PART VII -Agricultural Education and Improvement and Famme Relief and Rural

• Author: Chamberlam, Austen
• Pages: 110

PART VII - AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AND IMPRON EMENT AND FAMINE RELIEF AND RURAL CO-OPERATIVE CREDIT

(i) AOGIOCLTuBAL EDUCATION, &c (a ) General It is recommended by the delegation that 80 per cent of the available income of the Indemnity fund be used for ' agncultumal education and improvement,' and that this 30 per cent. should include 5 per cent in aid of famine relief and rural co-operative credit According to the usual estimate, about 80 per cent of the population of China is engaged in agricultural pursuits There is no room for doubt, therefore that any portion of the Indemnity fund which is applied to the more urgent needs of the farmers will be used for the benefit of by far the largest class, as it is generally admitted to be the most deserving, of the people of China.

China is so vast a country, and the agricultural needs of different regions are so various, that, if the money is not to be largely wasted, or spent in merely palliative measures that would be transitory m their effect, it is necessary to formulate some coherent and comprehensive scheme, whereby the available funds may be most economically and most fruitfully used. Several such schemes have been drawn up and presented to the delegation Mr T S Kuo, Co-dean of the College of Agriculture and Forestry of the University of Nanking, prepared a plan of which the following are the salient points 1 Agriculture is a regional industry and an applied science;

hence, local problems must be dealt with not merely on

general plmciples, but with special regard to local conditions For example, impioved seeds produced at Nanking may not suit the olil or climate of Szechuen, and the results of research m Peking ma< not be applicable in liangsu and Chekiang 2 It is better to strengthen existing institutions than to organise new ones There are manv agricultural institutions in China capable of doing good work but greatly handicapped by lack of money There are now eight such institutions of college grade, six of technical school grade and nearly 100 of high-school grade The oldest of these was founded thirty years ago There are also experimental stations in many provinces some of them well-equipped and doing good work It is not advisable therefore to found new institutions, nor is it necessary to send students abroad as they can obtain all the knowledge and practical experience they require in their own country Mr Kuo thinks that the fund could best be used for two main purposes-giving financial help to the best agricultural institutions now existing and the tiamning and maintenance of promising young men The institutions would then be able to provide themselves with improved equipment, to broaden their activities and to provide well-balanced courses of instruction in research work and the best students would have leisure and opportunity to develop their capabilities 8 Provision should be made for the further training of agricultural workers There are large numbers of graduates from technical agricultural schools and colleges m China, m addition to Chinese graduates from similar colleges abroad, who cannot be accommodated m the existing agricultural institutions and are too numerous for the positions that are now available for trained men Hence much energ; is wasted in the competitive struggle for such desirable posts as exist If more opportunities for research and experimental work were created, a greater number of young men could be absorbed and talents and energy could be applied to ends profitable to the community But the development of research work implies, of course, the engagement of specialists to direct such work 4. Special attention should be paid to the requirements of the agricultural population of North China, which is in the greatest need of help 'About five or six years ago,' says Mr Kuo, 'I had an opportunity to investigate the northern agricultural conditions durinng a big drought The conditions are simply deplorable, seeds are poor, cultural methods not up to date, farms small and management poor Farmers manage to sustain their lives in years with full harvest There is absolutely no

hope for saving to ensure against future famine Thus when a famine does occur, the strong abandon their farms and seek a lhvmg elsewhere, lawful or unlawful The weak die of hunger at home Periodically, the northern farmers are overtaken by floods, drought, epidemic and famines ' 5 More farm boys should be given a chance to study agriculture At present most farmers are too poor to have their sons trained Scholarships m the different grades of agricultural schools should be provided for industrious and mtelhgent farmig-class boys 6 The conditions of rural life should be improved, home industries fostered and popular education provided 'The life of the farmer,' as Mr Kuo says, 'deserves attention as much as his crop does ' 7 Research work m pure science should not be neglected, as this will help to solve various agricultural problems (This branch of work will doubtless be undertaken by the proposed research institute (see Part VIII), though research work that has direct reference to agricultural problems must also be earned out, to some extent in the agricultural colleges) Among the concrete schemes that have been put forward tor agricultural development is one which provides for the subsidinmg and equipment of three agricultural colleges, situated m Nanking,

Canton and Peking (or Szechuen) respectively This proposal was advocated by Dr P W Tsou, dean of the Agricultural College of the South-Eastern University, Nanking, and by Dr E L Sun, president of the First Provincial Agricultural School m that city Referring to the three colleges, Dr Teou defines their aims as these 'To render service to the Chinese farmers, to strive for improvement in Chinese agriculture, to find out the ways whereby scientific agriculture may materialse...