Mechanized agriculture has the potentials of geometrically increasing agricultural and food production by opening more hectares for farming and introducing machines and systems for added value chain. It also promotes agro-industrialization by providing sufficient quantity of ago raw materials. Yet, if agricultural mechanization is not well practiced, it has the potentials of impacting negatively on the environment. Therefore, the aim of the programme is to ensure a sustainable environment with the practice of agricultural mechanization.
The proposed option has a total of 36 unit courses including 10 units of Centre courses, 16 units of compulsory option courses and 2 units of elective option courses. Research projects thesis and internship reports carry 4 Units each. The course listing and synopses are presented below:
1st Semester
AMS 701: Engineering Technology and Climate Change (3 Units)
AMS 703: Engineering Technology for Precision Farming and Conservation Agriculture (3 Units)
AMS 705: Entrepreneurship in Mechanized Agri-business (3 Units)
2nd Semester
AMS 700: Farm Implement & Operations and Tractor Operation (2 Units)
AMS 702: Bio-fuel and Environment (3 Units)
AMS 704: Course Seminar (2 units)
AMS 798: Internship Reports, Seminars (4 units)
AMS 799: Research Projects, Seminars and oral examinations (4 units)
Electives (Maximum of 1 course of 2 units to be selected)
AMS 707: Agro-food Process Waste Handling and Management (2 Units, 1st Semester)
AMS 709: Soil and Water Engineering for Sustainable Environment (2 units, 1st Semester)
AMS 711: Farm Power and Machinery for Sustainable Environment (2 units, 1st Semester)
Total Option Units = 26 Units
SYNOPSIS FOR A MASTERS DEGREE IN AGRICULTURAL MECHANIZATION AND SUSTAINABLE ENVIRONMENT
AMS 700: Farm Implement & Operations and Tractor Operation (2 Units)
Identification of different types of farm implements including land clearing and tillage implements, such as ranks, mowers, slashers, ploughs, harrows, tillers, planters, fertilizer applicators, seed drills, sprayer, trailer etc,. Identification of different makes/ brands and power ratings of tractors and farm implements, including John Dier, Massey Fergusson, Styr, Fiat, Ford, Holland, Eicher, Davidson, etc. Maintenance and repairs of farm. Tractor maintenance. Tractor hydraulic system. 1 & 3 – hinges couplings. Tractor PTO system. Tractor breaking system. Coupling of implements to tractor. Tractor driving and operation tractor with implements on the field. Students are expected to undergo tractor operator’s test and obtain tractor operator’s license at the end of the course.
AMS 701: Engineering Technology and Climate Change (3 Units)
Agricultural activities and anthropogenicglobal warming. Concept of carbon credits. Global energy balance and climate change. Green house gases (GHG) such as CO2, Methane, Chlorofluorocarbons (CFC’s), and Nitrous Oxide associated with crop farming, monoculture, agrochemical, animal husbandry, burning of fossil fuel, deforestation, agricultural wastes, etc. Multi-disciplinary approach of mitigating the effects of Climate Change: Policy, Legal and Economic Approach; Technical Approach; Research Approach; etc. Measurement and quantification of GHGs. Technology for carbon mitigating green house gas effects: Carbon Capture and Sequestration (CSS). Agricultural mechanization practices for mitigating the effects of climate change.
AMS 702: Bio-fuel and Environment (3 Units)
Types/ classification of bio-fuel by state/ phase (solid or liquid); origin (animal or crop); etc. Sources of bio-fuel: wood/ forest materials, oil crop, cassava, sugar cane, animal waste, etc. Oil seed classifications. Bio gas production from animal waste. Production of briquettes from crop residues and solid agro-wastes. Thermodynamic properties of bio-fuels. Pollution characteristics and green house gas (GHG) emissions from bio-fuels. Handling wastes and pollution associated with bio-fuel utilization. Special case study on environmental impacts on bio-fuel utilization on selected West African countries.
AMS 703: Engineering Technology for Precision Farming and Conservation Agriculture (3 Units)
Concepts of precision farming. Farming types, including traditional, organic and mechanized farming methods. Appropriate technology. Soil attributes and crop yield parameters: Soil moisture, crop phrenology, growth, evapotranspiration, nutrient deficiency, crop disease, and weed and insect infestation, etc. Spatial variability of soil fertility and crop conditions. Impact of environment on field crop and soil properties and fertility. Benefits and limitations of precision farming. Site Specific Crop Management (SSCM). The technological tools for precision farming: Global Positioning Systems (GPS), Geographical Information Systems (GIS), yield monitor, variable rate technology, and remote sensing. Applications of GPS and GIS for farm management. Adaptation and implementation of precision farming.
Concept and philosophy of conservation agriculture. Green house effects in agricultural practices. Conservation agriculture practices in selected West African countries. Tools, machines and machineries for conservation agriculture.
AMS 704: Course Seminar (2 Units)
Students shall write report and present seminar on topical issues related to agricultural mechanization and sustainable environment.
AMS 705: Entrepreneurship in Mechanized Agri-business (3 Units)
Subsistent agriculture and its implications. Mechanized agriculture: its entirety and practices. Upgrading subsistent agriculture into a business. Concept and practices in Agri-business. Entrepreneurship in agriculture. Accounting principles and procedures in agriculture: Record keeping; preparation account statements and balance sheet, etc. Banking principles and banking systems. Interactions with financial organization. Preparation of feasibility studies. Organizational studies and organization goals. Theories of motivation. Principle of team work in organizations.
AMS 707: Agro-food Process Waste Handling and Management (2 Units)
Activities in agro-food process operations. Nature of waste generated in agro-food process operations. Solid, liquid and gaseous wastes generated by agro-food process industries involved in fruit, vegetable, juice, crop, beverage, meat, dairy production/ products. Waste from food packaging and material handling. Particulate wastes from flour mills. Green house gases (GHGs) emissions from agro-food processing plants. Waste quality parameters and quantification. Collection and handling of agro-food process wastes. Waste management techniques. Waste to wealth approach in handling agro-food process wastes. Biotechnology applications in food waste handling and management.
AMS 709: Soil and Water Engineering for Sustainable Environment (2 Units)
Land scapes and water sheds in West Africa. Review of fluid dynamics. Hydrology in engineering. Soil and water as essential agricultural resources. Design of drainage and erosion control hydraulics structures for towns and cities. Flood prevention. Flood disaster management. Waterway engineering. Reclamation of waste agricultural soils. Soil-machinery interactions. Case studies on the impact of dams on selected cities and nations in West Africa
AMS 711: Farm Power and Machinery for Sustainable Environment (2 Units)
Review of soil tillage operations and conventional tillage equipment. Interactions between soil tillage and environment. Soil degradation, environmental pollutions and green house gases (GHGs) emissions associated with land clearing, deforestation and farm operations (in crop and animal farms). Farm machineries for environmental conservation in land clearing, chemical application
