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Weed Science Education at the Tertiary Educational Level in Nigeria

Received: 28 February 2019     Accepted: 9 April 2019     Published: 29 April 2019
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Abstract

Weed Science is a discipline in that it deals with the study of vegetation management in agriculture, horticulture, aquatics, right-of-way, estates or amenities, essentially anywhere plants need to be managed. It involves the study of all the tools available for this purpose. In comparison with other plant protection disciplines, it has not enjoyed being a distinct discipline. Its study has in most cases been aligned with degrees in Agriculture and Agricultural related discipline. It has always been a component of degrees in Agricultural Science or Crop Science in Nigerian universities. This paper reviews the current status of Weed Science education in Nigeria. In Nigerian universities courses on weed control is part of degree programmes in Agriculture, Horticulture and/or Biological/Plant Sciences, where only aspects of weed characteristics and their control with herbicides, are taught in the third or final years. At the Masters or graduate levels it is taught where there is a Resident Weed Scientist. Because of government’s insensitivity the growth and development of professionalism is stifled. To date, of 149 universities in the country, only 58 of them offer one form of a course or the other that is related to weed science, constituting 44.8%. There were no Weed Scientists present in all the categories of Polytechnics, hence limiting per capita availability of Weed Scientists in the country. This situation does not engender participation or entrant of new members into the discipline. Inadequate funding of the education and agricultural sectors has been the bane of developing adequate manpower and expertise needed in the area. For instance the Weed Science Society of Nigeria has been in existence since 1971, but their presence has not adequately influenced professionalism due to lack of appropriate policy environment. Weed Science education in Nigeria has not found its rightful space in the national polity. If national agricultural development is to remain afloat, Weed Science education should be properly appropriated through adequate budgetary allocation to the Agriculture and Education sectors. This will enhance the quality of teaching and recruitment of Weed Scientist.

Published in Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (Volume 8, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15
Page(s) 27-30
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2019. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Weed Science, Agriculture, Education, Higher Institutions, Nigerian Universities

References
[1] Burnside O C. (1993). Weed Science- The Step Child. Weed Technology 7:515–518.
[2] Zimdahl R L. (1987). The Weed Science Curriculum. Weed Technology 1:173–176.
[3] Gallagher R S, Luschei E C, Gallandt E, DiTommaso A. (2007). Experimental learning activities in the Weed Science Classroom. Weed Technology 21:255–261.
[4] Okoli, N J. (2017). University Education in Nigeria: Past, Present and Future. Inaugural Lecture Series No. 135 Delivered: 25TH MAY, 2017, University of Port Harcourt. Published by University of Port Harcourt Press Ltd (UPPL), Port Harcourt, 44 p.
[5] Anonymous (2018). List of national agricultural research. Available online at (http://www.nairametrics.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/agricultural-research-institutes-nigeria.pdf) Retrieved June 17, 2018
[6] Anonymous (2018). List of all State Polytechnics in Nigeria (Accredited) - Nigerian Infopedia. Available online at https://www.nigerianinfopedia.com/list-state-polytechnics-nigeria/. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
[7] Anonymous (2018). Federal Polytechnics in Nigeria -: National Board for Technical. Available online at https://www.nbte.gov.ng/inst_01.html. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
[8] Anonymous (2018). Private Polytechnics in Nigeria -: National Board for Technical. Available online at https://www.nbte.gov.ng/inst_03.htm Retrieved June 17, 2018.
[9] Premium Times Report (2018). 2018 Budget Buhari Allocates 7% to Education. Available online at (https://www.premiumtimesng.com/news/top-news/248663-2018-budget-buhari-allocates-7-education.html-Retrieved -18/06/2018.
[10] Akobundu, O. (1991). “Weeds in human affairs in sub-Saharan Africa: implications for sustainable food production,” Weed Technology 5: 680–690.
[11] National Population Commission (NPC) (2018). Nigeria’s Current Estimated Population, Available online at https://www.population.gov.ng. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
[12] Westwood JH, Charudattan R, Duke SO, Fennimore SA, Marrone P, Slaughter DC, Swanton C, Zollinger R (2018). Weed Management in 2050: Perspectives on the Future of Weed Science. Weed Sci. 10.1017/wsc.2017.78.
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  • APA Style

    Udensi Udensi Ekea, Godwin-Egein Monday Ilegimokuma, Omovbude Sunday. (2019). Weed Science Education at the Tertiary Educational Level in Nigeria. Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, 8(1), 27-30. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15

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    ACS Style

    Udensi Udensi Ekea; Godwin-Egein Monday Ilegimokuma; Omovbude Sunday. Weed Science Education at the Tertiary Educational Level in Nigeria. Agric. For. Fish. 2019, 8(1), 27-30. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15

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    AMA Style

    Udensi Udensi Ekea, Godwin-Egein Monday Ilegimokuma, Omovbude Sunday. Weed Science Education at the Tertiary Educational Level in Nigeria. Agric For Fish. 2019;8(1):27-30. doi: 10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15

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  • @article{10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15,
      author = {Udensi Udensi Ekea and Godwin-Egein Monday Ilegimokuma and Omovbude Sunday},
      title = {Weed Science Education at the Tertiary Educational Level in Nigeria},
      journal = {Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries},
      volume = {8},
      number = {1},
      pages = {27-30},
      doi = {10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.aff.20190801.15},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.aff.20190801.15},
      abstract = {Weed Science is a discipline in that it deals with the study of vegetation management in agriculture, horticulture, aquatics, right-of-way, estates or amenities, essentially anywhere plants need to be managed. It involves the study of all the tools available for this purpose. In comparison with other plant protection disciplines, it has not enjoyed being a distinct discipline. Its study has in most cases been aligned with degrees in Agriculture and Agricultural related discipline. It has always been a component of degrees in Agricultural Science or Crop Science in Nigerian universities. This paper reviews the current status of Weed Science education in Nigeria. In Nigerian universities courses on weed control is part of degree programmes in Agriculture, Horticulture and/or Biological/Plant Sciences, where only aspects of weed characteristics and their control with herbicides, are taught in the third or final years. At the Masters or graduate levels it is taught where there is a Resident Weed Scientist. Because of government’s insensitivity the growth and development of professionalism is stifled. To date, of 149 universities in the country, only 58 of them offer one form of a course or the other that is related to weed science, constituting 44.8%. There were no Weed Scientists present in all the categories of Polytechnics, hence limiting per capita availability of Weed Scientists in the country. This situation does not engender participation or entrant of new members into the discipline. Inadequate funding of the education and agricultural sectors has been the bane of developing adequate manpower and expertise needed in the area. For instance the Weed Science Society of Nigeria has been in existence since 1971, but their presence has not adequately influenced professionalism due to lack of appropriate policy environment. Weed Science education in Nigeria has not found its rightful space in the national polity. If national agricultural development is to remain afloat, Weed Science education should be properly appropriated through adequate budgetary allocation to the Agriculture and Education sectors. This will enhance the quality of teaching and recruitment of Weed Scientist.},
     year = {2019}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Weed Science Education at the Tertiary Educational Level in Nigeria
    AU  - Udensi Udensi Ekea
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    AB  - Weed Science is a discipline in that it deals with the study of vegetation management in agriculture, horticulture, aquatics, right-of-way, estates or amenities, essentially anywhere plants need to be managed. It involves the study of all the tools available for this purpose. In comparison with other plant protection disciplines, it has not enjoyed being a distinct discipline. Its study has in most cases been aligned with degrees in Agriculture and Agricultural related discipline. It has always been a component of degrees in Agricultural Science or Crop Science in Nigerian universities. This paper reviews the current status of Weed Science education in Nigeria. In Nigerian universities courses on weed control is part of degree programmes in Agriculture, Horticulture and/or Biological/Plant Sciences, where only aspects of weed characteristics and their control with herbicides, are taught in the third or final years. At the Masters or graduate levels it is taught where there is a Resident Weed Scientist. Because of government’s insensitivity the growth and development of professionalism is stifled. To date, of 149 universities in the country, only 58 of them offer one form of a course or the other that is related to weed science, constituting 44.8%. There were no Weed Scientists present in all the categories of Polytechnics, hence limiting per capita availability of Weed Scientists in the country. This situation does not engender participation or entrant of new members into the discipline. Inadequate funding of the education and agricultural sectors has been the bane of developing adequate manpower and expertise needed in the area. For instance the Weed Science Society of Nigeria has been in existence since 1971, but their presence has not adequately influenced professionalism due to lack of appropriate policy environment. Weed Science education in Nigeria has not found its rightful space in the national polity. If national agricultural development is to remain afloat, Weed Science education should be properly appropriated through adequate budgetary allocation to the Agriculture and Education sectors. This will enhance the quality of teaching and recruitment of Weed Scientist.
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Author Information
  • Department of Crop and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Institute of Agricultural Research and Development, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

  • Department of Crop and Soil Science, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Port Harcourt, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

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