The Faculty of Agriculture is not only beautifully cited in a conducive academic environment but is blessed with highly qualified, properly exposed and renowned scientists as lecturers; kind and friendly administrative and technical staff who are ever willing to help students build a future they will ever live to remember. The faculty has well equipped laboratories with technical staff that are always willing to assist students in their practical classes and expose them to the use of laboratory equipment.

After registration, students are assigned Academic Advisers in their various departments who provide adequate guidance and counselling on academic and personal matters. Students are encouraged to make good use of these services. Ignatius Ajuru University of Education periodically applies the “RED CARD” when students are found wanting in character and in learning at any stage of their career.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

The Faculty of Agriculture, started first as a department of Agriculture at the inception of the then Rivers State College of Education in 1984 with the 3 years Nigeria Certificate in Education (NCE) Programme.

With the affiliation of the College to the Institute of Education of the University of Ibadan in 1982, the College became a degree awarding institution.

The first set of students into the then department of Agriculture were admitted in 1992 and graduated in 1996 with B. Sc.Ed. degree in Agricultural Education.

Through a law enacted by the House of Assembly and assented to by the Governor, the college was elevated to a full- fledged University in 2009 with all the rights and privileges appertaining thereto. The department has been teaching and awarding degrees of Bachelor of Science in Agricultural Education till date.

The restrictive nature of the name “department of Agriculture” instead of a Faculty of Agriculture in a University and the dwindling students’ subscription to the programmes offered by the department necessitated a first step in the metamorphosis to a faculty of Agriculture. This metamorphosis was championed by the then First Substantive Head of Department of Agriculture – Professor Sixtus O. Anyanwu  and led to the introduction of three major options- Agricultural Economics and Extension, Animal Science and Fisheries and Crop and Soil Sciences in 2015/2016. This strategy paid off as students’ subscriptions increased by more than 50%. More courses were introduced and efforts intensified towards achieving the goals of the department. In 2017 the department started a postgraduate programme leading to the award of M.Sc. in Agricultural Education.

It was the NUC team who visited the University in 2017 in respect of the post graduate programme that advised that the name Department of Agricultural Science be changed to department of Agriculture.

The Rivers State University of Education (Amendment Law), No. 2 of 2010 established the following Faculties in the Fifth Schedule: Faculties of Humanities, Natural and Applied Sciences, Social Sciences, Education, Industrial Education, Agricultural Sciences and Business Studies.

Other faculties took off smoothly except faculty of Agriculture which remained a department of Agricultural sciences under the faculty of Vocational and Technical Education. Faculty of Agriculture remained a surrealistic hope until 22 November 2021 when the new Vice Chancellor – Professor Okechuku Onuchuku announced in his maiden Senate meeting the establishment of a FULL-BLOWN FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE in Ignatius Ajuru University of Education. The VC immediately set up a mechanism to realize this by inaugurating a committee on the harmonization of undergraduate programmes in line with best practices in Nigerian Universities headed by the Director of Academic Planning- Prof. J.B.Kinanee.

The Vice Chancellor – Professor Okechuku Onuchuku appointed the former Dean, Faculty of Vocational and Technical Education Professor Sixtus O. Anyanwu as the First and Pioneer Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture Ignatius Ajuru University of Education in August 2022. The faculty is poised to commence with four Departments, namely Agricultural Economics and Extension, Department of Animal Science and Fisheries and Department of Crop and Soil Sciences carved out from the former options of the Department Agriculture and the existing Department of Home Economics, Hospitality and Tourism.

The department has a staff strength of …..(22) academic staff and (11) non teaching staff.

PHILOSOPHY AND OBJECTIVES OF THE FACULTY

The philosophy of the Faculty of Agriculture is the production of graduates that are adequately equipped with the comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills required for engaging in productive and economic agricultural production. The Faculty of Agriculture of Ignatius Ajuru University of Education was established for the broad-based training of undergraduates in various areas of Agricultural production and processing which include Agricultural Economics and Extension, Animal science and fisheries, Crop and Soil Sciences, Aquaculture/Fisheries, Forestry and Wild Life Management and Agro—meteorology, Home Economics, Nutrition and Dietetic, Hotel or Hospitality Management and Tourism. The Programme is meant to equip her products with a wide range of skills and the capacity to utilize scientific knowledge in developing practical solutions to the problems of Agricultural productions and processing in the Niger Delta, Nigeria and the World.

The philosophy of the faculty is to ensure that our graduates will have a clear knowledge and understanding of the place and importance of Agriculture, Aquaculture/Fisheries, Forestry and Wild Life management, Water resources management and Agro-meteorology, Home Economics, Nutrition and Dietetic, as well as Hotel or Hospitality Management and Tourism in National development.

In order to achieve this, the students should have a broad knowledge and exposure to other disciplines in the process of acquiring this competence. The basic goal focuses on training students through teaching and research by carefully designing courses in the fields of Agricultural Economics and Extension, Animal science and fisheries, Crop and Soil Sciences, Aquaculture/Fisheries, Forestry and Wild Life Management and Agro—meteorology, Home Economics, Nutrition and Dietetic, Hotel or Hospitality Management and Tourism which are relevant to National development in general and also relevant to competence in the career of the student in particular. This process stimulates the student to imbibe the spirit and culture of entrepreneurship. This is in keeping or aligning with the National Universities Commission (NUC) on Minimum Academic Standard (MAS). In the formation of the curriculum presented, care has been taken to ensure that the programme is taught as it exists at any moment. The undergraduate programme leads to the award of Bachelor of Agriculture (B. Agric) degree in Agricultural Economics, Extension, Animal Science, Aquaculture/ Fisheries, Crop and Soil Sciences, B.Forestry and Wild Life Mgt, B.Water & Agro-meteorology, B.Sc. Food Sc. & Tech., B.Sc. Nutrition & Dietetic and B.Sc. Hospitality Mgt & Tourism.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

The objectives of the faculty include:

• To produce graduates geared towards self-employment;
• To produce graduates with sufficient technical, productive and entrepreneurship in any aspect of agriculture and other related disciplines;
• To produce graduates that are relevant to themselves, the industry and society and who can contribute effectively to national development goals in agriculture.
• To advance knowledge in Agriculture in order to enhance the skills and expertise required for self-reliance and gainful employment;
• To provide a good academic environment as a necessity in preparing the students for scholarship and service to humanity;
• To educate the students on the place and importance of Research and Development” using the concepts and techniques in Agriculture as well as Home Economics, Hospitality and Tourism industry for the development of our immediate community and the nation at large; and
• To enable the students, acquire the knowledge through the broad-based training in relation to the MAS as required by the NUC, thereby making our graduates competitive in various challenges and ventures in life.

The overall objective of the programme is to produce graduates with good understanding in their vast areas of specialization.

Prof. Sixtus O.Anyanwu

Dean

EDUCATION

1. Agric., Agricultural Economics, (UNN, 1987)
2. Sc. (FUT, Owerre, 1994)

PGDE, Usmanu Dan Fodio University Sokoto, 2007

Ph.D., Farm Management and Production Economics, (FUT, Owerri)

PUBLICATIONS

Professor Anyanwu has published several books, and chapters in books and has published more than 98 scholarly articles in local and international journals, and presented numerous papers in conferences and workshops.

PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS

Professor Anyanwu belongs to many professional and academic societies.

2022-2023

Professor Sixtus Anyanwu