Irvine, Calif.-based Western Growers has received a $750,000 grant from the California Department of Food and Agriculture’s 2021 Specialty Crop Block Grant Program to develop and implement a new Next-Gen Ag Workers curriculum.
The curriculum will help give California college students training in agricultural technology, according to a news release.
Apart from the 2,750 students that will be assisted by the new program, the grant will allow specialized training of 330 Next-Gen Ag Workforce professors within four years of launch, the release said.
Curriculum development will begin immediately and will be fully implemented by June 2025, according to the release
“Western Growers is excited to work with CDFA and California’s two-year and four-year colleges and universities to build strong cross-disciplinary programs to help the next generation of farmworkers,” Walt Duflock, vice president of innovation for Western Growers, said in the release. “This grant gives us a chance to create new programs statewide to develop the key skills students need to work in ag-tech innovation, from engineering to agronomy to biology to computer science.”
The program will ensure growers and ag-tech companies have access to highly skilled graduates, Duflock said in the release.
For more information about upcoming events related to the program, visit AgtechWorkforce.com.
