Agriculture 402: Thoughts On How I Envision The Africa Of My Dreams (Essay Sample)

James Baya Professor Benson Mochoge Agriculture 402 November 2, 2017 The Africa of My Dreams Africa, a continent considered to be the cradle of mankind; a continent endowed with a diversity of ethnic groups; a variety of wildlife; an abundance of natural resources; great historical sites; tourist attractions; and warm weather. "Mama Africa", a continent that everybody wants to associate themselves with, now that the movie Black Panther is a hit all around the world. I am proud to be an African, and in this essay I share my thoughts on how I envision the Africa of my dreams. First and foremost, the Africa of my dreams is an Africa where every farmer has sufficient knowledge pertaining to any agricultural enterprise that he/she plans to venture in; be it crop farming or livestock farming. I envision a scenario where every farmer in Africa will, at least, have a diploma in an agriculture-related course. The wisemen did not go astray when they uttered that knowledge is power! With sufficient knowledge pertaining to a given enterprise, it will be easy for farmers to maximize production; and thus maximize profits. Farmers will be able to: keep good farm records; read and understand instructions on how to use agrochemicals and farm equipment; select the best breeds of animals for mating; choose the best seed varieties for sowing; decide on the best time for planting; decide upon the best method of planting; decide on the appropriate time for harvesting; and also the best method of pricing their products. Sufficient knowledge will also enable farmers to minimise post-harvest food loss; because a lot of food is usually lost and wasted through contamination, deterioration, spoilage, and spillage. Secondly, the Africa of my dreams is an Africa where there is a ready market for all its agricultural products; an Africa where its people are more than willing to purchase and consume products that are produced locally by farmers in the continent. I envision an Africa where every farmer will be practising contract farming; a situation where every farmer will know the quantity and/or quality of a given product that a buyer requires and how much he/she is willing to pay for it. A situation where every farmer already knows the market for his/her products before he/she even ventures in the enterprise. This will help farmers to avoid a situation where their products are ready but there's no market for the products. In any business, the customer is king; a business can thrive or fail depending on whether there is an absence or presence of customers. Thirdly, the Africa of my dreams is an Africa where all the African leaders put their best feet forward to promote the agricultural sector in their countries by: making it easy for farmers to procure loans; reducing taxes on agricultural inputs for example fertilisers; providing scholarships to farmers to enhance their studies; making it easy for farmers to lease agricultural land; increasing budget allocation to the agricultural sector; encouraging agricultural extension; creating an environment where farmers can engage in free trade within the region. Fourthly, the Africa of my dreams is an Africa where every farmer is able to keep abreast with the latest agricultural technologies for crop production and/or livestock production; a situation where no farmer employs cumbersome methods to produce crops or rear animals. I envision an Africa where every dairy farmer will be using the latest milking machines to milk their cows; I envision a situation where every farmer will be using the best methods of preservation to preserve their crop yields. Moreover, the Africa of my dreams is an Africa where farmers employ rainwater harvesting techniques to collect and store water during the rainy season, and then use the water to irrigate their crops during the dry season or during periods of inadequate rainfall. I envision an Africa where no farmer practises rainfed agriculture; I envision a situation where even if it doesn't rain for a whole year, farmers are still able ...