Summary
Changes in agriculture and the requirement of a modern society
require certain adaptations in the understanding of agricultural
colleges as to the role they have to play. This is the more
the case in countries which strive for rapid socio-economic
development.
The paper first discusses the two main determinants for
the role of agricultural colleges, i.e. the role of agriculture
and the role of universities in modern society. The conclusion
is, that a new and much broader role has implications for
the colleges' teaching and research activities.
Teaching problems are discussed under three headings, i.e.
- practice versus theoretical training,
- broad training versus specialization,
- training with disciplinary focus versus job training.
Research at a modern college of agriculture is discussed
in chapters on
- basic versus applied research,
- monodisciplinary versus interdisciplinary research,
- financing agricultural research.
It is concluded, that colleges of agriculture have many
possibilities to increase their contribution to the socio-economic
development.
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