Agriculture training must be more practical

Agriculture and Rural Development Minister Cao Duc Phat has said the sector would speed up efforts in vocational training, which is vital to enhancing the quality of human resources in the sector and spur innovations in agriculture for the years to come.

Speaking at a meeting held on Thursday in Ha Noi, Minister Phat said in the 2015-16 period, the sector would focus on integrating more businesses into vocational training for rural areas and increase international co-operation to apply more advanced technology in the sector.


The ministry is currently overseeing about 40 institutions, including three universities, 12 colleges and 17 vocational training schools.

Phat said the ministry would provide preferential policies to support schools to enhance their curriculum that must be cater for the real need in the market and production of the sector.

Participants at the meeting agreed that in recent years, fewer students were choosing to major in agriculture-related sectors with many institutions struggling to recruit students.

Many students strayed away from jobs in the aqua-culture or fisheries sectors because they tended to be quite labour-intensive, they said.

Many institutions which focused on training in agriculture in the past reportedly had to offer more majors in finance and economics to attract more students.

Participants also agreed that students also struggled to find jobs after graduation.

Huynh Huu Linh, principal of a college that focuses on aquaculture training in HCM City, said many businesses told him that current teaching practices were outdated, and did not meet the demands of the modern market.

Minister Phat called for institutions to upgrade their curricula and revise their training methods to keep up with industry changes and add more value to local products