An alumnus of Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology, Ibadan, Mr. AyoOluwa Okediji, has charged the federal government to review curriculum of agricultural-based institutions in Nigeria.
Mr. Okediji gave the charge while delivering the alumni lecture at the 61st founder’s day of the institution held at weekend in Ibadan.
According to him , the review is necessary to enable these institutions meet up with the present challenges in the agricultural sector as well as to align with the current realities.
Mr. Okediji in his lecture titled; “Our legacy: Bridging past and future with Youth mentoring towards innovation and self reliance”, noted that it is imperative that the College curriculum be continually updated to ensure that it align with industry-based realities.
” We need to ensure that the curriculum is up to date with recent development, innovation and things that are going on within the agricultural sector”, he said.
Mr Okediji added, “It is also a call to action to the college themselves to make sure that each of those graduate that has come out of this place are not job seekers but are job creators.”
” They are really supposed to be job creators and not job seekers. And that is the highlight of my presentation today. It is imperative that the college curriculum be continually updated, ensuring it is aligned with industry-based realities” .
Mr. Okediji tasked the alumni, industry players, and institutional leaders to always support their alma matter, adding, “every student must graduate not just with knowledge but with the mindset to build, innovate, and create value”.
He stressed, “Preparing students with practical, hands-on competencies and technical know-how relevant to today’s labour market. Empowering graduates to think like entrepreneurs, problem- solvers, and value creators”.
“To rise to this challenge, we must be deliberate. As alumni, industry players, and institutional leaders, we must promote and institutionalize the following pillars within this College. From precision farming and drone technology to blockchain traceability and smart livestock systems, our students must gain hands-on exposure to the digital tools shaping agriculture’s future.
“Every student must graduate not just with knowledge but with the mindset to build, innovate, and create value. This includes business modelling, financial literacy, and problem solving on a large scale.Training must move beyond primary production. Our students should understand the entire agri-food value chain-production, processing, logistics, branding, compliance, and export-while embracing climate-smart and sustainable practices,” he added.