On behalf of the entire staff and students of the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry, it is my honour and privilege to welcome you to the Website of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.

The Faculty of Agriculture took off in 1949 with the assemblage of staff with Mr. W. H. Baker as the first Professor and Dean. Nine others joined him during the 1951/52 session when academic activities started with only one student – Mr. Joseph Akinwolemiwa, who passed on in 2008. He graduated in June 1953 and was followed by 4, 3, 4, 6, 8, 10, 11, 7, 9 and 14 in 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1963 respectively. Today, the Faculty has over 1, 376 undergraduate students, 1, 276 postgraduate students and 249 members of the academic staff consisting of Professors (45), Readers (14), Senior Lecturers (32), Lecturers (37) and Assistant Lecturers (13). Out of this some staffs are on sabbatical leave home and abroad while some are serving governments.

The honours course in Agriculture was introduced in 1958/59, and the June 1960 students were the first graduates with the honours classification. From 1948 to 1963 the University awarded degrees of the University of London under a scheme of special relationship. However, in 1963 the University received its own charter and became autonomous as the University of Ibadan and started to award its own degrees.

In 1962, the one-Department Faculty was split into four Departments of Agriculture, Agricultural Chemistry and Soils, Agricultural Biology and Agricultural Organization. By 1966-67 the four Departments were reorganized and respectively renamed Agronomy, Animal Science, Agricultural Biology and Agricultural Economics and Extension. In 1995, Agricultural Biology was renamed Crop Protection and Environmental Biology to reflect the multi-disciplinary nature of the Department.

In 1963, the Faculty assumed the new name Faculty of Agriculture, Forestry and Veterinary Science with the addition of four other Departments to its programme. These were Departments of Forestry, Veterinary Anatomy and Physiology, Veterinary Medicine and Surgery and Veterinary Pathology. All the Veterinary Science programmes moved out to form a new Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in 1975 and the Faculty adopted the present name, the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry. During the 1975/76 session, the Department of Agricultural Extension Services was created out of the Department of Agricultural Economics and Extension. The Department was re-named Department of Agricultural Extension and Rural Development in 2000/2001 academic session. In 1981/82 session the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Management was created out the Department of Forest Resources Management.

Consequent upon the series of reorganization from 1966/67 up till late 1980s the Faculty has awarded B.Sc. (Agric) with Honours in 12 degree options which included Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension Services, Crop Science, Soil Science, Horticulture, Animal Science, Agricultural Biochemistry and Nutrition, Crop Protection, Crop Improvement, Forest Resources Management, Fisheries Management and Wildlife Management. With the National Universities Commission [NUC] Minimum Academic Standards, there was a reorganization following the NUC recommendation for 5 - year programmes that have 12 months duration for practical, there were ten new degree nomenclatures for the six Departments viz:

All the Departments run postgraduate courses leading to the degrees of M.Sc., M.Phil and Ph.D. introduced in 1960. Later, Diploma and Certificate Courses both at the postgraduate and Sub-Degree levels were offered in Agricultural Extension and various aspects of tropical agriculture and forestry.

All the four Degree Programmes in the Faculty had Full Accreditation until 2010. The Senate of the University has approved the splitting of the Faculty into two – Faculty of Agriculture made up of the Departments of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural Extension Services & Rural Development, Agronomy, Animal Science and Crop Protection & Environmental Biology and the Faculty of Renewable Natural Resources to be made up of the Departments of Forest Resources Management and Wildlife & Fisheries Management. The new Faculty is yet to take off. The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has further been split into 2 Departments: Departments of Aquaculture and Fisheries Management and Wildlife and Ecotourism Management. Currently, the Faculty has 8 Departments.

It is worth noting that many of our Alumni and Alumnae hold responsible positions in private commercial firms as well as in the public services locally and abroad. Such positions include Agricultural Officers, Specialist Research Officers, Extension Services Officers, Directors of Research Institutes, Conservators of Forests, National Parks and Zoos, University Professors, Lecturers, Quarantine Officers, Bankers and Accountants.

FACILITIES:

The 8 Departments in the Faculty now have their own permanent buildings provided with teaching and research laboratories, lecture rooms, administrative offices and reading rooms. The Faculty has two large lecture theatres that can accommodate 400 students each and a smaller one that can accommodate 100 students. These are used for Faculty courses with large student population. In the last few years, and with the assistance of the Education Trust Fund [ETF], a lot of renovation of equipment, buildings and other structures have been done to ensure that the Faculty meets world class standards.

UNIVERSITY TEACHING AND RESEARCH FARM:

One of the principal teaching and research facilities used by the Faculty is the University Teaching and Research Farm established in 1950 on about 160 hectares of arable land. Its primary function is to provide facilities for teaching and research in the Faculty of Agriculture and Forestry as well as the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Department of Agricultural and Environmental Engineering in the Faculty of Technology and the Faculty of Science. The Teaching and Research Farm is managed under the Farm Management Committee chaired by the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic). Four Faculties (Agriculture and Forestry, Veterinary Medicine, Technology and Science are represented in the Committee and have Teaching and Research activities associated with the Farm. The Faculties of Agriculture and Forestry and Veterinary Medicine, however, have greater interests and investment in the Farm. The Farm is headed by a Farm Director who is assisted by 2 Deputy Directors (for Livestock and Crops).

The Farm is a service unit and plays a significant role in the teaching and research programmes of all the Departments in the Faculty. It is the laboratory of these Departments where practical experiences in field crop cultivation and management, handling and maintenance of agricultural machinery and implements, animal production and care, fish production, plantation and field cropping are acquired. The ETF Intervention Fund has been utilized to upgrade the units of the farm for research and improved productivity.

THE FACULTY LIBRARY:

The Faculty Library is a branch of the Kenneth Dike Library. It was established as a Faculty Library in 1973 to assist in carrying out the objectives of the Faculty, which is the advancement of agriculture by the application of science through teaching and research works. Prior to 1973 the Library had existed as a reading room serving the one-Department Faculty and attached to the Dean’s Office. The collections, services and manpower depended on what the Dean’s Office could spare and externally generated funds.

With the movement of the Dean’s Office to the present location in 1973, the reading room was re-designated a Faculty Library to serve the growing Faculty, its increasing number of Departments, staff and students, and its diversity of courses. The movement availed the library an ample space (14.25 x 9.90 m2) and a large collection of 310 books and 40 periodical titles. Also, as Departments moved to their permanent sites, Departmental reading rooms were established to serve their specialized interests.

All Departmental reading rooms were under the management of the respective Departments. However, by the resolution of Senate in 1974, the Faculty library and all Departmental reading rooms came under the management of the main library. The reason was to ensure planned and coordinated development of all library resources and services in the University. The main library deployed a professional Librarian to attend to the information needs of the students and teaching staff of the Faculty. Currently, the Faculty library has an e-library resource based on The Essential Electronic Agricultural Library (TEEAL). The Faculty e-library operates on a Local Area Network (LAN) and has about 450,000 accessible and downloadable journal articles.

THE PRACTICAL YEAR TRAINING PROGRAM(PYTP):

The Practical Year Training Programme (PYTP) of the Faculty was established in 1978. The aim then was to enable the students to have adequate exposure to technical know-how involved in the various disciplines in agriculture and produce agriculture graduates that would be self-reliant. The objectives of the programme include: Knowledge through practice, Greater confidence through participation, and Increased impact and production through application of relevant and affordable technology. At inception, the PYTP was designed for agriculture students at 200 level [second year]. The programme was reviewed in 1984, to be undergone by students at 400 level [fourth year]. This was to enable the students to have adequate theoretical background that would enable them comprehend the technical know-how being introduced to them during the PYTP.

In cognizance of the holistic nature of the modern agricultural practices, the PYTP was further reviewed in 2005 in such a way that students are sent to the neighbouring Research Institutes, specifically, National Horticultural Research Institute (NIHORT), Ibadan and Cocoa Research Institute of Nigeria (CRIN), Ibadan for acquisition of practical knowledge in horticulture and cash tree crops husbandry. The strip of land [valley bottom] bounded on one side by Benue Road and the Faculty of Education is used by the PYTP students for dry season vegetable production and maize production in the rainy season.

The PYTP students are also being posted to the Leventis Foundation School, Ilesa, an agricultural/home economics vocational school, for knowledge acquisition in livestock production and management, general crops husbandry, agricultural mechanization, agro-forestry, home economics, fisheries and mushroom production. The Ileogbo Farm of the University, occupying about 217 hectares of land, serves as the on-farm station and field laboratory for staff and students. The PYTP students also gain practical exposure to extension activities at Ileogbo. A technical crew and a committee whose membership is drawn from all Departments manage the PYTP. The Dean appoints the Chairman of the committee. The PYTP is currently being reorganized with emphasis on agribusiness and value chain for agricultural products.

More information about the Faculty can be obtained by visits to the websites of the Departments in the Faculty. It is noteworthy that all the Programmes in the Faculty are fully accredited by the National Universities Commission.