Attitudes and perceptions of selected international students from developing countries towards agriculture and studying agriculture

Scope and method of the study. The Purpose of the study was to determine the attitudes and perceptions of international students toward agriculture and toward studying agriculture. The population of the study included 200 international students at member universities of the Mid-America International Agriculture Consortium (MIAC): Iowa State University, Kansas State University, Oklahoma State University, the University of Missouri-Columbia, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. A purposive sample consisting of 40 students from each of the universities was used. There were 139 valid questionnaries returned for a 70 percent response rate.;Findings and conclusions. From the analysis and interpretation of the data, the following findings and conclusions were established: A majority of the respondents were born in small towns, but intend to live in large cities upon returning to their countries. It was concluded that the respondents were predominantly male from a wide range of developing countries. Also, the respondents were predominantly doctoral students who chose their fields of study.;The respondents felt the developing countries should be independent from other countries for food and fiber. Essentially the students' attitudes and perceptions about agriculture were positive concerning developing the infrastructure and support for producing food and fiber in the developing countries and for involving women in agriculture. With these minor differences, it was concluded the attitudes and perceptions about agriculture among the regions and the perceptions of the agricultural and non-agricultural respondents about agriculture were essentially the same.;Also minimal differences lead to the conclusion that the attitudes and perceptions about studying agriculture among the regions and between the students in agricultural and non-agricultural majors were essentially the same.;In many of the developing countries there were several programs that encouraged both youth and adult involvement in agriculture. The responses were mixed on the extent to which educational institutions were addressing of the needs of the farmers in their countries. Overall, the respondents agreed on the need for appropriate technology for rural and agricultural development.