Course Module

Course Objectives

• To equip students with basic knowledge in soil evolution, enhance their ability in linking the causes and effects of major pedogenic processes documentation of soil information and prescribe sustainable use of soil resources.
• Introduce students to the atmospheric systems, climate and weather and, their relationship to crop production, collection of climatic data and their interpretation as well as causes and impacts of climate change and principles of adaptation and mitigation.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students should be able to explain the principles underlying the characteristics of major soils of the tropics; link soil properties and their respective taxa and management; judge the sustainability or otherwise of soil resources for various uses. Students will also be equipped with the requisite knowledge on climatic processes and change, and their impacts on agricultural soils and crop production to enable them design appropriate mitigation strategies through appropriate and adaptable sustainable land management technologies to achieve climate-smart agriculture.

Course Contents

The soil as a natural body in the landscape; Soil resource inventories; The use of soil geographical databases; The use of soil as a multi-functional resource, consequences of soil use, soil and land degradation.

Mode of delivery

Oral, field and laboratory work

Reading materials

Buol, S.W., R. J. Southard, R. C. Graham and P. A. McDaniel. 2011. Soil Genesis and Classification, 6^th Edition. Wiley – Blackwell

Soil Atlas of Africa- EUR 25534 EN. European Union 2013.

Landon, J. R. 1984. Booker Tropical Soil Manual. A handbook

Gliesman, S.R. 2014. Field and Laboratory investigation in agroecology. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439895719

Course Objectives

• To equip students with the requisite knowledge on soil mineralogy, chemical properties and processes and, their impact on soil quality, management and sustained productivity.

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students should be able to understand and explain the principles underlying soil nutrients dynamics and chemical processes as well as their impact on soil health and productivity.

Course Contents

Soil components and mineralogy, Concept of soil fertility and productivity; soil quality and quality assessment; organic matter and nutrient cycling; fertility use efficiency; fertilizers and the environment; problem soils of the tropics and their management (saline and sodic soils, acid soils, alkaline soils, petro-plinthic soils – iron pans, vertisols, submerged soils); soil and plant analysis; soil fertility degradation in sub-saharan Africa;

Mode of delivery

Oral, field and laboratory work

Reading materials

Alexander, M. 2011. Introduction to Soil Microbiology. 2^nd Edition. Krieger Pub Co.

Lal, R and B.A. Stewart. 2014. Soil management of smallholder agriculture. 420 pp

Fairhust, T. (ed.) 2012. Handbook for integrated soil fertility management. African Soil Health Consortium, Nairobi, Kenya.

Course Objectives:

• To equip students with the physiological basis and dynamics of crop growth and, to measure and analyse yield structure and determinants towards the development of efficient and adaptable strategies for sustained crop productivity.

 Learning Outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be equipped with the requisite knowledge on the environmental factors and their stress effects on crops and the concept of growth; and the skill to measure crop growth and yield components as a basis for manipulating the bio-physical conditions’ of the crops for improved growth and yield.

Course Content

Crops response to environmental factors (water, air, temperature, radiation and other stresses); stress resistance and adaptation; physiological basis of crop growth and yield; source-sink relationships and manipulation; accumulation and partitioning of assimilates; plant hormones and growth regulators and their impact on plant growth; yield structures and assessment; yield determinants and harvest index.

Mode of delivery

Oral, laboratory and field work.

Reading materials

Goldsworthy, P. R. and Fisher. N. M. (1984). Physiology of tropical field crop. Chichester: John Wiley and Sons. Chichester.

Hay, R. K. and Walker, A. J. 1989. Introduction to the physiology of crop yield. Longman Group UK Limited

Hay, R. K. and Porter, J. R. 2006. The physiology of crop yield. Blackwell Publishing.

Fageria, N. K., Baligar, V. C. and Clark, R. B. 2006. Physiology of crop production. Haworth Press Inc.

Course Objective

Equip students with knowledge on experimental designs, field experimentation methods, and skill for data collection, statistical analysis and interpretation and scientific reporting.

Learning outcomes

Improved capacity to design scientific experiments, analyse and interpret experimental data and communicate research results effectively.

Course Content

Principle of experimentation; statistical analysis; decision support systems, Modelling Data interpretation and research reporting.

Mode of delivery

Oral, field and laboratory work

Reading materials

Gomez K.A. and A.A. Gomez. 2014. Statistical procedures in agricultural research (2^nd edition).

Course Objective

Equip students with knowledge on information retrieval, report writing, scientific writing and presentation skills, research proposal writing.

Learning outcomes

Improved capacity in the use of modern ICT skills and internet resources to support scientific research and scientific information management.

Course Content

Principle of scientific information management, use of ICT in scientific research, internet resources, databases and other sources of scientific literature on tropical soils, research proposal writing.

Mode of delivery

Oral and group work

Reading materials

1. Parker, C. C. and Turley, R. V. (1986). Information sources in science and technology: a practical guide to traditional and online use. 2^nd London, Butterworth.
2. Adèle Ramet. 2001. Creative Writing. Better yourself books.
3. Heeks, R. (2008). ICT4D 2.0: The next phase of applying ICT for international development. IEEE, 78-85.
4. Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors and publishers (1994) (6th edn). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
5. Greenhall. M. 2010. Report Writing Skills training course. Universe of Learning Ltd, Lancashire.

Course objective

Introduce students to the French language foundation of functional rudiments as well as foundation confidence in communication.

Learning outcomes

Improved knowledge of French language foundation and skill in the use of French language in everyday and science communication.

Content

Principles of French language foundation of functional rudiments, foundation confidence in communication, French language in science communication,

Mode of delivery

Oral, group works,

Reading materials

1. Thomas, M. Advanced French. Audio cassettes
2. The French Experience. BBC with course book and audio cassettes.
3. Keteku, E. La famille Ntow. Afram Publications (Gh) Ltd.
4. Mallet, J. C., F. Daaku and S. Asempa. 1993. Arc-en-ciel for SSS 1/2/3. Macmillan.
5. Roger W. Mededji. Basic French Grammar.
6. Silas Osei. An Easy Approach to French Composition for SSS. Book 1.

Course objective

Introduce students to the concept, principles and components of integrated soil fertility management and knowledge and skills in the efficient management of the components for sustained soil fertility and productivity

Learning outcomes

Improved knowledge of ISFM and skill in the management of the components for improved and sustained soil and crop productivity.

Content

Principles of integrated soil fertility management ISFM. ISFM products and field practices in dry lands, savannas and woodlands and humid forest zones. Soil fertility diagnosis, soil fertility management advice, dissemination of ISFM technologies; ISFM and gender empowerment.  ISFM policy issues.

Mode of delivery

Oral, field and laboratory work

Reading materials

Alexander, M. 2011. Introduction to Soil Microbiology. 2^nd Edition. Krieger Pub Co.

Lal, R. and B.A. Stewart. 2014. Soil management of smallholder agriculture. 420 pp

Fairhust, T. (ed.) 2012. Handbook for integrated soil fertility management. African Soil Health Consortium, Nairobi, Kenya.

Course Objective

• To introduce students to the principles and practices of soil and water management and conservation to enable them address land degradation problems for sustained productivity in different agro-ecological zones.
• To introduce students to the principles Environmental Soil Physics.

Learning outcomes

Students equipped with knowledge on land degradation and soil and water management and conservation techniques to design site-specific measures for sustainable soil and crop productivity on farm lands; as well as skills to use the principles of soil physics in managing soils, soil and water conservation, irrigation, tillage and drainage.

Course Content

The agro-ecological zone (AEZ) concept;  harvesting of agricultural water; soil water potential; flow of water in saturated and unsaturated soil; irrigation principles and practice; soil salinity; application of soil physics for remediation of hazardous waste; soil erosion; soil and water conservation design; soil tillage; land degradation;  sustainable land management and impacts on climate change; agro-climatology; integrated watershed management; soil-plant-atmosphere continuum; groundwater drainage and pollution.

Mode of delivery

Oral, Laboratory and field work

Reading material.

• Hillel, D. 1998. Environmental Soil Physics. Academic press, USA.
• Marshall, T. J., Holmes, J. W. and Rose C. W. 1996. Soil Physics. Cambridge University Press, Science. 453 pp.
• Manoj, M. K. 2013. Soil Physics: An Introduction. CRC Press. 478 pp.
• Morgan, R. P. C. 2005. Soil erosion and conservation, 3^rd Blackwell Science Ltd. Oxford, UK
• Hudson, N. W. 1995. Soil conservation, 3^rd edn, Batsford, London.
• Blanco, H. and Lal, R. 2008. Principles of Soil Conservation and Management. Springer.
• Liniger, H. P., Mekdaschi, R., Hauert, C. and Gurtner, M. 2011. Sustainable Land Management in Practice – Guidelines and Best practices for Sub-Saharan Africa. TerrAfrica, WOCAT and FAO.
• Chanson, H. 2004. The Hydraulics of Open Channel flow. Elsevier, Amsterdam.

Course Objectives

Expose students to theoretical and practical concepts in microbial flora and fauna ecology in soil to enable them develop technological packages for soil health improvement as well as build capacity to assess and monitor soil biology states in relation to soil quality and productivity.

Learning Outcomes

Improved student capacity in understanding the role of soil biota in soil – plant productivity, and use available strategies for optimum management of soil biota in sustainable agricultural practices.

Course Content

Soil Microbiology; Microbial diversity and ecosystem functioning; Measurement of microbial activity; Pesticides and soil microorganisms; Biological nitrogen fixation; Myccorrhiza, Rhizosphere biology; Soil pathogens. Use of molecular markers in microbial ecology; Application of nucleic acids and probes.

Mode of delivery

Oral, field and laboratory work

Reading materials

Alexander, M. 2011. Introduction to Soil Microbiology. 2^nd Edition. Krieger Pub Co

Stevenson, F.J. and M.A. Cole. 1999. Cycles of soils: carbon nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphur micronutrients. (2^nd edition) ISBN 978-0-471-32071-5 448pp.

 Course Objectives

• The aim of the course is to introduce students to the concepts, procedures and principles of GIS and Remote Sensing Application and equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enable them use these tools for land resources mapping and evaluation for spatial land use planning and sustainable management.

 Learning outcomes

Students equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills in using Remote Sensing Techniques and GIS for spatial planning and management of land resources for agricultural production and other land – based activities.

Course Contents

Introduction and Principles of Geographic information systems (GIS) and its application. Generation of thematic maps geo-statistics and modeling. Soil data interpretations for multiple purposes; Sources of spatial data and aerial photo interpretation.

Mode of delivery

Oral, field and laboratory work

Reading materials

Burrough, P.A. 1986. Principles of Geographical Information Systems for Land

Resources Assessment

Star, J. and J. Estes. 1990. Geographic Information Systems. An Introduction

ESRI- 1990, Understanding GIS, The Arc/Info method.

Content

Introduction, Literature Review, Materials and Methods of Students’ Thesis.

Mode of delivery:

Oral presentation, group work (Facilitated by lecturers)

Reading materials:

Gomez K.A. and A.A. Gomez. 2014. (2^nd edition) Statistical procedures in agricultural research.

Gliesman, S.R. 2014. Field and Laboratory investigation in agro-ecology. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439895719

Course Objectives

• To introduce students to the concepts and principles of corporate financial management and equip them with the requisite knowledge and skills to enable them use modern tools for effective financial and management accounting.

Learning outcomes

Students equipped with the relevant knowledge and skills in corporate financial management, financial and management accounting, effective projects financing.

Course Contents

Principles of corporate financial management, book keeping, management accounting,  financial resource mobilization, projects financing, ICT and modern decision support systems in projects financing,

Mode of delivery

Oral, practical work

Reading materials:

1. Arnold, G. (2012): Corporate Financial Management. Pearson Education Limited. London.
2. ACA Simplified (2014): Financial Management Q&A.
3. Weetman, (2006): Financial and Management Accounting: An Introduction (Fifth Edition). Pearson Education Financial Times Prentice Hall. London, New York Tokyo, Toronto, Mexico City. XXVII + 682pp.
4. Atrill, (2014): Financial Management for Decision Makers (7^th Edition) Pearson Education 656pp.

Students who have passed the taught course component of the programme are eligible to proceed to Thesis preparation.

Contents

Emphasis on students’ thesis field work, Supervisor and students consultations

Mode of delivery

Oral presentation, field work

Reading materials

Gomez K.A. and A.A. Gomez. 2014. (2^nd edition) Statistical procedures in agricultural research.

Gliesman, S.R.. 2014. Field and Laboratory investigation in agro-ecology. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439895719

Content

• Use of modern ICT tools and internet resources in thesis, scientific writing and scientific research; presentation skills.

Mode of delivery:

Oral presentation, group work (Facilitated by lecturers)

Reading materials:

Gomez K.A. and A.A. Gomez. 2014. (2^nd edition) Statistical procedures in agricultural research.

Gliesman, S.R. 2014. Field and Laboratory investigation in agro-ecology. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439895719

Content

Presentation and discussion of thesis research results, conclusions, recommendation and scientific publications.

Mode of delivery

Oral presentation

Reading materials

Gomez K.A. and A.A. Gomez. 2014. (2^nd edition) Statistical procedures in agricultural research.

Gliesman, S.R. 2014. Field and Laboratory investigation in agro-ecology. CRC Press. ISBN 9781439895719

Content

Thesis research data collection, analyses and write-up.