AGRIBUSINESS MANAGEMENT

 

1. INTRODUCTION

 

The blended learning mode of delivery will combine face-to-face and online learning approaches including but not limited to:

Use of online tools and resources such as google classroom, YouTube, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Skype, Moodle and Blackboard; Hand-on practical exercises in the field, face-to-face group work in classrooms and face-to-face tutorials between online lessons; Use of cloud-based content and learning course management system application to connect with students online. The online platforms will allow students to access videos for the lectures, track assignments, interact with lecturers and classmates and further review supporting materials such as reading and research materials, PowerPoint presentations and other scholarly work.

 

3. The Blended Learning

1. 6. The ODeL programme will run for a minimum of 8 semesters of 15 weeks each and a maximum of 16 semesters of 15 weeks each

1. 1. Orientation in ODeL delivery
   2. Study, reading and computer skills
   3. Time management and techniques in handling assignments
   4. Mentorship, guidance and counseling
   5. Emphasis is on satellite centres that serve as a link between the university and the student in the following manner:
      • Registration
      • Collecting reading materials
      • Collecting results and programs
      • Examination information
      • Posting timetable
      • Holding meetings
      • Home-based reading

Access to information through computers at Biometry Laboratory at College of Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences (CAVS) and other centers such as the Jomo Kenyatta Memorial Library at the Main Campus and any other library at the University of Nairobi and Agricultural research institutions.

1. 5. Orientation (immediately after registration):

 

2.2. Open Distance Learning and e-Learning (ODeL)

 

The delivery mode of this program will apply open and distance education learning modes involving:

 

1. 1. Written self-instructional study modules at the registration time including study course materials like booklets, relevant literature to the course, interactive devices and self-tests
   2. Interactive devices and self-tests: face to face introductory tutorial; mediated technical learning materials; audio cassettes; e-learning materials; video clips
   3. Limited face-to-face sessions to provide an overview of the course at the commencement of semester, mid semester and revision period before examinations.
   4. Support study centers at the University of Nairobi:

 

Each student shall be required to undertake three (3) months field attachment after completion of the second semester of the third year of study.

 

Admission to the examination at the end of the semester shall be based on satisfactory completion of such requirements and in most cases two thirds of the class attendance;

 

A candidate enrolled for BSc. Agribusiness Management shall participate and complete course work and practical assignments that may be applicable to the program;

 

A candidate enrolled for the degree shall satisfactorily complete the program in a period of not more than twice the minimum period for which he/she was registered for the degree;

 

2.0. MODE OF DELIVERY OF THE PROGRAMME

 

The program will be offered under two modules: full time (face to face) and Open and Distance Learning (ODL) (Module III) for students who cannot attend regular university program. Module II students will be integrated in Module I.

 

2.1. Face-Face Mode

The teaching period for the degree program shall extend over not less than four academic years or their equivalents. Each academic year shall consist of two semesters of thirteen (13) teaching weeks and two 2) weeks of examination;

 

At the end of this programme, the learner should be able to:

 

1. 1. To apply the appropriate principles and practices of agribusiness management in solving agribusiness problems for better livelihoods of the communities;
   2. To apply the knowledge,  skills and attributes learned to develop, implement and effectively manage agri-businesses for sustainability;
   3. To carry out  effective agribusiness information dissemination and knowledge transfer to communities through agribusiness research to enhance leadership in agribusiness;
   4. To enhance societal entrepreneurship skills in agribusiness towards improving their livelihoods.

The revised Bachelor of Science Agribusiness Management Curriculum’s major objective is to produce skilled, motivated and internationally competitive graduates that will function effectively in a globalized agro-industry. It specifically aims at training learners to make the best possible use of existing resources in a continuously changing business environment.  The new curriculum will impart the learners with the knowledge, skills and attributes of creative thinking and innovation towards changing the agricultural sector and developing mind-set of looking at self-employment as an alternative source of livelihood as opposed to only focusing on the scares white color jobs.

 

5. Expected Learning Outcomes of the Programme

The stakeholder involvement represent the different interest groups such as the academia (within and outside the country), the private sector practitioners in agribusiness, former and current graduate students of the University of Nairobi and any other university either local or international with the same programme and mindset, researchers, the government and most specifically the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, representatives from the County governments across the country, national and international Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).  The views of these interest groups have been collated and incorporated in this revision. The program review committee also collected and examined agribusiness programs offered by some of the leading African and other like-minded international universities and used the results of these analyses to revise the curriculum. The revised program therefore responds to the needs of Kenyan agribusiness industry and also reflects the current thinking and direction of similar programs regionally and internationally. 

 

1.3.3 Justification of the Need for the Programme

Agribusiness management encompasses many aspects of the economy: agricultural producers, businesses that provide supplies and services to the producers, businesses that add value to agricultural products, and those that facilitate the marketing of agricultural products to an ever- growing marketplace”. This sector of the economy went through many changes and will continue to evolve in the future. For this reason, there is a need for prospective managers to be abreast with the developments in the agribusiness and related sectors. Graduates must be able to cope well with the dynamic nature of agribusiness. The programme will combine management/business courses with technical courses with emphasis on the uniqueness of agribusiness. Learners will be trained on decision-making given managerial challenges.  It should also be noted that in recent years, agribusiness has become an emerging area in agricultural education. Through agribusiness, the development of micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), the growth drivers of the Kenya’s agribusiness sector, can be promoted. Agribusiness is a mindset anchored on innovation and creativity. Agribusiness management education can help build an agribusiness-driven economy by making individuals acquire entrepreneurial mindsets, knowledge and skills. The Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management program shall help address the need for more agribusiness and entrepreneurial-minded people in the country.

 

This programme is anchored on the Kenya’s Vision 2030 and The Big-Four Agenda on enhancing food security, reducing unemployment and poverty levels, SDGs, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on enhancing green economy and reduction of green-house gas emission; The Kyoto Protocol, SMEs and job creation through creative thinking and innovativeness of learners amidst a continuously changing business environment.

 

 

 

 

4. Goal of the Programme

To improve livelihood of the society, there is need to build knowledge and understanding of agribusiness and entrepreneurial knowledge management. There is need for manpower with managerial skills on agribusiness enterprises. Revision of this curriculum aims at training and equipping agribusiness professionals with appropriate scientific knowledge and skills required to implement sustainable business practices to meet societal demands in addition to continuing to play a significant role in the national, regional and global economy. The program will empower the learners meet emerging socio-economic and business-environmental challenges nationally and regionally. The revised course content also addresses issues in internationally and nationally recognized agreements.  The revised curriculum will therefore, benefit managers of agribusiness firms in Kenya especially those who have hosted past students during the industrial attachment. At the end of students' industrial attachment, University staff members assessing the students have collected information on how best to improve the program through formal discussions with these managers.

 

1. 2. Stakeholders Involvement

Agriculture continue to be one of the key drivers of economic development in many third world nations.  Adam Smith, (1776-1778) in his book the “Wealth of Nations”, argues that for nations or economies to take-off to the next level of economic development and prosperity, they must first fulfill the demands of their primary sector which is agriculture. To him was a notion that it will be difficult for economies to industrialize if they will first not sustain their agricultural sector.  Whether Smith was right or wrong, the fact remains that the agricultural sector need not be ignored in economic development and that nations must come up with innovative and creative ways and means of looking at the sector as a business as opposed to traditional view of just farming for subsistence.  Therefore, considering the fact that agriculture is the backbone of the country’s economic development, it will be naïve for us in the field of agriculture to ignore the paradigm shift to agribusiness from traditional agricultural practices in a bid to improve household livelihoods and to also drive the economy to the next frontier.   Effective and efficient organization and management of agribusinesses is therefore important in realizing rapid economic progress. Because of this background, universities have a key role in this new paradigm which will need them to be proactive within national innovation systems to generate relevant and timely interventions for improving livelihoods. Thus the degree programme in Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management will contribute to the goal of improving the livelihoods of communities across the country and in the region through sustainable agribusiness management policies, principles and practices supported by focused research, undergraduate and postgraduate training, community and industry based interventions. The programme is geared towards inspiring learners to provide leadership and stewardship in addition to giving hope, faith and encouragement to the societies that they can excel in whatever they choose to do with passion, honest, moral responsibility and strong sense of patriotism in agribusiness. The broad goal of this curriculum is to produce graduates in Bsc. Agribusiness Management who will contribute to economic development process by applying the knowledge, skills, experience and attributes learned. The current curriculum has been revised in response to the felt needs of both internal and external stakeholders, respectively i.e. the students, agricultural sector and the industry in Kenya and across borders. Some of the recent development concerns and trends that have been considered in the revision of the syllabus include globalization, industrialization, entrepreneurship (value addition and private sector development), sustainable development and mainstreaming gender and environmental issues in higher education.

 

 

 

3. Rationale of the Programme
   1. Needs Assessment/Market Survey/Situation Analysis

 

1.1       Background

The department of agricultural economics offers a Bachelor of Science (Bsc.) Agribusiness Management Degree in recognition of the fact that agribusiness continue to provide the growing centre of transformation process in both developed and the developing nations. The effective and efficient organization of agribusiness is a major pre-requisite of agricultural and economic development. The Bsc. Agribusiness Management program is therefore designed to provide exposure to a wide range of domestic, regional and international social, economic and environmental problems affecting the agribusiness industry in Kenya. The program especially uses real life case studies as a means of exposing   students to such problems. It also exposes students to the most recent advances in information technology and management and allows students to tailor the courses taken to their needs by selecting from the set of optional basic and advanced courses. The program is thus designed to provide Kenyan agro-industry with personnel it needs to be regionally and globally competitive. Competitive agribusinesses play a vital role in the industrialization process and are therefore engines of agriculture and economic development. The course is designed for both regular government-sponsored and self-sponsored students. It offers the flexibility of full-time and part-time teaching.

 

2. Philosophy of the Programme

Agriculture continue to be one of the key drivers of economic development in many third world nations.  Adam Smith, (1776-1778) in his book the “Wealth of Nations”, argues that for nations or economies to take-off to the next level of economic development and prosperity, they must first fulfill the demands of their primary sector which is agriculture. To him was a notion that it will be difficult for economies to industrialize if they will first not sustain their agricultural sector.  Whether Smith was right or wrong, the fact remains that the agricultural sector need not be ignored in economic development and that nations must come up with innovative and creative ways and means of looking at the sector as a business as opposed to traditional view of just farming for subsistence.  Therefore, considering the fact that agriculture is the backbone of the country’s economic development, it will be naïve for us in the field of agriculture to ignore the paradigm shift to agribusiness from traditional agricultural practices in a bid to improve household livelihoods and to also drive the economy to the next frontier.   Effective and efficient organization and management of agribusinesses is therefore important in realizing rapid economic progress. Because of this background, universities have a key role in this new paradigm which will need them to be proactive within national innovation systems to generate relevant and timely interventions for improving livelihoods. Thus the degree programme in Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Management will contribute to the goal of improving the livelihoods of communities across the country and in the region through sustainable agribusiness management policies, principles and practices supported by focused research, undergraduate and postgraduate training, community and industry based interventions. The programme is geared towards inspiring learners to provide leadership and stewardship in addition to giving hope, faith and encouragement to the societies that they can excel in whatever they choose to do with passion, honest, moral responsibility and strong sense of patriotism in agribusiness. The broad goal of this curriculum is to produce graduates in Bsc. Agribusiness Management who will contribute to economic development process by applying the knowledge, skills, experience and attributes learned. The current curriculum has been revised in response to the felt needs of both internal and external stakeholders, respectively i.e. the students, agricultural sector and the industry in Kenya and across borders. Some of the recent development concerns and trends that have been considered in the revision of the syllabus include globalization, industrialization, entrepreneurship (value addition and private sector development), sustainable development and mainstreaming gender and environmental issues in higher education.

1. 2. Rationale of the Programme
      1. Needs Assessment/Market Survey/Situation Analysis

To improve livelihood of the society, there is need to build knowledge and understanding of agribusiness and entrepreneurial knowledge management. There is need for manpower with managerial skills on agribusiness enterprises. Revision of this curriculum aims at training and equipping agribusiness professionals with appropriate scientific knowledge and skills required to implement sustainable business practices to meet societal demands in addition to continuing to play a significant role in the national, regional and global economy. The program will empower the learners meet emerging socio-economic and business-environmental challenges nationally and regionally. The revised course content also addresses issues in internationally and nationally recognized agreements.  The revised curriculum will therefore, benefit managers of agribusiness firms in Kenya especially those who have hosted past students during the industrial attachment. At the end of students' industrial attachment, University staff members assessing the students have collected information on how best to improve the program through formal discussions with these managers.