Pastoral farming or pastural farming: which is which?

“The scientific name for guinea grass plant, which previously was called Urochloa maxima then to Panicum maximum, was, in 2003, changed to Megathyrsusmaximus to reflect the result of a genetic (DNA) analysis, which showed that guinea grass is more closely related to the species within Megathyrsus than to species in the genus, Panicum”, stated by Simon and Jacobs (2003) in their article titled, “Megathyrsus, a new generic name for Panicum subgenus Megathyrsus”.

Take a cursory look at, for example, some intriguing questions which first-year high-school students often ask teachers during agriculture or science lessons: “Sir, is it that pastors are the ones mostly into it that is why it is called pastoral farming? Sir, is Panicum maximum same as Megathyrsusmaximus for guinea grass? Sir, is it that the house of the crops is green that is why it is called greenhouse? Sir, is it true that genetically modified foods are unsafe for human consumption? Sir, how true is it that crops produced from using fertilisers are not wholesome for human consumption?

Sir, can this microscope be used to see microorganisms like viruses and bacteria?” These and other questions are often asked by learners during learning sessions and during conversations with teachers. Getting learners to ask questions during lessons is a laudable thing for all stakeholders, especially the teacher, to support to happen at all times. The teacher uses varied instructional strategies to cause students to be active, challenged to think hard, share views on things being learnt and be able to ask questions of the teacher and of one another for understanding (National Teachers’ Standards for Ghana Guidelines, 2017, page 21).

As parents, individuals and organisations support the state to provide classrooms, laboratories, textbooks and digital tools as well as relevant facilities such as furniture, electricity, bore holes, lavatories and changing rooms, the teacher’s task in facilitating learning and preparing learners for life becomes easy. Learning can be fun, and it is impactful when all variables and conditions needed to have the learning needs and aspirations of learners met are readily available and used properly.

Using generic teaching skills such as resourcefulness, good communication, good eye contact with learners, good interpersonal values, good leadership, and proper time management, the teacher is able to address questions and concerns of learners for improved learning outcomes.

The fact is that no society would want to be static or be seen to be static. Life and the way that things are done in it change or are made to change over time. Sharing useful knowledge gained from research or from experienced persons (who are often referred to as resource persons) with learners is key to enabling a society to develop.

Any society would be proud of citizens that are critical thinkers with good team spirit, communication skills, creativity, digital knowledge and interpersonal values as well as citizens with the ability to identify and to solve problems of life.

Until an education system is able to address some critical gaps in knowledge dissemination, including those of factual inaccuracies, misconceptions and misrepresentations, it would be difficult, if not impossible, for any society to experience the kind of progress it desires. The relevance of the teacher in ensuring that knowledge gaps are identified and fixed is, again, pronounced when Varghese (2023), for example, observed agriculture and biotechnology as fields with some ethical issues relating to sustainable farming practices, genetically modified organisms, and climate change versus food security, and which, most often, attract diverse, conflicting opinions, campaigns and interests.

Where does the teacher fit in this crucial exercise of having to set the records straight for learners to be free from any confusion of which is which? This question of the high-school student, “Sir, is it that pastors are the ones mostly into it that is why it is called pastoral farming?”, therefore, comes to the fore. Can this student be said to have asked a wrong or silly or funny question?

And listen to the response of the student when asked by the teacher what influenced this question: “I know ‘pastoral’ is an adjective of ‘pastor’ and so, I think that ‘pastoral farming’ has to do with a farming system involving pastors and religious leaders.” After the teacher led the class to define the “pastoral farming” as a system of keeping only farm animals mostly on cultivated pastures, the student, again, asked, “Please, sir, if it has to do with producing farm animals mainly on cultivated pastures, would it not be appropriate to call it ‘pastural’ farming rather than using ‘pastoral’?” This is how learning can be interesting.

It is not and should not always be the case that learners take what teachers give to them hook, line and sinker. Students should be encouraged to make concerted efforts through questioning and discussions to better appreciate every detail in lessons. Misconceptions in various fields of study, including agriculture and related fields, can be dissipated by giving hands-on projects to learners and encouraging them to seek knowledge from resource persons/experts and from trusted digital, online sources (Professional Learning Community Handbook on Agriculture, Year One, n.d.a).

By Anthony Kwaku Amoah (MPhil)

E-mail: [email protected]

The writer is an educationist and a trained counsellor in the Ghana Education Service and also a visiting lecturer of the College for Distance and e-Learning of University of Education, Winneba.

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