DEVELOPMENT/ACTION PLAN - Faculty of Agriculture, University Of Nigeria Nsukka

FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA

TWO – YEAR DEVELOPMENT/ACTION PLAN FOR THE FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

(2018 – 2020)

PRESENTED BY PROFESSOR A. E. AGWU

DEAN, FACULTY OF AGRICULTURE

AUGUST 2018

INTRODUCTION

The Faculty of Agriculture University of Nigeria Nsukka has come a long way. The Faculty was founded in October 1960 as the first Land Grant Faculty of Agriculture not only in Nigeria but in Africa. Founded at the wake of Nigerian independence, the Faculty of Agriculture was among the first set of Faculties of the University to start classes on 17^th of October 1960. It was founded with the assistance of the Michigan State University under the auspices of USAID (United States Agency for International Development) to be one of the leading centres of teaching and research in Agriculture in the continent of Africa. It was the first Faculty of Agriculture in Nigeria. The founding fathers of the Faculty set aside more than 209 hectares of farmland to take care of field crops, plantation crops, cattle paddocks and production units for poultry, sheep/goat, pigs and rabbits with each unit having necessary farm structures and enabling modern facilities for effective practical training of students in the various areas of agriculture. Less than four years after its inception, the Faculty became the pride of Nigeria, boosting of modern facilitates at that time, setting the pace in practical agriculture and with its graduates taken the lead in the different aspects of Agriculture in the country.

Although the state of art facilities provided at inception by the founding fathers was unfortunately vandalized during the Nigeria civil war that lasted for three years (1967 – 1970), most of the facilities were rehabilitated with the assistance of international agencies, the Federal Government and other stakeholders. However, over the years, the Faculty has moved from the commanding heights it attained before and after the civil war to become a shadow of its self. In fact, 40+ years down the line most of those facilities are either too old to function effectively or inappropriate to meet the demands of our time. The Faculty was rarely retooled with modern facilities. The curriculum has almost remained the same and can no longer meet the challenges of modern Nigeria. Our students who we understand were trailblazers, find it difficult to get jobs or set-up their own ventures these days. The research output in the Faculty which boosted many discoveries and groundbreaking publications has dwindled while the previous collaborations that existed in the Faculty have vanished. In fact, “a lot of water has gone under the bridge” and the Faculty needs to be reawakened and uplifted. A quick scan of the internal environment and Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats (SWOT) analysis of the Faculty below shows the key issues.

Table 1: Result of a quick scan of the faculty internal environment

S/No	THEMATIC AREAS	OBSERVATIONS	WHAT SHOULD FACULTY DO TO ADDRESS THIS?
1	Governance, Leadership and organizational structure	-very few members of the faculty seem to be in the know of the governance style and activities of the faculty. – very limited Faculty Board meetings	-Involve the broad spectrum of faculty members in the different faculty and senate committees -Initiate regular faculty board meetings
2	Strategic and operational planning	– No Strategic plan with the Vision and mission statements – No Operational plan exists	Development Plan with clear vision, mission and values; Operational plans have been articulated
3	Human resources	-the Faculty have quite a number of academic, non- academic and technical staff	The Faculty need to make sure that all the staff are fully engaged in their various areas of speciality.
4	Infrastructure, materials and equipment	Available office spaces, even though limited, equipment/ furniture, computer and accessories, filing system; assets register/inventory register. Communication facilities including internet and social media platforms	Efforts would be made as soon as possible to initiate the process of securing a permanent Faculty building. The Dean’s office and other important offices in the Faculty should be upgraded to meet the demands of our time as soon as possible.
5	Resource mobilization	Rudimentary fund generation strategies exist but not documented. capacity to raise fund is weak	Train some faculty members on fund mobilization Organize training workshops to generate funds. Establish a strategic Partnership and Consultancy Committee with a clear mandate.
6	Program development and management	The Faculty presently has no programme planning review system in place.	There should be regular programme planning system
7	Financial management systems	– No financial management system – No account rendering by Deans after serving out their tenure The Faculty is yet to initiate annual audit process.	Develop accounting/ financial reporting systems. Ensure that Deans render an account of administrative and financial stewardship after their tenure There is a need for Faculty to conduct its audit annually
8	Management Information systems (MIS); Monitoring and Evaluation	The Faculty has internet access and email services that are integrated within the University website. There is also the Faculty WhatsApp group. However, the space on the university website is still scanty and not updated.	Exploit options for cost-efficient information dissemination methods using the ICT based facility Making functional the Faculty’s sub-domain within the University website
9	Partnership and collaboration	The Faculty is in the process of identifying potential partners or networking possibilities.	The Faculty should collaborate with Local, National and International agencies that have common areas of interest.

Table 2: Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats Analysis

Strengths

§ Hardworking, diverse, and willing staff members

§ A viable platform for all staff for experience and knowledge sharing

§ Affiliation with national and international associations

§ Ability to attract funds locally and internationally

§ Competence and skills of staff

Reinforcing strengths

Institute performance-based rewards system to encourage commitment.
Encourage working together of all staff to facilitate collaboration
Conduct members’ skills audit to facilitate efficient utilization.
Exploit fund mobilization opportunities.

Weaknesses

i) Lack or poor commitment of staff members.

ii) Ineffective mobilization and advocacy.

iii) Lack of /limited funding for carrying out initial critical processes that will help to stabilize the faculty

iv) Negative bias among some staff members of the mandate/mission of the University

v) Securing effective buy-in by all potential stakeholders and sustaining the interest of the few that may be involved

Mitigating the weaknesses

1. Transparent process in the Faculty that could attract different stakeholders to the Faculty and soliciting a buy-in from relevant agencies

2. Advocacy, mobilization and fundraising skills and effectively practice the skills

3. Massive creation of awareness among different key stakeholders of the mission and mandate of the University

4. Appropriate investment

5. Launch strategic partnership and consultancy outfit or platform for fundraising

Opportunities

§ Funding (donor) opportunities locally and

Internationally.

§ Large potential staff membership

§ Capacity building for staff members

§ Filling a felt need to bring stakeholders together

§ The massive knowledge base of different staff members

§ Renewed support for agriculture as a driver of socio-economic growth in Nigeria.

Harnessing & Utilizing the Opportunities

i) Fundraising proposals

ii) Organize training outfit for staff members

iii) Engaging in Institutional research endeavours

Threats

i) Corruption & Nepotism

ii) Favouritism

iii) Donor fatigue

iv) Weak feedback to research

v) Inability to raise & manage funds

vi) Rivalry among professional colleagues within the Faculty if not checked

vii) Allowing tribal and/or religious sentiments and bias in the activities of the Faculty and process of electing key actors

viii) The poor commitment of members

ix) Lack/ ineffective of communication

Minimizing threats

i) Mobilize funds locally and internationally

ii) Running a transparent governance process devoid of tribal and religious sentiments and possibly having an inclusive outlook

iii) Making sure that qualification and expertise count in carrying out Faculty Assignment.

1.2 Strategic Objectives of the Faculty of Agriculture Development/Action Plan (FADP)

The main objective of the Faculty of Agriculture Development/Action Plan (FADP) is to re-strategize and refocus the Faculty; carry out projects that will help uplift the Faculty and create a framework for future growth of the faculty to facilitate the realization of its mission and vision. The specific objectives are to:

Forge collaborations with institutions in Nigeria and abroad in order to facilitate training, research and development.
Rejuvenate and efficiently run the Faculty auxiliary projects so as to supply the crop and animal products to the university community and the environs and generate revenue for the Faculty.
Enhance research output in the Faculty and facilitate the promotion of academic and non-academic staff in the faculty and promote the welfare of students and staff.
Reactivate the Faculty Welfare Programme and strive to maintain a conducive faculty environment.

2.0 SPECIFIC ACTIVITIES THAT WILL BE CARRIED OUT

In line with the strategic objectives, the activities that will be carried out are as follows:

Create and inaugurate committees in the Faculty that will help in carrying out the actions.
Head of Departments will be mobilized to form departmental committees
Follow-up with the on-going effort to forge collaboration with Michigan State University
Support the committee on strategic partnership and consultancy to develop collaborative research proposals and seek for funding.
Initiate and forge collaborations with national and international agencies and universities abroad.
Forge collaborations with agro-business firms in Southeast Nigeria to facilitate the training of fourth-year students.
Grow at least four (4) hectares of maize, two (2) hectares of Solanum, one (1) hectare of tomato and other crops annually.
Raise at least three cycles of 1000 unit of broilers per cycle each year and initiate the raising of pullets for egg production.
Raise at least pigs for sale on a continuous cycle every year.
Manage a functional feed mill in collaboration with the university.
Resuscitate the Faculty bakery project to produce bread and other confectionaries.
Efficiently use and maintain all Faculty equipment and vehicles especially tractors, lorry and water tanker and bus with the aim of generating income for the Faculty.
With the assistance of the University, resuscitate the Faculty borehole to facilitate dry season vegetable production.
Conduct at least two training workshops for academic staff on research grant writing, scientific paper writing and constantly communicate academic staff on calls for competitive research proposals.
Strengthen the Faculty Agro-Science journal and work towards ensuring the journal obtains Schimago Journal Rank (SJR).
Encourage research teams in the Faculty to apply for competitive research grants by providing seed money for preliminary activities to develop a strong proposal.
Increase the visibility of the faculty by ensuring that the faculty section in the university website is very active and engaging.
Proactively pursue the prompt promotion of qualified academic and non-academic staff.
Recruit at least 20 students in vacation jobs in the Faculty farm, through a competitive process, so as to expose them to practical agriculture.
Reform and strengthen the Faculty fourth-year program.
Ensure that students and staff complaints on harassment, intimidation and maltreatment in the Faculty are tacked.
Repair the Faculty generator set to ensure that faculty members have electricity to conduct their research activities when needed.
Rejuvenate the Faculty based lecture series by making it be more responsive to policy issues in the agricultural sector in the country and by ensuring that experts outside the university, especially in government and industry, become part of the lectures either as presenters or participants.

Re-establish the welfare programme of the faculty and explore the possibility of instituting a Faculty-Based Cooperative Society for Staff members.

Upgrade the aesthetic appearance of the Faculty and plant trees around the faculty and the farm areas.

Effectively keep and ensure that the account of all transactions of the Faculty is well kept and maintained and at the end of July 2020 produce an account report that will be open for audit.

The log framework/result framework showing the strategic objectives, projects/activities, expected output, timeframe/ when the result is expected, means of measurement and responsible Department/Committee/individual is presented in Table 3 below.

Table 3: Log Framework/ Result Indicators for Measuring the Success of Faculty of Agriculture Development/Action Program (FAUP)

Strategic Objectives	Projects/Activities	Expected output (Results)	Timeframe/ when the result is Expected	Means of Measurement	Responsible Department/Committee/individual
Forge collaborations with institutions in Nigeria and abroad in order to facilitate training, research and development	Follow-up with the on-going effort to forge collaboration with Michigan State University	ü Report of the visit of Michigan State University including agreements reached with the Faculty ü Copy of joint research proposal with Michigan State University/Africa Secretariat for Alliance for African Partnerships (AAP) ü Member of Regional Network of Agriculture Policy Research Institutes (ReNAPRI) Consortium	ü 30^th of September, 2018 ü The second week of October 2018 ü End of 2018	ü Copy of report ü A draft copy of the proposal ü Letter confirming membership	ü Faculty Committee on Strategic Partnership/ Dean of Faculty ü Faculty Committee on Strategic Partnerships/ Dean of Faculty ü Faculty Committee on Strategic Partnerships/ Dean of Faculty
	Support the committee on strategic partnership to develop a collaborative research proposal and seek for funding	Research proposal/concept/idea to IDRC developed. At least one idea successful and proposal expected	End of November 2018	Copy of research proposal/concept/ idea	Faculty Committee on Strategic Partnerships, Faculty Research Grant Committee and Dean of Faculty
	Initiate and forge collaborations with national and international agencies and universities abroad	At least one MOU on collaboration signed	End of the first quarter of 2019	Copy of MOU	Dean of Faculty/ Faculty Committee on Strategic Partnerships
	Forge collaborations with agri-business firms in Southeast Nigeria to facilitate the training of fourth-year students	At least three MOU signed with Agri-business firms	End of the first quarter of 2019	Copies of MOU	Dean of Faculty, Faculty Committee on Strategic Partnerships, Fourth-year programme committee
Rejuvenate and efficiently run the Faculty auxiliary projects so as to supply the crop and animal products to the university community and the environs and generate revenue for the Faculty	Grow at least four (4) hectares of maize, two (2) hectares of Solanum, one (1) hectare of tomato and other crops annually	4 hectares of maize in the farm 2 hectares of Solanum 1 hectare of tomato 1 hectare of another preferred crop	End of June and July 2019 and 2020	Harvested maize cobs, harvested solanum fruits, harvested tomato fruits, the amount of money realized from sales	Faculty Auxiliary project committee, Manager Farm Operations and Dean of Faculty
	Raise at least three cycles of 1000 unit of broilers per cycle each year and initiate the raising of pullets for egg production	ü 1000 units of broilers raised three times a year ü 2000 units of layers raised for egg production	ü Expected from the middle of March 2019, each quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020 ü Egg produced from February 2019 until the first quarter of 2020	ü Pictures of broilers in the Faculty Farm, report of production for each cycle, revenue from broiler production ü Pictures of layers and eggs produced from faculty farm, report of egg production enterprise, revenue from egg sales.	Faculty Auxiliary project committee, Manager Farm Operations and Dean of Faculty
	Raise at least pigs for sale in a continuous cycle every year	At least 50 mature sows and boars produced and sold	By end of April 2020	Report on pig production in the Faculty farm, pictures of sows and boars for sale, revenue from pig production	Faculty Auxiliary project committee, Manager Farm Operations and Dean of Faculty
	Manage a functional feed mill in collaboration with the university	Feed mill produced for the raising of birds and for sale to the public	By end of February 2019	Report of the project, purchase of feed for birds on the faculty farm stopped	Faculty Auxiliary project committee, Manager Farm Operations and Dean of Faculty, University management or representative
	Resuscitate the Faculty bakery project to produce bread and other confectionaries	UNN bread on sale in the University and outside the university	From End of October 2018	Pictures of bread produced at the Faculty Bakery, revenue from the sale of bread	Faculty Bakery project Committee
	Efficiently use and maintain all Faculty equipment and vehicles especially tractors, lorry and water tanker and bus with the aim of generating income for the Faculty	Faculty tractors, bus, water tanker and lorry working optimally	From the Second week of September 2018	ü Revenue from tractors, bus, water tanker and lorry. ü Performance report from Manager Farm Operations Unit	Manager farm Operations, Dean of faculty
	With the assistance of the University, resuscitate the Faculty borehole to facilitate dry season vegetable production	Faculty borehole working and in use	From End of November 2018	Dry season vegetable farm in the Faculty	Dean of Agric, Auxiliary project Committee,
Strengthen the welfare of staff members	Review the existing constitution if available or generate a new constitution to draw membership of the welfare	ü Identify with members of the Faculty during happy and sad moments ü Periodic procurement and distribution of household items for interested members of staff and other crucial issues as the need arise ü Institute Faculty-Based Cooperative Society for Staff members	From October 2018 From December 2018 By June 2019	Number of occasions attended Number of items distributed to staff members Existence of management team & a functional bank account	Dean of Agric, Faculty welfare committee Dean of Agric, Faculty welfare committee Dean of Agric; Faculty welfare committee
Create a more conducive environment	Upgrade the aesthetic appearance of the Faculty	ü Plant trees within the faculty and farm areas	September 2018	500 Number of trees planted	Dean of Agric; Faculty Environmental committee
Enhance research output in the Faculty and facilitate the promotion of academic and non-academic staff in the faculty and promote the welfare of students and staff	Conduct at least two training workshops for academic staff on research grant writing, scientific paper writing and constantly communicate academic staff on calls for competitive research proposals	ü Two training workshops on research grant writing and scientific paper writing conducted for academic staff of the Faculty. ü At least two training workshops of research methodology conducted for academic staff of the Faculty ü Noticeboard (virtual) for competitive research grant calls instituted in the faculty	First one by the end of February 2019 The second one by the end of October 2019 First one by the end of January 2019 The second one by the end of September 2019 From October 2018	Attendance list at training, copy of presentation, workbook produced for the training Attendance list at training, copy of presentation, workbook produced for the training List of competitive research grant call sent by what’s app to faculty members	Research Grant Committee, Dean/ Associate Dean of Faculty Research Grant Committee, Dean of faculty Research Grant Committee, Dean/Associate Dean of faculty
	Strengthen the Faulty Agro-science journal and work towards ensuring the journal obtains Scimago Journal Rank (SJR)	The website for Agro-science developed and running effective, back issues uploaded to journal site, the journal published regularly, Scimago rank achieved	From October 2018, following schedule of the Journal volume/number Scimago Journal Rank (SJR) by end of 2020	The website, copies of the journal, scimago rank	Agro – Science team /Faculty Publications Committee, Dean of faculty
	Encourage research teams in the Faculty to apply for competitive research grants by providing seed money for preliminary activities to develop a strong proposal	Research groups receive seed money of at least N50,000.00, Research grant proposal produced, at least three research groups obtain a research grant	From October 2018	Acknowledgement of funds received, letter of award of a grant	Associate Dean of Faculty, Faculty Research Groups, Heads of Department
	Increase the visibility of the faculty by ensuring that the faculty section in the university website is very active and engaging	Faculty website running effectively and updated every week	From November 2018	Number of visits to faculty website, the content of faculty website	Faculty ICT committee, Dean of faculty, Head of Departments
	Proactively pursue the prompt promotion of qualified academic and non-academic staff	Number of qualified academic staff promoted to different ranks	From October 2018	Letters of promotion	Dean of Faculty/Associate Dean of Faculty
	Recruit at least 20 students in vacation jobs in the Faculty farm, through a competitive process, so as to expose them to practical agriculture	20 students recruited for vacation jobs in the faculty farm	From March 2019	Letters of engagement, roll call of vacation job workers	Dean/ Associate Dean of Faculty
	Reform and strengthen the Faculty fourth year program	Students payment for Fourth year practical stopped, students, carry out training in agri-business firms, and accountability instituted, revenue generated for the faculty	From October 2018	Account statement, reduced complaints from students, number of students being trained in agri-business firms, the amount of revenue generated	Faculty Fourth year programme committee, Dean/ Associate Dean of the Faculty
	Ensure that students and staff complaints on harassment, intimidation and maltreatment in the Faculty are tacked	No of cases treated, Reduction in number of complaints received	From October 2018	Report on cases treated, list of cases reported	Committee on Public Complains / Ethics, Dean of the Faculty
	Repair the Faculty generator set to ensure that faculty members have electricity to conduct their research activities when needed	Generator set working optimally	From November 2018	Electricity available in the faculty lecture theatre and offices, when EEDC light is out	Dean/Associate Dean of faculty
	Rejuvenate the Faculty based lecture series by making it be more responsive to policy issues in the agricultural sector in the country and by ensuring that experts outside the university, especially in government and industry, become part of the lecture either as presenters or participants	Number of lecture series conducted, Number of outside guests that presented lecture papers, number of policy briefs or working papers produced.	From October 2018	Attendance list to the lecture, copies of policy briefs or working papers	Faculty Lecture Series Committee, Dean /Associate Dean of Faculty
	Effectively keep and ensure that the account of all transactions of the Faculty is well kept and maintained and at the end of July 2020 produce an account report that will be open for audit	Account opening documentation in at least two banks (or two accounts), report of account for each year, audited account by July 2020.	Next faculty Board after the first one, Account at end of July 2019 and end of July 2020, audited account by end of July 2020	Cheque booklets, account statements, report of accounts, and report of audited accounts	Dean Faculty of Agriculture