Agric

subject outline

Topics

• General Agriculture

  This section covers fundamental concepts in agriculture, including its definition, importance, ecological aspects, genetic principles, historical development, and the roles of government and NGOs.

• Meaning and Scope of Agriculture

  Explores the modern definition of agriculture, its various branches, and different types (subsistence and commercial), examining their advantages, disadvantages, and problems.

• Importance of Agriculture

  Examines agriculture's contributions, such as providing raw materials for agro-allied industries, creating employment, and fostering rural development, and its relation to West African economic development.

• Agricultural Ecology

  Covers the features and agricultural products of West Africa's ecological zones, and the effects of environmental (abiotic and biotic) factors on crop and livestock production.

• Agricultural Genetics

  Applies Mendel's laws and concepts of cell division to agriculture. Explores genetic terminologies, crop improvement methods (introduction, selection, crossing, quarantine), and animal improvement methods (introduction, breeding, quarantine, selection, and systems like inbreeding, cross-breeding, artificial insemination).

• Farm Inputs

  Classifies different types of farm inputs, such as planting materials and agrochemicals, and their respective uses in agriculture.

• History of Agricultural Development in West Africa

  Traces the evolution of agricultural systems (shifting cultivation, bush fallowing), identifies development problems (land tenure, infrastructure, finance), and assesses the roles of national/international research institutes, ADPs (RTEP, FADAMA), and national programs (OFN, NAFPP, NALDA) in agricultural science application.

• Roles of Government and NGOs in Agricultural Development

  Examines the impact of government fiscal policies (import duties, bans), agricultural laws (Land Use Act), development programs (subsidies, credit), and infrastructural provisions (transport, communication). Also covers the contributions of NGOs to agricultural development.

• Agronomy

  This section focuses on soil science, plant forms and functions, crop cultivation practices, and pest and disease management in agronomy.

• Rocks and Soil Formation

  Identifies major rock types and their formation, factors affecting rock weathering and soil formation, and explores the physical (profile, components, texture, structure, water-holding capacity) and chemical (acidity, alkalinity, silicate) properties of soil.

• Soil Water and Conservation

  Covers soil water importance, sources, movement, management, and conservation (capillary, gravitational, hygroscopic water, water-holding capacity, wilting points). Also addresses soil conservation techniques, causes/effects/control of erosion, leaching, continuous cropping, burning, and irrigation/drainage methods.

• Soil Fertility

  Examines macro and micronutrients and their roles in plant nutrition, including carbon, water, and nitrogen cycles. Explores soil flora and fauna, methods of maintaining fertility (cover crops, organic manures, fertilizers), and identifies nutrient deficiency symptoms (chlorosis, stunting, apical necrosis) and remedies.

• Land Preparation and Soil Tillage

  Compares different methods of land preparation and soil tillage, their advantages and disadvantages for various crops, and factors influencing the choice of tillage methods like zero or minimum tillage.

• Plant Forms and Functions

  Identifies parts and functions of monocot and dicot crop plants and distinguishes between them. Covers the anatomy and morphology of storage organs in common crop plants.

• Plant Growth, Development and Reproduction

  Examines the processes of gamete formation, pollination, fertilization, and embryo development, leading to the formation of seeds and fruits.

• Plant Propagation Methods

  Covers sexual propagation (seeds, viability, rate, germination) and asexual methods (cutting, budding, grafting, layering). Includes nursery establishment, types, advantages, disadvantages, and transplanting techniques.

• Cropping Systems, Planting Patterns and Plant Densities

  Identifies and compares cropping systems (monocropping, mixed, inter, rotational), planting patterns (broadcasting, row spacing, drilling), and plant densities (single, double, multiple stands), examining their effects on crop yield.

• Crop Husbandry for Key Crop Groups

  Applies methods of propagation, husbandry, harvesting, processing, and storage for major crop groups: Cereals, Legumes, Tubers, Vegetables/Spices, Fruits, Beverages, Oils, Latex, Fibres, and Sugars. Includes identification of common diseases/pests and economic importance.

• Pasture and Forage Crops

  Studies the morphology, propagation, husbandry, establishment, maintenance, conservation, and uses of pasture grasses and legumes. Covers natural grasslands in West Africa, distribution, and range management techniques.

• Floriculture

  Focuses on the identification, establishment, maintenance, and uses of common ornamental trees, shrubs, and flowers.

• Weeds and Weed Control

  Identifies weeds by common and scientific names, their morphology, reproduction, dispersal, and effects. Explores various weed control methods, including weeding, mulching, cover cropping, tillage, herbicides, and trap cropping.

• Crop Diseases

  Identifies store and field disease-causing organisms (fungi, bacteria, nematodes, viruses), their symptoms, damage, transmission, and control methods. Examines side effects of control methods, such as pollution and ecosystem disturbance.

• Crop Pests and Control

  Covers general pests of agricultural plants (field and store), their types, economic importance, and prevention/control methods. Includes life cycles of biting (grasshopper), boring (weevils), and sucking (aphids) insects, and discusses common pesticides and their side effects.

• Forest Management (Silviculture)

  Explores the importance of forests as sources of wood, pulp, and fiber. Covers conservation methods including regulation, exploitation, regeneration, afforestation, agro-forestry, and management systems like taungya, alley, and ley farming.

• Animal Production

  This section covers the classification, anatomy, physiology, reproduction, nutrition, health, and management of farm animals, including fisheries, wildlife, and apiculture.

• Forms and Classification of Farm Animals

  Classifies major farm animals in West Africa by species, breeds, distribution, and uses. Identifies external features of cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, rabbits, and poultry.

• General Animal Production Terminologies

  Distinguishes between common terms used in animal husbandry, such as calving, kidding, castrate, tupping, veal, and mutton.

• Anatomy and Physiology of Farm Animals

  Examines the functions of tissues and organs, compares different body systems (digestive, reproductive, respiratory, urinary, nervous), and determines the effects of environmental changes (climate, temperature, humidity, light) on physiological development.

• Reproduction in Farm Animals

  Covers gametogenesis, oestrus cycle, signs of heat, gestation, parturition, and the role of hormones. Traces the development from fertilization to birth and care of young, including mammary glands and lactation, and the process of egg formation, incubation, and hatching in poultry.

• Animal Nutrition

  Identifies feed nutrients, their sources and functions. Covers feed formulation, common pasture/forage crops, hay/silage preparation, and different types of rations (maintenance, production). Explores causes, symptoms, and correction of nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition in farm animals.

• Livestock Management Systems

  Applies different management practices including housing, feeding, sanitation, and veterinary care for ruminants, pigs, rabbits, and poultry under intensive, semi-intensive, and extensive systems, from birth to slaughter.

• Animal Health - Diseases and Parasites

  Identifies animal diseases, causative agents, symptoms, transmission, effects, and appropriate preventive/curative measures against viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa. Classifies livestock parasites, determines their role in disease transmission, traces life cycles, and applies prevention/control methods (dipping, spraying, deworming, sanitation).

• Fisheries and Wildlife Management

  Identifies common fish types and differentiates fish culture systems (extensive, semi-intensive, intensive), including pond establishment and management. Assesses harvesting (drag nets, hook and line) and processing methods (curing, sun-drying, smoking), and covers fishery regulations. Also explores wildlife management, habitat conservation, and regulations in West Africa.

• Bee-keeping (Apiculture)

  Relates apiculture to economic development, differentiates between exotic and indigenous bee types, classifies traditional and modern bee-keeping methods, and identifies equipment and necessary safety measures.

• Agricultural Economics and Extension

  This section covers economic principles, labor and farm management, marketing of agricultural produce, and agricultural extension services.

• Factors of Agricultural Production

  Examines land (ownership types, uses, features), labor (types, sources), capital (sources, problems), and management, including the functions of a farm manager in agricultural enterprises.

• Basic Economic Principles

  Relates demand and supply in agriculture, interprets their graphical representation, and covers production functions (input/output relationships, stages, diminishing returns, scale of preference, choice). Distinguishes characteristics of agricultural production like small holdings, biological limits, climate susceptibility, seasonality, and price elasticity.

• Labour Management

  Identifies ways to achieve labor efficiency, differentiates between types and sources of labor (e.g., permanent), and applies national labor laws and regulations in agriculture.

• Farm Management

  Identifies the qualities, functions, and problems of a farm manager. Differentiates types and importance of farm records, including livestock and profit/loss accounts. Covers stock evaluation (gross/net profits, appreciation, depreciation, salvage value) and examines agricultural insurance (meaning, importance, types, and associated problems).

• Marketing of Agricultural Produce

  Evaluates the importance of agricultural marketing, classifies marketing agents and their functions, and determines the characteristics of agricultural products that affect their marketing.

• Agricultural Extension

  Identifies the importance of agricultural extension and analyzes the roles of ADPs, universities, research institutes, and farmer organizations (cooperatives). Differentiates between various extension methods (demonstration plots, visual aids, mass media) and examines problems/solutions for agricultural extension in West Africa.

• Agricultural Technology

  This section explores farm surveying, tools, machinery, mechanization, processing, storage, biotechnology, ICT applications, and agricultural research methods.

• Farm Surveying and Farmstead Planning

  Examines the relevance of farm surveying, classifies common surveying equipment and their uses/care, differentiates between survey methods, and applies principles of farmstead planning.

• Simple Farm Tools

  Identifies, uses, and maintains simple farm tools, comparing their advantages and disadvantages.

• Farm Machinery and Implements

  Identifies and classifies common farm machinery (tractors, milking machines) and implements by their uses. Covers operation and appropriate maintenance routines.

• Mechanization and Farm Power Sources

  Compares advantages and disadvantages of various farm power sources (animal, machines). Distinguishes between the advantages and disadvantages of agricultural mechanization and assesses its problems and prospects in West Africa.

• Processing and Storage

  Identifies the importance of agricultural processing and differentiates between traditional and modern methods (e.g., gari, rice, groundnut processing). Identifies and compares different storage methods, applying appropriate techniques to various crops.

• Introduction to Biotechnology

  Uses basic terms in biotechnology such as tissue culture, anther culture, in vitro fertilization, and genetic engineering, and understands their importance and application.

• Application of ICT in Agriculture

  Identifies computer components and their uses in agriculture (disease/weather forecasting, ration formulation, databases, simulations). Utilizes communication gadgets (mobile phones, internet) to improve agricultural production.

• Agricultural Research and Statistics

  Uses basic concepts in planning agricultural experiments (hypothesis, treatment, control) and interprets results, including measures of central tendency and experimental errors.