Agriculture Undergraduates Preference For Agriculture Disciplines In Federal University Of Technology, Owerri, Nigeria

Abstract

The broad objective of this study research is to investigate the preferences for the different disciplines in agriculture by undergraduate students of Agriculture with a view to understanding the effect on future manpower needs in Nigerian agriculture. Data for the study were collected from 99 randomly selected undergraduate students of the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology (SAAT) of Federal University of Technology Owerri. Data were analyzed by the use of descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages and Analysis of variance. The results indicate that majority (50%) of the undergraduates were below 21 years old. It was also found that majority (62.6%) of the students were admitted through supplementary admission as they could not secure admission for their first choice courses. Again Agricultural economics was the most preferred discipline as it was ranked first among the other disciplines. This implies that they would have made a change in their fields of study if given the opportunity, which could result in glut of personnel in some departments of agriculture while leaving a surplus in others. Hypothesis testing shows a significant difference among students\' perception of their discipline and agriculture as the F-value calculated (3.89) was greater than the F-tabulated (2.49) at p<0.05. It was recommended that agriculture should be professionalized to make it more attractive as a field of study that could be practiced on graduation.

Global Approaches to Extension Practice Vol.1(1) 2005: 18-23