WHY DO NIGERIAN STUDENTS MIND NOT TO STUDY AGRIC. ENGINEERING

WHY DO NIGERIAN STUDENTS MIND NOT TO STUDY AGRICULTURAL ENGINERING?

PREPARED BY:
Mr. MUNTAKA ABDUL-HADI DABO, 300LEVEL
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING,
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING,
AHMADU BELLO UNIVERSITY,ZARIA
KADUNA-NIGERIA

One of the questions that agitate the minds of a typical Nigerian Agricultural Engineering student studying in Nigerian tertiary institution is “where do I work upon graduating”. This question has become necessary because as a student, he sees students of other engineering disciplines such as civil, Electrical, and mechanical being awarded scholarships by companies and international organizations without seeing even a single advertisement inviting Agricultural Engineering students scholarship interviews. Beyond the four walls of his campus, he cannot pin-point a single agricultural Engineer who is in the corridor of power in the country, consortium and consultants handling Agriculture and Agricultural Engineering projects are composed of professionals not including even a single Agricultural Engineer.
The student has enough evidence to be worried and begin to wonder if he has not chosen a wrong course. For this reason, student intake into the programme in tertiary institutions has been very low compared to other Engineering disciplines and even those who get admitted into the programme use the slightest opportunity to change to other disciplines. While acknowledging the concern of the student, the point must be made that what is happening in Nigeria with respect to the profession is a misnormal. In developed and even developing countries where things are correctly done and there is respect for professionalism, Agricultural Engineers are charged with the responsibility of Executing Agricultural Engineering projects. Agricultural Engineering for now is just a victim of the prevailing political and economic circumstances in Nigeria whereby square pegs are put in round holes. This situation will not last forever and sometime Agricultural Engineering in Nigeria will be given its rightful place.
I would now like to briefly discuss some aspect of Agricultural Engineering profession so that my colleagues will stop looking at the profession at a different perspective view.
(1) Definition and Historical Development of Agricultural Engineering
(2) Agricultural Engineering Education in Nigeria
(3) Objectives of Agricultural Engineering
(4) Requirements of Agricultural Engineer.
1. DEFINITIONS AND HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF
AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
Before we attempt to define the Agricultural Engineering profession, it is important that we understand the two key words “Agriculture’ and ‘Engineering’. Agriculture is the practice of producing crops and rearing of livestock including fishes, their processing to varied degrees and products; and marketing of the end products. Because of the role it plays in the existence of man, agriculture is the world’s oldest and perhaps the largest industry. Whereas Engineering is defined as the practice of employing the materials and forces of Nature for the benefit of man and organizing and directing human activities in their uses. The man who co-ordinate these activities is called an Engineer.
Therefore, as a future Agricultural Engineer, I think Agricultural Engineering could be defined as the application of any or all branches of engineering knowledge to the extent that such knowledge may be used in farming in all its ramification and in rural living. There is no doubt that Agricultural Engineering is a profession in itself but it is so wide that in the course of solving the Engineering problems on the farm, it utilizes the knowledge of many other Engineering professions Especially mechanical, civil, Electrical and structural Engineering. In a nutshell, Agricultural Engineering can rightly be described as a “jack of all Engineering profession and master of all”. This Explains why the Agricultural Engineering curriculum is so broad and contains subjects from both other Engineering and non Engineering disciplines.
The Historical development of Agricultural Engineering as a distinct discipline started in the United State of America and dates back to the late nineteenth century. Prior to this tune, Engineering problems on the farm were solved by applying knowledge from fields of architecture, mechanical and civil Engineering. Some people of the time began showing an interest in the profession and one of such early advocates for Agricultural Engineering being a distinct profession was Dr. Elwood Mead an Agricultural/civil Engineer. With this development, the Agricultural Engineering as a distinct profession came to be Department of Agricultural Engineering with the primary aim of training Agricultural Engineers were established in some universities, Lowa State University in U.S.A is reported to be the first university to award a first degree of Bachelor of science in agricultural Engineering and that was in 1910.
(2) AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING IN NIGERIA
In 1963, a Department of Agricultural Engineering was established at the university of Nigeria, Nsukka and in 1967, the Department awarded the Bachelor of science (BSc) degree in Agricultural Engineering to two graduates; Messrs U.P.C Okudo and E. Nwalo. Other universities took their turns in the establishment of Agricultural Engineering Departments. By the year 2000 in Nigeria, there are a number of polytechnics and colleges of Agriculture offering training in Agricultural Engineering up to the levels of OND, HND while a number of Nigerian universities offer training leading to the award of B.Sc, B Eng M.Sc and Ph.D in Agric Engineering.
(3) OBJECTIVES OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEERING
The overall objectives of agricultural Engineering is to provide a conducive working Environment for the former and assure him that there is dignity in farming, improve his economic situation and make food available in adequate quantity, quality, at the right time of need and at a reasonable cost to the consumers. As a future agricultural Engineer as well as the courses I have done so far, I think the following should be the objectives of Agricultural Engineering.
- Reduction of farming Hazards
- Reduction of Drudgery in Agricultural Operations
- Ensuring availability of Agricultural products All-year Round
- Enhancement of the quality of life for the farmer
4. REQUIREMENTS OF AGRICULTURAL ENGINEER
Despite the fact that I have not fulfilled my course, but I am very sure that making a good Agricultural Engineer and contributing positively to the development of the profession depends on a number of factors which includes:
- Interest in Rural Environment
- Academic Inclination
- Good Human Relation

I would like to rest my pen for now, but you should watch out for the following in the next topics
IN THE NEXT TOPICS
- Carrier opportunities in agricultural Engineering
- Can agricultural engineers realize their dreams
- Sub-divisions in agricultural engineering and agriculture
QUIZ! QUIZ!! QUIZ!1!
- What do you think the government of Nigeria should do to enhance the development of agricultural sector as also a means of income to the country.

- Pls when sending your answer, you should include the following

NAME, - SEX, AGE, Occupation, telephone,-country, - contact address: should be send on or before 31/5/2007 to write2muntaka@yahoo.co.uk OR
MUNTAKA A. DABO,
P.O.BOX 344,
ZARIA 810001,
KADUNA-NIGERIA
for more information, call +234-80-36397682