In 1988, the Federal Government de-merged the four universities of technology, leading to the creation of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, and the Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, marking the beginning of specialised agricultural education at the university level with more of them being established.
Nigeria has universities of agriculture, specifically established to advance agricultural knowledge and practice, yet the country faces rising food inflation and persistent threats to food security. These institutions are spread across different regions of the country.
These universities were created to serve as knowledge hubs, driving research, training, and innovation in the agriculture sector. Their mandates go beyond theory – they are meant to be engines of transformation, linking education to practice, and research to real-world solutions.
These institutions have the potential to drive agricultural development through innovative research, education, and community engagement. However, the persistent and worsening state of food security in Nigeria raises serious questions about the effectiveness of these institutions in fulfilling their mission, as there seems to be a missing link between their research capabilities and practical implementation. The reality is that the synergy is necessary to bridge the gap between theory and practice that had been the missing link in our educational system.
To compound these issues, our educational policy has regrettably relegated agricultural science, from being a compulsory subject, to an optional one in secondary schools. Inadequate funding also hinders the ability of universities to conduct meaningful research and provide practical training. Colleges of agriculture struggle to access intervention funds, commercial bank loans, or private sponsorships.
This was partly why the Federal Government recently assented to bills establishing the Federal University of Agriculture and Development Studies, Iragbiji, Osun State; and the Federal University of Technology and Environmental Sciences, Iyin-Ekiti, Ekiti State. To better equip these universities, the Federal Government had earmarked N10 billion to commence commercial activities to boost agricultural research and food security in the country.
The positions above further aligned with takeaways at the 19th annual general meeting of the Regional Universities Forum for Capacity Building in Agriculture (RUFORUM), themed ‘Transforming Higher Education to Sustainably Feed and Create Prosperity for Africa’, held in Yaoundé, Cameroon, where it was agreed that universities in Africa should play a front-line role to help the continent, not only to feed itself, but to become a global bread basket. This is because agricultural education remains the bedrock of a sustainable food production system. The curricula of these universities need urgent review.
In a country facing modern challenges such as climate change, land degradation, and rural-urban migration, agricultural education must evolve. Universities should incorporate climate-smart agriculture, digital farming, agro-entrepreneurship, and value chain development into their training programsme.
They must also prioritise hands-on, field-based learning, where students not only study farming, but actively participate in it through school-owned farms, internships, and collaborations with cooperatives and agritech startups. In the final analysis, FarmingFarmersFarms maintains that our universities of agriculture certainly have a huge and crucial role to play in teaching, research, training, and extension services, and should be better-funded and adequately staffed to achieve desired results.
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