Scholar Brooks looks at adding value to farm operations

Undergraduate Research Scholar Samaya Brooks calls herself “business-driven and ag-minded.”

Her love of agriculture started at her Pittsburgh high school; her love of business was fostered at N.C. A&T. Now, as an agribusiness major and an Undergraduate Research Scholar, Brooks wants to put the two together and help farmers turn a better profit by customizing their own produce.

“The high school I went to had an agriculture pathway program, so that’s how I got involved,” despite growing up in a large city, she said. “I knew I wanted to work in agriculture because I wanted to work with people. I knew I wouldn’t necessarily have to work in an office all the time and that there would be a lot of outreach opportunities.”

Brooks’s parents attended North Carolina Central University. She went her own way and decided to attend N.C. A&T.

“I knew that I wanted to follow them and go to an Historically Black College and University for college as well,” she said.

But her decision to study agribusiness, in the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agricultural Education, was based on the recommendation of her high school teachers, saying the disciplined offered “the freedom to go as far as you want.”

“There are so many different skills within that major,” said Brooks. “There’s community agriculture, or you can look at it from a global perspective. You can look at it from a small farmer’s perspective, or from an economics perspective. Agribusiness encompasses all of that. You choose – it can take you anywhere.”

During her college career, Brooks has been a research assistant, presenting at the annual Agricultural and Applied Economics Association (AAEA) meeting in California; held an internship with Syngenta as part of the 2022 North Carolina Governor’s HBCU Internship Program; and participating in CAES’ Undergraduate Research Scholars Program, working with Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, Ph.D. to develop a consumer profile for value-added products in North Carolina.

Kenrett Jefferson-Moore, right, chair of the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education at N.C. A&T, encouraged Samaya Brooks to apply for the Undergraduate Research Scholars program.

“I would describe small farmers in America as underpaid and overworked,” said Brooks. “We’re looking to help them add more revenue without necessarily increasing their workload too much. We’ve found that value-added products are a great way to do so.”

“Value-added” as an agricultural term refers to the practices that allow farmers to align consumer preferences with agricultural food products, potentially increasing their sales.

“If you were a strawberry farmer, you could sell the strawberries, but you could also create a strawberry jam. That’s a value-added product,” she said. “We’re trying to encourage more farmers to use those practices.”

According to USDA statistics in 2022, small family-owned farmers (with gross cash farm incomes of less than $350,000 before expenses) make up 89.2% of farms in America, yet only hold 20.4% of production share.

For her study of consumer interest in purchasing value-added goods, Brooks started with a Qualtrics survey.

“We targeted all of the counties in the state,” said Brooks. “As long as you were over 18 and lived in North Carolina, you were eligible to participate. We wanted to have a broad scope of results.”

Brooks obtained 884 usable responses, from which she could determine that the average consumer profile was between the age of 18 and 24, identified as female, held at least some college education, and was married with a household income between $30,000 and $39,000. At large, out of the 884 usable responses, 681 respondents (77%) said they would be interested in purchasing a value-added product.

Brooks credits Jefferson-Moore’s teaching approach with her method’s success.

“She gently guides you and was just able to help me through my literature review,” Brooks said. “She encouraged me to put myself out there and bring back the work, so we were able to critique it, which I very much appreciated because it helped me grow and learn from mistakes that I had made.”

“I thoroughly enjoyed watching Ms. Brooks learn and understand the scientific methodology,” said Jefferson-Moore. “It was truly a give-and-take process. At the very beginning, we put together a timeline for the appropriate deliverables.  We met on a bi-weekly basis to check-in with her progress.  We would talk things over, and I would provide insight on what should happen next.  The best part of the entire process serving as a mentor was knowing when to teach, guide, and let go.”

Brooks graduated In May, 2023, but she came right back – to pursue a master’s degree. Along with the knowledge for her career, she said, N.C. A&T is building her drive and resilience.

“We’re very driven here, and North Carolina A&T has taught me to be driven, no matter what I do,” Brooks said. “To go for things, even though I don’t feel confident, but you have to put yourself out there and try. Being part of the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program has shown me that if it’s something I’m interested in, I can do it.”

“I have no doubt in my mind that Samaya will do well in any area she chooses,” said Jefferson-Moore. “Now, she will move forward with several paths to consider.  This is what we want.  We want the students to recognize the many opportunities afforded to them.”