COURSE OUTLINE FOR BACHELOR OF SCIENCE (Bsc.) DIPLOMA IN AGRICULTURE AND FARMING MANAGEMENT
MISSION AND OBJECTIVE OF THE PROGRAM
The mission of the Bachelor of Science (Bsc.) in Agriculture and Farming Management degree program is to enhance the career trajectory of agricultural professionals, practitioners, and educators by improving their ability to apply new and emerging scientific findings and technologies to the advancement and expansion of their disciplines through:
Successful completion of high quality courses designed to support expertise expansion in targeted areas or disciplines;
Participation in an immersion-based, high quality research experience;
Opportunities to disseminate knowledge through participation in and/or development of extension programs or media.
The degree program is primarily designed to support the educational advancement of place bound, time bound students in a distance learning course delivery format; however, students on our e-campus also may access the degree program.
The overall goal of the program is to prepare high level graduates for professional, practitioner, and educator opportunities in agriculture, so that they may provide leadership and disseminate knowledge to an increasingly complex society.
Msc. in Agriculture and Farming Management Program Objectives:
To prepare students to become experts in professional fields related to agriculture and farming.
To prepare students to become outstanding educators or practitioners in agricultural disciplines.
To prepare students to become outstanding leaders and team players in collaborative and interdisciplinary application of their expertise to address local, regional, national and/or global problems associated with agriculture.
To provide students with an experiential-based research opportunity designed to translate content provided in coursework to reality.
To both enhance the visibility and impact of graduate programs in agricultural sciences and provide students with a pathway for manifesting their career objectives.
Plant Health Management (PHM): To meet an expanding demand for plant health management specialists to promote food security and food safety on a global scale, the PHM option is designed to provide students with a foundational understanding of the essential components of plant protection through courses in the plant health management core, as well as a basic understanding of market aspects of the business through courses in the management core.
Student Learning Outcomes
Objective 1. To prepare students to become experts in professional fields related to agriculture. Students will:
Expand breadth of knowledge and expertise in agricultural disciplines and closely related fields.
Increase depth of knowledge and expertise in agriculture as related to the student’s professional goals.
Enhance ability to adapt to emerging changes in technology, economics, societal influences, and communication that have a dramatic impact on the agricultural industry.
Objective 2. To prepare students to become outstanding educators or practitioners in agricultural disciplines. Students will:
Develop critical thinking skills and ability to assess and comprehend societal problems, stakeholder concerns and scientific questions that formulate major issues to be addressed through applied and/or basic research.
Develop scientific literacy by independently assessing, interpreting, and summarizing literature and other sources of knowledge on the research topic.
Develop research objectives and hypotheses through the use of logic and critical thinking.
Propose, evaluate or execute experimental protocol regarding stated hypothesis.
Collect, summarize, and interpret research data.
Effectively communicate at different levels the results of research in written, graphic, and verbal modes.
Objective 3. To prepare students to become outstanding leaders and team players in collaborative and interdisciplinary application of their expertise to address local, regional, national and/or global problems associated with agriculture. Students will:
Acquire advanced knowledge and skills necessary to function as an effective leader, manager, or team player.
Identify, assess and address the interactions among the many issues associated with agriculture and society at large.
Foster commitment to ethical behavior and appreciation for diversity, global cultures, traditions and perspectives.
Objective 4. To provide students with an experiential-based research opportunity designed to translate content provided in coursework to reality
Objective 5. To both enhance the visibility and impact of graduate programs in agricultural sciences and provide students with a pathway for manifesting their career objectives. The program will:
Increase the number and diversity of high quality applicants and students in the program.
Strengthen the college’s role in distance delivery by expanding access.
Place more our university graduates in lead positions within agricultural related fields.
Week 1
Aquaculture methods and practices: a selective review
Historical perspective
Overview of aquaculture methods and practices
Fish pond culture
Integrated fish farming
Pen and cage culture
Open water culture
Week 2
Aquatic site selection
Pond layout
Design of pond facilities
Typical cross section dikes
Pond management
Pond preparation
Stacking
Feeding
Water management
Pond maintenance
Week 3
More on integrated fish farming
Pen and cage culture
Culture species
Site selection
Design and construction
Week 4
Animal husbandry
What is animal husbandry
History of animal husbandry
Neolilhic revolution and domestication of animals
Ancient civilization
Medieval husbandry
Week 5
Animal feeding
Cattle feed pallets of pressed linseed
Animal breeding
Artificial insemination
Week 6
Animal health
Veterinary medicine
Familiar livestock
Range of species
Animal products
The concept of livestock farming with care
Week 7
Dairy farming
Poultry farming
Insects
Beekeeping, entomophagy and seviculture
Livestock and environmental impact
Animal welfare
Week 8
Agricultural marketing
Who employs agricultural marketing
Agricultural marketing techniques
Concept and definition
Scope and subject matter
New role of agricultural marketing
Importance of agricultural marketing
The foodgram marketing system
Week 9
Food processing, preservation and storage for economic development (the Nigeria case study)
Introduction
Economic development
Agriculture processing
Processing machines and equipment
Processing of common Nigerian crops: cassava, rice, oil palm, groundnut, yam, soybean, oil bearing seeds and processing of fruits and vegetables.
Week 10
Processing of livestock, fish and food items
Poultry production and processing
Mushroom production and processing
Fish production and processing
Snail production and processing
Week 11
Food preservation and storage
Preservation of fruits and vegetables
Storage techniques
Biotechnology
Week 12
Challenges of agricultural production
Challenges of agro-processing
Challenges of processing and storage technologies
Brief information on agricultural engineering
Week 13
Agriculture economics
Introduction to agric economics
The paradox of plenty
Pareto optimality
Principle of agriculture and resource economics
Week 14
Agriculture extension
Overview of extension education
Extension education defined
Objective of extension education
The difference between formal education and extension education
Why extension
Why study extension
Week 15
Historical antecedents of extension education
Objective of extension education
Historical perspective of agricultural extension in the world
Historical perspective of agricultural extension in Ghana
Week 16
Communication in agriculture extension
Objective
Communication process
The meaning of communication
Communication defined
Element of communication process
Models of communication
Why does communication happen
Week 17
Skills needed in communication
Objective
Sending effective message
Effective listening
Using feedback
Barriers to communication
Emotional interference
Week 18
Introduction to behavior change communication
Self-efficacy
Theory of reasoned action
Theory of planned behavior
Behavior change communication
Design BCC program
Week 19
Teaching and learning in extension
What is extension teaching
The concept of teaching
Steps to extension teaching
Motivation in extension teaching
Learning in extension
General principle of adult learning
Learning theories
The law of effect
Experiential learning
Week 20
Agricultural extension technology
Individual extension teaching method
Group extension teaching method
Mass method of extension teaching
Week 21
Reliable financial grants, foundations and donor agencies for agricultural projects you can contact rights away for beginners and development
