Bulletin

Issue: May 2005

News

La Trobe students at Yunnan Agricultural University

For two weeks from Sunday 27 March, 15 La Trobe University fourth year Bachelor of Agricultural Science students visited the Yunnan Agricultural University in Kunming, PRC.

They were accompanied by Dr Mark Jois, senior lecturer in Animal Science from the School of Life Sciences.

The students undertook a ‘Case Study’ on the sustainability of agricultural practices in Yunnan Province, Southwest China. With a group of their peers from the Yunnan Agricultural University, they acted as ‘consultants’ with a brief of identifying major threats to sustainability of agricultural practices and to made recommendations for improving current practices.

The ‘case studies’ involved field trips, speaking with local farmers and consultations with local professionals including scientists.

During ten days of the visit the group observed three different cropping systems used in Yunnan Province. These are the famous terraced rice fields of Yuan Yang County, the flat irrigated mixed farming systems and the greenhouse cropping systems around Lake Dianchi.

Two of the major problems threatening sustainability of agricultural practices identified by the student ‘consultants’ were the catastrophic pollution of Lake Dianchi and rural poverty. The students also were able to observe several animal production systems including dairy and beef cattle enterprises and poultry production centres.

Throughout the visit the students participated in a frenetic program and learned a great deal about the causes and possible solutions to the problem of pollution in Lake Dianchi. Moreover, they had the opportunity to gain an understanding of agricultural practices and more generally like issues in a heavily populated and intensively used area which is common to many cities and areas in China specifically, and Asia more generally.

At the end of their visit, the students presented their findings to staff and students from the Yunnan Agricultural University. Their recommendations included measures to reduce the pollution in Dianchi Lake, improve the profitability of agricultural production systems and prevention of ground water pollution around the lake.

In addition to the busy but very informative period of study, the La Trobe students had the opportunity to mix socially with their peers from the Yunnan Agricultural University. Immediately after their arrival in Kunming the students of the host University staged an impressive welcome festival which set the scene for forging strong individual and group ties.

There were some opportunities to visit significant tourist sites. One such visit was made to the famous Stone Forest near Kunming.

Much public attention in Kunming was focused on the visit with local print media, radio and television providing excellent coverage of activities undertaken by the two groups of students.

It is planned to stage a reciprocal visit to La Trobe University in late May and early June, 2005 with students from both universities scheduled to undertake an investigation into a problem faced by a Gippsland dairy producer.

These reciprocal visits follow prior visits involving students from La Trobe and peers from Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. ‘The exposure of students to agricultural practices and problems encountered as a result provides extremely valuable experience which equips the students well for the future careers as professionals expected to deal with the complex issues facing people all over the world,’ Dr Jois says.

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