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The Door to Improving Agriculture, Improving Lives

Posted by Stephanie Rogers on March 31, 2017 in News

Three Faculty of Agriculture graduate students will be travelling to Ethiopia at the end of the month to participate in the first ever Ethiopian agricultural diploma education conference as part of the Agricultural Transformation through Stronger Vocational Education (ATTSVE) project – one of the largest international development project ever awarded to a Canadian University

The Conference, entitled “ATVET- Door to Improving Agriculture, Improving Lives,” will bring together 16 agricultural vocational and technical institutions in Ethiopia, Canadian government representatives, federal and regional government stakeholders and industry and community leaders April 3 – 5th 2017 in Adama, Ethiopia with an expected attendance of 300 delegates.

“Facilitating collaboration among the agriculture technical and vocational training colleges in Ethiopia as well as external stakeholders is a key objective of the development project announced two years ago,” explained Hannah Pugh, International Office Project Coordinator.   “There are many barriers for the colleges to this kind of collaboration including finance, IT and networking skills and the conference is a key step to building these networks.”

The Conference, is part of ATTSVE, an $18 million development project aimed at enhancing current Ethiopian agricultural education programs available at agricultural colleges with a goal to help evolve the country’s agricultural practices and education beyond its subsistence-based foundation to meet the entrepreneurial and labor market demands of the present and future.

Currently, most agriculture technical and vocational training colleges in Ethiopia are located in rural areas and focus largely on competency-based learning.  They are increasingly interested in programing that emphasizes rural growth through agriculture. They recognize that more emphasis is needed on marketing and entrepreneurship, as well as curriculum development and content delivery.

Rural growth through Agriculture

Deney Augustine Joseph completed three years of a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at Annamalai University in India and traveled to Dalhousie University’s Faculty of Agriculture in Canada where he also completed a Bachelor of Technology in Environmental Landscape Horticulture.

“To me, it was a great opportunity to explore globalization,” he says. And explore he did. Deney was the first recipient of a Global Citizenship Impact Award and is currently pursuing his Masters of Science in the field of Entomology under the supervision of Dr. Chris Cutler.

Growing up in a farming family in Kerala, India influenced Deney’s career path. “I grew up on a farm where we grow plantation crops such as coconut, rubber trees, cocoa and other spices,” he explained. “It influenced me to get into the field of Agriculture and it was here that I found my interest in entomology,” he added.

Deney’s research is focused on carrot weevil – a major pest of carrots in Eastern Canada. He hopes to develop a model for carrot producers that will help optimize timing and efficacy of control tactics and allow growers to alter carrot planting dates.

This conference is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to explore my scientific skills at such a prestigious event and to experience global exposure in entomology,” said Deney.

Deney plans to pursue a career in agricultural research and hopes to return to his family farm in India.

A $10,000 Nova Scotia Research and Innovation Graduate Scholarship has helped Carolyn Wilson with her graduate research.  Carolyn is studying the effects on soil quality when composts from different sources and varying lignin content are applied.

Her research focus is about the ability of compost to improve the soil’s physical properties: its density, compaction, structure and water retention.

“My research is part of a larger project looking to improve potato yields in eastern Canada,” explained Carolyn.  “Our project, in partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, compares the effect of five different compost amendments on quality and potato productivity of the soil.”

Wilson grew up on her family’s 300-acre farm near Rexton, NB where her father raised beef cattle and her grandmother raised Dorset sheep. “It was truly a family enterprise: I shoveled manure, moved cattle, washed sheep for show and raked hay.”

“It is truly a privilege to attend this conference, being the first of its kind in the country,” she added.  “The opportunity to share my research work in this capacity is really exciting. The potato is an important, up and coming agricultural crop in Ethiopia and I hope that my talk can generate some discussion about potatoes, compost and soil quality!”

Entrepreneurship

You don’t have to grow up with a farming background to uncover a passion for agriculture. Something that Plant Science graduate, Morgan McNeil knows all too well.

Morgan grew up in the small residential community of Hantsport, Nova Scotia and was drawn to plants by taking the gardening project in 4-H and learning to grow her own food.

“I am very passionate about agriculture. I love gardening and growing plants. It’s rewarding to harvest a healthy crop,” she explained.

With an entrepreneurial mother, Morgan also grew up admiring her hard work and the excellent reputation she had built for herself in their community. Being involved in agriculture, Morgan was interested in one-day marketing her own crops so she joined Cultiv8, an entrepreneurial program on campus for students to gain insight into business ideas and the potential to develop them for profit.

“I am currently working on a project to reduce the apple pomace waste from apple cider production,” explained Morgan.  She and her team are using this waste product to produce pet food treats mainly for horses and dogs.

Morgan will be presenting to an audience of 30 – 60 people in a workshop session at the conference in Ethiopia on the agricultural sandbox Cultiv8, its programing and the business model canvas.

“I think having this opportunity to travel to Ethiopia is truly amazing! I have never been to the African continent and aside from going to England, I've never traveled outside of Canada,” she said.  “I think this conference will be a great chance to meet other people passionate about agriculture and entrepreneurship and to make a positive contribution to society.”

The conference is a forum to dialogue, learn and exchange on key challenges and opportunities to unlock the potential of the ATVET system in Ethiopia.

“This event is a great opportunity to share ideas, concepts and insights and enable participants to develop a collective insight into issues and solutions for ATVETs. The key outcomes are to seek a joint commitment from all stakeholders of the country towards the agricultural transformation through stronger vocational education and training and develop a set of recommendations and commitments,” explained Hannah.

The conference is a three-day session of presentation and interactive workshops from Canadian, Kenyan, South-African and Ethiopian speakers covering themes requested by the ATVET colleges including Leadership and Sustainability, Gender and Agriculture Education, Student Success and Cultivating Entrepreneurship and Environment and Agriculture

“The project partners are thrilled about the opportunity to bring three Faculty of Agriculture students to this event, as well as faculty members to speak and raise awareness of their research to our Ethiopian partners which may lead to exciting research collaborations in the future,” added Hannah. “This is also a great learning and networking opportunity for our students. The project will be providing further opportunities for students to carry out their research during the Ethiopian summers of  2017 and 2018 and is keen to provide these opportunities linking ATTSVE project activities with Dalhousie research where possible.”