Young farmers gather from around the world

Press, 12 November 1985, Page 33

Young farmers gather from around the world

More than 200 young farmers from about 40 countries are this week attending the Fifth World Concress of Young Farmers at Lincoln College. Delegates spent yesterday afternoon watching farming activities at Orton Bradley Park, Charteris Bay, and will attend the congress’ official opening this morning.

The theme of the congress is “The Vocation of Agriculture” and this will be discussed at several business sessions during the week. In particular, the congress will aim to assess the effectiveness of the rural vocation in attracting the young people of the world, and will discuss the effectiveness of rural young farmers groups, their objectives, programmes, and structures.

The Y.F.C. has organised a major display at the Canterbury show to tie in with the congress. The display will be part of the “B.N.Z. Opportunities in Agriculture” exhibition in Canterbury Court and will include competitions, fashion parades and examples of farm activities.

The congress will be opened by the Mayor of Christchurch, Sir Hamish Hay, followed by an address by the Prime Minister, Mr Lange.

As well as the formal business sessions each day,

the programme for delegates includes tours to irrigated, deer, and cropping farms this afternoon, and visits to freezing works and jet boat rides tomorrow afternoon.

Delegates will attend the Canterbury show on Thursday and will be billeted on farms that evening. The congress will conclude on Friday evening with a dinner and dance in the Christchurch Town Hall.

The specific aims of the congress are:

—Z To promote understanding and fellowship among young people involved in agriculture around the world;

• To share with all nations the problems of hunger and third world development, and to promote ways of solving it;

• To promote the development of skills of all kinds among both sexes in the rural areas which can contribute to the improvement of agriculture and the rural economy, and the well-being of those who live by it; ® To promote New Zealand and its agriculture;

• To initiate and formalise an international body to promote co-operation and understanding among young people in agriculture. The national Y.F.C. president, Sue Jordan, of Blenheim, sees the congress as a grand opportunity to promote New Zealand, its agri-

culture, and the Y.F.C. in International Youth Year.

The congress offered a unique chance to advance understanding and fellowship among young people in agriculture all over the world, she said. The concept of a world congress of young farmers started in the early 1970 s when Mr Lennie Samage, of the Future Farmers of America, felt it was time to bring together the various young farmers’ movements from around the world. The first international congress was held in 1976 in Kansas City and had a theme of “Education in Agriculture.”

The theme of the second congress, held in Paris in 1979, was “Feeding the World’s People.” A congress in Brussels took place in 1982 under the banner “World Solidarity of Farmers” where concern was expressed at the huge surpluses of food in some parts of the world while in other areas people were dying of hunger. The young farmers real-

ised they had a role to play by bringing the western world and the third world closer together through continuing dialogue. The fourth congress in Burkino Faso, West Africa, in 1984, highlighted the enormous problems faced by third world countries, particularly in that part of Africa.

The congress studied the role of farmers’ organisations in economic, social and cultural development and the visit to Burkino Faso left a lasting impression on delegates from the western world. New Zealand has been represented at all previous congresses. It was given the go-ahead in 1983 to stage the 1985 congress and the organising committee has been headed •by Mr Eric Roy, a sheep and beef farmer from Southland, and national president of Y.F.C. in 1978-79.

The organising committee’s secretary is Ms Maryann Macpherson, of In-

vercargill, a national vicepresident of Y.F.C. and an international exchangee. The committee believes the congress will foster understanding between those countries represented and will allow for improvement in the distribution of aid to countries which need it. Organising the congress has been a massive operation for the organising committees which canvassed the Government, producer boards, farming organisations and rural servicing companies to raise the more than $200,000 needed.

The biggest cost is the simultaneous interpretation system, which includes translators, hardware, booths and headsets. “There was not a company in New Zealand big enough for the interpretation task, and we were forced to go offshore,” Mr Roy said. The official languages at the congress will be English, French, Spanish and German.