MASTER OF SCIENCE AND DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN PLANT BREEDING

Programme Description:
About 65% of the population of Africans is engaged in agriculture. Crop yields of major crops in Africa are considerably lower than yields of the crops in other parts of the world. Bridging the yield gap provides an opportunity to address Africa’s widespread poverty, improve livelihoods and use agriculture as a platform for industrialization. In previous times, continental initiatives have pursued and supported the training of plant breeders who have the responsibility of developing improved crops with higher yield and nutrition. Many of the candidates trained under this arrangement have pursued their research using crops that have little or no relevance to Africa’s agriculture. The training of plant breeders within the African continent ensures that the crops on which candidates carry out their research are relevant to Africa’s situation and the subjects of such research address the diversity of important biotic and abiotic constraints to production.

Objectives of the Programme
•    Training of Africans in plant breeding,
•    Enable candidates to learn and acquire cutting edge technology skills and competence in the field of plant breeding,
•    Providing a conducive learning environment that will enable  candidates to become leaders in the development of nutritious, high yielding and drought or heat tolerant cultivars that are adaptable to the African environment

Opportunities and Career Path
Graduates of the programme are opened to opportunities such as:
•    Senior agricultural scientists
•    Managers
•    Consultants and
•    Lecturers in the field of plant breeding, educationist, extension and management specialists who are socially responsible and capable of using agriculture to address unemployment, poverty, livelihoods improvement, industrialization and economic development.