According to Farm Machinery Dealers Association (FMDA) and WA Regional Manufacturers Association (WARM) executive officer John Henchy, such a plan also could embrace allied industries.

Mr Henchy said he already had "documented some thoughts on the subject" to Muresk head of review Philip Gardiner.

"Mechanisation and technology is essential to modern agriculture and horticulture and without it these industries would cease to exist, period," Mr Henchy said.

"In fact, mechanisation and precision agriculture have done more to help farmers become more productive and reduce costs than anything else over the last decade and a half.

"Yet despite the importance of mechanisation there is, to our knowledge, no tertiary institution in WA which has any component of mechanisation in any of its curricula on agriculture."

Potentially a young person can complete a degree in agribusiness yet have no knowledge of the mechanisation and technology which ensures the success of agriculture.

"Those people brought up on a farm have a good broad knowledge but no specific education while non-farm people have no idea," Mr Henchy said.

"Our industry is continually looking for young people yet in WA they have to learn on the job because there has been little formal education on the requirements of our industry.

"Gatton in Queensland used to have a good course but I think that is now gone while NSW used to have an agricultural engineering course but that was more for design and development rather than the application of the technology.

"Maybe Mr Gardiner should also go to the US and Europe to see their agricultural institutions and the best known are certainly not based in cities."