Bryan Sarauer contributed to the Dr. Samir El Naggar Applied Agricultural Technology School project
An instructor from Saskatchewan Polytechnic’s Moose Jaw campus helped open ag agricultural school more than 9,000 kilometres away.
Bryan Saurer, an instructor in the college’s continuing education department, participated in the development of the Dr. Samir El Naggar Applied Agricultural Technology School at the Daltex Salma Farm located a few hours north of Cairo, Egypt’s capital.
“In May I was tapped as someone who could offer some expertise on the project,” he told Farms.com.
Sarauer brought his experience in curriculum development, which includes helping launch Sask. Polytechnic’s Agriculture and Food Production diploma program, to the table.
In July, he and instructors from Lakeland College and NorQuest College traveled to Egypt to support the project and work with stakeholders.
“My role was to advise Daltex, who started the new agricultural school, on some of the challenges they might encounter, how to teach agriculture from a hands-on perspective, how to do it safely, and what opportunities there are on the farm for the students to learn,” he said.
The hands-on aspect of learning sets the new ag school apart from others in the country.
He held workshops with about 25 Egyptian ag teachers who were excited to trade text heavy learning for in-field experience.
“Nothing beats getting in the field and learning on the job, and these teachers were excited to take their work to a new level,” Sarauer said. “For example, there’s pivots on the farm and one of the things they want to do is take corners of the pivots and assign them to students to have projects on underutilized parts of the farm.”
Daltex has 12 locations in Egypt spanning about 56,000 acres.
The Salma Farm very much resembles a modern Canadian operation.
“Farmers are farmers wherever they are in the world,” he said. “Here they’re using modern technologies and modern equipment. They have the same excitement about planting and harvesting as any farmer in Saskatchewan or across Canada would.”
And like farmers in other parts of the world, farmers on the Salma Farm have challenges too.
This includes issues with water, weather, and soil conditions.
“They’re very concerned about water use and nutrient leeching,” Sarauer said. “And they’re growing crops in soil that looks like sand you’d find in a child’s sandbox. It looks bad but they’re growing food in these conditions.”
Sarauer, who grew up on a Saskatchewan farm, came away from the project with his own takeaways.
Like a renewed appreciation for global agriculture.
“It was very interesting to see how they grew grapes and mangoes,” he said. “They grow potatoes there too but because of the sandy soil it’s easier than what Canadian farmers might be used to.”
The school recently opened its doors to 43 students who will learn in portables while a permanent building is built on the farm.
“Our faculty and staff are ready to guide and teach our students with a curated curriculum and hands-on field training to equip them for their future career paths,” Daltex said in an Instagram post.