Building capacity in higher education horticulture in Nigeria: the contribution of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Nigeria

The development of horticultural science in Nigeria was retarded due to misconceptions on its potential. Consequently, there was hardly any structured training programme at the local higher education level and a dearth of skilled manpower. In 1992, the Department of Horticulture of the Federal University of Agriculture was established as the first fully fledged Department of Horticulture in Higher Education Institutions in Nigeria to train undergraduate and postgraduate students in horticultural science and entrepreneurship. As a result of advocacy and development of market-driven courses, from the initial enrolment of two students, the Department now enrolls more than 80 students annually. To date it has trained and deployed 450 students at the bachelor's level and 40 students at the postgraduate level. Some of the graduates have started their own businesses, been recruited by other establishments or undertaken postgraduate studies and thereafter joined the staff of the Department or other higher education institutions. To improve its reach and the competitiveness of its graduates, the Department collaborates with other stake-holders in the horticulture industry in its skills development programme and exposes teaching staff to ad-hoc training programmes. The curriculum is continually reconfigured to address emerging trends.