Farming is my hobby, agriculture is my profession.

Food is so important to our existence, and this is more of a reason why we should give more importance to farmers and appreciate their efforts. Though they are most times undervalued in their professions, nature will always have its way of rewarding them.

I have had an interest in farming since I was young. But there was no avenue to put it into practice. When Grandma was alive she reared local chickens, and I was always in charge of monitoring them. I make sure they get into their cages completely and also be ready to open them up the next day.

The fun fact about it is that I recognize every one of them. At times I can tell their generation. 😂. I love it. And the happiest moment is when grandma asks us to prepare some. Wow! Now it's time to harvest from our hard work over the days.

So I will be the one to pick up the cock, and I will be there with Mum as she prepares it. The aroma hits differently. You know, when you boil fresh chicken with all ingredients complete, hmmm. And another one when it gets fried again.

So that’s one of the nicest things about farming. Farmers' happy moments are when they are feeding their livestock, seeing them grow, and when they are harvesting their produce.

Apart from chicken, we also have this plantain farm in our compound. I don't know how those plantains enjoy the nature of the soil, but when they fruit, the plantains are always so robust. We never felt the need to buy plantains from the market because we are always harvesting weekly.

To me, farmers are always at the advantage of eating fresh foods which would surely aid their wellbeing compared to buying preserved foods.

I remember some time when we had peppers, tomatoes, vegetables, and okra planted in our backyard. Oooh. You know fresh pepper and vegetables taste differently. The okra we harvest is always fresh and when cooked will be much more delicious than some spoiled ones we buy from the market. These are some of the benefits of backyard farming.

Potatoes, yam, plantains, bananas, vegetables, maize, beans, and cassava can be planted in our backyard and even if there is not much space, they can be planted in vases or sacks filled with soil, they will grow fine if well taken care of. You don't have to get most of these things from the market all the time, take them fresh.

I am a fish farmer, and I derive joy and pleasure in doing that. It might seem like a load of work to some people, but to me, I just find happiness in doing those hefty tasks. It's fun for me.

One thing I have also enjoyed being a fish farmer is the joy of taking fresh fish. I know of some people who don’t eat frozen foods at all. When they cook they prefer taking live chickens and fresh fish.

Though smoked fish also tastes differently, and remain preserved too. All of these are what I have access to as a fish farmer. And also diving into poultry farming too, I realized the difference between live chicken and frozen chicken.

Those frozen chickens are already preserved with some chemicals not to allow them to get spoiled in time, some may be used for weeks and months to the extent that they might have lost their taste. When you buy some you might even have to spit them out when you taste it. So how can we ever compare that to taking them live?

It sounds funny to me when people debate about farmers and doctors. Lol. Anyways we all have our importance in our fields respectfully. So life as a farmer might not seem so luxurious while on the job. But I bet farmers are enjoying the best when it comes to having a good source of living.

---

This is my response to the #MayInleo prompt for May. To join you can click Here

All images are mine