Agricultural Extension & Rural Development
I welcome you to the webpage of the Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development, University of Ibadan, Ibadan. The department is one of the eight Departments of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. The Department stated as a service Department in the Faculty to a full blown Department with its programmes. The Department which started in 1975 trains middle and high level manpower in the theory and practice of introducing sustainable changes to rural livelihood and general agricultural development in the areas of production and value addition.
In order to meet global extension needs of middle and high level manpower, the Department runs both undergraduate and postgraduate programmes in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development. The undergraduate programme leads to the award of Bachelor of Agriculture (B. Agric.) in Agricultural Extension and Rural Development while the three academic postgraduate programmes lead to award of Master of Science (M.Sc.), Master of Philosophy (M.Phil.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degrees, respectively. The professional Postgraduate Diploma programme leads to the award of the Postgraduate Diploma in Agricultural Extension (PDAE). Courses offered in these programmes include agricultural extension, agricultural administration, programme planning, extension psychology, rural sociology, agricultural communication, research methods, statistics and home economics among others.
The Department is poised to impress its contribution to agriculture and rural development and has been involved in several intervention activities aimed at emancipating rural populace from drudgery and low agricultural productivity as well as transforming agriculture into viable business. There are a host of rural community outreaches handled by the Department and these also serve as practical training modules for students as they learn about community intervention. These afford the students proficiency in application of cutting edge intervention procedures and prepares them fully for professional life as agricultural and rural change agents.
The Department is organized into four units namely: Agricultural Extension, Rural Sociology, Agricultural Communication and Home Economics. These units have a mix of renowned academics and resourceful administrative staff members.
Since its inception, the Department has benefited from the leadership of the following Heads of Department:
Prof. A.U. Patel 1975 – 1978
Prof. S.K.T. Williams 1978 – 1984; 1990-1993
Prof. J.A. Ekpere 1984 – 1988
Prof. Carol E. Williams 1988 - 1990; 1993- 1997
Prof. T.O. Ogunfiditimi 1997 - 1998
Prof. Janice E. Olawoye 1998 – 2004; 2009 - 2010
Prof. A. A. Ladele 2004 – 2006; 2010 -2014
Prof. T. A. Olowu 2006 – 2009
Prof. A. E. Adekoya 2014 to date
Under their leadership, the Department has produced several graduates who have risen to high echelon of their professions in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan African countries. The leadership role these graduates play in many Nigerian Universities, non-governmental organizations and agricultural development agencies is a testimony to the appropriateness and relevance of the programmes.
It is therefore with great pleasure that you are welcomed to this page and hoping that your expectations will be met. However, further details may be obtained by contacting the Department at agric_ext@mail.ui.edu.ng
Thank you and happy browsing.
Prof J.O.Oladeji. (HOD).