Plugging the green deficit

According to the Beijing Forestry University, the top forestry-related academic institution in China, only half of their graduates majoring in horticulture in 2018 chose to work on horticulture-related fields. And it says the percentage is declining.

Zhang Qixiang, a professor of horticulture and former vice-president of the Beijing Forestry University, says college graduates account for only 5 percent of the total number of workers employed in the garden industry.

And, he says, this is despite horticulture being closely associated with people's lives and the fact that it can be helpful in tackling environmental and social issues, including the effects of climate change, the lack of access to fresh food and extreme weather.

"On a wider scale, horticulturists should focus on the construction of national parks and development of urban green spaces," he says. "And flower decoration and home gardening are also something horticulturists should keep an eye on."

But due to the long gestation period and its overlap with agriculture, and the fact that the horticulture industry is relatively labor intensive, many undergraduates are not keen to enter the field, says Zhang.

Zhao, the chief engineer, also says that in the past 10 years, a rapid development of horticulture can be seen in China.

In the late 1980s, only three universities had garden-related majors, but now many colleges and academic institutions are offering these courses.