A HISTORY OF THE FACULTY OF

AGRICULTURE, UNIPORT

By

N.E.S. Lale
(Pioneer Dean of the Faculty)
Department of Crop and Soil Science,
Faculty of Agriculture

INTRODUCTION
Faculty of Agriculture, one of the three relatively

new faculties in the University the other two

being those of Pharmaceutical Sciences and
Dentistry

Origin of the Faculty of Agriculture

The

Institute of Agricultural Research and

Development (IAR&D) established in 1982 served
as the nucleus and activities in this institute
provided the groundswell for the founding of the
faculty.

Mandate

to conduct research that

generate cutting edge technologies for

would

increasing agricultural productivity

develop appropriate methodologies for aggressive

and innovative extension strategies

create
sufficient
awareness
of
emerging
technologies amongst farmers
develop improved methods of value addition,
storage and processing of agricultural produce.

Faced with perennial gross under-funding, the Institute

failed to consummate its lofty mandate and public

expectations
Intervention and counsel of the Hon. Justice Atinuke

Ige-led Federal Government Visitation Panel in 2002

provided the impetus for the Institute to transform into
faculty under the leadership of Dr. A.C. Agumagu
In order to optimize and activate the latent human

resources within the Institute without compromising its

status as one of the few agricultural research institutes
in the Niger Delta Region (NDR).
The Senate of the University eventually approved the

establishment of the Faculty in its meeting of 1 st

March, 2004.

The Birth of the Faculty

The Faculty of Agriculture
came into existence

through a letter dated 9th August 2005 by the

then Vice Chancellor, Professor Don M. Baridam in
which Professor N.E.S. Lale was appointed Dean
He

was the only staff in the Faculty to

immediately
commence
operation
in
the
2005/2006 academic session.

His mandates were to:

admit students for the 2005/2006 academic session
Facilitate the process for the determination of the

preferred relationship between the faculty and the

institute.

Having

not partaken in the University

Matriculation Examination (UME) conducted
by the Joint Admissions and Matriculation
Board (JAMB)

Faculty had to put out internal advertisement

for prospective candidates who could not

secure admission into the biological sciences,
medical sciences, dentistry, pharmaceutical
sciences and nursing through the Basic
Studies Programme (BSP) of the University.

Pioneer dean had a town hall meeting of:

Academic
Technical
Junior staff of IAR&D
Agendum to determine the relationship they would want

the Institute to have with the Faculty.

Consent was freely and unanimously given for the

Institute to be one of the academic units of the Faculty.

Conveyed to the Universitys Appointments and Promotions

Committee (A&PC) for approval.

Unfortunately, the approval for this collective wish and

aspiration by the institute and faculty came only in 2012

after prolonged, unnecessary bickering sparked off by a
new demand for the autonomy of the Institute.

The faculty inherited all the staff of the Institute comprising seven

academic staff of different ranks and specializations.

Dr. A.C. Agumagu (Senior Research Fellows, pioneer Ag. HOD, AEE)
Dr. E.S. Erondu (Senior Research Fellows pioneer Ag. HOD, ASF )
Dr. M.I. Godwin-Egein (Senior Research Fellows pioneer Ag. HOD,

CSS)
Dr. N.H. Igwilo (Senior Research Fellow)
Mr. A.O. Asimiea (Research Fellow I)
Mr. B.B. Dumpe (Research Fellow I)
Ms E.A.U. Ofodile (Research Fellow II).

These members of staff doubled and continue to

double as research fellows in the institutes and

as lecturers in the departments relevant to their
training and disciplines.
Based on Senate approval of 2012, members of

academic staff in the faculty also double as

lecturers in their respective departments and as
research fellows in relevant programmes of the
Institute.

The Administrative Secretary - Mr. A.S. Kiri

Finance Officer- Mr. J.N.D. Meenyenekor
The

faculty also inherited three Agricultural

Superintendents
Mr. P.B. Sana
Mr. G.C. Chukwu
Mr. A.N. Nwachukwu - who also took charge of the

facultys Demonstration and Teaching and Research

Farms and the institutes farm along with the 22
farm hands also inherited from the Institute.

Staffing Strategy
Engaging

the appropriate number and quality of

academic and technical staff and developing robust
academic programmes that adequately prepare the
recipients of the unique agricultural education that the
faculty offers for the global market dominated the
committee of Dean and Heads of Departments.

The philosophy adopted for staff recruitment was one

that recognized the synergy between

Ethno-cultural
Religious
Educational diversity
Competence
Skill
quality service delivery.

Faculty embarked on an aggressive search for academic

and technical staff around the country and beyond.

With the exception of the North-West, all geo-political zones

within the country are represented on the staff of the faculty.

The faculty is committed to this recruitment strategy

because it understands that this model

stimulates national integration
builds friendship across different socio-political divides
accelerates the rate of progress of any organization.

Today, the Faculty of Agriculture has one of the most

impressive mixes of staff across ethnic groups and

religions with diverse educational backgrounds and
experiences not just in the University of Port Harcourt but
in faculties across Universities in the country

This is already impacting positively on access to

Facilities
equipment
instructional

assets in other institutions and

organizations for the practical training that students
of agriculture need in order to expand their
opportunities and comparative advantage.

Examples:
Faculty

became a beneficiary of the Regional

University Forum (RUFORUM) for capacity building
in agriculture
Collaboration between RUFORM and the faculty was
facilitated by Dr. B.O. Nuga

 Three of the pioneer graduates who the University

graciously engaged as Graduate Assistants, have so

far benefited from scholarships and placements in
universities around Africa for their higher degrees.
The Alliance for Green Revolution in Africa (AGRA)

Rice Project on which the faculty is collaborating

and which was facilitated by Dr. A.A. Efisue
At commencement in 2005, the faculty had the

pioneer Dean as the only professor.

By 2010, there were five professors, a number of

readers (associate professors) and several senior

lecturers with many of these on their way to
attaining the professorate in 2015.

Curriculum, Academic Programmes and

Departments
Faculty designed the kind of curricula for all the

programmes that provide in-depth theoretical

knowledge and practical skill acquisition in order to
meet the needs of the 21st century graduates with
the following objectives:
Build technical capacity for entrepreneurship which

enhances the possibility for self-employment

bolster

graduates
competitiveness

adequately

advantage

for

robust

global

prepare students for post-qualification

employment in private and public organizations and
institutions as technocrats and experts in agriculture.

The

special features of the facultys agricultural

curricula comprise common courses for all first year
students and sophomores.

The students majoring in fisheries and forestry and

wildlife management commence their specialized

courses in the third year and continue until the fifth
and final year of study.
The students of agriculture
Agricultural economics and extension
Animal science
Crop science and soil science
Continue with the common courses and receive this

broad training up to the fourth year and only receive

specialized courses in the various options in the final
year.

The entire fourth year is devoted to hands-on

training in integrated farms around the country

for all students regardless of their areas of
specialization.
This is also the special feature that is causing

older faculties of agriculture around the country

to adopt the facultys model for their
agricultural education.

Agriculture programme in the University of Port

Harcourt is meant to equip trainees with a wide

range of skills and technical capacity
The

orientation of students focuses on the

development of skills that enhance their
entrepreneurial capacity and quality in service
delivery

This is in direct response to local socio-economic

needs and environmental concerns for meeting

global goals for achieving food security and
sustainable biodiversity conservation

There are currently, a total of eight options

organized into three programmes for students

specialization
In the Bachelor of Agriculture programme
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural Extension
Animal Science
Crop Production
Crop Protection
Soil Science.

The

other two programmes include the

Bachelor of Fisheries and the Bachelor of
Forestry and Wildlife Management.

NUC Resource Verification Visit

In 2007, the Team of Resource Assessment Panel of

the National Universities Commission (NUC) led by

Professor O.A. Omotesho of University of Ilorin visited
the Faculty from 9th to 15th December to assess:
the quality of staff
structure of the programme
Curriculum
infrastructure
general state of preparedness to provide agricultural

education to university students.

The management of the faculty had a congenial

interaction with members of the team who were

obviously impressed with the state of affairs that
existed.

It was, therefore, not surprising that the faculty

was granted approval to operate the three

degree programmes:
B. Agriculture
B. Fisheries
B. Forestry and Wildlife Management.

This approval by the NUC was conveyed to the

Vice-Chancellor vide the letter NUC/AS/122/Vol.1

dated 15th April, 2008.

Governance and Leadership of the Faculty

The

pioneer Dean with his team of HODs,

Faculty Officer and Faculty Finance Officer,
during his tenure of slightly over six years,
provided a form of leadership that was built on:
strong democratic tenets
mass participation
extensive devolution of power
regular delegation of duty to subordinates.

This style of leadership transformed eventually

into an enviable culture that transcended

departments and committees (standing and adhoc) of the faculty.

This transformational leadership culture was

characterized by:
Transparency
Honesty
Accountability
Inclusiveness
Friendship
Familial interpersonal relationships
Organizational ownership
Citizenship
Buy-in into every programme and project of the

faculty.
As

a result, the staff became irrevocably

committed to the progress of the faculty.

Several members of the academic staff of the faculty

serve on a number of university-wide committees

A

clear testimony to the efficacy of the

transformational leadership model in building enduring
organizations and sustaining them on the path of
achieving their goals.

The

goal of transformational leadership is to

transform people and organizations in a literal sense
to change them in mind and heart, enlarge vision,
insight, and understanding; clarify purposes; make
behaviour congruent with beliefs, principles or values;
and bring about changes that are permanent, selfperpetuating, and momentum building. Steven Covey
(the author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People)

Transformational

model

stands

on

three

assumptions:
people will follow a person who inspires them
a person with vision and passion can achieve

great things
the

way to get things done is by injecting

enthusiasm and energy

The institution of a virile committee system as a

means of good governance injected enough doses

of enthusiasm and energy into every staff

There were committees for:

office allocation
management of the lean resources of the faculty
curriculum development
farmland acquisition and delineation
faculty handbook production
farm management
community service

Students Industrial Work Experience Scheme

(SIWES)
lecture and examination time-table

The committee system is a significant part of the

strategies that accounted for the rapid progress

and the modest achievements that the faculty
witnessed in the first six years.

Regrettably, during the succeeding two years, these

ideals were sufficiently eroded and in their place a

system of exclusivity characterized by totalitarianism and
fascism was introduced into governance and this stifled
the overall development of the faculty significantly.
Consequently, members of the faculty began to hope and

yearn for a future that would return the faculty to its

former days that were imbued with glory and tangible
progress.
One of the most remarkable incidents during this brief

reign was the truncation of the tenure of one of the HODs

of Animal Science and Fisheries on the grounds that the
Nigerian Institute of Animal Science (NIAS) prohibits a
non-registered Animal Scientist (RAS) to head the
Department of Animal Science in any Nigerian University.

The staff of the department with qualifications

similar to those of that HOD and those with

HND plus post-graduate diploma in animal
science as well as those with degrees in
veterinary medicine cannot aspire to head the
department.
The only way to give justice to the lecturers in

fisheries was to split the department

The

issue of whether lecturers in animal

science who do not possess the first degree in
animal science would be permitted in the
future to head their department is a matter for
University of Port Harcourt to decide.

Redemption of the faculty

On

January 7th 2014, Prof. E.C. Wokoma

mounted the saddle as the third but the first
elected Dean of the Faculty.

Under her watch, the faculty is again being

infused with the spirit of leadership that it

began with in 2005 and expectations are quite
high that the faculty will witness a quantum
leap in advancement.
It is during this tenure that the faculty got

accredited by NUC

INFRASTRUCTURE
Lack of adequate infrastructure
office accommodation
classrooms and lecture halls
functional laboratories
libraries (physical and virtual)
functional teaching and research farm
remains the greatest challenge that has daunted the

faculty since inception.

To date, infrastructure and instructional facilities

have remained grossly inadequate even when

compared only with the Faculties of
Pharmaceutical Sciences
Dentistry
Department of Nursing

The Faculties of Pharmaceutical Sciences and

Dentistry and the Department of Nursing

underwent the NUC accreditation long before the
faculty of agriculture
Two programmes in the faculty (B. Agric and B.

Forestry & Wildlife Mgt) were accredited between

30th November and 4th December, 2014.

Nonetheless,

faculty forged collaboration and signed

Memorandum of Understanding (MoUs) with private
organizations and public institutions where fourth and final
year students are able to use their facilities to acquire the
practical skills that augment their theoretical knowledge.

Zetta Allied Digital Energy Limited, an environmental and soil

science laboratory in Elelenwo

Domita Farms in Uyo
African Regional Aquaculture Centre in Aluu,
Songhai Rivers in Bunu Tai
Fidelity Farm at Omagwa
Kainji Lake National Park and the Federal College of Wildlife
Management, both at New Bussa, Niger State
Ogun State Afforestation Project (Forest Reserve J4)
Nigerian Institute for Oceanography and Marine Research
Institute in Lagos State.

These organizations receive our fourth year students to spend

four months of their one year SIWES annually; the other half of
the SIWES period is spent on the Demonstration Farm.

The management of the faculty within the first two years

acquired the abandoned former Botanical Garden with its

adjoining portions of land and developed it into a
functional integrated Demonstration Farm
This is the foundation that catalysed the emergence of

Mr. Ebi Chima, a fourth year student of the Department

of Crop and Soil Science as the winner of the prize in the
University-wide United Bank for Africa entrepreneurship
competition in 2012, having prepared the best business
plan.
A 9-hectare Teaching and Research Farm in the University

Park of the Institution is undergoing various forms of

infrastructural development and it is hoped that it would
become a fully operational farmstead in the nearest
future.

This Teaching and Research Farm is certainly one of

the smallest in any known faculty of agriculture but

given the excruciating and protracted negotiations
that go on for the acquisition of land from the host
communities, this is about the much the university
can provide.
This has made it rather mandatory for the University

to make effort to acquire a proper Teaching and

Research Farm in a different location in the future.
it also means that the physical structures to be

constructed for the farmstead must be those that

maximize the limited space for housing, crop
cultivation, forest plantations, paddocks, pens and
grazing pastures, etc.

Small but expertly planned and efficiently operated,

the Demonstration Farm is integrated and harbours

mushroom unit
Poultry
cane rat unit
Snailry
Rabbitry
sheep pens
fish culture tanks
Orchards
vegetable gardens
nursery for oil palm
landscaping plants and flowers
Faculty is supplying the university community with

fresh vegetables and fruits, natural honey, local and

exotic flowers and beautification plants, fresh eggs,
snails, etc.

Besides the farms which are the equivalent of

the Teaching Hospital for medical students, the

faculty has benefitted from the following:
Chief Femi Otedola Building in the University Park
Rehabilitated Old Library in Choba Park
TETFUND

Faculty of Agriculture Building in

University Park which is currently under
construction and is expected to provide office
accommodation,
classrooms,
lecture
and
conference halls .

OPPORTUNITIES AND CHALLENGES

The founding of a faculty of agriculture in the University of Port

Harcourt in 2005 is quite strategic especially when viewed against

the food security challenges in the NDR where oil and gas
exploration and exploitation continue to decrease agricultural
productivity through reduction of output per unit area due to
declining soil fertility
Pollution
increased labour costs as a result of massive rural-urban migration
climate change
poor agricultural policies
declining investment
lack of incentives.

To date, most of the staples, poultry products and other sources of

protein, fruits and vegetables consumed in the region come from

other regions of the country or are imported
There is, therefore, a large market for agricultural products in the

NDR.

Agripreneurship
Given the skill, competence and experience, the upbeat and the knack

of the farm staff to achieve set goals, as well as the huge market that
exists in the NDR, there are tremendous commercial and trade
opportunities for agricultural enterprises to thrive.
The University only needs to build confidence in the capacity of the staff

(academic and technical) of the faculty to deliver on the mandate given

to them; it must begin to invest in infrastructural development and
commit itself to continual investment in human resources development
in emerging technologies.
Enormous investment opportunities exist particularly in the processing

and packaging of farm produce as well as in poultry and livestock feed

production: cassava and cereal flour, mushroom, snail, rabbit,
vegetables, fruits, eggs, chicken, animal feed, fruit juice, are only a few
examples of the opportunities that stare us in the face.
In comparison with medical and engineering enterprises which are more

capital intensive, investment in agriculture has two major advantages:

low investment capital and a short return-on-investment period.

These are some of the issues that informed the 6 th Vice-

Chancellor of the University, Prof. Don M. Baridam, to lead a

team of the Principal Officers of the University, the Provost of
the College of Health Sciences, the Dean of school of
Graduate Studies, the Dean and other staff of the Faculty on a
study visit to the Songhai Farms in Benin Republic in 2008.
The team visited the integrated Songhai Farms in Porto Novo,

Savalou, Parakou and Kewenji and was convinced that the

Songhai model at Kewenji which has the smallest farm holding
was the most suitable for the Faculty of Agriculture given its
land holding constraints.
With

a subsisting MoU between Songhai Benin and the

University of Port Harcourt, this is one investment opportunity
which successive administrations ought to pursue and see to
its implementation.

It is also possible to explore the possibility of a public-private

partnership in order to procure the capital needed.

The faculty is still convinced that the Songhai model which

is an integrated system and a farmstead remains the most

viable for optimizing agripreneurship
If the University commits itself to actualizing this dream, it

would become a world-class entrepreneurial university and

a centre of excellence where agriculture students from subSaharan Africa, potential investors in farming enterprises
and tourists would assemble continually for training, short
courses and tourism.
With a second MoU between the authorities of University of

Port Harcourt and the Rivers State Sustainable

Development Agency and the pronouncement by the 7 th
Vice-Chancellor, Professor J.A. Ajienka to establish a farm
modelled on the Songhai philosophy (see Uniport Weekly
19-26 August and 26 August - 2 September, 2013), it is
hoped that the dream for a truly integrated farm would
eventualy be realized.

The Faculty of Agriculture judiciously deployed

the funds allocated to it during its first six years

The cutting down of the monthly subvention to

the faculty, departments and farm units to less

than one-third of their pre-2010 amounts has
drastically
slowed
down
the
pace
of
infrastructural development.

Community Service
Infrastructural deficiency notwithstanding, the

faculty has been forging ahead to deliver on

the third leg of the tripartite mandate of
universities, community service, the other two
being teaching and research.
In 2012, the faculty embarked on a skills

acquisition training programme in which the

members of the host communities of Alakahia,
Aluu and Choba, were trained from 19th to 22nd
December on various aspects of farming
enterprises in a workshop captioned Training
Workshop on Agro-Empowerment of Women
and Youths in Uniport Host Communities.

In pursuit of this ideal, it would be more rewarding

for all stakeholders if the University could formulate

a policy to make the agripreneurial training for the
host communities an annual event.
On 10th December of the same year, the faculty

organized its first anniversary of the World Food

Day of the Food and Agriculture Organization, an
activity that earned greater publicity and
recognition for the Faculty and University.
Professor N.O. Adedipe, a one-time Vice-Chancellor

of the University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Ogun

State gave the key not addressAgricultural Cooperatives Key to Feeding the
World.

Faculty of Agriculture Academic Staff Welfare Scheme

In 2009, a Faculty of Agriculture Academic Staff

Welfare Scheme was created.

Ever since, the faculty holds its Christmas party

annually in the full awareness that, all work and no

play makes Jack a dull boy and Boma, a dull girl.
A direct check-off from the salaries of members by

the Universitys Bursary Department commenced in

2011.
The scheme has enjoyed stout leadership first

under Mrs. O.O. Nuga who flagged off the Special

Fund

Student Enrolment and Graduation

Many reasons have been adduced for the low

enrolment in agriculture:
poor

public perception of agriculture as a

rewarding career

poor

remuneration of agriculture graduates

especially those in public employment

manifest discrimination against agriculture as a

professional course although its programmes of

study require a minimum of five years to
complete as those of engineering, pharmacy,
nursing, etc.

graduates

of
the
latter
courses
upon
employment commence on a salary one level
higher than where agriculture graduates
commence theirs rather unjustly.

For instance, in the university system, first

degree
graduates
of
these
disciplines
commence their career in the academia as
Assistant Lecturers whereas their counterparts
from agriculture commence theirs as Graduate
Assistants, one level lower.

practice

of
agriculture
takes
place,
understandably, in rural and peri-urban areas
where social amenities and infrastructure Roads,
pipe
borne
water,
Electricity,
Hospitals,
educational institutions, processing and storage
facilities are tenuous.

These factors have largely contributed to the

decreasing interest amongst prospective entrants

to select agriculture as a course of study in our
tertiary institutions.

The

faculty commenced admission in the 2005/2006

academic session with students from the BSP who could not
secure admission into their preferred first choice courses
and had to be given soft landing in agriculture.

Some retook the JAMB University Matriculation Examination

(UME) and left the faculty but those who could not meet the
required cut-off score prescribed by JAMB continued with
their studies and eventually graduated.
The implication of this is that agriculture in the country is

being undertaken by
poorly prepared
poorly qualified
poorly motivated students
Who reluctantly accept to be herded into a career in agriculture

as a last resort and as an insurance against staying at home to

wait for admission into the University for years on-end.

This is what accounts for the perennially low

enrolment figures for agriculture in the country.

In comparison, virtually every department in the

Faculties of Humanities, Social and Management

Sciences, admits at least 100 students annually.
Unless urgent steps are taken by policy-makers

in agriculture, food insecurity will remain the

Achilles heel for
Federal
State
Local governments
as a large proportion of citizens continue to go to

bed hungry, remain malnourished and sickly.

The policy change required comprises:

creation of a dedicated scholarship scheme to

encourage more youths to study agriculture

placement of agriculture graduates in pubic and
private service at par with their counterparts
who undertake the 5-year training in the
university
establishment of a system of grants and
mentorship in agripreneurship for agriculture
graduates
purposeful
and sustained investment in
infrastructural development of the rural and
peri-urban areas which serve as the incubator
for farm enterprises.

THE FACULTY AND FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

The potential of the faculty as a possible major earner

of IGR for the institution needs to be appreciated for

sustained infrastructural development to take place.
The managers of the faculty need to be more
foresighted
purpose-driven
resourceful
inclusive in their deployment of the huge human capital

that the faculty harbours.

For completeness and for a more functional faculty,

the academic range must include

departments of food science
nutrition and home economics

During the tenure of the pioneer Dean, the curricula

for these academic programmes were designed by a

committee composed of
Mr. V.C. Wabali
Mr.H.E. Kalio
Ms. Ododobari Jike-Wai

These should be forwarded to the Senate Committee

on Academic Policies and Programmes (SCAPP) en

route to Senate for approval.
The inclusion of these programmes on the list of

available programmes in the faculty will help to

improve the public image of agriculture in the
University and the region and will thus broaden the
choice by students.

In the 68th Inaugural Lecture, Lale (2010)

espoused
the
establishment
of
the
department of agricultural engineering in the
University to complement the pace of
research and technology development in
agriculture

CONCLUSION
In this brief history, the origin, potentials and the

infrastructural needs of the faculty have been

highlighted for the appreciation of the University
community and the managers of the institution.
With this, it is hoped that the faculty would

receive a keener attention for greater investment

especially in infrastructural development from the
central administration.
It is also hoped that the faculty would once again

benefit from an internal governance system that

is focused, democratic, people-oriented and
inclusive.

These

are the ingredients that are necessary for achieving

excellence in teaching, research and community service and for
earning an enviable public image as a faculty within the University
of Port Harcourt and beyond.

This assertion is predicated on the insight provided in the Holy Writ

in Proverbs 11:14: Without wise leadership, a nation falls; with

many counsellors, there is safety.
Successive leadership must realize that the implementation of the

exclusivity model of governance in the faculty is a great disservice

to the system or to any organization or institution for that matter.
This perspective has also been amplified in Proverbs 15:22: Plans

go wrong for lack of advice; many counsellors bring success (The

Holy Bible, New Living Translation).
Expectations are high under the new management of the faculty led

by Prof. E.C. Wokoma that the faculty will once again experience a
revolution and transformation in terms of academic advancement,
infrastructural and human development.

Appreciation
Thank you for listening