I love Agricultural Extension :))

In order to do a Resource Profile Study (RPS) for the region of Centre West (CW) for an assignment, me and my group (soofiya, tenusha, amir, rihvaan, jivin and danny) carried out a Rapid Rural Appraisal (RRA) in the area. Since we had only 2 weeks to do so and only 2 days free to visit planters in their fields, we carried out the RRA in only 2 sub zones (1 in CW3 and the other in CW2)  which are Carreaux Laliane and La Marie.

Friday 17th September 2010 - Carreaux Laliane

We were already at Reduit by 7:30 and took the bus about 20 minutes later and got down at Jumbo Phoenix. We walked to Closel and then to Carreaux Laliane and met 5 planters. I know, this figure shows that we did not get information from many planters and the reasons for this are that firstly, we had not contacted any planter before going there and secondly we had never done an RRA and did not really know how to approach a farmer (which I admit was not easy!). On that day, everything went well and we got the information that we needed from the planters, BUT we also met planters who did not want to collaborate at all (saying that students nowadays are not interested to work in the field and because of that they will not be giving us any information). We ended our RRA at around noon and went to have lunch at Phoenix Les Halles (meaning that we walked from Jumbo - Closel - Carreaux Laliane - Les Halles, and finally took the bus back to Reduit where we discussed what we had seen and noted). 

Below are some pictures of that day:

Friday 24th September 2010 - La Marie

The day started just like the previous week.  We all met at Reduit and took the bus before 8 o'clock and arrived at La Marie by 8:30.  We went in the first street that we found after the "Maison des Eleveurs" and got a planter right away. This time, it was easier to approach the farmer and retrieve maximum information from him and we got 9 planters in total. We could have got more, but there were only labourers in the field after 10 and the owners were not present. At La Marie, we could see that the type of planter was different from those that we met the week before and also the cropping system, educational level of planter etc. was different. We went further in the street that we began, and passed through a cremation area, a kind of bridge, a river whereby the water was used for irrigation purposes and seen many type of crops, technology used etc. We ended the RRA around noon and went to Vacoas for lunch and then headed back to Reduit to discuss on the assignment.

The pictures taken at La Marie are below:

The reason I have written about this RRA is because I have enjoyed it so much that I cannot describe. Agricultural Extension is challenging, but this is why I have chosen to do agriculture and now I have no doubt that I have made the right choice! :)

AIESEC Induction session

Today was my Induction Session for AIESEC and I went there (Helvetia Youth Centre) without knowing what was waiting for me.  I arrived at 10:20 and was 10 minutes early, but there were around 15 AIESECers already present. I introduced myself, wrote my name on a tag just like the others. We started to play a game which was about asking a question to anyone in the circle and the rule was that we were not supposed to answer the question, but to ask another question to another person (the questions should not be those that have already been asked).

Then it was past 10:30 and those who cane after that got a punishment after introducing themselves. Some examples of punishment are to imitate an animal, to propose a girl/boy and finally the famous one in which I got involved was to dance a slow with someone in the circle. I never dared to do these kind of stuffs before, but I went for it anyway and it was not that bad! :P 

We were then called inside, and my god, the welcome they gave us was awesome!! Like a celebrity! I really loved it, big thanks to the AIESEC Team who organized it!

Moreover, we were introduced to the structure of AIESEC, the terms used, the rules, vision, values, well all about AIESEC. We were asked about our expectations from AIESEC and they answered them. Then came the famous JIVE, which is a dance in AIESEC! Again, I don't know how to dance, but played the game and I enjoyed so much that I can't even describe it! :)

Here are some examples of the AIESEC jive:

The rest of the activities were oriented towards what AIESEC was and finally there was a group activity.  It ended at 16:30 and what I can conclude is that AIESEC is awesome, and I took the right decision when joining it.

Please find below a video on the history of AIESEC:

Lazy mood

Today is one of those days when I really have a lot of work to do, but I am not in a mood to do anything.. So, I guess I'll just watch tv a bit and then have a nice sleep! :)

News of the Day!!

So, the good news is that I've passed my interview and been selected as a member of AIESEC Mauritius!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :)))))))))))))))


I'm very happy and feeling really proud of myself!

Song of the day: Scorpions - Wind Of Change

I really like this song, enjoy! :))

World Food Day 2010 at UoM

The theme selected for the WFD 2010 by the FAO is "United against Hunger".

Since its foundation in  1945, the FAO celebrates the WFD on the 16th October every year.  At the University of Mauritius (UoM), this event will be organised by the Agricultural Society (affiliated to the Students' Union) in collaboration with the Faculty of Agriculture (FoA) on the 11th and 12th November 2010.

The objectives of the WFD 2010 at UoM will be to:

1) encourage attention to agricultural food production through various activities

2) heighten public awareness of the problem of food security and hunger in the World through different activities and an awareness campaign under the theme "United against Hunger"

3) group all stakeholders in agriculture on a platform, whereby it can be discussed how everybody can work together and help each other to increase food production through sustainable agriculture and make it available and accessible to those who are in need

4) Encourage the participation of agricultural organizations, entrepreneurs and students in the event

11th November 2010

Thursday 11th November 2010 will be a seminar held at the Paul Octave Wiehe Auditorium, whereby all stakeholders in agriculture (students as well) will be invited and they will discuss on the theme "United against Hunger".

12th November 2010

The World Food Day will be celebrated on the FoA green space on the 12th November 2010, where there will be different activities (Food sale, Awareness campaign, Games, Exhibition, Entertainment etc.) under the theme set by the FAO.

The students have started to work on this upcoming event in the hope of making it the biggest event ever organized at the Faculty of Agriculture!

Here is an interesting video on Food - World Food Day 2009: