"Upon the education of the people of this country, the fate of this country depends." - Benjamin Disraeli
Higher agricultural education is discussed in terms of funding, quality, institutional arrangements, and disciplinary mix. International assistance, the applicability of models from MDC universities, and the implications of underfunding of natural resource education are related to the need for significant changes in agricultural education.
The relationship between higher education in natural resources and development in less developed countries (LDCs) has not been widely researched. The benefits of education are well recognized as providing skills, knowledge, values and attitudes associated with civic order and sustained economic growth and poverty reduction. Better educated workers deal more effectively with rapid changes and more highly educated workers are more commonly found in new technology industries where they receive relatively better payment (Mincer, 1989).
Within the natural resources field, the Green Revolution created a wide need for information concerning the management of the more complicated inputs of irrigation, fertilizers and pesticides. Rosenzweig (1995) has confirmed that farmers engaged in traditional farming practices without the benefit of new knowledge or information, experience difficulty in obtaining the returns possible from enhanced agricultural production systems; in this way, Education Supports Economic Growth.
In discussing education in LDCs, one must first consider primary and secondary education. An OECD (1994) report suggests that sub-tertiary education should create basic competencies in language, science and mathematics, communication skills and the development of attitudes consistent with the workplace. Such competencies are said to provide a foundation for subsequent education and training. Vocational education is also following this trend of providing general competency. The report therefore sees higher education as being the creation of academic and high level vocational skills which include specialized in-service training and continuing education.
| Education Supports Economic Growth
Education is also about culture; it is the main instrument for disseminating the accomplishments of human civilization. These multiple purposes make education a key area of public policy in all countries. Its importance is recognized in several international conventions and in many national constitutions. ... The civic purpose of education - the sharing of value throughout society - is becoming more salient in light of the widespread political liberalization of the past decade. ... Education is critical for economic growth and poverty reduction. Changing technology and economic reforms are creating dramatic shifts in the structure of economies, industries, and labor markets throughout the world. The rapid increase in knowledge and the pace of changing technology raise the possibility of sustained economic growth with more frequent job changes during individuals' lives. These developments have created two key priorities for education: it must meet economies' growing demands for adaptable workers who can readily acquire new skills, and it must support continued expansion of knowledge. World Bank (1995b) |
A report of a seminar of the Economic Development Institute of the World Bank observes that a society which is well educated and informed is better able to make fundamental decisions for itself because its people can objectively consider social and cultural innovations (EDI, 1993). This assumes societal benefits from the provision of individual freedom through allowing the pursuit of inner aspirations and personal thirst for knowledge. While not related absolutely to personal income, it is seen to be related to quality of life. A secondary benefit from higher education is the existence of a pool of well trained and skilled persons readily able to adapt to changing market needs. It also allows informed persons to include natural resource management considerations in their decisions for investment and management. On the basis of these points, the report suggests that education is ... arguably the best form of investment for the future.
In the pursuit of economic and social development, LDCs will increasingly find themselves linked to worldwide economies requiring a level of technological sophistication which has its roots in education (Castells, 1986). In such circumstances, an LDC investment policy should focus on the need to develop human capital (Portes and Kincaid, 1990) - today's euphemism for education.
Perhaps as a devil's advocate, Schultz (1964) suggests that educated persons returning to LDCs may not necessarily possess skills and knowledge appropriate to assist in the economic and social development of their countries. This implies that education has been inadequate in such situations (EDI, 1993). A parallel situation appears to have existed in approaches taken to international development in LDCs when international aid first assumed a major role as an adjunct of the successful Marshal Plan for reconstruction of war-affected economies after the Second World War (Falvey, 1993a). At the individual level Shultz (1965) noted the relationship between education and rice yields in Japan, even though he also observed situations where yields have increased in the absence of any increase in education due to new land being accessed.
With such recognition of the general benefits of education, one must be concerned at the reduced attention paid to the field in LDCs since the mid 1970s (University of Florida, 1995). World Bank lending for university and polytechnic higher education has reduced from 36 per cent of its educational lending in the mid 1980s to some 26 per cent in recent years. This has been associated with a trend away from lending to agricultural universities toward other areas of science (World Bank, 1995c).
Saguiguit (1987) has emphasized the role of higher education in agriculture in providing pre-service training for professional agriculturists. Agricultural education institutions in South East Asian and the Pacific countries may be adequate in some countries, yet in others named in the UNESCO report, such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Sri Lanka, the number of institutions, and the quality of graduates are seen to be inadequate for the future development needs of their countries.
In Africa, the need to develop indigenous capacity in basic natural and social sciences to underpin agriculture, health, engineering and management has been emphasized (World Bank, 1992). It is also necessary to stimulate the professional environment in which such specialized capabilities can continue to be productive. Crosson and Anderson (1995) argue strongly for human capital enhancement as the major requirement for African development. While noting that such an educational investment is a long and uncertain process, they also note that there is little choice and that resources should be reallocated from MDCs for this purpose as a matter of urgency if sustainable natural resource management principles are to be seriously considered. Weitz and Landau (1971) also note that agricultural education is a critical part of development and that agricultural policy is inevitably linked to educational, fiscal, industrial and general development policies. Agricultural development usually follows policy reforms which need support from education to realize their full potential. With land reform in particular, it is possible to demonstrably Reap the Benefits of education.
| Reap the Benefits
As long as education and agriculture are focused on the present agrarian structure, it will in the best case generate a two tier system whereby the privileged or upper tier produce an ever increasing surplus while those on the lower tier, comprising the bulk of the rural people, remain bound in agricultural stagnation with a declining standard of living. It is here that the need enters for structural reform and, more specifically, for land reform. Its link with economic development is obvious since only the correction of the agrarian structure can make possible a depth- effect of agricultural education and extension and open up the remote villages for the application of advanced agricultural methods. Jacoby (1971) |
Expected years of schooling by regions of the world 1990 are presented in Figure 4.1. Gradual progression in education levels is evident for all regions, except sub-Saharan Africa where the expected years of schooling decreased between 1980 and 1990 (World Bank, 1995b). If education is an essential underpinning factor for human and economic development, Sub-Saharan Africa is going backwards.
Figure 4.1 Expected Years of Schooling by Region for 1990 (after
World Bank, 1995b) 
Groups which practice hunting and gathering, or even agriculture, while living in apparently sustainable systems are often quoted as having answers for modern day natural resource management (Orr, 1992). Chapter 3 introduced the need for such empathy with the environment in natural resource education. However, it is inappropriate to hold up these societies as having all the answers. The world has such a population that, according to present levels of knowledge, we must continue to rely on the use of intensive technologies. It behooves us to continue to develop such technologies which minimize adverse environmental impacts.
Orr (1992) notes the association between high levels of education, generation of an alphabet, written language, and environmental destruction. This can be measured in terms of the development of cities, agricultural surpluses, soil erosion, institutional and indeed population growth. This is the situation in which the world now finds itself and we must act responsibly from this position rather than draw false conclusions of associations between factors which have operated in the past. Abrogation of rights to protect the environment or other factors are more likely to arise in circumstances where food deficiencies exists. As the grand inquisitor of Dostoyevsky's epic, the Brothers Karamazov said to the revisiting Christ ... never can they feed themselves without us. No science will give them bread so long as they remain free. In the end they will lay their freedom at our feet and say to us "make us your slaves, but feed us".
| Maintain the Tradition
Although the knowledge that is part of the state of the art is passed on from father to son by word of mouth and by demonstration, this does not mean that what is handed down is not authentic knowledge. In general, farmers who are limited to traditional agricultural factors are more secure in what they know about the factors they use than farmers who are adopting and learning how to use new factors of production. The new types of risk and uncertainty about the yield inherent in factors embodying an advance in knowledge are of real concern to farmers. ... since traditional agriculture is not introducing new factors, new elements of risk and uncertainty do not appear; they arise only when the transformation gets under way. What matters here is that the state of the art is in fact known, established, and given in the case of traditional agriculture Schultz (1964) |
Land managers and others must have a significant knowledge base of the interactions that occur in their sphere of management. Yet, we cannot assume that individual farmers in traditional farming systems have a knowledge base on which to accommodate the new information which increases daily and is essential for the use of new technologies. New technologies themselves are introduced not only for economic gain, but also for the imperative of increased food for subsistence. Similarly, traditional farmers cannot be expected to understand the accelerating rate of impacts on the natural resource base associated with their own and others' actions. It is eminently reasonable for such farmers to Maintain the Tradition.
Universities in LDCs trace their origins to each country's colonial past, with exceptions such as Thailand and China. These origins indicate their ideological positions in the colonial politics and subsequently in the transition from that system in post-independence periods (Castells, 1993). Universities in French African colonies were seen as an extension of the French university system which had a responsibility to orient the better students to further training in France (Sherman, 1990). In the British Colonies, universities were structured on the model of the British Civic University. In Latin America, despite a period of longer independence, the colonial origins of universities as joint state and religious organizations continues to influence the ideology of institutions which, according to Solari (1988), emphasize ideology and status more than economic and labor market interactions.
A period of independence in most colonial countries impacted strongly
on universities as they sought to establish critical roles. Conflicts between
academic and political behavior led to disenchantment both within and outside
universities and was a major contributor to the loss of academic talent
from universities of LDCs. Economic development during the past three decades
has provided a stimulus to universities in LDCs through the creation of
demand for a skilled and knowledgeable population. It also stimulated the
creation of a professional elite which in turn required education of its
children. These factors stimulated the development of law, humanities and
social science faculties to meet the need for producing the administrative
skills needed for rapidly changing government systems. Likewise, education
and other social services became important innovations for government.
Universities in LDCs have been less successful in developing scientific
and technical professions, in particular agriculture and natural resource
related education. Castells (1993) attributes this to the three factors
of:
This means that much of the increase in university education is in fields which have little direct impact on development because such courses are supposedly more cost-efficient to mount. Those countries which have deliberately introduced policies to stimulate higher education in technical and related fields (for example, China, Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia) are now seeing the benefits of a skilled and knowledgeable workforce capable of international technology generation and adoption. However, educating and training scientists and technologists is subject to heavy leakage to MDCs which eagerly adopt high performers from LDCs.
Different mechanisms have been adopted to strengthen scientific and technically oriented training. These include limiting the number of institutions where major investments are made, which ultimately limits the number of persons and the extent of activity in scientific and related research which can be conducted. An alternative is to strengthen aspects of technical and scientific activity in most institutions - this has been said to include a risk of failing to stimulate interdisciplinary interaction, a critical component of most areas of applied science including natural resource management.
| The Education Lag
In most, if not all, of the newly developing countries, agricultural education and research are lagging. Often a lag is greater than can be justified by the level of economy and the general stage of development of the nation involved. This results from long entrenched mores and cultural backgrounds with their influence and attitudes towards social responsibility, education, research, and technology. Peterson and Frazier (1964) |
In assessing progress in the universities of LDCs it is common to compare other similar countries. In fact in an interconnected global economic and information system, appropriate comparisons should be made between the pace of development of universities in LDCs and MDCs. As Castells (1993) notes, it is easy to hide behind cultural and historical differences to avoid such comparisons - a stance which will be less acceptable as the information age impacts on all institutions (refer to Chapter 9). Experience in agricultural development in LDC universities (World Bank, 1992) highlights The Education Lag between university output in the form of graduating students and workforce needs in an environment of continuing low productivity, rural poverty, and inadequate institutional funding from government. Further compounding this situation, many LDCs have overextended their educational systems by opening new universities (Hoste, 1995).
The plight of natural resource management education in LDCs is again illustrated by approaches taken to investment in the sector. Schultz (1964) noted that the transformation of economies from traditional to developed is dependent on investment in agriculture (Figure 3.1). However, such investments have been kept low in order to favor new industrial investment, even in countries where agriculture is the main industry. The problems outlined above for general investment in scientific and technological education, and in particular agricultural education, are compounded by a general shift away from investment in agricultural development. An FAO Symposium (FAO, 1995) suggested that natural resource education would be based on reorientation of agriculture and food science programs as a cost effective and beneficial means of introducing natural resource management skills in LDCs. The production of food remains an imperative - balancing Food and Environment.
| Food and Environment
Bangladesh has one of the world's most dense populations, making land extremely scarce. Practically no prospects exist for increasing the area under cultivation. Agricultural growth, therefore, has been based on intensification: modern rice varieties now account for almost half of the rice under cultivation, an increasing proportion of land is double or triple cropped, the area under irrigation has more than doubled since 1980, and the use of chemical fertilizers has doubled since the early 1980s. Due to this intensification, Bangladesh has become food grain self-sufficient in good years, a result few observers would have anticipated ten years ago ... Concern is rising, however, that this intensive agriculture may not be sustainable ... yields of modern varieties are declining in areas that have been cultivated intensively for many years ... associated with the length of time that intensive production practices have been employed in each district. Pegiola (1995) |
Conceiving agricultural education as a major component of natural resource management will require significant rethinking of approaches to education, research and development. The World Bank (1995a) Environmental Statement - Mainstreaming the Environment - is one organization's attempt to explain such a paradigm shift. In simple terms, this document outlines the impact of current and past agricultural approaches on the environment and balances these with the need to supply food to a rising population. While noting the success of agriculture, this is but One Step Forward. We must acknowledge that this has been achieved by the conversion of native environment through expansion of agricultural lands, and exploitation of soil fertility. The subsequent stage of agricultural development has relied on intensification of production on the better agricultural lands and much scope for further intensification in less developed agriculture continues to exist. Improvements in the use of chemical inputs, for example, from experience in MDCs can be adapted to LDCs to reduce environmental and health risks. Nevertheless, the need is to view such interventions in the environment as part of an overall system rather than oriented solely to increased yields.
| One Step Forward ....
The past 30 years have been an extraordinarily successful period for the agricultural sector in much of the developing world. In Asia, per capita grain production has risen from 215 kg to more than 279 kg, and the perennial threat of famine has been removed for nearly 200 million people. World grain yields, because of the development of irrigation systems, the availability of high yielding varieties, and the use of modern inputs, has risen from about 1.8 tonnes per hectare in 1970 to about 2.7 tonnes per hectare in 1991. Some areas, however, have not been part of this overall success. In Sub-Saharan Africa, in particular, yields and inputs have stagnated, and grain production per capita has actually fallen in at least 27 countries. Furthermore, agriculture is still vulnerable to the vagaries of storms, floods, droughts, and late rains which have reduced harvest yields this year, causing world grain stocks to decrease substantially. World Bank (1995a) |
The World Bank's response has been to orient agricultural research and extension to food production imperatives within a context of minimizing impact on the environment. This is similar to other institutional responses for assistance to LDCs.
It is now necessary to look beyond this simple acknowledgment of the environmental impacts of agriculture, and other human activities and consider environmental management education. The critical need to involve universities in national research development to overcome problems in natural resource management is now recognized by the International Service for National Agricultural Research - the international policy advisory body on the subject (Bonte-Friedheim, 1995). In LDCs (and probably also in MDCs - refer to Chapter 6), this role for agricultural education points to a wider and brighter future than does a narrow focus on technological breakthroughs oriented to productivity gains.
Agricultural education has been the subject of significant investment analysis and provides a basis for discussing experience with environmental and natural resource education, including agricultural education. Major issues include: access; quality; disciplinary base, and institutional linkages.
Access: The inadequacy of facilities for natural resource management education in most LDCs has been discussed earlier. This imbalance within the offerings of the higher education sector in general is compounded by the inherent problems of access. Low levels of enrollment among poor persons in primary and secondary education are more pronounced in the area of higher education (Tilak, 1989). Inequities are amplified when student subsidies are considered, as they are usually allocated evenly regardless of personal income. An analysis conducted by the World Bank (1995b) indicates that only in the case of primary education is there a firm indication that subsidies favor increased access for the children of poor families. Subsidies offered by governments at secondary, and particularly tertiary educational levels favor the wealthy. Schultz (1964) in a critique of the benefits of assistance to LDCs, contrasts the issues of the inability of the poor to afford higher education with the variable utility of the skills and knowledge gained by tertiary students, particularly those educated outside their own countries.
In addition to subsidies, spending on higher education also appears to favor the wealthy. Table 4.1 indicates the high proportions of tertiary education students drawn from the top 20 percentile of wealthy families. However, despite the cost barrier to higher education, the tuition component is virtually free to students in most countries. The World Bank (1995b) notes that only some 20 LDCs seek to collect tuition fees in amounts greater than ten per cent of recurrent higher education expenditures. Nevertheless, there remains a case for subsidized higher education in fields of public importance such as natural resource management.
The Economic Development Institute of the World Bank (EDI, 1993) in its seminar series suggested that the introduction of policies to improve access to education had led to a decreased ability to respond to labor-market demand. This appears to imply that such wider access had been in fields less costly to offer and poorly attuned to national economic development needs. They note there is a need in such circumstances to assess the balance between traditional academic, vocational, short cycle, distance learning, and full and part time learning, and to fund these in manners appropriate for the education desired. The alternative scenario is painted as over- crowding, declining quality and decreasing relevance to economic development needs.
Table 4.1 Higher Education Students by Family Income as a Percentage of Total Enrollment (World Bank, 1995)
| Country | Year | Students from Top 20% of Households by Income |
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In a discussion paper concerning women in higher education Subbarao et al (1995) noted that within an overall shift of foreign assistance from tertiary to primary and secondary education during the 1980s, a wide variety of specific interventions which aimed to reduce gender disparity had been introduced by the World Bank and other international development agencies.
The use of interactive televideos, computer-based technologies and other electronic means of communication facilitate the widening of access to tertiary education. This is beginning in MDCs and has been demonstrated to provide substantial benefits in some rapidly developing economies such as Thailand, where an open university allows self-paced study through distance learning. While drop-out rates may be higher with such systems, the recognition of qualifications by government assists graduates to attain similar positions and salaries to graduates from traditional universities. The use of such technologies may be more attractive to LDCs than MDCs due to their relatively low costs of establishment for communications equipment, compared to large building and staff infrastructures. Access will be improved greatly through such mechanisms (refer to Chapter 9).
Quality: Quality in higher education is usually assessed subjectively. Included in most assessments however, is definition of the nature of learning experiences which create the educational environment (Ross and Mahlck, 1990). According to the World Bank (1995c), educational quality in all LDCs is of a lower standard than OECD averages. Recent years have seen the introduction of evaluation as a management tool of universities in MDCs and this is expected to flow to LDCs in this decade. As noted by EDI (1993), evaluation of instruction, research and student learning, introduces a concept of accountability to national governments and other stakeholders. In LDCs, where higher education institutions contributing to natural resource education are funded by national governments, improved accountability measures offer a mechanism to improve quality.
The quality of learning is said by EDI (1993) to be in a state of crisis in LDCs, with research activities being underfunded and of questionable merit. This affects both low income countries, such as in Africa and South Asia and middle-income countries, such as in Latin America. Indications of such crises in quality are considered to be; deteriorating physical facilities, poor library resources, overcrowding, inadequate staffing, and insufficient scientific equipment. Outcomes from such systems include low levels of efficiency, poor employment levels for graduates, and limited scientific output of quality (Salmi, 1991).
| Quality Crisis in African Higher Education
The scarcity of funding for capital investment and non-salary operating expenses has seriously undermined the quality of education in African Universities. The situation at Nigeria's University of Ibadan [is illustrative] ... "for several months now we have been expected to run a physics laboratory without electricity, perform biology and zoology experiments without water and get accurate readings from microscopes blinded by use and age. Chemicals are unimaginably short. The result of all this is a chemistry laboratory that cannot produce distilled water and hundreds of science graduates lacking the benefits of practical demonstrations. Osundare (1983) in World Bank (1993) |
The World Bank (1993) suggests that graduates of African Universities may be less knowledgeable than those in other less developed regions of the world. This is based on the results of the Graduate Record Examination of the USA where graduate students from Africa have achieved lower scores in verbal, quantitative, and analytical sections than those of students from Asia, Latin America or the Middle East. The report attributes this solely to the Quality Crisis in African Higher Education.
The achievements of socialism in fields of education and advanced scientific training research are now under threat from austerity measures associated with political and economic turmoil in most socialist countries - Tertiary Education in Transition. In adapting to a new economic system, one fears that some outstanding performances of the past may not be reached again for decades. It should also be noted that these institutions seldom achieved today's western levels of involvement in areas of environmental responsibility and natural resource management.
| Tertiary Education in Transition
Despite the paucity of reliable time series data, there is evidence of decline in important education indicators in the transition economies during the 1990s. In Russia ... variations in educational expenditures by rich and poor localities are increasing. In Poland, as in Russia, educational expenditures have declined as a proportion of a shrinking GDP. World Bank (1995b) |
Universities associated with natural resource education, predominantly
agricultural universities, are constrained by several issues which impact
on their quality. Major problems appear to be: the inability of staff to
remain current in such circumstances; inadequate research funding; and
excessive teaching loads. In a review of USAID experience strengthening
agricultural universities in India, Easter et al (1989) identify
problems which relate to quality as:
In terms of natural resource management education, the issue of quality is compounded by a low appreciation of natural resource management principles while maintaining a focus on productivity gains.
Disciplinary Base and Institutional Links: Understanding of interactions from several disciplines is central to sound natural resource management education. This has been the nature of agricultural science courses in major universities. An issue in these courses in LDCs is the ability to draw on an appropriate disciplinary balance to service the linked functions of education, research and extension. Oram (1993) emphasizes the primary area of imbalance as being the neglect of social sciences in courses in most LDCs and transitional economies. The predominant social science in public sector institutions is economics, and appreciation of the wider disciplines of the social sciences is widely lacking in agricultural courses. He links this to the imbalances between research, education and extension and the separation of institutions responsible for these functions. Easter et al (1989) in their review of the first 25 years of Indian State Agricultural Universities, similarly note the inadequate development of the social sciences as being a serious handicap to their development.
The existing interdisciplinary base of agricultural courses appears to be under pressure as funding is increasingly tied to the need for short term economic and political objectives. Peterson and Frazier (1964) bemoan the loss of balance in training of Latin American agricultural students. The role and constraints of universities in National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) and constraints to university research have been highlighted in an FAO Expert Consultation (FAO, 1993) as summarized in Table 4.2 and amplified in Chapter 7.
A measure of appropriate levels of investment of agricultural research has been proposed by the World Bank as the Agricultural Research Intensity ratio (ARI) - research spending as a percentage of agricultural gross domestic product. Tribe (1994) calculates that ARI ratios for LDCs average 0.41% compared to those of MDCs of over 2%. The recommended World Bank target is 2% for all LDCs. The essential role of agricultural and natural resource management education in underpinning the knowledge and skills base for such research and related activities suggest the use of a similar ratio, a Natural Resource Education Index (NREI). This would create further knowledge about levels of investment in natural resource management education and provide international inter-country comparisons of investment in such education.
In a comprehensive review of World Bank (1992) assistance to agricultural higher education, mixed results between major investment projects were recorded. Few projects sought to establish linkages between agricultural universities and research and education support services and of those which did attempt such linkages, objectives were not fully accomplished due to:
Table 4.2 Roles and Constraints of Universities in National Agricultural
Research Systems (after FAO, 1993)
| Roles of Universities | Constraints to University Research | Constraints to Participation in NARS |
| Providing leadership to stimulate the development of viable societal institutions, e.g. for planning regulation and implementation of development programs | Lack of sufficiently coherent national research policies and programs to guide university research, lack of clear university research policy and inadequate administrative structure for research | Different traditions; a Faculty may be developed by or with the help of one developed country while the Agricultural Research Institute has been developed or strongly influenced by another. |
| Training for leadership in NARS and in policy making institutions in postgraduate programs | Inadequate research budgets or lack of them (often less than 0.5% of university budget) | Different levels of credentials; staff of one institution may mainly hold Ph.D. (usually the University), whereas others hold M.Sc. and B.Sc. |
| Producing well trained graduates for satisfying the manpower requirements of NARS and other agriculture based institutions for multidisciplinary research and development | Excessive turnover of academic staff, particularly of senior staff jeopardizing leadership and continuity. Aggravated by shortages of trained technicians, heavy teaching loads, and limited involvement in research | Different ages of the institution; these differences are accompanied by a host of derived differences e.g. the average age of personnel, personal tradition, working conditions, status, etc. |
| Supporting trends in national, regional and international research through participation in research projects | Little emphasis on social science. Interdisciplinary and systems approaches to research, training neglected. | Different levels of experience; this is usually associated with age. |
| Initiating new trends in research derived both from client problems and findings of basic research | Lack of formal links with national institutions for research and extension and farmers, especially in multi-faculty universities, and poor links between research and teaching. | Different promotion criteria. Universities emphasize published work and research institutions applied work leading to different priorities and limiting collaboration. |
| Participation in national policy research | Separation from other faculties of comprehensive universities (agriculture often managed separately) | Different locations; physical separation accompanied by poor means of communication may hamper institutional links. |
| Participation in rural development through research and extension, especially in agricultural universities | Lack of students from rural areas. Rural students often become good research staff in NARS as they are familiar with agriculture and willing to work in rural areas. | Different sizes, staff motivation, ministerial locations, research criteria. Independence of universities at times limits their ability to join in NARS. |
Mechanisms to integrate universities concerned with agricultural and natural resource education and research may be facilitated by the bringing of national research institute and extension personnel together with private sector agri-industry personnel through the governing bodies of each others' institutions. Such mechanisms have rarely been employed in internationally supported projects and would facilitate a focus on the four driving forces for development (Johnson, 1988) of; technical, institutional, and human improvements, and growth in the stocks of physical and biological capital. All four factors are considered to be equally important and any one, two or even three are insufficient to achieve development according to Johnson's thesis. Institutional constraints should be addressed first and conducted in parallel with the creation of additional human expertise, considering the long lead times involved.
The major institutional constraint is that of separation of institutions responsible for education, research and extension. In contrast to the integrated institutional arrangements which grew up around the Land Grant Colleges of the USA, most other countries have perpetuated A Costly Separation between these three interrelated functional areas. Other successful systems have evolved, such as that of Taiwan, which has a series of publicly supported research organizations connected to a parallel extension system which maintains contact with all farmers (Lyonberger and Chang, 1968). This system of parallel extension activities, one supported publicly and the other by farmer organizations, provides a mechanism that gives confidence to each of generators, suppliers, and users of information.
| A Costly Separation
Educational institutions and experiment stations are usually separate organizations with little cooperation between the two. The extension programs introduced in several countries are also too frequently carried out as separate programs, not embodied in a unified effort of research and education. Consequently the extension personnel lose the stimulus of contact with a large body of scientific fellows and must expend much energy in locating sources of new information. Also, research and teaching programs suffer from lack of contact with professional colleagues working daily in real agricultural problems. Peterson and Frazier (1964) |
The Chinese agricultural support system provides an example of an institutionally separated system in which universities report separately from research institutes to the Ministry of Agriculture (Fan and Pardey, 1995). This leads to weak institutional linkages between research and extension and to fragmentation within extension itself, with particular weaknesses occurring between central and provincial levels. Such institutional weaknesses can lead to unnecessary competition for resources and duplication of activities. Strengthening such systems is a primary function of international development assistance which has developed significant competence in strengthening NARS from a research perspective. Fully acknowledging the role of educational institutions in NARS is now urgently required - refer to Chapter 7.
The International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), has determined a framework to strengthen the role of universities in NARS (Hostage et al, 1995). This is based on the steps: steering committee establishment and consultant selection; sensitization to the study; data collection; analysis of data; preparation of an analytical report; development of recommendations and action plans, and implementation of a short term action plan. Steps are designed to take place within a 12 month period and details within each step are described. Such checklists are useful tools which allow experience from one situation to be compared with another and to test procedures in different cultures. Ultimately, however, the analytical methods and solutions for each situation have such individual variations as to require expert analysis in each case.
Any shift of worldview to conceive what is currently called agricultural education, as the major component of natural resource management education requires greater acknowledgment of the role of environmental factors in agricultural education, research and extension in the immediate term. In the medium to long term, it requires the viewing of individual farmers and agriculturists as responsible stewards of natural resources managing them in a manner seen by all observers as responsible and caring. The rising role of an informed or concerned public may not be fully appreciated, according to Orr (1994) who claims that these factors have been overlooked in the Bruntland Commission Report and the statements of major development agencies. The links between a concerned public voice and education is a critical part of responsible policy formulation.
Foreign assistance through international finance institutions such as the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank or aid donors such as USAID, DANIDA or AusAID, and multi-lateral aid donors such as UNDP and UNESCO, subscribe, in principle, to the importance of continued development of higher education. The experience of rapidly developing economies in Asia has strengthened the argument for significant investment in education under responsible controls. However, the response of foreign assistance may be one of encouraging national governments to reallocate expenditure rather than increasing their own contributions and loans.
The general trend of increased project funding towards primary and lower secondary education is expected to be at the cost of assistance to higher education. Reviews of higher education investment are usually conducted within an educational sector allocation and outcomes balanced against other outcomes in the sector - if more is needed in the primary education sector, funds must be reallocated from another part of the sector. In the case of natural resource management or agricultural education, this places pressure to allocate an increasing proportion of its budget to agricultural or natural resource management higher education. Under these circumstances it is easy for higher education to be inadequately acknowledged in sectoral policy decisions, particularly when rates of return presented in this chapter are used for decision making.
The seven key areas for general education sector reform supported by most major donors and financiers are:
| Education Partners
Partnership will mean cooperation with other donors and other agencies - particularly important as both multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies increasingly focus their aid on the human resource sectors. Already the Latin America and Caribbean region of the Bank is working in close partnership with the InterAmerican Development Bank on social sector projects, as are the two Asia regions with the Asian Development Bank. The Human Development Department is working with UNESCO to improve the quality of international statistics on education. World Bank (1994) |
The policies concerning higher education of the major financier in the sector, the World Bank, are consistent with those introduced above. However, documents introducing the World Bank's interest in the environment and natural resource management sectors do not specifically emphasize a role for higher education (World Bank, 1995a).
World Bank loans for higher education represented 36 per cent of total lending for education in the mid-1980s and by 1985 had declined to around 26 per cent. Earlier loans targeted the training of professionals and technicians, such as through agricultural universities and this too has shifted over the 15 years towards support for universities, providing advanced scientific training and research. Current trends suggest a further shift to develop industrial linkages to teaching and research in science and technology, the introduction of cost-sharing schemes involving industry and students, and improving access to public universities (World Bank, 1995b).
Since the early 1960s, the World Bank has funded some 387 higher education components in 89 countries at a total cost of some US$6 billion of which the organization's share of project cost totaled some US$4 billion. An EDI (1993) report notes continuing World Bank support for science and technology loans such as in Brazil and Korea, and upgrading of university quality in various countries in Africa, sometimes through the mobilization of private funds such as student loan schemes, as is the case in a Kenyan project. Eight loans to China support the development, expansion and quality improvement of a range of institutions ranging from vocationally oriented polytechnics through a national television university, to national and provincial universities. Assistance has also included the analysis of policy reforms needed to support improvements in the education sector.
In terms of agricultural projects, some 469 projects financed various aspects of education, research, extension, training and project management, although only about 25 per cent of these made significant acknowledgment of universities. The total World Bank input to agricultural higher education over this period is estimated to have been some US$700 million compared to total inputs for support services of around US$5 billion (World Bank, 1992). When it is considered that these sums span some 25 to 30 countries over a 26 year period, an annual average input per country of around US$1 million, is a very low level of development investment. This is particularly so when one considers that such projects would have been conducted in countries with significant agricultural bases where agriculture could act as the engine of economic growth (Figure 3.1). Inputs by other lenders and donors (USAID is the largest of the bi-lateral agencies, assisting 70 institutions in 40 countries) may be expected to double these figures at best.
Since the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the World Bank has demonstrated an increased commitment to environmentally related activities and as of the end of fiscal year 1995 some 62 Bank projects involving more than US$3 billion of Bank commitments and total investments of nearly US$6 billion have been initiated (World Bank, 1995a). These projects cover such activities as; forest management, biodiversity, conservation, establishment or improving national parks, integrated pest management, soil conservation, land management, watershed rehabilitation and water resource management. Refer to the Box - The Green Bank. Most projects appear to include components or activities related to training and education as part of human resource development objectives. However, these are not commonly associated with strengthening of education institutions in their long term capacity to produce graduates skilled in the integration of scientific and social science skills.
| The Green Bank | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Bank projects initiated in the period 1993 to 1995 in support of natural resources management include: | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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A picture of declining lending for agricultural education, and a rise in natural resource management projects without a strong focus on natural resource management education, should be disturbing to those concerned with a long-term shift in attitudes underpinned by knowledge and skills in the professional sector.
The Green Revolution provided a major stimulus to agricultural research with spin-offs to agricultural education. High-yielding seed varieties combined with other inputs such as water and fertilizer created a demand for rising levels of knowledge and skills (Rosenzweig, 1995). A University of Florida (1995) report traces the establishment of agricultural universities to the beginning of the first Green Revolution. It lists the State Agricultural Universities of India, the University of the Philippines at Los Banos and Kasetsart University in Thailand among other successful institutions. However, the success in establishing these institutions and in their rapid development and accomplishments through the last 30 years must now be compared with current states of operation. Some case studies of agricultural universities in LDCs are presented below.
India: Busch (1988) relates the development of today's 28 State
Agricultural Universities (SAUs) and the assistance received from the USA
from 1952 to 1972. He credits the SAUs with significant achievements in
education, research and extension and in producing one of the largest systems
of agricultural universities of the world with a capacity to train students
to Ph.D. level. Factors contributing to this success are listed as:
Easter et al (1989) similarly note the strength of Indian SAUs while
acknowledging some draw-backs in these services to the most important industry
for India. The importance of agriculture to India has been emphasized by
Jawaharlal Nehru in 1959, viz.; ... however much we in India may progress
in the domain of science and industry, as undoubtedly we will, the basic
fact remains that agriculture is of primary significance to our country
and to the world. Nevertheless, a recent World Bank (1995c) report
concerning agricultural human resource development in India found that
SAUs lacked a culture in which students are the prime reason for their
existence, and that management has failed to demonstrate skills in planning
and evaluation. Academic in-breeding and general academic isolation are
said to be contributing to a continuing decline in academic standards through
a retention of outdated teaching methods, curricula and physical facilities.
Funding for education failed to achieve balance with research funding to
the detriment of teaching programs. Cultural problems such as seniority
overriding capability has impacted on academic administration and compounded
management and education concerns.
These constraints are operating in a scenario in which the employability of graduates has declined as a result of the public sector reducing the numbers of new graduates it absorbs and the need for revisions in curricula to cater for different markets for graduates. Ryan (1993) had observed similar issues and recommended significant revisions in the fields of management, academic, administration, curricular and international interaction. Progress is evident, although it is unclear whether the SAUs are Sustainable Institutions.
| Sustainable Institutions
The successes of India's State Agricultural Universities in their short history needs to be sustained. There are indications that not only the institutions are failing to maintain their success but that vigilance required in research and education for natural resource management has broken down. ... The achievements and impacts of the SAUs system in India have been substantial, especially given the short period of their existence. However, India has had little growth in grain production over this decade. Moreover all nations are now facing a rapidly changing world agriculture. In a volatile world market for agricultural commodities of all kinds, new technological changes can make previously distinct commodities interchangeable, such as the substitutability of palm, coconut and soy oil in the manufacture of bread. In some cases, the high levels of agricultural production have been accompanied by severe environmental deterioration, including soil erosion, aquifer depletion, deforestation, chemical pollution and destruction of wildlife habitats. Finally, the linkages between agriculture, industry and the service sector are being re-examined as the problem of finding employment and income for all have taken on global proportions. Busch (1988) |
Brazil: Sanders et al (1989) examined the successes of the development of higher education programs for the agricultural sciences in Brazil. Supported by USAID, these programs assisted in the equipping of laboratories and libraries and through the provisions of consultants from USA universities. Maintaining facilities, equipment, and international contact has since proved difficult to sustain in times of fluctuating exchange rates.
The successes in institutional development, particularly for graduate programs and research were attributed to; existing strong undergraduate programs, strong international collaboration and support, and rapid economic development creating an increasing demand for graduates.
Sanders et al (1989) note that success in agricultural higher education has been directly related to success in private sector activities. This has been associated with increased demand for university research, faculty consulting, short courses and postgraduates. The incidental higher incomes which accrue to university staff in these circumstances is said to further enhance institutional stability and progress.
China: China's agricultural knowledge system is extremely large, institutionally complex and covers a wide range of agroecological zones and market systems. Coupled with this size and diversity is the rapid pace of institutional and economic change occurring in China and the associated imbalances in funding between public and private sector agencies towards which many qualified research and education staff drift. International assistance to the Chinese agricultural knowledge system has been too recent to form comparisons with those of other countries to which such assistance has been directed over the past four decades. Nevertheless, the review by Fan and Pardey (1995) provides interesting descriptive information concerning institutional and policy options.
The organizational structure of the Chinese agricultural system separates agriculture, forestry, research, and university functions. Separation is perpetuated at provincial level with provincial research institutes and agricultural or forestry education institutions having no direct linkages to national level universities or research bodies. The extension and related activities conducted at prefecture level are similarly separated from the institutions of the provinces. Past linkages between provincial research institutes and the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences have broken down since the cultural revolution and interaction today is based on collaborative programs, leadership of which is usually vested in national centers. Applied and adaptive research conducted at prefecture level is significant and a trend of increased collaboration between provincial and national programs is an important means of coordinating research.
The agricultural university system of China was adapted from that of the Soviet Union in the early 1950s. This system separated agricultural universities and colleges from comprehensive universities with a low emphasis on research in agricultural universities. This has been rectified progressively in recent years in China. The seven key agricultural universities of China administered by the Ministry of Agriculture emphasize research to a greater extent than provincial agricultural colleges which focus primarily on applied research and extension. The major role of both universities and colleges is the training of personnel as is indicated by the estimate of Fan and Pardey (1995) that only some 22 per cent of scientific and technical staff at universities in 1986 were classified as full-time-equivalent researchers. They found that the lack of research resources in universities and colleges affected the quality of training received by students. While the imperative within China remains that of increasing food and fiber production, there are indications of agriculture being conceived within an environmental context among informed advisers.
Benin: The Faculty of Agriculture and departments of other faculties
within the main national university are described by Hoste et al
(1995) as forming the academic component of the Benin NARS. Research is
conducted in a National Agricultural Research Institute which reports to
government through the Ministry of Rural Development; the university reports
through the Ministry of Education. The Institute receives some 95 per cent
of the available budget. A need is seen to strengthen university to Institute
linkages through:
The methodology proposed by Hoste et al (1995) which led to these paraphrased recommendations, is a step toward integrating components of the agricultural knowledge system - namely research, education, and extension.
Nigeria: Johnson and Okigbo (1989), have reviewed USAID's lessons from institutional development projects in Nigeria. They conclude that there had been some successes in institutional and manpower development and that both successes and failures were partially attributable to the complex political, social and cultural environment. Frequent changes in policies, programs and commitments within the sector undermined potential success from institutional development projects according to Tweeten (1989). Of particular interest in the analysis by Johnson and Okigbo (1989), is the comment that ... British "rules of the game", educational points of view, and attitudes towards the functions of governments and universities, constrained development of Land Grant orientations at the three agricultural faculties and particularly at the University of Nigeria.
Hoste et al (1995) conducted a more recent analysis targeting
one of the country's 36 universities, the Ahmadu Bello University, one
of the 23 universities with a Faculty of Agriculture and one of the five
with a Faculty of Veterinary Medicine. Three of the 18 national agricultural
research organizations are based at the University and the analysis focused
on means of strengthening linkages between the University and these organizations.
The research organizations report to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture
and Natural Resources while the University reports to the Ministry of Education
with the financial resources being allocated predominantly (93 per cent)
to the research organizations. It was recommended that there be:
Benahnia (1995) has listed the strengths and weaknesses of African faculties of agriculture, primarily from the perspective of involvement in research. These may provide indications of general constraints working against development of LDC universities. Strengths include; qualified human resources, and flexibility in management and attitudes. Weaknesses include; the absence of research policies in government and universities, low budgets, limited staff-time availability, and perhaps most importantly, the absence of linkages to national research institutions. However, this approach to establishing links to universities concentrates on the provision of research services (Abdalla, 1995) and omits the critical role of education in supporting research through producing researchers, extensionists and adopters, and the educational function of extension. The benefit of a university or faculty corporate plan may also have a role in forestalling the imposition of externally preferred models (Zuidema, 1995).
Drawbacks of Models: Each of the case studies mentioned, with the exception of China, have assumed that the integrated institutional system developed in the USA Land Grant Colleges provides the most appropriate model for other countries. The comment of Johnson and Okigbo (1989) quoted above, hints at the frustrations which occur when such an approach is a critical component of project design. The World Bank's review of agricultural higher education noted that the notion of the western research university, and in particular the Land Grant College, provided the context of tertiary education for most international development assistance projects (World Bank, 1992). However, as that review notes, there was not sufficient recognition of the factors critical to the working of these models - Taking the Approach for Granted.
The philosophical base of the analytical procedure recommended by Hoste et al (1995) and the experience of major agencies in supporting agricultural higher education projects suggests that each situation has its own specific requirements which preempt the application of an externally conceived model (Falvey and Forno, 1996).
| Taking the Approach for Granted
Leaving aside for a moment questions of the inherent desirability or applicability of the Land Grant model for developing countries, it is interesting to note that, in the final analysis, the model was not fully absorbed by any countries in the cohort. In many cases, the key elements of Land Grant institutions - tripartite functions, strong university governance, strong constituent support (manifested in both financial and political support) - and the interaction of these elements in a check and balance environment that encourage both institutional autonomy and accountability, simply did not obtain for the institutions supported by the two donors. In most cases, the enabling conditions which spurred the growth of the agricultural economy in the United States and kept university programs relevant to this development - such as the type of agricultural pricing policies, inputs, or services or "ownership" by client groups - did not prevail either. Finally, the basically stable funding from multiple sources at the local and national level - which allowed for the maintenance of a relatively open enrollment and fairly low student fees - was certainly not present in the majority of countries. World Bank (1992) |
High rates of return to education are demonstrated from various analyses (Psacharapoulos, 1994). In general, these indicate higher rates of return for primary than secondary education which in turn exceeds that of higher education (Table 4.3). Jain (1991) and Schultz (1993) also draw the association between rapidly developing economies and universal primary education provision.
Table 4.3 Rates of Return to Investment in Education by Region and Level of Schooling (World Bank, 1995a)
| Region | Social | Private | ||||
| Primary | Secondary | Higher | Primary | Secondary | Higher | |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 23.4 | 18.2 | 11.2 | 41.3 | 26.6 | 27.8 |
| Asia | 19.9 | 13.3 | 11.7 | 39.0 | 18.9 | 19.9 |
| Europe, Middle East and North Africa | 15.5 | 11.2 | 10.6 | 17.4 | 15.9 | 21.7 |
| Latin America and the Caribbean | 17.9 | 12.8 | 12.3 | 26.2 | 16.8 | 19.7 |
| OECD Countries | n.a. | 10.2 | 8.7 | n.a. | 12.4 | 12.3 |
Becker (1964) notes the contribution made by higher education to self-sustaining growth through the impact of graduates on the spread of knowledge. Similarly, the World Bank (1995b) notes that ... estimated social rates of return of ten per cent or more in many low and middle income countries indicate that investments in higher education contribute to increases in labor productivity and to higher long term growth ... not all of the external effects of higher education - such as the benefits from basic research and technology development and transfer - are fully reflected in the earnings used in calculating these rates of return. It is likely that rates of return to higher education are higher than stated under most current conditions and that under conditions of increasing primary and secondary education, rates of return to higher education would be higher again.
The high rates of financial return to individuals from higher education are usually based on the private benefits achieved upon graduation. From an individual's perspective, the low financial cost of attending subsidized institutions catering for a small number of persons, provides benefits through higher personal salaries. In economic terms, the benefits to a nation are more difficult to calculate and figures such as those presented in Table 4.3 can only be regarded as indicative.
The high operational costs of traditional higher education institutions are not commonly appreciated when such institutions are initially conceived. The high costs of establishment and maintenance of agricultural universities compared to the humanities, and their association with increased agricultural production is also poorly realized (Hill, 1964). A World Bank analysis of funding mechanisms for higher education notes that higher education in general poses a budgetary problem in LDCs because it is considerably more expensive than other forms of education (Albrecht and Ziderman, 1994). Traditional higher education costs between five and 40 times as much as primary education. The costs on the other hand of failing to maintain an active agricultural knowledge system may be counted in terms of declining yields and environmental condition and reliance on purchased technology from abroad.
Part of the cost of higher education is attributable to buildings. Where distance learning has been utilized as in Korea, costs have been found to be of the order of ten per cent of those in conventional systems (Lockheed et al, 1991). Despite higher drop-out rates from distance education, the lower costs, for example in Thailand where the cost per student at open universities is calculated as one fiftieth that of conventional universities, leads to significant rises in rates of return. In terms of private financial benefits to graduates, those graduates from Thai open universities receive salaries which are only some two per cent less than those of private university graduates (Tan, 1991). However, education in the agriculture and natural resources area cannot be conducted in its present form solely through distance education. Improvements in communication technology (refer to Chapter 9) may allow increasing components of these degrees to be offered through distance education, although one would be hard-pressed today to find academics willing to acknowledge that full courses could soon be offered through distance education.
The general argument that public investment in education should focus on primary and secondary areas with household financing being called upon to fund higher education, commonly through fee-based courses, is a partial answer to the costs of higher education. It is however, inappropriate for natural resource management and related education. Where higher education has been conceived predominantly as a private good and so relegated to private sector funding, the popularity of courses which impart high private benefits leads to major biases in the offerings of universities. In particular, those subjects which relate to general knowledge and culture may suffer as may those areas related to national issues such as natural resource management and agriculture, where the major employment prospects for graduates exist in the public sector with concomitantly limited salary prospects. The startling transitions occurring in Eastern Europe are a testament to the biases that can enter higher education under such circumstances. For example, courses such as management and accounting are in high demand in Romania, compared to educational fields which cater for public good sectors such as natural resource management.
In agricultural fields, education can also assist in reducing income inequality between rural and urban areas. This benefit which accrues across the country cannot be assumed to be rewarded through private salary benefits of graduates. The dual educational inputs necessary for rural development, that of wide basic education and higher education in relevant fields to allow appropriate research and adaptation of technologies from similar environments, form part of the stimulus for wide economic and social development.
Patel (1993) notes that there will be, for some time to come, a need for special considerations in policy settings for higher education in LDCs due to - Differences Between LDCs and MDCs. Lele (1995) observes that through the 1960s and 1970s the USA educated large numbers of scientists from Africa, Asia and Latin America who in their turn were an important input to the Green Revolution, particularly in Asia. She notes that despite the decline in USA and other aid, the USA continues to train approximately one-third of those developing country nationals receiving foreign advanced degrees. Similarly, other countries including Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, the Nordic Countries, Japan and Australia continue to contribute to varying extents in such natural resource management education.
Castells (1993), in concluding that higher education remains a development
policy priority for LDCs, observes that these countries will be unable
to compete for the necessary resources on an open world market in the short
term, and will need to improve the quality of their universities through
such means as:
| Differences Between LDCs and MDCs
... despite the new wisdom that there is no such thing as development economics and that the same policies work in industrial and developing countries alike, clearly some problems need to be tackled much more urgently in the developing world. Questions of quality of education, of unemployment among the educated, of social relevance, of how much education to import and how much to produce at home, and of the need for positive discrimination in favor of those deprived of opportunity for long periods in the past are likely to be more urgent and more difficult to resolve in new emerging, poor democracies than in well established, affluent societies. While the problems among developing countries will also differ, we should not import the controversies of the north uncritically into the south. Much less should we borrow solutions wholesale from them. Patel (1993) |
These factors are seen as being able to underpin the creation of a sound university which is defined as one with an appropriate institutional setting and a high quality staff profile supported by appropriate equipment and infrastructure. Chaudhry and Al-Haj (1985) also emphasize the need for strong, integrated home-grown institutions rather than imported models from MDCs. Accessing international courses through electronic means will create a greater demand for competent local tutors and teachers.
Strengthening of universities concerned with natural resource management in LDCs will probably attract continuing investment from development agencies. However, the mechanisms utilized to do this remain controversial, particularly the extent of adopting foreign models for institutions and training of faculty abroad. Hill (1964) noted some 30 years ago that the proportion of faculty who could be trained abroad would always be limited, thereby suggesting that the selection of personnel to take up this responsibility should be a strategic concern in faculty and university management. Schultz (1964) likewise takes a commonsense approach to the issue - Support Your Local Product.
| Support Your Local Product
A low income country can either import particular skills and knowledge or produce them at home. There are two ways of importing: one by inducing foreigners to come and offer their skills; the other by having some people go abroad and acquire a command of such skills and then return ... When students from low income countries enroll in the United States, for example, more often than not they acquire skills and knowledge that are appropriate to the economy of the United States rather than to the circumstances that will confront them when they have returned. ... The conclusion that emerges, however, is that as soon as possible, such instruction should be acquired within the low income country concerned. Schultz (1964) |
As the ethos for agricultural education shifts towards that of natural resource management in MDCs, interactions between LDCs and MDCs will facilitate the concept being introduced in LDCs. This does not mean that the concept is poorly appreciated in LDCs - it may mean, however, that the proportion of the society which acknowledges the approach is limited, and that other imperatives receive priority, such as immediate food needs and participation in rapid economic development and a global economy. These forces are significant and will continue to divert attention from the concept of agricultural and forestry practice within a construct of natural resource management including the historical, caring, and other humanities-based components of that approach. In this context, CIFOR, the Center for International Forestry Research, provides leadership a comprehensive view of the forest ecosystem combining biological, physical, economic and social variables (CIFOR, 1995).
Discussions concerning higher education commonly include links to primary and secondary education while neglecting vocational training. In the fields of agriculture and forestry and related pursuits within the bounds of natural resource management, the vocational aspects of education and training also require consideration. This is the focus of the following Chapter.
Fortress University
Born a child of a poor country,
although much richer than my peers,
I entered university,
It was expected for these years.My subject choice by system made,
I reviewed the assessment list,
Agriculture suited my grade,
I became an agronomist.For me, a government career,
It suits wider family needs,
There is access to privilege here,
Although not much to prestige.College life more accessible?
equal chance to all should we give?
The grad's lot is regrettable,
Who on his own salary must live.Once extensionist to the poor
to help poor peasants grow more rice,
But they had not been trained before,
Why should they accept my advice?More farmers, few agronomists,
College knowledge to enlighten?
We can but act as chauvinists,
unless we learning widen.Perhaps this is my true purpose,
Education now extending,
through an active training service,
with all parties comprehending.
