Exchanges With Asia Of Young Farmers Urged

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30469, 17 June 1964, Page 11

Exchanges With Asia Of Young Farmers Urged

"It seems that much of our future trade will be with South-East Asian countries,” said the president, Mr N. Q. Wright of Sheffield, in his report to the annual conference of the New Zealand Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs at New Plymouth today. "This federation should plan now for exchange schemes with some of those countries.” Mr Wright was referring to schemes under which young fanners visit each other’s countries.

Members of the federation, he said, had volunteered to work in undeveloped countries, but language difficulties had deterred some from finally accepting the undertaking. If the federation wished to sponsor volunteers it would have to consider methods of financing them. This would be a considerable undertaking, but one which it would have to face up to if the federation was to fulfil its obligations. Mr Wright said that today there was a greater appreciation in the farming industry of the need for better education. If New Zealand was to maintain her standard of living and increase her production by some 5 per cent per vear, it would have to see that opportunities and facilities were provided, and that young farmers were encouraged to make full use of the opportunities available. Role Discussing the role of the movement, Mr Wright said that for some their farming future was assured, but for many farm ownership could be achieved only after years of toil, privation and frustration. The movement must not

supersede or retard personal progress but must be complementary to it The movement had to be kept in perspective as a training ground and a way to greater goals.

Mr Wright said that the Dominion executive committee of the federation had drawn up a national farm cadet scheme which had attracted considerable interest It had been submitted to Federated Farmers and the manpower working committee of the Agricultural Development Conference.

After a special joint meeting with Federated Farmers a joint sub-committee had been set up to go further into the matter, but at present there had been a halt pending the final report of the Agricultural Development Conference.