New Telegraph 
Farming is the act or process of tilling the soil, planting of seeds, and growing edible plants.
It also involves raising of animals for milk or meat. A farmer, young or old, is a person who does this act or process for feeding his family or income generation. Farming on a large scale is a veritable way of creating wealth, and reducing poverty for sustainable development.
Teaching children about farming helps them to understand that food does not magically appear on the table or in the market, it comes from hard work. It can also strengthen their overall development and, ultimately, the development of
communities. When a child grows with a farming mentality,
he will not only appreciate God, but also see in tangible measures, the benefits of hard work, which may bring fame or little fortune or both.
A school is said to be a microcosm of the larger society. Whatever is going on in a school will be a true reflection of what the immediate society looks like. As Professor Niyi Osundare would say, ‘Show me your school, and I will tell you what your community looks like’. If a school is in a rural area, logically,
the students attending such a school will be so adept in the practice of farming because the main occupation of rural dwellers is farming. The inclusion of agricultural science as a subject in Basic and Post-Basic education in Nigeria affords schools the opportunity of having school farms for practical
purposes.
And the practice of farming is better inculcated at the formative stage of people’s lives. It is better to catch them young when they are bendable and amenable.
The Young Farmer, a children’s storybook written by Dele Kogbe and published in 2009 by
Benevolence Publishers in Early Reading Series, lends credence to the benefits a child stands to gain from practising farming either at home or in school. The book, lucidly written in first person central, is divided into five chapters under the following headings, ‘The Little Boy’, ‘The School Farm’, ‘Learning
How to Farm’, ‘Alli Starts Farming’, and ‘Alli’s Harvests’.
The benefits of writing a book in first person
central is that the narrator as the protagonist, not only gives credibility to the story but also tells a story through a lens filtered by his or her opinions.
In the first-person point of view, the use of the pronoun “I” establishes a sense of familiarity between reader and narrator. ‘I see maize plants, I have seen beans, I see banana trees…’ are examples of lines that connect the narrator to its target audience.
The protagonist, Alli, is a seven-year-old youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Kuti. Alli is liked by his eldest sister and brother, and as the youngest in the house, they always pamper him with biscuits. His school has a very big farm that produces different edible plants. The school also earmarks every Wednesday
for farming on the school farm. Uncle Wale, Alli’s class teacher makes farming on the school farm enjoyable and fascinating – he gives them farming clothes and boots as well as implements to work with.
All the pupils in the class are fascinated by Uncle Wale’s mode of teaching not only in the class but also on the school farm.
On one occasion, Uncle Wale plucks two big ripe pawpaw from a pawpaw tree, cuts them into pieces and share the fruit among the pupils. Here, the author exhibits his skills in children’s literature by giving
the audience the algorithm of preparing pawpaw for munching,
from plucking to peeling and to washing
of hands before and after munching one of the best fruits on the planet earth. Also on the school farm, Uncle Wale allows his pupils to ask questions bothering them about farming thereby exploring the process and benefits of farming further with them.
The experience on the school farm makes Alli to develop great interest in farming, so he needs to experiment in their home backyard what he has learned on the school farm. His curiosity does not affect his sense of reasoning as a good boy, ‘He runs to his mother’s kitchen. He wants to get some cobs of maize.
He looks round the kitchen. He cannot find one. He then remembers, “It is not good to take
something that is not your own”. He changes his mind and asks his mother, “Mummy,
please I need some bean seeds and some grains of maize”. He finally plants the grains and the seeds in their backyard.
From this curiosity, interest and hard work, he is able to provide corn to his friends, teacher, and members of his family. He also makes some money from the sale of corn, which his mother uses in opening a bank account for him.
The Young Farmer will please three audiences, the children, their parents, and teachers. Dele Kogbe writes this story and paints the protagonist not the way adult will like to see him but how children will like to see him as their hero, who actually drives the action, experiments on the process,
faces challenges and makes crucial decisions all by himself. Even when the seeds are not instantly germinating, he becomes agitated but keeps calm.
This children’s storybook will be unputdownable in the hands of the main target audience, the children.
It will also inspire children and teenagers to start a small farm/garden at their backyards for fame and if possible,
for little fortune, thereby fulfilling the purpose of catching them young.
I recommend this book to every pupil, parent and teacher in basic education.
