Agricultural higher education : in transforming Central and Eastern Europe : Life in Transition Survey 1 (English)

The transformation of the economies in Central and Eastern Europe (ECA), including the overall reforms in the food and agricultural sector, have a significant impact on the agricultural knowledge system and it requires a fundamental adjustment in agricultural higher education. In today's information and knowledge-based world, globalization demands that countries adjust fast to new production technologies, or they will lose competitiveness and will be unable to utilize national comparative advantages. This paper discusses the major changes necessary for the agricultural higher education system in the region to meet the challenge. The issues arising from the need for reforms in the agricultural education system are presented in an overview of the inherited features of the system, an assessment of the current situation, a status report on the reform. The paper deals with the problems of agricultural higher education on the level of the formerly centrally planned economies of ECA and the Former Soviet Union.