'Big shift': Cash to help First Nations uni students get into agriculture

The Riverina Oils First Nations agricultural initiative scholarship will provide applicants with $24,000 over three years to assist with financial costs faced by students.

Sarah Ansell, the chief executive of the Charles Sturt Foundation, said the scholarship was an opportunity to address the under-representation of First Nations students in agriculture.

"The scholarship itself is designed to encourage First Nations people into agriculture," Ms Ansell said.

"There's also a big shift in agriculture in the moment to integrate First Nations knowledge, skills and practice into farming.

"The actual scholarship itself is really designed to alleviate the costs of going to university."

Ms Ansell said agriculture courses could be quite costly for students because of placements and the need for accommodation.

"Often when you're on placement, you're not able to work, maybe you've got part-time jobs to support yourself ... that can become a very expensive exercise," she said.

The scholarship requires applicants to provide evidence of their First Nations identity, maintaining a grade point average of 4.0 and enrolling in either a Bachelor of Agriculture, Bachelor of Agricultural Science or Bachelor of Agricultural Business Management.

The scholarship is funded by Riverina Oils and facilitated by the foundation, which is funded by community donors, individuals, businesses and industrial donors.

"They're a group of people that come together to offer ... scholarships to students, to support them in their study," Ms Ansell said.