The Taitung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station (TTDARES) of the Executive Yuan’s Council of Agriculture held its annual Agricultural and Industrial School Career Discovery Course and Agricultural Management Experience Program during June, offering a total of 24 hours of practical related coursework. The course ended on June 24 under the supervision of Farmers Association representatives and farmers who participated in the event.

During a speech at the end of the course, Director Chen Hsin-yen of the TTDARES stated that the purpose of holding such course was to help students in learning more about the agriculture sector early on as well as assisting them in planning out their future directions and goals, all the while hoping to encourage students to enter the agricultural industry. Chen added that more young people have been returning to Taitung in recent years to take up farming. Thus, to make sure the industry will maintain an influx of youthful energy, the TTDARES has made use of the summer break (which is also the time before young men must begin compulsory military service) to offer young people agriculture-related experiences, career exploration assistance, and on-the-job learning so as to make practical that which they have already learned academically while allowing them to get some real experience. This will in turn inject life into the agricultural industry and help with the sustainability of farming villages.

The TTDARES expressed hopes that students will use what they learned during the coursework in their future work, reminding students that if they ever encounter any problems, they may feel free to contact the TTDARES in addition to their teachers from school. For those interested in more details, please visit the Farmers’ Academy website at http://academy.coa.gov.tw.