John Bryan O.

Jamison Agriculture 11

February 20 2013 2012- 38407

Agriculture for the Youth: My Impressions, Experiences and Ideals

Vegetables, fruits, milk, soya beans, chickens, eggs, rice and many other more, what do you think when these words are heard? Some think it is about fitness, while some think it is about nature but for most of us we dont need to think twice that it is food, it is obviously food. Where does this food come from? Many would say from nature. Yes, that is correct; food really comes from nature but without utilizing nature, do you think that nature enough can sufficiently secure us food for humans (nevertheless the other eating creatures)? This is where agriculture sets in.

Agriculture, as defined by my professor in Agriculture 11 (an introduction to agriculture), refers to the art, science and business of cultivating the soil, planting of crops, growing of fruit trees, management of forests, raising or catching or both of livestock, poultry or fish, including harvesting and postharvest handling. This is the definition that is given to me. I would have never thought that agriculture will have a very long and detailed definition because my own definition of it is like this: agriculture is the cultivating of nature for food. We all know that agriculture is responsible for our food security, so for us to gain more food we need technology so it is a science. In terms of business, we need it because we need to commercialize the products, if more products

are sold, the producers (or the cultivators of nature) will be more willing to produce. They produce, we buy. It is a win-win situation. It is an art in terms of that you gain knowledge through experience. Agriculture is not only based on theories but is also based on the experience that they have learned. Gaining new knowledge without using books but by experience will make us very contented and happy. And being happy is the purpose of having art.

I have two initial impressions about agriculture: first, when I was still a little child and second, when I was a high school student. When I was still a little child, I thought that agriculture is about growing plants, taking care of animals, harvesting the products that you worked hard for. This is my impression because I love to play Harvest Moon then (and until now). Harvest Moon is a role playing game where I am an individual that owns a farm. I am making money in this game where my chickens are laying eggs, where I till the land using a hoe and throwing seeds at the tilled land and growing particular crops at different seasons. I remember that I grow always grow pineapples at summer and they really cost a lot. I always love how I can maximize my farm, I can cut wood and use them to make an extension in my farm, as my farm goes bigger so is my money and I am able to buy a lot inside the game. Back to reality, one can see from my childhood that I love agriculture from playing that game a lot. When I was a child, I wish that that kind of life is given to me.

When I was a high school student, my school had a subject called A.S.T (agriculture, science and technology) so before coming to college I have a little background about agriculture. During our first year, we held a fieldtrip on IRRI, here in UPLB. Then, I do not know many things about rice, and I am quite interested in them. I do not know then that there are so many varieties about rice. We have gone to a place which shows the history of rice, how it is developed, and the varieties of it. It is really fun to learn something new. On the second part, we were brought to a place where we are about to experience on how to plant rice on a muddy field. The mud is gray and I dont like the taste. I did not taste it on purpose of course: when we were putting seeds on the mud I sense something itchy in my face and I suddenly scratch it and my mouth was also hit when I scratched it, and that is where I accidentally taste mud. It is indescribable. I hate the taste. After we are taught to plant rice, we are left then to play. It was fun playing in the mud because it is very viscous; more fun than playing the water but I know that it is very dirty so I stopped after a few minutes and rinse off my body. This experience is fun, at least then; I experienced something real unlike when I was just playing Harvest Moon. Around the second part of the semester, we have a project and that is to grow crops. The hardest part was tilling the land. At least then I was strong and I was able to till 1.5 meters long. Then our professor gave us seeds; the crop assigned to me was corn. After we had put the seed in the tilled land, our professor gave us a fertilizers, I remember that it was ammonia and urea. After that we water our plants. Every other day, we water our plants, it was fun because as I water my plants I always have someone with me and we talked and talked. I always love doing things when someone is with me doing the same things. The plants grow and grow and it is amazing that I can see its growth. It

gives you a warm feeling. The happiest moment yet it is also kind of sad is the harvest time. I can see the fruits of all my hard work and I am sure the corn that I am going to bring in my home will be tastier for me because I have worked hard for it. This has really been a fun agriculture year for me.

When I was in my second year, I experienced something related but very different. Our topic then was livestock and our project then was growing chickens and pigs. Growing chickens and pigs was fun, they like to eat a lot and they look so cute but the one thing I dont like about them is there smell. At first, I didnt like the smell but there comes a point that I was used to it; but still I didnt like it. The fun part is seeing them grow right in front of your eyes and that you keep them warm and safe inside their shelter. It makes me feel very cosy and warm. The thing that I hate the most during livestock is to slaughter the chicken and pig. I dont like killing animals especially if those animals are very attached to me. I felt like crying then when it was happening and I felt really sad. Good thing though that the professor was not giving us the chickens we worked hard for. I wont eat it at all.

With these experiences, I kind of know what agriculture is. But still the impression is about taking care of plants and animals. It is almost the same when I was a little child but at least I experienced it firsthand unlike when I was just playing Harvest Moon. Im happy that I came to know agriculture during the early years in my life.

My current impression about agriculture is that it is very wide. I can see from my friends that are taking up agriculture or any course related to agriculture studies many aspects. From economics to animals, from technology to business, Agriculture is a really broad discipline. Any people would have thought that one is studying agriculture if one wants to become a farmer. I, for one, think this way until I saw how broad and beautiful the course agriculture is. It has a lot to offer in ones life. I can be an agriculturist, businessman, researcher, professor, farm manager, horticulturist and many more. Agriculture is a science course that has wide field works. One studies inside a classroom and they apply what they learn in the field. If I dont have any plans yet for my life, I might reconsider agriculture as my undergraduate course for its great offers.

With this, I think that agriculture should be known to the world especially with the youth. Most of the youth think that agriculture is very laborious and time consuming. They think wrong. I for once believe also that agriculture is very laborious but when I gain a little background about it in my high school and now Im taking up Agriculture 11, I feel that all those hard work will be pay off when the harvest time came, when all the fruits of your hard work are seen. I want the youth to experience what I have experienced and enjoy agricultural activities. I want people to be one again with nature by doing these things.

Ang Kabataan ang Pag asa ng Bayan this is a very famous quotes in the Philippines. A course about agriculture is very unattractive to the youth. Many students

wants to take up medical sciences, engineering, computer science etc. but what will happen to agriculture if the less youth will apply to this? Of course agriculture will fall down. For us to keep agriculture to go strong, we should make this very attractive for the youth.

To increase the attractiveness of agriculture to the youth, all primary and secondary schools in the Philippines should have a subject about agriculture. My school is one of the few schools that have a subject about agriculture. If we employed this to the country, I would think that many students will have a background about agriculture and some might find agriculture enjoyable and worth taking up in college and thus, agriculture will be attractive to the youths eyes.

If agriculture as a subject is unattainable because not all schools have access to a field, I would personally say that teachers should promote this course to graduating high school students. Many students in that age are still very confused in what they want in their life and orienting students about agriculture might entice them to try this career. Holding many career orientations about agriculture in different high schools in all parts of the country will increase its popularity among youth.

Since we are in the modern times, I would personally say that a lot of people are inside their homes. They are restricted in their movements inside. A student inside a

home is just eating, sleeping, playing video games, studying, watching TV. We can promote agriculture by taking agriculture inside of their daily routine. One can make more video games about agriculture, like what I have experienced. The modern technology is evolving at an increasing rate and we have to keep up with it. It is good that agriculture is not stepping down. We can see many games related to agriculture in Facebook (a social networking site), in tablets, phone etc. I, too, played this kind of game and it keeps me company for a while. At least by playing, one is somehow connected to agriculture, one want to see ones virtual plants grow. We can see here that almost all people have the qualities of a true farmer.

We can also promote agriculture by having a TV show about it. In Korea, there is a reality show where the celebrities are experiencing agricultural activities like growing plants and taking care of animals. It was really fun to watch because you can see your idols planting and looking all very nature-friendly. Because people imitate their idols, they also want to experience agricultural activities thus increasing its attractiveness to the youth. Filipinos should also have a reality show about agriculture since it will attract a lot of youth.

Of course, graduating students listed one of the most important criterions for choosing a career: money. During Career Orientations, the one making the orientation should always say that in agriculture, one will become rich. Well this is awfully true since agriculture has a lot of job offering. But mainly, one will become rich if business is

involved. In my opinion, all agriculturists will become very good businessman. They will apply what they studied, the technology, the land, the crops, etc. to produce a product that will entice suppliers and consumers. My professor in this subject is a businessman and in my opinion, he efficiently applied what he had learnt then to his business. Making a wine out of miracle fruit is such a wonderful idea. Miracle fruit is a fruit where ones taste will be altered. All sour things you will eat will become very sweet for a few minutes. This is very beneficial for the ones that have health problems. One that is required to eat a lot of sour food (like a person is required to drink many calamansi juice) will be very happy to purchase this product. By selling this product to the right consumers, I am sure that it will sell well. Another example is given again by my professor. One will use their biotechnological knowledge to put a gene to this plant from this plant. An example is rice. A very salt tolerant gene from a different plant will be put in a variety of rice, and this rice will then become very tolerant to salt. One will sell this to the coastal areas (very salty lands) and there they are able to produce rice. Because of the course agriculture, one will become very innovative and from that they will become very rich, not only in money but also in experience and self-contentment.

We can also increase attractiveness of agriculture if we make agriculture the priority of the government. If we make it the priority, it will become more in demand; if it became more in demand, more job offerings will be offer, and a lot of students will be encourage taking this. For example, Nurses are in demand years ago, and now the country is flooded of graduates of nurse and many of them are either unemployed or their job is totally unrelated from nursing. This will not happen to agricultural graduates

because the course is market based. Hospital is not a market but is a necessity for the country thus; one cannot build a hospital just because nurses are flooded. But it is different from agriculturists, as many are graduates of agriculture, many will pursue business or scientists that improve crops. Those two will help out and the more graduates of agriculture, business will bloom in this country and the market economy will become busier and the country will flourished in money and less will be unemployed, making the country very efficient.

The last idea that I have is making new courses that are in the trend and fuse it with agriculture. Many courses are now fused in agriculture: agricultural chemistry, agricultural economics, agribusiness management, agriculture bio systems engineering, agricultural biotechnology and many more. With these fusions I am sure that many students are enticed with these courses because they can have agriculture together with what they want. If your passion is math, why dont you take up agricultural engineering, instead of just industrial engineering? If your passion is commerce and business, why dont you take up agricultural economics and agribusiness management, instead of just economics? If your passion is sciences, why dont you try agricultural chemistry? But I think that they should yet make a course that is combining computer technology and agriculture like agriculture computer technology which will specializes on using computers for the advancement of technology in agriculture. It would be so cool because today the course that is in the trend is information technology or any computer related courses but by combing these two courses, we will be able to produce something unique and I think will be very in demand.

I am very happy that I am taking up agriculture 11. At least now I am aware of the current situation of agriculture here in the Philippines. I never would have thought that our country is the only one that consumes a lot of rice. In other countries, they consume a lot of vegetables, meat etc. I thought that rice is the staple food of all in the world but I guess I was wrong. I also would never have thought that Japans way of handling their agriculture is very different from us. In their country, farmers have the income of a worker in the city. I just wish that our country would prioritize agriculture so that us Filipinos will be able to support self-production of rice without buying from neighbouring countries. Again, I am very happy that I am taking up this course. I am very happy that I have new knowledge that I will bring for the incoming steps in my life. Thank You, Sir,