Those were the words of Mr Balogun, Chairman of De Vasco Children School, Egbeda, during a chat-up with our reporter.
How valuable is the Agriculture Science subject we teach in our schools? Do we teach our children Agriculture just because it is an order from the Ministry of Education, or do we teach for future gains? Yes, we agree, it is the Internet Age and these kids, nowadays, are wired to be far gone into the future to ever want to imagine what Agriculture is, but how are we giving in to this thought?
"School owners in Alimosho should teach practical Agriculture Science. Let us go beyond the books and get practical. A roll of cages with five female rabbits and one male rabbit is not too much for any school serious about Agriculture Science to have in a corner behind the classrooms for pupils to engage and be guided by the Agric. Science teacher. Those 5 females can produce 300 offsprings in a year altogether!
"A maize farm is not a bad idea as well. Let the pupils do the work and nurture the seeds to harvest time. Invent 'Agriculture Day' in your school and during harvest, call in the parents to celebrate their children for their hardwork and a bountiful harvest.
"Sell the produce to the parents at N500 per maize. They will pay for it because their children have done something wholesome and they want to encourage them. In the end, your pupils are conscious of the importance of agriculture in the real sense of it, your parents believe your school is worth the approval and the money they pay, and your the school body, gets a little extra cash coming in from those yields and everybody smiles", the elderly school owner said.
