Agriculture syllabus for Jamb

Section A: Jamb syllabus for Agriculture - General Agriculture

1. Meaning and Scope of Agriculture

• Definition of Agriculture
• Branches of Agriculture
• Types of Agricultue i.e susbistence and commercialization
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2. Importance of Agriculture

• Provision of raw material for agro-allied industries
• Provision of employment
• Development of rural areas, etc
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3. Agricultural Ecology

• Ecological zones of West Africa
• Agricultural products of each ecological zone
• Environmental factors and their effects on crop and livestock production
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4. Agricultural Genetics

• First and second laws of Mendel
• Cell division
• Terminologies e.g. locus, alleles, genotype, dominance
• Methods of crop improvement e.g introduction, selection, crossing, quarantine etc.
• Methods of animal improvement e.g. introduction, breeding quarantine and selection: Breeding systems-inbreeding, line-breeding, cross-breeding, artificial insemination
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5. Farm inputs

6. History of Agricultural Development in West Africa

• Agricultural systems e.g. shifting cultivation, bush fallowing etc
• Problems of Agricultural development e.g. land tenure systems, adequate infrastructures, inadequate finance for agriculture, environmental degradation, etc
• Establishment of national research institutes e.g. NCRI, IAR, IAR&T, CRIN, NIFOR, FRIN, RRI, NRCRI, NIHORT, LCRI, etc and international research institutes e.g. IITA, ILRI, ICRISAT, WARDA, etc., leading to increased application of science to the development of agriculture
• Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs) e.g. RTEP, FADAMA etc.
• National Agricultural Programmes such as OFN, NAFPP, NALDA, Green Revolution, NCRPs, NARP, Project Coordinating Unit (PCU) etc.
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Roles of Government and NGOs in Agricultural Development

• Development of fiscal policies favourable to agricultural production e.g. import duties, ban on importation, etc.
• Agricultural laws and reforms e.g Land Use Act.
• Government Programmes aimed at agricultural development e.g subsidies, credit facilities etc.
• Provision of infrastructures e.g. transport systems, communication systems etc
• Contribution of NGOs to agricultural development
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Section B: Jamb syllabus for Agriculture - Agronomy

1. Rocks and soil formation

• Rock formation
• Factors affecting rock weathering and soil formation
• Physical properties of soil (i) soil profile (ii) soil components, texture and structure
• Chemical properties of soil (i) soil acidity and alkalinity (ii) Chemical components of soil e.g. silicate
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2. Soil Water and Soil Conservation

• Soil Water: its importance, sources, movement, management and conservation
• Soil conservation: meaning and importance, causes, effects, prevention and control of leaching, erosion, continuous cropping, burning and oxidation of organic matter
• Irrigation and drainage methods
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3. Soil Fertility

• Macro and micro-nutrients and their roles in plant nutrition: carbon, water and nitrogen cycles
• The living population of the soil (flora and fauna), and their roles in soil fertility.
• Maintenance of soil fertility: Methods of maintaining soil fertility e.g. use of cover crops, application of organic manures etc
• Nutrient deficiency symptoms e.g chlorosis, sickle leaves, stunting, apical necrosis etc.
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4. Land Preparation and Soil Tillage

• Principles and practices of land preparation and soil tillage
• Factors affecting choice of tillage methods: Zero tillage, minimum tillage etc
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5. Plant Forms and Functions

• Parts of monocot and dicot crop plants and their functions
• The anatomy and morpology of the storage organs of common crop plants
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6. Growth, Development and Reproduction

• Gametogenesis
• Pollination
• Fertilization
• Embryo formation and development
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7. Plant Propagation Methods

• Sexual: the use of seeds, seed viability, viability test, seed rate and seed germination
• Asexual(vegetative propagation) e.g. cutting, budding, grafting, layering, etc.
• Nursery and nursery management
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8. Cropping Systems, Planting Patterns and Plant Densities

• Cropping systems: Monocropping, mixed-, multiple-, inter-, relay-, strip- and rotational cropping
• Plating patterns: Broadcasting , row spacing and drilling
• Plant densities: single, double and multiple stands

9. Crop Husbandry

10. Pasture and Forage Crops

• Study of gross morphology, methods of propagation and husbandry of common pasture grasses and legumes. Establishment, maintenance, conservation and uses of pastures and forage crops
• Study of natural grasslands and their distribution in West Africa
• Range management
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11. Floriculture

12. Weeds

• Gross morphology, methods of reproduction, dispersal and effect of weeds
• Weed control methods - weeding, mulching, cover cropping, tillage, herbicides and trap cropping
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13. Crop diseases

• Identification of disease-causing organisms both in store and in the field
• A simple account of diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses; symptoms, the nature of the damage, methods of transmission and common methods of control
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• Side effects of application of preventive and control methods e.g pollution, poisoning and distribution of ecosystem
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14. Crop pests

• General account of pests of agricultural plants both in the field and in the store, their types, importance, principles and methods of prevention and control
• Life cycles of: biting insects e.g. grasshopper; boring insect e.g. weevils; sucking insects e.g. aphids and cotton strainer
• Common pesticides and their side effects
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15. Forest Management (Siviculture)

• Importance: Soure of wood, pulp, fibre and other forest products
• Conservation: regulation, exploitation, regeneration, afforestation, agroforestry and management systems; taungya, alley, ley, etc
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Section C: Jamb syllabus for Agriculture - Animal production

1. Forms and classification of major farm animals in West Africa

• Species, breeds, distribution and uses
• External features of cattle, sheep, goat, pigs, rabbits and poultry
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2. General terminologies in animal production

3. Anatomy and Physiology of Farm animals

• Functions of tissues and organs of farm animals
• Animal body systems e.g digestive (Ruminants and non-ruminants), reproductive, respiratory, urinary (excretory) and nervous systems
• Effect of environmental changes on physiological development of farm animals e.g climate change (temperature, relative humidity, light, etc.)
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4. Reproduction in farm animals

• Gametogenesis, oestrus cycle, signs of heat and heat periods, secondary sexual characters, gestation periods, parturitin and the role of hormones in reproduction
• Development, nourishment and birth of the young, Mammary glands and lactation in farm animals.
• Egg formation incubation and hatching in poultry
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5. Animal nutrition

• Feed nutrients and functions
• Feed and feeding: simple ration formulation - balanced ration, common pasture/forage crops e.g. guinea grass elephant grass, giant star grass. Andropogon sp, Calopogonium sp. Hay and silage preparation, different types of rations, namely maintenance ration and production ration
• Nutrient deficiencies: Causes and symptoms of malnutrition and their correction in farm animals
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6. Livestock management

7. Animal Health

• Animal diseases (pathology)

1. Environmental factors predisposing animals to diseases; causal organisms, symptoms, transmission and effects
2. Preventive and curative methods for diseases caused by virus, bacteria, fungi and protozoa

• Parasites (parasitology)

1. Life cycles and economic importance of livestock parasites e.g endoparasites, ectoparasites and disease vectors
2. Prevention and contrl (i) dipping (ii) spraying (iii) deworming (iv) sanitation
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8. Fisheries and Wildlife

• Fish culture systems: Common types of fishes e.g. Tilapia, Catfish etc

1. Extensive systems: inland and deep-sea fishing, lakes and rivers
2. Semi-intensive systems: dams
3. Intensive systems: fish ponds-factors to consider in ponds establishment and pond management e.g. pond fertilization, liming and desilting

• Fish harvesting and processing methods

1. Use of drag nets, hook and lines, etc
2. Curing, sun-drying and smoking
3. Fishery regulation

• Wildlife management: Habitat conservation, feeding, domestication, harvesting, processing and wildlife regulations
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9. Bee-keeping (Apiculture)

• Meaning and importance of apiculture
• Types of bee e.g exotic and indigenous bees
• Methods of bee-keeping e.g traditional and modern bee-keeping
• Equipment and safety measure in beekeeping
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Section D: Jamb syllabus for Agriculture - Agricultural Economics and Extension

1. Factors of agricultural production

• Land

1. Types of land ownership in West Africa
2. Labour
3. Capital
4. Management
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2. Basic Economic Principles

• Demand and supply,
• Production function: Input/input, Output/output, Input/output relationships; stages of production, concepts of diminishing returns, scale of preference and choice
• Characteristic Features of Agricultural Production; Smallnessof farm holdings: biological limits of farm production to climate, seasonality of farm productions, price elasticity in demand and supply of agricultural produce
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3. Labour Management

• Labour relations: Supervision, etc
• Types of labour: Permanent labour etc
• National labour laws and regulations
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4. Farm Management

• Qualities, functions and problems of a farm manager
• Records and record-keeping: Types and importance of record-keeping-livestock records, profit and loss account book
• Stock evaluation:

1. Gross and net profits in farm management
2. Appreciation, depreciation and savage value

• Agricultural insurance:

1. Meaning, importance and types of agricultural insurance
2. Problems of agricultural insurance
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5. Marketing of Agricultural Produce

• Importance of Marketing
• Marketing channels
• Characteristics of agricultural products affecting their marketing
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6. Agricultural Extension

• Meaning and importance
• The role of Agricultural Development programmes, Universities, Research instituties and farmers' organizations (cooperative societies)
• Extension methods includig demonstration plots, use of visual aids, mass media etc
• Problems of agricultural extension in West Africa and possible solutions.
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Section E: Jamb syllabus for Agriculture - Agricultural Technology

1. Farm surveying and farmstead planning

• Meaning and importance
• Common surveying equipment, their uses and care
• Common survey methods
• Principles of farmstead planning
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2. Simple farm tools

3. Farm Machinery and Implements

• Types:

1. Machinery e.g tractor, milking machine etc
2. Implements

• Uses and maintenance of farm machinery and Implements
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4. Mechanization and sources of farm powers

• Sources of farm power e.g animal and machines
• Advantages and disadvantages of agricultural mechanization
• Problems and prospects of mechanized agriculture in West Africa
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5. Processing and storage

• Processing: traditional and modern methods of food processing e.g. gari, rice and groundnut processing etc
• Storage
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6. Introduction to biotechnology

7. Application of ICT in agriculture

• Feature of computers
• Uses of computers in agriculture: disease and weather forecasting, ration formulation, database and simulation studies etc
• Use of communication gadgets e.g mobile phone, internet etc
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8. Introduction to agricultural research and statistics

• Basic concepts in planning agricultural experiments e.g hypothesis, treatment and control etc
• Interpretation of results, e.g measures of central tendency and experimental errors
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