Aaron's article
AARON travelled to Kenya this Summer as part of a group of agriculture students from Florida A&M University tolearn about solutions to food insecurity.
AARON Francis has spent his Summer in Kenya where he was tasked as part of an academic group to come up with solutions to the African country’s food security problem. The insights he gained there; he hopes to bring back home
A graduate of the Bahamas Agriculture and Marine Science Institute (BAMSI), Aaron is extremely passionate about solving this country’s food security problem.But until he can fully commit himself to what he believes is his life’s purpose, he has been learning as much as he can about combating food insecurity. Aaron interest in agriculture started when he was still in high school.
I was late into my secondary school studiesat St Augustine’s College when I realised thatagriculture was the thing,” he said. “I was mostpassionate about it. It was also around this timethat I found out about the problem of foodinsecurity in my country.
Food security concerns recently became aprominent topic following the border closures,both in the Bahamas and internationally, thatwere imposed at the height of the COVID-19pandemic.The Bahamas relies on imports for 90 percentof its food needs, with the annual bill estimatedat $1 billion. The Davis administration hasmade addressing the issue one of its policy goalssince taking office. And, while food insecurityconcerns may have eased following the pandemic,they have not been eliminated.
The Bahamas Feeding Network confirmedpreviously that it is still provides up to 100,000meals a month, supporting more than 100 localfeeding programmes.I wanted my studies and experience to bebased on the factors I would be faced with herein the Bahamas where I ultimately wanted tofarm for most of my life said Aaron.
It helped that the government gave me a tuitionand board scholarship to study (at BAMSI)in Andros. I realised very quickly that the Institutewas not very big, which was expected. Withunder a hundred students and faculty, everyoneknew everyone, which was nice. We spent alot of time playing board games and hangingout after classes. I didn’t have the facilities of alarge university, but it still felt like home.
Aaron then developed an interest in the 4H organisation, of which he was a president. The organisation is concerned with teaching agriculture to children and getting them to set up farms so they can experience the joy of growingtheir own food.“We didn’t have much, but we had high-leveleducators that taught us exceptionally welland gave us two years of both hands-on andacademic experience, which is a blend that doeswonders for a student’s education and skillset,”said Aaron.
It was at BAMSI that I wrote my first research paper under the supervision of DrA Stanley and fell in love with research andexperimental methods. I spent most of my freetime at the farm, student plot, and at primaryschools with my lecturer, Mr S Ponda, and anystudents I could drag along with me. I didn’tfind the academic portion of my studies verydifficult, so I needed to occupy my time withother things. There were ups and downs, but allin all I had a great time and learned invaluableskills that put me a step ahead of many others Iwould meet.
Aaron graduated from BAMSI in the Summer of 2020.If you can recall, COVID-19 touched theBahamian shores early in the same year, so my graduation was unfortunately virtual. Work was also scarce because of the conditions. Despite this, I was able to work with my father – whowas an expert trucker – as I and my brothersdid throughout our childhood. Later inDecember of 2021, I took a job at Rocky FarmsNursery, as and did most of my work growingand organising seedlings and saplings. Funnything is, Mr Pinder, the owner, told me I shouldgo to Florida A&M University if I wanted tocontinue my education – a suggestion I paid nomind to he said
In May 2021, Aaron took a job at Walker’s Industries, a construction company, and spentthe next two months fabricating a conveyor belt for the Lynden Pindling International Airport.“Nearing the end of the project I was introducedto a man named Andy Ingraham whowas with a team of people wanting to give me aFriendship and Alliance scholarship at FloridaA&M University. Of course, I accepted, andhere I am now,” he said.And as part of the programme, Aaronrecently explored Kenya as part of an internationalservice-learning course designed forstudents to use their academic disciplines tsolve problems within a community, and byextension, the world.
I was with an interdisciplinary team of students and faculty from the College ofAgriculture and our task was to connect withour counterparts, Egerton University (a topagriculture university in Africa), and solveproblems surrounding food insecurity in Kenya.We held discussions and really put our headstogether across multiple agricultural disciplines and across degree levels, from doctorate to pre-Bachelor’s,” he said.
We were the first set of students to physically travel to Kenya to represent the FloridaA&M College of Agriculture and food sciencesin this way and so we established an internationalconnection via the LinkedIn platformthat we can use to discuss ideas with the entiregroup from America and Kenya.I met a lot of great people, and the teachingsat BAMSI and my own research in agronomyreally put me ahead of the game. It was noticeableenough for the director of the programme,Harriett Paul, to compliment me on myknowledge surrounding the subject matter. Itwas because of my experience in North Androsand the great teachers that taught me. The tripreally helped me to understand the complexityof food insecurity and how it is an issue thatrequires teamwork and coordination to evenbegin to address he said.
As it relates to his future goals, Aaron hopes to publish more research papers soon.I really want to go ahead and get started onmy life’s work, which is to set a foundation thatwill better facilitate the achievement of foodsecurity in the Bahamas. I plan to work with theMinistries of Agriculture and Education to do this. I also want to be a farmer and researcher,as well as a developer of industries such aslumber and metalworking in the Bahamas. I justwant to be a good man who’s served his God,country and future family well. We will see whatGod has planned for me,” he said.
Aaron also said he encourages those interestedin agriculture to pursue their goals withvigour.Never let anyone tell you that agricultureis not the way to go for your life. It is the mostimportant field of study on this planet and thereis a world of opportunity out there for you.Dream bigger and work towards it. There arestill starving people on planet earth and only wetogether can change that. ARON Francis during his trip to Kenya this Summer”
