MERGING MY PASSIONS: ICT AND AGRICULTURE

I grew up loving computers and computer hard wares. At about age 12, I watched my father and uncle fix other people’s computers. Back then we had Pentium 1, 2 and later 3.  We sold hardware parts, such as cases, memory cards, and mother boards. As a matter of fact at age 15, I could single handedly clone a computer system and load it up with the necessary operating system and application software that were available. Thus I could say I grew up loving ICT and computer hardware.

            Little wonder then that I dreamed of studying Electrical and Electronics engineering just to have a broader scope of what I already knew. In 2006, I started out doing a pre-degree program in electrical and electronic engineering so as to enable me pursue a degree. However after a year I was admitted in the university but instead of the desired course I got Agricultural Engineering. And so my journey into the world of agriculture began.

            You would agree with me that Agricultural Engineering was not what I wanted. I remember thinking back then about what the prospects of the course I about to study were. But I accepted it, why? If you live in a country like Nigeria where millions are trying to get into the university all at the same time then you would not joke with that single slot you have gotten.

            It took me till my third year in the university to start realizing the future advantage of the field I had been pushed to as it were. I saw that my field was not just about tractors but a lot more. I could choose to specialize in Food Processing, Irrigation and Drainage, Agric Mechanization and even Soil and Water Conservation.

            I began to see the practicality of my field and relate them to the needs of my environment. I also saw that my country was way behind in the use of agricultural practices and technologies that would benefit them. At this point my passion for agriculture grew.

            The height of my passion came during a six month training I took on the Integrated Farming System where I got hands-on practical knowledge and was involved in Agricultural Research. That was an eye opener. I learnt in Six months things I have not learnt in four years of my stay in the university.(Read more about this on http://ypard.net/testimonials/my-songhai-experience).

            The world of agriculture is verse and wide. It is large enough to take as many people as possible. It is a field that adds value to human lives as it directly or indirectly touches as lives as it meets a primary need of man which is food. Today I have fashioned out a way to merge my passion and that is why I strive hard to acquire skills in Agricultural Research Software and Web 2.0 tools and platforms so that I can have a feeling and be involved in both the ICT world which was my first passion and now agriculture my second to have a perfect combination that would create positive change and sustainable development to my immediate environment and the world as a whole.