Acupuncture, music, sport and recreation rate above primary industry science as subjects among university students, Federated Farmers has discovered. Sources: Stuff NZ, The Dominion Post
Last year, 20 more people graduated with degrees in music than people with degrees in a primary industries discipline.
Forestry, which contributes NZ$4 billion in export earnings, had only 14 graduates, compared with 24 with degrees in acupuncture.
Wine exports are worth $1.3b, but there were just six graduates compared with 322 in sport and recreation.
Last year, the primary industries graduated 365 people at degree level among all disciplines with a further 287 at certificate and diploma level. Federated Farmers president William Rolleston said there needed to be more investment in science and technology.
He called on the next government to invest an extra $600 million in science research over the next three years. That would lift government research spending by 0.8% of GDP.
At present, the total sum of public and private money spent on research is 1.2%, low by OECD standards.
Mr Rolleston said while the numbers of science graduates were increasing, there was “a long way to go”.
Federated Farmers said that New Zealand is not moving fast enough to train the graduates needed to create a “world-class economy”.
“The science disciplines are not easy but they are critical for our future prosperity and if we are to maintain our place in the world,” Mr Rolleston said.
