Universiti Putra Malaysia Bintulu campus hopes to engender agriculture as an exciting field with a promising future through its interpretation of the Green Book Programme, writes SHARIFAH ARFAH
MOHD Zailie Ramli grew up aspiring to be an engineer.
But when he failed to secure a place to study Engineering after Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia eight years ago, he decided to give Agriculture a chance when he was offered the Diploma in Forestry and Agriculture course at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
The programme was among the last options on his university application form.
“I enrolled on the diploma half-heartedly as I had no idea what agriculture was about. I lived in a rural area and my idea of agriculture was planting crops,” says Mohd Zailie, who hails from Johor.
However, his views on agriculture changed after undergoing his diploma studies.
“I learnt that there are many facets of agriculture, from basic crop-planting to business and science. I never realised it could be so diverse and challenging,” he adds.
What he experienced was enough to convince him to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science after completing his diploma.
Mohd Zailie won the Agriculture-Biology award and RM2,000 for excellent achievement in his programme at UPM’s 34th convocation last October.
He is currently employed as an agriculture officer at the Agriculture Department in Ayer Hitam, Johor.
UPM Bintulu campus Agriculture and Food Science Faculty dean Professor Japar Sidik Bujang finds Mohd Zailie’s story all too familiar.
“Agriculture isn’t the top choice of study for most secondary school students. Those who enrol tend to underestimate the discipline. It is wide-ranging and demanding,” says Japar.
A popular misconception among the public, adds Japar, is that agricultural-related careers are “low-class professions”.
“So there is a need for the present generation to be aware of the role of agriculture in solving the global food crisis.”
The World Bank recently revealed that the price of food items has escalated by up to 90 per cent since 1995. It is also estimated that the figure will continue to rise till 2030 — the year predicted to be the height of the food emergency.
The alarming figure is a reminder of what needs to be done to ensure there is enough food for Malaysia.
Realising this, UPM Bintulu campus began to adopt ideas from the Green Book Programme three years ago.
It is a self-sufficiency plan dreamed up by Malaysia’s second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak some 36 years ago.
Also known as Operation Good Earth, the Green Book Programme had been effective, especially in reducing the rate of inflation by raising the people’s income through involvement in agriculture on a part-time or full-time basis.
However, the scheme was forgotten after Malaysia successfully tackled inflation brought about by the drop in rubber prices and the economic crisis in the early 1970s.
There were several efforts to revive the scheme but most were on an ad hoc basis and not sustainable.
Experts believe that the Green Book Programme or “any interpretation of it” must be continued from time to time and “not only during times of crisis”.
Japar, who delivered a paper on The Future of Agricultural Studies recently, says the UPM initiative hopes to answer the experts’ calls for sustainable adaptations of ideas from the Green Book Programme.
Initially involving only selected students, UPM’s Green Book Programme has been made a compulsory course with the approval of the university and the Ministry of Higher Education starting from the 2010/2011 academic session.
The course, spread over four semesters, aims to expose students to agribusiness.
“It is carried out according to a specific plan and schedule to enable students to gain first-hand knowledge, experience and skills. For example, it is compulsory for them to manage a hands-on project for two semesters.
“By the end of it, they sell their produce and are allowed to keep the profit. In this respect, we are also training them to be employers,” he says.
The Agriculture and Food Science Faculty in Bintulu campus has 936 students pursuing seven diploma courses; 65 pursuing Bachelor of Bio-Industrial Science; 66 in master’s programmes and 17 doing doctorates.
“There are plans to set up a ‘hypermart’ on campus where students can sell their agricultural produce to visitors. And we have hosted secondary school students on campus where they visit our facilities and listen to lectures by doctoral students.”
Japar hopes that this will engender agriculture “as an exciting field with a bright future”.
As far as Mohd Zailie is concerned, UPM Bintulu campus is taking a step in the right direction.
“I think the Green Book Programme is a good move to make young people understand how agriculture can contribute (to the economy). In addition to learning the basics of planting and livestock, it encourages entrepreneurship through the selling of produce,” he says.
Both Japar and Mohd Zailie agree on the need to introduce agriculture at the primary school level.
Mohd Zailie says having agricultural clubs in schools can warm young people to such activities.
“I feel that the availability of agricultural courses at local tertiary institutions such as Universiti Darul Naim, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Kolej Perladangan Risda is a good development as they provide more opportunities for youth to receive formal training in the field.
“Looking back, I am glad that I took my chances and studied Agriculture.” says Mohd Zailie, who aspires to be a lecturer at UPM.
But when he failed to secure a place to study Engineering after Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia eight years ago, he decided to give Agriculture a chance when he was offered the Diploma in Forestry and Agriculture course at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
The programme was among the last options on his university application form.
“I enrolled on the diploma half-heartedly as I had no idea what agriculture was about. I lived in a rural area and my idea of agriculture was planting crops,” says Mohd Zailie, who hails from Johor.
However, his views on agriculture changed after undergoing his diploma studies.
“I learnt that there are many facets of agriculture, from basic crop-planting to business and science. I never realised it could be so diverse and challenging,” he adds.
What he experienced was enough to convince him to pursue a Bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Science after completing his diploma.
Mohd Zailie won the Agriculture-Biology award and RM2,000 for excellent achievement in his programme at UPM’s 34th convocation last October.
He is currently employed as an agriculture officer at the Agriculture Department in Ayer Hitam, Johor.
UPM Bintulu campus Agriculture and Food Science Faculty dean Professor Japar Sidik Bujang finds Mohd Zailie’s story all too familiar.
“Agriculture isn’t the top choice of study for most secondary school students. Those who enrol tend to underestimate the discipline. It is wide-ranging and demanding,” says Japar.
A popular misconception among the public, adds Japar, is that agricultural-related careers are “low-class professions”.
“So there is a need for the present generation to be aware of the role of agriculture in solving the global food crisis.”
The World Bank recently revealed that the price of food items has escalated by up to 90 per cent since 1995. It is also estimated that the figure will continue to rise till 2030 — the year predicted to be the height of the food emergency.
The alarming figure is a reminder of what needs to be done to ensure there is enough food for Malaysia.
Realising this, UPM Bintulu campus began to adopt ideas from the Green Book Programme three years ago.
It is a self-sufficiency plan dreamed up by Malaysia’s second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak some 36 years ago.
Also known as Operation Good Earth, the Green Book Programme had been effective, especially in reducing the rate of inflation by raising the people’s income through involvement in agriculture on a part-time or full-time basis.
However, the scheme was forgotten after Malaysia successfully tackled inflation brought about by the drop in rubber prices and the economic crisis in the early 1970s.
There were several efforts to revive the scheme but most were on an ad hoc basis and not sustainable.
Experts believe that the Green Book Programme or “any interpretation of it” must be continued from time to time and “not only during times of crisis”.
Japar, who delivered a paper on The Future of Agricultural Studies recently, says the UPM initiative hopes to answer the experts’ calls for sustainable adaptations of ideas from the Green Book Programme.
Initially involving only selected students, UPM’s Green Book Programme has been made a compulsory course with the approval of the university and the Ministry of Higher Education starting from the 2010/2011 academic session.
The course, spread over four semesters, aims to expose students to agribusiness.
“It is carried out according to a specific plan and schedule to enable students to gain first-hand knowledge, experience and skills. For example, it is compulsory for them to manage a hands-on project for two semesters.
“By the end of it, they sell their produce and are allowed to keep the profit. In this respect, we are also training them to be employers,” he says.
The Agriculture and Food Science Faculty in Bintulu campus has 936 students pursuing seven diploma courses; 65 pursuing Bachelor of Bio-Industrial Science; 66 in master’s programmes and 17 doing doctorates.
“There are plans to set up a ‘hypermart’ on campus where students can sell their agricultural produce to visitors. And we have hosted secondary school students on campus where they visit our facilities and listen to lectures by doctoral students.”
Japar hopes that this will engender agriculture “as an exciting field with a bright future”.
As far as Mohd Zailie is concerned, UPM Bintulu campus is taking a step in the right direction.
“I think the Green Book Programme is a good move to make young people understand how agriculture can contribute (to the economy). In addition to learning the basics of planting and livestock, it encourages entrepreneurship through the selling of produce,” he says.
Both Japar and Mohd Zailie agree on the need to introduce agriculture at the primary school level.
Mohd Zailie says having agricultural clubs in schools can warm young people to such activities.
“I feel that the availability of agricultural courses at local tertiary institutions such as Universiti Darul Naim, Universiti Teknologi Mara and Kolej Perladangan Risda is a good development as they provide more opportunities for youth to receive formal training in the field.
“Looking back, I am glad that I took my chances and studied Agriculture.” says Mohd Zailie, who aspires to be a lecturer at UPM.
SHARIFAH ARFAH
sarfah@nst.com.my
2011/01/09
sarfah@nst.com.my
2011/01/09
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