Dow AgroSciences is offering 10 new scholarships to young farmers worth up to £500 each to undertake Basis training in crop protection.

The scholarships will cover about half the funding for the Basis course, which includes 20-35 days of study, and help train a new generation of farmers in agronomy and crop protection.

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The agrochemical giant says its aim is to help young people develop a career in practical farming.

“It’s an investment in the people who use our products and drive the market,” Scott Boothey, managing director of Dow AgroSciences UK, told Farmers Weekly.

Anyone under the age of 30 is eligible to apply for funding under the group’s foundation scholarship and applications can be made through the Dow website. 

Basis was set up at the suggestion of the UK government in 1978 to establish and assess standards in the pesticide industry.