Envoy welcomes students

Twelve Indonesian recipients of Fonterra farming scholarships starting a 10-week training programme at Taratahi Agricultural Training Centre will take their new expertise back home to develop farming practices.

The students were joined yesterday by the Indonesian ambassador to New Zealand, Antonius Agus Sriyono, for a welcoming function with Taratahi chief executive Donovan Wearing, Fonterra international farming ventures general manager operations Tony Eyres, and Danny Donaghy, professor of dairy product systems at Massey University.

The scholarship recipients will study key aspects of animal handling, milking and nutrition in New Zealand. They will spend nine weeks in Masterton and one week at Massey University, focusing on theory.

Steve Hannam, manager of education support at Taratahi, developed the programme in collaboration with Fonterra and more recently Massey University. He said their learning outcomes would have to be related to their home country conditions and he was confident the students could take home valuable new skills.

Mr Hannam said the 12 students were motivated and had already soaked up a lot of information since their arrival on Saturday.

"New Zealand farming systems are mechanically working. [In Indonesia] they milk by hand, and now they can perhaps take that back to Indonesia and be more commercially focused in their outlooks, the way they distribute it, and the priority really is to give them an idea of a New Zealand farming programme and our systems," he said.

Mr Hannam said milking and nutrition were important aspects of the programme. However, in Indonesia animals could often be restricted to confined spaces. He said the programme would also give them a chance to witness the increased freedom New Zealand livestock enjoys.

If the programme is successful, it is hoped Indonesian students can attend Taratahi on an annual basis.

Mr Agus Sriyono and Mr Wearing said they were optimistic that the programme could be continued and developed over coming years.

The programme was a unique opportunity for Indonesian farmers to come to New Zealand.

Student Dian Rahardian, a dairy farmer from West Java, said New Zealand farming was globally renowned and it was a great opportunity for him to see how the world's largest dairy exporters operated.

Restu Hidayah, 29, and Erni Wati, 35, are the only female participants on the programme. They said they were eagerly anticipating the next 10 weeks.

"I'm very happy, there's good food which is very nice and I'm learning about the differences between New Zealand and Indonesian farming," Mrs Hidayah said.

"I hope I can bring back some valuable information to Indonesia."