USDA making nearly $9 million available
By Diego Flammini
Assistant Editor, North American Content
Farms.com
In an effort to ensure students who attend educational institutions serving the Hispanic community can become part of the American agricultural workforce, the United States Department of Agriculture has made $8.8 million available for agricultural science education programs.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said the Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSI) can use the funding to help students feed the world as the population continues to grow.
“The number of jobs available in fields pertaining to food, agriculture, natural resources and the environment are far outpacing the number of students graduating with expertise in those areas,” he said. “These fields will only become more important as we continue to develop solutions to feed more than 9 billion people by 2050.”
2014 data from the United States Department of Labor shows that about 941,000 people were employed as “farmers, ranchers and other agricultural managers.” About 4.2 per cent, or about 39,500 people in those roles, were Hispanic or Latino.
About 93,000 people were employed as “graders and sorters, (of) agricultural products” and 54 per cent were Hispanic or Latino.
According to a joint report by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Purdue University, graduates with degrees in agricultural programs are desired for positions relating to renewable natural resources, food, agriculture and the environment.
Opportunities in agriculture also include communications, logistics, mathematics and engineers.
Looking for a job in agriculture? Be sure to check out AgCareers.com!