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“The Universities of Agriculture should probably be our most important partners in the Agricultural Sector – Audu Ogbeh

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Audu Ogbeh, has said the University of Agriculture would partner with the Ministry, in the Agricultural Sector, because Agriculture cannot thrive without knowledge.

The Minister who made this promise at at the combined Convocation Ceremony of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, added that the Ministry is determined to remodel the Universities of Agriculture as centres of excellence, saying the approaches used will be friendly and inclusive.

“The UAs are fertile grounds for the accomplishment of this objective and that is why I have directed that the UAs should review their curricula and grading system, to give more weight to practical agricultural activities rather than mere theory.

“I therefore seek your cooperation in ensuring that this University and the other two are truly remodelled and focused as specialised institutions of agricultural education and training in line with the vision of the founding fathers”

Mr Ogbe explained that the Ministry is concerned with mobilizing youths for agriculture and decried the suspected deviation of the University of Agriculture from its core mandates, describing it as dangerous to agricultural development.

“I urge FUNNAB and the two other UAs to take advantage of their reintegration into the Ministry of Agriculture and get enlisted as our reliable allies in the agricultural sector”

The Minister emphasized support for the institution, stating that the Institution’s Seed Faculty, for production of improved seedlings, would be developed and promising to provide mini-tractors at 60% discount.

Mr Ogbe, in July, had said the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), would contribute N3bn to the proposed Agricultural Intervention Project at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State.

In August, the Minister said graduation for students of the Universities of Agriculture would be based on 60% practice and 40% theory.

He added that every undergraduate must own a farm on campus from 200 level stressing that the Ministry was training high level young farmers, who would be earning a living even before graduating.

In the same month, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Alhaji Bukar Hassan, said the Federal Government through the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development expressed the desire to ensure Nigeria establishes 15 Specialised Universities of Agriculture in the next few years.

The Universities, according to him, is aimed at bridging the gap of having the current three Universities, meeting the agricultural needs of the Nigerian populace.

The three Universities of Agriculture include the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Federal University of Agriculture, Makurdi, Benue State and Micheal Okpara University of Agriculture Umudike, Abia State.

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