Transfer to the Faculty of Agriculture: A Great Opportunity

By Ayodele Abigeal

After preparing so well for the Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) and the Post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (PUTME), hoping to gain admission into the University of Ibadan to study the course you had already envisioned yourself pursuing throughout your years at the university, perhaps Pharmacy, only to be denied admission because of a mere 0.5-point difference in your aggregate score, the disappointment can be overwhelming.

Everyone understands the kind of pain that comes with such an experience. It is never easy to watch a carefully imagined future suddenly take a different direction.

Fortunately, the University of Ibadan offers you a transfer option to the Faculty of Agriculture. Definitely, you may feel angry and disappointed because you have never seen yourself as an agriculturist. You may have heard so many narratives about how agriculture is a useless or meaningless course that cannot be used to build wealth. You keep staring at the transfer option, wondering whether you should accept it or not.

You finally accept it, not because you truly want to study the course, but simply because you want to leave home and be free from unnecessary questions from your neighbours.

But have you ever thought about the great opportunities in Agriculture?

That is exactly where I am taking you.

Have you heard of Flour Mills of Nigeria, BUA Foods, Olam Nigeria, Niji Farms and other agricultural businesses? These are examples of businesses operating within the agricultural and food value chain, including the production and processing of farm produce into products that most of us cannot do without.

Funny enough, many people doing very well in agriculture today did not study Agriculture. They simply saw the opportunities within the sector and took advantage of them. So, why would you have the opportunity to study Agriculture and think it is not worth it?

The agriculture sector is gradually moving away from traditional manual labour towards technology-driven models involving drones, farm-management software, greenhouses and other innovations. These developments are creating new opportunities for graduates who are willing to acquire the necessary skills.

Currently, you do not even have to own land before you can function in the agricultural sector. You can source raw materials from local farmers and find ways to process the produce into valuable products that can be sold in well-branded packages to supermarkets and other consumers.

This is one of the opportunities available through value addition. Instead of simply selling raw agricultural produce, you can process, package and market it in a way that increases its value.

However, success in agriculture does not come automatically. It requires determination, hard work, consistency, knowledge and the willingness to understand the sector and identify opportunities within it.

Deciding to study Agriculture is not a bad decision. You simply need to embrace it, understand the opportunities available and devise various means of maximising the opportunity that has been given to you.

The course you originally wanted may not be the course you eventually study, but that does not mean your ambitions have to end. Sometimes, a change in direction can lead you to opportunities you never knew existed.