Samoe has decided to leave crop cultivation for good! Once bitten, twice shy. He has been bitten many times. He has now decided that he was going to become a small scale cattle farmer. He had fenced their family farm, exhausting his savings. So he could not immediately start rearing cattle. He decided to try a hand in writing, an occupation that was familiar to him. Samoe is just among many young people abandoning small scale cultivation to try their hands in other things. Many factors are driving people away from their farms. Small scale farming is no longer a viable occupation and farmers in the third world do not have the resources to venture into high-tech and mechanized large scale farming. Small scale farmers now need support than ever before, if it is to become an attractive occupation and support the exploding population.

As many countries in the third world, especially Africa emerged from colonialism, many young people went to school to be able to get a white collar job and join the elite club that was emerging immediately after independence. And this was true for some time until the job market became saturated and industrialization stalled. One would think that since industrialization had stalled, agriculture was going to be the only alternative, but NO!

Agriculture in most of the third world countries is an economic sector that lack incentives. While countries in Europe and North America benefit from subsides and support in case of crop failure due to natural factors beyond control of the farmer, no visible support is forthcoming in third world countries. This leaves agriculture as a fragile occupation, especially with global warming phenomena. Heavy rains have come pounding for as long as 6 months, at a time which is supposed to be characterized by short and light rains , and sometimes rains are not forthcoming when it is expected. Samoei had planted onions in 1998 but heavy rains made weeding to be a nightmare, and he had planted beans towards the end of the rains but were scotched by the sun towards flowering. He had also tried planting tomatoes for several years later but had been completely destroyed by rains that went on pouring hard so long as the tomatoes were still alive, and stopping immediately the plants had completely rotten. After having used all the scarce funds trying to spray the tomatoes, Samoe's shoes had become worn out completely. As if that was not enough, he had remained with a completely tattered trouser and one fairer one. A curse indeed! When Samoe felt into the same misfortune this year, he decided packing to leave farming to become a scribe, the only visible occupation after a contract he had been given in a college came to an abrupt end, yet it was supposed to mature into a department.

Even if jobs are not forthcoming, small scale crop cultivation is not going to be the only saviour. Young people in the third world are trying creative arts and the information technology sector. They are singing, acting, reparing computers and running computer cyber cafes. And still some are joining the relatively new, mysterious and fragile multilevel marketing which in most cases deals in drug products and promises fourthnight riches. At least some young people are succeeding in entrepreneurship. And a question is inevitable. Who will continue courting peasant farming yet it is apparently ugly? Perhaps it may blossom to become Mrs. Earth Beauty. I doubt!

Apart from unfriendly climatic changes, crop farming is competing for attention with other sectors of the economy and it is loosing. While few organizations may consider funding agriculture, land title deeds requirement may become a hindrance since young people who may want to try farming do not have. Most parents do not entertain the idea of loans. And due to many prohibiting factors, it becomes hard to confidently write an agricultural business plan to be given to a funding institution that may have reluctantly listened. Even if agricultural extension officers turn to become inspirational and motivational speakers, trying to tell people that farming is profitable, experience says otherwise. Perhaps small scale farming may be courting an indefinite sunset.