VISION MISSION

FACULTY OF AGRICULTUREContinuedFaculty ResearchThe past year has seen members of staff engaged inresearch that addressed issues in extension education;biotechnology; greenhouse gas; hydro-ponics systems;organic manures; cattle diseases; indigenous fermentedfoods and beverages; potential of use of solar energyto pasteurize drinking water; current status of science,technology and innovation; soil erosion; and poverty.Staff and students are engaged in a variety of communityactivities. Four research projects were approved bythe UNISWA Research Board during the 2010/2011academic year.EntrepreneurshipThe Faculty of Agriculture continues to provideentrepreneurship training to all students enrolled inthe Faculty. Students take an entrepreneurship courseduring the second year, and conduct an entrepreneurshipproject for two semesters during the third year of study.Since jobs are scarce for graduates, the solution lies indeveloping a new generation of entrepreneurs capableof turning opportunities into job-creating enterprises.Graduates need support of experienced, well qualifi edand highly motivated mentors in academia, research, andindustry.Faculty Research AgendaThe Faculty of Agriculture set its research agenda toaddress certain objectives of the National DevelopmentStrategy and pillars of the Millennium DevelopmentGoals. Research themes include crop improvement andsustainable crop production; improvement of livestockand poultry productivity; land and water resourcesmanagement; food security and agricultural productivity;improvement of teaching and learning in agriculture;provision of extension support, training and research;consumer protection; household food security andlivelihoods; and development of appropriate technologiesfor fruit, vegetable and fl ower production.Field AttachmentThe Faculty of Agriculture continues to providestudent industry training. During the 2010/2011academic year, 230 students were attached to private,government, and parastatal organizations. The Facultyof Agriculture is aware of its need to respond to therapidly changing world by being able to change itscurricula as needed and by ensuring student exposureto the current environment so that graduates are ableto succeed in the industry in which they fi nd themselves.The Faculty must provide the necessary support sograduates are at the cutting-edge of their disciplinesand professions and have mastered the skills requiredto succeed in multi-disciplinary and multi-institutionalteams and systems. The fi eld attachment programmein the Faculty of Agriculture attempts to providethis training and also establish networking and linkprogramme opportunities for future employment.Student Teacher TrainingThe Faculty of Agriculture continues to provide studentteacher training. During the 2010/2011 academic year,18 students from Consumer Science Education and 122students from Agricultural Education and Extension wereattached to various high schools in the country. Attachingstudents to schools provides the two departments theopportunity to contribute to curriculum implementationissues in the schools. The interaction may infl uencestudents’ perceptions regarding preparation for careersin agriculture and consumer science, and may helpimprove the teaching of agriculture and consumerscience in schools. This exercise requires that studentsunderstand that agriculture and consumer science aremuch more than hoeing and weeding or cooking andsewing – that the disciplines offer career opportunitiessuited to a wide range of interests and capabilities.Dalcrue Farm Irrigation ProjectThe Dalcrue Farm Irrigation Project funded by theJapanese Government is almost complete. Thus, duringthe academic year, cropping plans were established touse the new irrigation system.Master of Science ProgrammesDuring the past two years, the Faculty of Agriculturehas submitted, to the Institute of Post-graduate Studies,three M.Sc. proposals in Horticulture, Animal Science, andConsumer Science Education, and a Ph.D. programmein Agricultural Education. These programmes wereapproved by the Senate during the year.29REPORT OF THE VICE CHANCELLOR