AGRONOMISTS: If they aren’t running their own farms, they’re helping others run theirs.

Career & Education talks this week to Newton Brown, an agronomist of more than 10 years, about the profession. The father of two is currently an extension officer with the Rural Agriculture Development Agency (RADA), operating in the Old Harbour extension area.

Brown, 38, holds a diploma in agriculture from the College of Agriculture, Science and Education. He is also a past student of Tacius Golding Secondary School and the Ebony Park HEART Academy.

Who is an agronomist?

An agronomist is really somebody who studied the management of soil and crop production with a view to offer the service, as I do, as an extension officer helping people to learn how to grow crops, or to go into farming.

What is the value of the work that you do?

It is really two-fold. One is that it creates income for myself and it gives me the opportunity to offer service to other people, to farmers really. It is a job that, by offering the service, allows for the farmers to produce better crops to get higher yields which will, in turn, give them higher income to also benefit the country.

What prompted your entry the field?

When I attended secondary school, I was compelled by my grandmother to do woodwork. But when I reached grade 10 and it was time to select an option, there wasn’t any woodwork teacher. So I selected agriculture as my second choice. We were told to do the second choice until there was a teacher for the woodwork. The teacher who used to teach agriculture at the school was a gentleman by the name Vinroy Harrison. He is currently the principal at a school in Clarendon; he was a very strict teacher. He was the teacher who could quiet all the students, whether it is through beating or whatever. I actually went to the class and he gave some notes and I decided that I don’t want this man to lick mi so I went home and studied the notes. We were given a test the following week and I actually scored 100, which at the time some students were getting eight per cent, 18 per cent… I think maybe because of the 100, I decided that I would maintain the high scoring. So I started to study agriculture in depth and at the time when the woodwork teacher came, I was so comfortable in the agriculture class that I didn’t change again. That was the beginning of my career in agriculture.

What is typical day like for you?

An extension officer with RADA is really the extension officer of the Ministry of Agriculture. We are mandated to offer farmers technical assistance in terms of individual farm visits and farmer training. And then we have to report on all agricultural activity within the area so when we are not doing training, we are conducting individual farm visits. By doing this we actually look at crops from time to time as farmers call to say what problems they have. We go and see what the problem is and make recommendations.

What are the academic requirements to become an agronomist?

I don’t know specifically how many subjects are required. But I know that currently if you don’t have the required subjects, you do (agriculture) level one (with the HEART Academy), which is one year, and then level two, which is another year. After that, you go to CASE.

What other skills and/or competencies are required for the field?

First of all, you have to be a people person. Extension work is really something that you have to be a well-rounded person. The farmers will come to you with various complaints and you can’t ignore them; you have to try and address them. So your mannerism has to be there because you have different levels of farmers from different educational levels, who will come to you. Some of them will even use indecent language at times so you have to also have self-control.

What are the challenges you face on the job?

My biggest challenge really is the amount of travelling, the amount of mileage that is allocated to an extension officer to really accomplish what is required. It restricts your movement because there is a lot of things that we have to do and to collect authentic data means that you have to incur some amount of travelling because you can’t stay in your office and know what is happening out there.

What do you most enjoy about your job?

I enjoy giving somebody advice to correct some problem, then it makes you feel good. Also, I am not somebody who really likes the confinement of staying in an office for a whole day, so travelling throughout the year, I really enjoy that as well. I grew up on a farm so most farming activity is something that I really enjoy getting involved in.

How much can you make as an agronomist on an annual basis?

In terms of operating your own enterprise, that is something I would have to really pencil out. But the average farmer, to operate like a two-acre plot I think — depending on the technology that you use — can make up one to $2 million a year planting a variety of things. Working with the Government (as an extension officer), you can make between $1 million and $1.2 million each year, including the allowances. Offering the service with the private sector, I think it might be in the region of $80,000 to $100,000 per month.

Why would you encourage anyone to get into agronomy?

It allows you to get a job and the most interesting part is that you will have a skill that will enable you to provide your own job. Right now, agriculture is the most focused area in terms of improving the status that the country is in right now based on the recession. So as it is now, there are several persons wanting to go into agriculture — right now some of them even without agriculture knowledge. So as an agronomist, you will be able to excel in farming.