The importance of agricultural education: Developing the next generation of farmers and agribusiness professionals

The importance of agricultural education can not be overlooked at this stage if we want to see a better and working agricultural system in the next few years.   The key thing to do is to build the next generation of farmers and agribusiness professionals who will take up the mandate of transforming the agricultural sector in the next few years.   In this podcast episode, our podcast host, Sharon Idahosa decided to address this issue. This is a wake-up call for players in this space to start taking action. [00:01 - 00:19] Hey guys, welcome back to another episode of the Let's Talk Agriculture podcast show. The podcast that connects you with the happenings and opportunities in the agricultural sector. My name is Sharon Hidahosa and I am your host. [00:19 - 00:34] And today we have an exciting topic to delve into and that is the importance of agricultural education and how it can help to shape the next generation of farmers and agribusiness professionals. [00:35 - 00:53] So guys, sit tight and let's get the ball rolling. So we already know that agriculture plays a very crucial role in our society. And when we decide to educate the next generation, or better still, the young people, it is very [00:53 - 01:12] vital for our economic growth and food production, sustainable food production, let's put it that way. But first, let's try to understand what agriculture education is all about. Now first of all, let's try to at least still know what agriculture is as well for those [01:12 - 01:32] of us that do not really have a good or a simple basic knowledge of what agriculture is. Now to me, agriculture is an art and it is also a science. It is the art and science of cultivating crops and rearing of animals for our use and also [01:32 - 01:47] for industrial purposes. So in my earlier podcast, I talked about agriculture being an art and agriculture being a science. So if you'd like to learn more about that, you can definitely check our podcast from earlier on. [01:49 - 02:06] So now when you combine education with agriculture, it simply means that you are getting a comprehensive and interdisciplinary approach by that I mean you're learning from several areas of or in agriculture. [02:06 - 02:24] Now that encompasses knowledge, your skills and attitudes that are related to agriculture. So I hope this really helps. But then again, let's move over to something very interesting. What is the benefits of agriculture education? [02:24 - 02:39] Why should you really learn more about agriculture? So one of the beautiful things about agriculture is that it offers diverse opportunities for everyone who decides to delve into the sector. [02:40 - 02:56] Now when you learn more about agriculture, it helps you in different ways. One of them being that it helps you to develop practical skills. Now when you have such practical skills, I mean it equips you with hands on experience [02:56 - 03:16] in different areas in the agriculture sector. I mean we have farm machinery operations, we have soil management, we have animal husbandry and so much more. So you get hands on experience on these areas and much more when you decide to put your [03:16 - 03:36] effort into learning more about the agricultural sector, which can of course open more opportunities for you and whatever it is you decide to do at the end of the day. Another thing is that it also fosters innovation and technology adoption as well. [03:36 - 03:56] Yes, this will help you to embrace new techniques, advanced technologies and how to use them such as drones, robotics, precision agriculture and a lot more. I mean you can still check my previous podcast episode when we talked about the benefits [03:56 - 04:12] of drone technology for young people in agriculture. That is the best way you can also learn and seek the best ways to get involved in agriculture. There are different ways you can get involved but we can discuss that as we move forward. [04:13 - 04:30] So also when you have a