Help Themselves

agricultural Education:

Helping Fijians To

Prom Our Own Correspondent HE need for more agricultural education for Fijians is recog nised in Fiji. it a recent meeting of the Agri tural Advisory Council in Suva, was stated that not more than Fijian youths were receiving ful training in agriculture at sting institutions, whose facilities far below capacity for dealing h the numbers available for ning. ?hree times the number of trainees present dealt with would like to il themselves of the opportunity such training but these insti ons are not capable of any great ansion in the near fuutre, and tough the Education Department a scheme for extending the pre ; post-primary training in agri ure and village handicrafts, the isory Council recommended that an of action should be prepared leal with the situation. was suggested that training is be established to cater for 250 lees annually; it was recom ded also that adult agricultural s and young farmers’ clubs be >uraged and also advised con ’ation of incentives such as some ncial assistance and the com ation of social services for led youths at the right stage, ie old European resident has ob ed that the Fijians are no better iers than they ever were. “What’s use of sending all those young ws to Gatton College if the ■Vitis don’t know what they’re ng about when they come home d care less?” he says. “The first ? all aspiring Fiji farmers Id be taught is just how to do ty’s sustained work, if you ask * could be right, but at the ; time the Government has a rnal duty to provide the know of modern agricultural methods ijians if they want it. sically, it is a matter of money 5 Department of Agriculture is ■dy understaffed and over ed, and expansion of agricul traming must necessarily i more staff.