The gift from Mother Nature

Have you thought about life without Agriculture and wondered about this is a gift to humanity

I come from a poor town in Africa. Observing my environment as a child, I will say that I feel glad because to an extent we have an abundance of the resources needed for survival. Daddy made most of our beautifully crafted home furniture with the fallen trees not too far from where we lived. He often shows the best type to tress to people who come from metropolitan areas that need timbre for construction, paper manufacturing, specialty wood products such as furniture, and as a fuel source. After work on his way back, I and my siblings will be sure of a sizable chunk of animal protein in our meal during our dinner time and the subsequent days to come.

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My grandparents have lived so long that they are currently the oldest people in our village. I enjoy the moonlight stories from them, and I will ask so many questions to the point that I have once asked. Grannies, why are you so strong and active while most of your age mates are gone? They will smile and reply “We understood our environment and learned this secret Mother Nature has given us through Agriculture which all other works of life derive its strength from, knowing this has enabled us to solve numerous problems. For Instance, whenever we encounter certain health challenges we would simply get the right herbs from plants, which will give us the solution to our problems.” And her response keeps me wondering but I can’t deny the fact that, on many occasions, I have watched my parents and other adults, harness the abundance of Agriculture. Currently, I have learned to use certain herbs from our garden to heal injuries and cure certain diseases. Mum is used to going to the garden to pluck some vegetable leaf and picks up snails, mushroom, and other animal and plant products, she tells us it is nutritious and we can also testify that it is always delicious when mum serves our meal.

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Years later, I got admitted into high school. We had been taught numerous subjects which made me develop an in-depth love for agriculture. For instance, English language, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Computer Studies (ICT), Geography, Economics, Business Studies/Commerce, Food and Nutrition, Religious and Foreign Studies, History, and Arts, and all have a link to agriculture. I believed that a thoughtful and practical combination of all these will create massively improvement from this treasure Mother Nature has endowed the world with the form of agriculture. To me, it is yet to be fully harnessed if only all we were taught at school can be practicalized to improve Agriculture. Sometimes I think that everyone was sent to school to learn about Agriculture (plants and animals) but only very few fulfill their purpose of going to school. According to history, we were taught about the Stone Age men, who manage to survive and eventually developed agriculture, which was and is the preparation of soil, planting crops, and raising animals. I will say that that group of humans with limited knowledge made a certain way through. And with the advancement of technology which hasn’t gotten to its apex yet, I can say that we still have a lot of work to do in promoting a better standard compared to our current state.

When we talk about raw materials, we cannot over-emphasize the importance of Agriculture in terms of the numerous products we derive from them. Such as trees that provide paper, furniture, and medicines, in different parts of the World palm trees are abundant. In Africa, these are used for shelter, timber, fuel, building materials, fibers, starch, oils, waxes, wines, food additives, mats, baskets, and a host of minor products for indigenous populations in the tropics. Are you aware that cereals flour, breakfast cereal, and seed oil are gotten from wheat, rice, rye, oats, barley, and corn? Yes, chewing gum, essential oils, food additive, and adhesives are derived from the Gum tree. We enjoy juice and other fruit extracts from the fruits we grow. On the other hand, fruits and vegetables are essential sources of fiber, proteins, and carbohydrates in human diets. Vitamins such as A, C, and E, and minerals. When we talk about the sweet flavor we enjoy in our drugs in the form of syrup, the sugar in our tea, and also the molasses used in the production of animal feed, let’s not hesitate to recall that they are gotten from the sugarcane plant. If you love entertainment, thanks to agriculture for providing some musical instruments, such as reed instruments, which require materials made from plants.

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Rubber trees produce latex which can be used to produce tires, rubber mattresses, and shoes we wear. I enjoy chocolates and cocoa are products from the cocoa beans. The harvested cotton is processed, spun, and woven into the fabric before it becomes a piece of clothing, and textile products are products of cotton. There is an unending list of what we can benefit especially with the introduction of technology ranging from Pharmaceutical Products, Industrial Products, Biofuels, and lots more.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports favorable economics of biofuels,?produced from biomass sources including agricultural products such as corn, soybeans, sugarcane, and algae. The benefits include reduced greenhouse gas and pollutant emissions and the potential for increased incomes for farmers. However, biodiesel production requires the use of land and water resources which can affect food costs.

In terms of these raw materials and their products, I believe that countless professions greatly rely on Agriculture as it fashions possible means to make the world a better place with its products. In the long, these products are utilized and also can be exported to other countries for foreign exchange and in addition boost the Nation’s economy.

It is no new story that different countries have tremendously benefited from each other through Agriculture. It impacts global trade because it’s tied to other sectors of the economy, supporting job creation and encouraging economic development. According to USAID, countries with strong agricultural sectors experience employment growth in other sectors. The interdependence of the food and agriculture sector?with other sectors, including water and wastewater systems, transportation systems, energy, and chemical, makes it a critical engine for economic activity, according to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).?

In conclusion, these account for numerous benefits of Agriculture to humanity which proffer lasting solutions to human needs and promote technological advancement in our world.