Saskatchewan students pursuing a post-secondary education for a career in agriculture can now apply for the Agriculture Student Scholarship Program.
Offered by the Ministry of Agriculture, it provides a winning scholarship valued at $6-thousand and three runner-up scholarships of $3 thousand each.
The program applies to Grade 12 students or recent high school/GED graduates within the last two school years, who reside in the province and plan on taking an agriculture-related post-secondary course beginning in the fall of 2026. Anyone who self-declares as Indigenous, persons with disabilities, or a visible minority are also encouraged to apply.
Employees of the Ministry of Agriculture and Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corporation and their immediate family members are not eligible to apply for the scholarship.
In addition to providing a letter of conditional acceptance from a post-secondary institution and a letter of recommendation from either a teacher/professor, agriculture industry leader or community leader, the application also requires students to create a three-minute video or a 1-thousand-word essay about current challenges facing the agriculture industry and the best solutions to them.
There is a list of questions to guide the students in forming the video or essay:
-What are the most pressing challenges currently facing the agriculture industry and what innovative solutions are being developed to address them?
-How can the agriculture industry effectively communicate, with the public, the efforts and advancements made to overcome challenges?
What strategies can be implemented to improve transparency in agricultural practices and enhance public trust?
-How can Saskatchewan producers collaborate with others (e.g., researchers, policymakers, etc) to solve agricultural challenges?
-What is/are successful case study example(s) of industry innovation and what key lessons can we learn from it/them as we look to the future?
-How can education and outreach programs be designed to inform the public about how industry is advancing?
A webpage of the scholarship program includes links to pages such as The Real Dirt on Farming, Farm & Food Care Saskatchewan, 4-H Saskatchewan, and past winners, should students need some inspiration to get started.
The Ministry emphasizes citing sources and providing facts to back up personal commentary on a specific issue.
Bryce Lewans, a Public Trust Specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture, says two applications have been submitted so far, but expects more to come before the application deadline of March 1. Last year, 38 applications were submitted.
"The Agriculture Student Scholarship Program helps to educate future leaders in the agriculture sector and supports the Ministry's efforts to build public trust in the agriculture sector. The scholarship program allows the Ministry to identify young agriculture advocates and leverage their passion to tell the story of Saskatchewan Agriculture." said Lewans.
He encourages interested students to check out their website – saskatchewan.ca/ag-scholarship – for the application form.
Applications are reviewed by an internal ministry committee.
