Wednesday, 10 June 2026 09:41

Government Launches New Rural Leadership Scholarship

Written by Staff Reporters

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Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay.

The Government has announced a new rural scholarship designed to back emerging primary sector leaders.

Three scholarships each year are set to support young farmers to grow in confidence and gain experience to become farm leaders of the future.

Agriculture and Forestry Minister Todd McClay says recipients will receive a grant of $10,000 to go towards domestic and international study and capability building and to grow industry-wide experience and best practice.

The “Minister of Agriculture Future Leaders Scholarship” will help identify emerging leaders across the primary sector including in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

It will help foster leadership and capability development, supporting successful applicants to grow their governance skills and encouraging the creation of opportunities for practical hands-on primary sector governance experience.

The Ministry for Primary Industries will work with sector leaders to ensure the programme effectively targets capability gaps in rural governance and will develop an annual application process with relevant criteria to ensure the programme is fair and transparent.

“The Kiwi can-do attitude is world-renowned and this scholarship is about nurturing that,” McClay says.

“This Government is committed to finding pathways to build the future in a way that supports the sector’s sustained success.”

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