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Every morning 20 students can be seen tending to over 30 species of vegetables planted in raised beds, a green house, and garden plots at Kentucky State University’s Harold R. Benson Research and Demonstration Farm. Under the direction of assistant professor for urban agriculture, Dr. Theoneste Nzaramyimana, the group of 12 undergraduates and 8 graduate students are conducting hands-on research on urban agriculture.

This is a continuation of last year’s highly successful research project which produced 7,127 pounds of crops that students donated to local community shelters, students, staff, and faculty. 

The group has grown substantially from its original team of five students and is on track to produce and donate about 14,000 pounds to the community. The group has already distributed more than 500 pounds since May. 

“Kentucky State’s student run farm can be one of the avenues where we can reduce food insecurity even on campus itself. Faculty are taking food, staff are taking food, and students are taking food; it shows there’s really a need,” said Dr. Nzaramyimana. “[The impact of the project really shows] when a student, who has never grown anything in their life, comes and grows something and now gets to donate it. You can really see the joy when they are donating, giving, and distributing food. It’s so rewarding.”

In addition to the larger team and harvest, this year has also involved increased research activities. 
“The farm last year was small and our team was small. This year is really different because our team has grown and Dr. Theo is giving a lot of opportunities to students to do more research and he is attributing research to everyone so that they can have more knowledge about what they’re doing,” explained returning student participant, Affoue Yao. 

“The experience that you have in the classroom is [a nice way] to understand the book side of things but then once you get to see it in the actual field or in the greenhouse or in the lab, it’s a whole other experience,” said Jaiya McCargo, junior environmental systems major.

The group plans to use their research to create and distribute more fact sheets on topics such as nutrition, land management, harvesting methods, and more. 

For many students, this is their first experience with hands on agriculture and research.

“I’m from Cincinnati so I really have no experience in any type of rural area and it’s been really cool learning something new every day. We go to the farm every day; we go to the lab; we go to the greenhouse; we go check on the raised beds. Literally everyday there’s something new, something different. It’s very enriching,” said Alecia Daniels, junior environmental systems major.

Nia Ragland is one student who has returned for the research project’s second year. This time around, Ragland has returned as a graduate research assistant and is helping new team members develop their knowledge and skills just as her mentors had helped her the year before.

“There’s always something to learn. I think the great thing about this lab in particular is that we don’t just come and work, we also try to mentor our undergrad students. We use every day as a learning opportunity to enrich them with something different,” explained Ragland. “Cora and all the other admin and grad students have been really great, really welcoming, and really understanding, especially with some of our undergrads who are completely unfamiliar with agriculture or how to grow and produce…It’s a very priceless experience because these are things that stick with you and they’re life skills that you can take with you in several different ways.”
“I have an amazing team. They make this process of [going from] not having any hands-on experience to being very experienced [possible],” said Jade McCargo, junior agriculture business major. “I feel like I could teach someone how to garden now.”

For more information or to join the project, contact Dr. Theoneste Nzaramyimana at theoneste.nzaramyima@kysu.edu