The president of the Azores Agricultural Federation yesterday expressed “deep concern about the insignificant number of places filled in the agricultural sciences course at the University of the Azores in the first phase of access to higher education in the current academic year.”

Of the 16 places offered, only four were filled, with more candidates expected to apply in the second phase.

For Jorge Rita, “with the continuous decline in the number of students in recent years, the agricultural sciences course at the Azorean academy follows the unstoppable decline of agricultural sciences and agronomy in Portuguese universities, with results that should alarm the country.”

On the other hand, the 22 places on the veterinary medicine course – preparatory years 1 and 2 (the remaining 4 years are taught on the mainland) – were filled in their entirety by candidates from the Azores and the mainland. There are indications that the six-year course may be taught permanently in the Azores, with discussions to this effect currently underway between the academies involved. “Veterinarians are needed in the region (not all of them stay in the archipelago), but technicians are essential for their contribution to agricultural activity on all the islands,” according to Rita.“The results of the first phase of access to higher education in agricultural sciences are alarming,” considers Jorge Rita, “because they reflect an undeniable structural crisis at a time of great demands on production in terms of quality and safety.”

In Diário Insular, José Lourenço-director

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.