Experience, knowledge equity is the most valuable equity young people can have. From Sarah Singla:

if you want to be a farmer, you will have to go to school. In the past we used to say that you should go to school—otherwise you will have to stay on the farm. But today, if you want to be farmer, you must go to school

John: Sarah, you have developed a very interesting perspective in a farming operation. What are some of the memorable moments and the highlights that have led you to make different decisions?

Sarah: I travel a lot. I’ve visited the US, New Zealand, Australia, and some of the parts of Europe, Brazil, Argentina, etc., and I have met very insightful people.

And what I’ve seen is that some farmers are very efficient. They don’t have any tractors or big machinery. First of all, they think. They understand how nature works; they often want to mimic nature. So what I would say to people is to go and learn, learn, learn. In Brazil, they say that efficiency is directly linked to the knowledge you have. The more knowledge you have, the more efficient you will be, and the more profitable you will be. And I truly believe that.

The more knowledge you have, the more profitable you will be on your farm, because the agriculture of tomorrow will be directly linked to knowledge. Farming is the most difficult job in the world, because being a farmer is walking with nature. We have to produce food, we have to respect the environment; we have to have knowledge in agronomy, in husbandry, in mechanics, in accounting.

This means that in the future, if you want to be a farmer, you will have to go to school. In the past we used to say that you should go to school—otherwise you will have to stay on the farm. But today, if you want to be farmer, you must go to school—you must go study. I see that all around the world.