A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry into agricultural education has backed the need for broader education opportunities to attract young people to the agriculture industry.
The Victorian Government’s response to the national crisis in agricultural education and training, released on Wednesday, recommended that building the demand for agricultural education and training should be the underlying goal to reinvigorate agricultural education and training in Victoria.
Identifying a deeply entrenched negative public image of the industry, lack of understanding and awareness of agricultural career options, and inconsistencies in the quality of agricultural education and training as severe hindrances to the development of the state’s agricultural sector, the inquiry into agricultural education and training in Victoria listed 45 recommendations throughout the report.
Birchip Cropping Group’s (BCG) submission was one of more than 100 written submissions to the parliamentary inquiry.
In its submission, BCG outlined a need “to broaden the net” to attract young people to the industry.
Chief executive officer David Chamberlin said rural trends such as an increase in farm sizes and a decrease in rural living meant less people had the knowledge to create a fair perception of the agriculture industies.
For more on this story, see Friday’s edition of
The Guardian (16/11/12)
