Planting the seeds of Africa’s sustainable food future: How an agric club is changing young people’s perceptions of agriculture

When a group of agricultural researchers walked into a secondary school in Ilorin, Nigeria, they asked the students a simple question: “What do you want to become when you grow up?” The answers were familiar: doctors, lawyers, pilots, engineers, teachers and artists. But there was one striking absence. Nobody mentioned becoming an agriculturist or pursuing a career in agriculture.

That moment became the starting point for an initiative led by Dr Judith Falola-Olasunkanmi, which brought together a multidisciplinary team of researchers and academics from across the agricultural sciences, including animal production, food science, crop production, agricultural economics and extension, soil science and aquaculture, to establish an Agric Club at Danialu Secondary School, Gaa-Akanbi, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.

The goal was not simply to tell young people that agriculture is important. It was to help them experience agriculture differently.

Inspiring Young Minds Through Agricultural Education: Dr Judith Falola-Olasunkanmi engaging with students at Danialu Secondary School in a discussion about the importance, diversity and opportunities within agriculture. The engagement encouraged students to explore agriculture as a pathway to scientific discovery, innovation, rewarding careers and sustainable food systems.

Changing the Story About Agriculture

For many young people, agriculture is still associated primarily with traditional farming. The wider possibilities within the sector—science, technology, entrepreneurship, food production, environmental management, research and innovation—are often less visible.

Yet agriculture is one of the most multidisciplinary sectors in society. It connects the soil beneath our feet to the food on our tables. It connects climate and water to crop production. It connects science and technology to food processing. It connects farmers to markets and communities to livelihoods.

If young people are expected to help build sustainable food systems, they need to see agriculture as a field where they can innovate, lead, build careers, and solve problems. This was the thinking behind the Agric Club.

From a Question to a Year of Learning

The initiative at Danialu School was deliberately designed as more than a single outreach event. Students met weekly, following a carefully developed curriculum designed to introduce them to different dimensions of agriculture and to make learning engaging, practical and relevant.

The curriculum brought together knowledge from different agricultural disciplines and exposed students to the breadth of opportunities available within the agricultural sector. Learning was supported with textbooks, educational materials and practical tools donated to the club, helping students move beyond theory and engage with agriculture in a more hands-on way.

This combination of regular engagement, structured learning, practical exposure and interaction with professionals was central to the initiative. The message was simple: agriculture is not just something you read about. It is something you can explore, understand and create with.

School Fees Scholarship Award Presentation: Presentation of a school fees scholarship award to a student at Danialu Secondary School, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria, as part of the Agric Club initiative. The award recognised the student's achievement, supported continued education, and reinforced the initiative's commitment to encouraging young people's engagement with agriculture.

Danialu School: When Aspirations Began to Change

During the first engagement with the students, agriculture did not appear among their career aspirations. They wanted to become doctors, lawyers, pilots, engineers, teachers, artists and professionals in other fields. There is nothing wrong with these ambitions. The concern was that agriculture was almost invisible among them.

The Agric Club, therefore, sought to broaden students’ understanding of what agriculture could offer. Over the course of the year, students were introduced to different agricultural disciplines, practical learning experiences and the people working within them.

They learned that agriculture involves much more than farming. It involves science, business, technology, food, environmental sustainability, research and innovation.

One Year Later, the Question Was Asked Again

After a year of running the Agric Club, the team returned to Danialu School for follow-up engagement and student recognition activities. The students were asked again about what they wanted to become.

The response was striking: approximately half of the students now expressed an interest in becoming agricultural professionals.

The same question that had initially produced no agricultural career aspirations was now generating a very different response. The initiative had not simply transferred knowledge; it had changed what many students could imagine for themselves. That is perhaps one of the most important outcomes of sustainability education.

Sustainability Is Also About Who Will Lead the Future

Sustainability conversations often focus on technologies, climate-smart agriculture, soil health, biodiversity, water management, policies and investments. These are essential. But behind every sustainable food system are people who understand the challenges, develop solutions, innovate, manage natural resources responsibly, produce and process food, and build resilient communities.

Africa’s young population represents an enormous opportunity. But that opportunity must be cultivated. We cannot expect young people to lead the transformation of agriculture if they do not see agriculture as a place where their talents, creativity and ambitions belong.

Student Reflections on the Impact of the Agric Club: A Danialu Secondary School student shares her experience and reflects on the impact of the Agric Club during a follow-up engagement with the research team. The student's feedback provided an opportunity to hear directly from participants about the initiative and its role in broadening young people's perceptions of agriculture.

From Researchers to Mentors

One of the distinctive features of the initiative was its multidisciplinary character. Researchers from different areas of agriculture came together around a common purpose: to inspire young minds.

Animal production, food science, crop production, agricultural economics and extension, soil science, and aquaculture may appear to be different fields, but within a food system, they are deeply interconnected. Bringing these disciplines into the school environment helped students see this interconnectedness.

It also created an important bridge between researchers and the next generation. Universities and researchers have an important role to play beyond producing scientific publications. We can bring knowledge into communities, mentor young people, create opportunities for curiosity, help students discover careers they may never have considered, and contribute to sustainability by cultivating the people who will carry the work forward.

Acknowledging the People Who Made It Possible

An initiative like this cannot succeed through the efforts of one person alone. I am deeply grateful to the management of Danialu Secondary School, particularly the Principal and the Agricultural Science teachers, for their openness, cooperation and commitment to making the initiative possible. Their support created space for the club to function consistently and for students to participate meaningfully.

I also acknowledge the members of the multidisciplinary research team who contributed their time, knowledge, resources, expertise and energy to the initiative. Their collective effort demonstrated what can happen when researchers from different agricultural disciplines come together around a shared vision. To the entire team: thank you for the work well done.

But most importantly, the students themselves deserve recognition. They came with questions, curiosity and different dreams. Over the course of a year, many began to see agriculture differently.

Celebrating Student Achievement and Supporting Practical Agricultural Learning: Members of the multidisciplinary research team, school representatives and students at Danialu Secondary School. Some of the students pictured were beneficiaries of the school fees scholarship awards presented through the Agric Club initiative. Agricultural tools and learning materials were also provided to support practical learning and encourage students to explore different aspects of agriculture.

Planting Seeds for Africa’s Future

The story of Danialu School is ultimately a story about possibility. At the beginning, agriculture was absent from the students’ career aspirations. One year later, approximately half of them expressed an interest in agriculture.

The lesson is not that every young person must become a farmer. The lesson is that young people need opportunities to discover possibilities before they can choose them.

If we want sustainable food systems, we must invest in the people who will build them. We need to introduce children to agriculture early. We need to make agricultural education practical and exciting. We need to expose young people to the full range of careers within the food and agricultural system. We need to connect researchers with schools and communities. And we need to give young people the confidence to see themselves as part of Africa’s agricultural future.

Because sustainability is not only about what we leave behind. It is also about who we prepare to carry the future forward.

At Danialu School, we planted a seed. The students showed us that with the right exposure, knowledge, mentorship, and opportunity, the seed can grow.

And perhaps that is where a sustainable food future begins—not only on our farms and laboratories, but in the minds of the young people who will one day lead them.

Article submitted by Dr Judith Adejoke Falola-Olasunkanmi