THINGS I THOUGHT ABOUT FARMING UNTIL I STUDIED IT

I never thought that agriculture would be my field of interest and struggle to earn its degree but guess what? I found myself there, God’s ways are always mysterious to us! But here I am spending days and night reading about “conservation agriculture”. A statement that took me time to understand. Before joining conservation agriculture, I thought farming was simple as we all assumed dig, plant, harvest and repeat. To be shocked, I was wrong my whole life, hhh

Here are things I used to believe about farming, before I started studying it.

I thought farming was just “digging”

 I used to undermine farmers as people digging the whole day with their hoe, sweating under the sun. and that’s what society described them as.

 Reality?

We don’t even till the soil in conservation agriculture. We use minimum or no tillage, instead of disturbing the soil we protect it. It turns out that farming is not all about digging and sweating, it’s about understanding the science behind soil health, plant science and sustainability.

 Now I am the witness to growing food without disturbing the soil

 I thought farmers didn’t do science

I used to think that you could wake up and be a farmer because it’s only hands on, only land needed, no books.

Reality?

I study Biology which is funny because of my academic background. I take notes, write lab reports as a scientist, use microscope as doctors and of course I am. They examine blood and I examine soil, I talk about plant hormones and make me curious to know human hormones too and I do data analysis! Every field practice is backed by theory and trust me; there is a lot of theory.

And guess what? We are Gen Z we do slay in class and field my dear! Sounds funny!

 I thought farmers couldn’t be clean and stylish

We all assume that farmers are always dirty. They don’t care about fashion, hair and nails.

Reality?

Who doesn’t love to look presentable? Good indeed! I show up in my overalls and lip gloss! I can have beautiful braids and still work the land with my white nails. Being a farmer doesn’t mean losing your personality but adding purpose to it.

Literally, I wear my boots like heels confidently.

 I didn’t know soil was a live

 Soil was just a dirt to me before, nothing special. Something to wipe off my shoes.

Reality?

Healthy soil is like living. Soil is full of life that you will not know until you join conservation agriculture. It contains microbes, fungi, earthworms and even bacteria that helps plant grow.

 Final thoughts

 Before joining agriculture, I had a lot of myths. But the more I learn, the more my eyes are open, and I fall in love with it, it’s a science like other sciences, art, sustainability and of course a little bit of sweat.

Now I don’t just farm, I understand farming.

  

Did you believe in any of these too? Drop in the comment and if you have your own, “I thought moment" drop it too. I would love to hear!