Roles of Kasetsart University in Promoting Agricultural Education for Sustainable Development

Abstract

Kasetsart University (KU) was the first higher education institute to offer agricultural education in Thailand. With a strong emphasis on basic and applied agricultural research aimed at feeding the Thai people and promoting their economy, KU has been the destination of choice for students across Thailand wishing to take advantage of the university’s innovative research and educational opportunities. With the increasing acceptance of sustainable agriculture as mainstream in Thailand, KU has pledged innovation and promotion of education and research in a diverse range of areas of sustainable agriculture and development. KU’s Faculty of Agriculture offers a master’s degree program in sustainable agriculture. With growing public recognition of the program and with financial support (especially in the form of scholarships) from KU’s International Study Center, the Sustainable Agriculture Master’s Degree Program has been recruiting more students, including those from overseas. From 2007-2011, the Faculty of Agriculture provided a 2-week-long training program, the KU-UT Internship Program in Sustainable Rural Development, to over 30 master’s degree students from the University of Tsukuba (UT). Under the strong partnership between KU, UT, and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, this internship program was one of KU’s most successful projects and a model for other KU training programs. The KUUT Internship Program offered ample opportunities to UT students (mostly from African and South East Asian countries) to learn about, engage with, and experience agricultural systems in Thailand that have embraced the concept of sustainable development. KU also promotes university-wide programs that address social and environmental problems and then employ sustainable approaches to find solutions. With 16 agricultural research stations and four student training centers located throughout Thailand and ready to serve as experiential laboratories for students, KU can boast of readiness and leadership in education on sustainable agriculture and development.