WAEC 2021 English | Essay

As I sat down to relax after a hard day's work as a radio broadcaster, my attention was immediately arrested by what I saw on the television. There was my old classmate, Funke Jacobs, introduced as Mrs. Funke Ajayi. Evidently, she must have married since we parted some fifteen years earlier. She looked as smart as she did when we were both secondary school students, though age and childbearing had taken their toll. As I watched and listened, I realized that Funke was still her old self. I recalled how several years ago when we were directed by the English Language master to write an essay on “The Profession of My Dream”, each of us opted for and defended our choices as future teachers, doctors, engineers, accountants and the like. I chose to be a newscaster, and that was what I eventually became. Funke alone decided on a totally different direction. She opted to be a farmer. Shocked by her choice, the teacher summoned her to the front of the class to read her essay. Ever confident and charming, she did. As we listened, most of us laughed, believing that she must be joking. After her presentation, the teacher agreed adding that it must be just an academic exercise. But Funke insisted she was as serious as any of us in our choices. I thought of her academic brilliance, she was among the very best in most schools' subjects. She was from a well-to-do family, so her parents should have no problem seeing her through tertiary education to acquire one of the 'noble' professions. She had good looks, the type you would associate with an office chief executive, not with the farm. So, why farming? But farming was her choice, and into farming she went. What I did not know, which the interviewer brought to light, was that she indeed studied Agriculture in the university, had three children, and secured the support of a bank that loaned her some money which she had since returned. Now, she has become a successful farmer, successful enough to have won the award of the most accomplished farmer of the year in the country. As the interviewer reveals, Funke is into crop farming, animal rearing and fruit cultivation. She is also into planting and processing of rice. Her plantations cover more than five hundred hectares, which are worked with several machines like planters, harrowers, harvesters and insecticide sprayers. Here I am, struggling to keep my ageing car alive, while Farmer Funke has become an employer of three hundred hands. I am no longer laughing.

Rarely can one find any African dish without tomato. It is an important ingredient in the preparation of rice, beans and many varieties of stews and soups. Although there are many types of tomatoes, the ones preferred by most people are thick, fleshy and virtually seedless. A few years ago, many homes could not buy this essential commodity because it was unaffordable. It became so scarce that, even when available, it was sold at an exorbitant price. Many had to resort to using the canned tomato paste. However, it was not tomato alone that was unaffordable, other food items were also out of reach of the common person. A number of reasons were identified as the cause of this disturbing situation. Experts identified tuta absoluta as the disease that affected many tomato farms. This caused massive destruction to the crop and resulted in scarcity. Surprisingly, tomato was not the only crop that was plagued by disease; maize was also attacked by a disease caused by a ravaging army of moth-like flies that eat up the leaves and suck up the tender corn while still in the cob. They are called army worms. This disease also affected other grains like sorghum, millet and wheat resulting in wide-spread scarcity. Farmers usually rely on wholesalers to buy off their farm produce. The wholesalers rely largely on private transporters who charge exorbitantly to render their services. The high cost of evacuating the farm produce continues to make it scarce and expensive. Transporters blame the exorbitant charges on high cost of fuel and vehicular maintenance due to bad roads. This cost is eventually transferred to the produce and borne by the consumers, many of whom are unable to afford it. Farmers do not have access to storage facilities, so they are unable to preserve their harvest while awaiting the arrival of buyers. Unfortunately, a lot of the farm produce is eventually trashed as it spoils on the farms. This is particularly disheartening, considering that not enough is produced for the consumption of the populace in the first place. Ultimately the farmer calculates the total cost of planting for the year on whatever is left to be sold. The problems are, however, not insurmountable especially because they have been identified. Governments have an important role to play which they cannot abdicate to the citizenry. For far too long, farming has depended on manual labour. In order to increase as well as guarantee greater harvest, governments must encourage and support mechanized farming. Waste would be reduced to the barest minimum if storage facilities were available; therefore, the provision of storage facilities is pertinent. Governments should also educate farmers on modern farming practices including the use of necessary insecticides at the appropriate time. Certainly, these steps will bring some succour to the lingering food crisis on the continent.