa’s development

and democracy can be found in rural areas.These areas, systematically and intentionally

deprived of the most basic resources under apartheid, continue to lag behind

the rest of the country in the post-apartheid era”

Nelson Mandela

2. The New Challenge for

AET:

from Agriculture to Rural

Development

The agriculture-only model of rural

development has proved inadequate

in addressing poverty reduction,

rural development and natural

resources management

Some facts and figures

• 800 million or more people who are

food insecure

• 180 million undernourished children

• 880 million illiterate youth and adults

• 130 million out of school children (3

times higher in rural areas than urban

centres)

Donor Priorities

• Donor priorities have shifted from technical and

higher education to basic education, and from

isolated projects to coordination and sector

wide approaches

• The focus is now on 'Rural' not 'Agriculture’ and

• on ‘education for rural people' not just 'farmers'

Education for Rural People (ERP)

goes beyond education about agriculture.

It is based on the assumption that

education programmes in rural areas need

to expand to include a variety of skills

appropriate for success in rural areas

Rural Development programmes and strategies

now address a range of needs including

food and agriculture, rural employment, health,

infrastructure and education

Changes in Policy

• In UK, ‘Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and

Food has become ‘Department for

Environment, Food and Rural Affairs’

• In NL, ‘Extension Education has become

‘Information and Communication Studies’

• ‘Faculties of Agriculture’ have become

‘Faculties of Land Use and Rural Affairs’

3. Future Directions for

AET

What needs to be done?

• AET has to move towards a much broader

multidisciplinary approach

• AET must develop human capacity not just for

production agriculture but for environmentally and

socially sustainable development throughout the

rural sector

• AET must enter into more diverse rural sector

related systems through a multiple field of partners

• AET must engage with a broader and more

disadvantaged clientele (especially rural women and

youth)

Future Choices

AET systems from Universities to NFE have to decide

how much change they need to make to meet the expectations

of an expanded and diverse population of stakeholders

and remain relevant

Should AET continue to primarily serve (commercial) farmers

OR

redefine its mission to focus primarily on improving the wellbeing

of all rural residents, farm or non-farm?

The alternative to change is to become less and less relevant

Actions are needed at all

levels• 1. At Policy level

• 2. At Institutional level

• 3. At Systems level

At Policy Level

• It is necessary to have a clear policy environment in which

any investment in AET is to be located

• Priorities must be spelt out, for example, the importance

of small-scale semi-subsistence farmers as against

modern commercial farmers

• Policy and strategy development (at government and

institutional level) should be

people centred and use participatory approaches

based on up-to-date information

ensure greater consonance between donor, national

and local needs

At Institutional Level

• Staff development/institution building/capacity building

(especially in the management of change)

• Increase collaboration and cooperation (especially local links

with NGOs, CBOs rural communities, schools)

• New learning approaches (holistic and multidisciplinary

approaches to problem solving and greater emphasis on

experiential learning)Creating the right learning environment

• New curricula with greater participation (new mission and

clientele) and more transferable skills

• New learning modes (distance education, mobile learning

centres, part-time education, IT, media)

At Systems Level

• Redefine research priorities and ensure findings

are more strongly fed into AET institutions

• Move beyond outreach to engagement of rural

populations (on a two-way equal footing)

• Build partnerships between AET and the larger

education system

• Form strategic alliances with NGOs, private

sector, and consumers

Conclusion

Two key elements are required to bring

about change in AET systems

VISION AND LEADERSHIP

“what is needed is the vision to sense the future needs

of the multiple stakeholders in R D and

the leadership and determination to bring about change

to enable the institutions to educate, train, research and serve

for the benefit of the rural community”