From childhood, my dream was to pursue a degree in agriculture. A valid dream considering how prioritised the production of crops such coffee, tea, sugarcane, flowers and maize were.
With our state of economy, agriculture will for many years to come remain key to ensuring food and nutritional security for Kenyans, mostly small-scale farmers who draw a living from it. It is also a main propeller to our industrialisation by virtue of being the principal wellspring of raw materials, thanks to the adoption of modern farming technologies.
A retrospective follow up of these âyoung farmersâ depicts the policy injustice that the Government is doing to this golden sector.
Causal notification uncovers that the formal platforms, more so in the primary and secondary institutions, for the dissemination of farming techniques to the âhope of tomorrowâ are either breaking down, inadequate or lacking trainees as a result of the emerging socio-economic challenges.
[URL=âhttp://www.farmerstrend.co.keâ]Agricultural education once more is facing a threat and may fall victim, being scraped as a strategy to further decongest the 8-4-4 system of education. By nature, human beings will only pick what is perceived to be important. It may be a shock that agriculture education may no longer be a single entity subject in secondary schools, as it happened in primary school. This is imminent.
http://i2.wp.com/www.farmerstrend.co.ke/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/agriculture-in-schools-3.jpg?resize=200%2C205There is a decline in the number of students taking agriculture in secondary schools, where itâs also an optional subject. Now is it really logical for a system to function without a spine? The negative discernment that agriculture does not compete equally in the job market could be one of the major reasons.[/URL]
The subject itself is downplayed by both parents and students, who by their gender and social upbringing opt for the âmarketable subjectsâ. Agricultural programs in schools are stereotyped to be primarily for the males.
How practical is it that a kid raised up in the city will pick up agriculture after school, which throughout their education has been an option? Their parents, who by default are the role models, do not practice agriculture. An âenterprising parentâ would rather use theirs plots available to establish a real estate rather than use it for agriculture. Those with interest lack the adequate exposure to the practical aspects of the subject, with teaching increasingly becoming superficial and exam oriented.
Consequently, for a long time, there hasnât been an effective way to integrate secondary agricultural education with most of the lucrative courses that are offered in the universities, which almost all the students are nowadays struggling to pursue. As such, it would be more appropriate for guardians, educators, contrivers and policy makers to encourage agriculture education right from primary school.
To develop self-dependence, problem-solving abilities and resourcefulness, learning agriculture will occupy students with activities that direct them to various agricultural ventures which may not exigently require high capital to head start, but significantly boost the economy.
Agriculture can never flourish in isolation; increasing budgetary allocation for research may make it regain the lost glory.