₦airaland Forum

By Israel Adamu, Jos



The University of Jos has declared that practical agricultural education remains critical to tackling Nigeria's food insecurity, as 200-level students of the Faculty of Agriculture showcased locally processed food products, including bread, mayonnaise, pineapple jam and banana jam.


The exhibition, organised under AGR 206: Introduction to Food Science and Technology, featured products developed by the students as part of their hands-on training in food processing, preservation, packaging and value addition.


Speaking after inspecting the exhibition, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Joshua P. Cholom, said the practical display reflected the University's commitment to producing graduates equipped with entrepreneurial skills rather than mere certificate holders.


According to him, the era when students depended solely on theoretical knowledge has passed, stressing that the University of Jos has deliberately embraced practical learning to prepare graduates for self-reliance and national development.


"I feel proud seeing what our students are doing because that is the essence of establishing the University of Jos. It is not just about learning theory; our emphasis has always been on blending theory with practicals, and this is exactly what we are witnessing today.


"These products demonstrate that the students have successfully translated what they learnt in the classroom into practical solutions," he said.


Prof. Cholom described the University of Jos as a world-class institution that continues to attract students from across Nigeria and beyond, noting that the university has earned recognition for academic excellence and recorded one of the highest numbers of international students among Nigerian universities.


He appealed to governments at all levels to increase investment in tertiary education by expanding infrastructure and providing adequate funding to enable more qualified candidates gain admission.


According to him, the institution receives over 50,000 applications annually but is unable to admit many qualified candidates due to inadequate facilities.


The Deputy Vice-Chancellor expressed confidence that faculties of agriculture across Nigerian universities possess the capacity to contribute significantly to ending food insecurity if adequately supported.


"I am convinced that if government provides the necessary resources and substantially increases investment in universities, particularly faculties of agriculture, they have the capacity to help feed this country through research, innovation, crop production, livestock development and food processing," he stated.



Also speaking, the Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Bashir Lawandi Datti, commended the students for their creativity and practical demonstrations, urging them to remain focused and committed to acquiring skills that would make them self-reliant after graduation.


He said agriculture remains one of the most viable sectors for Nigeria's economic growth and food sufficiency, adding that the knowledge and practical experience acquired by the students would contribute meaningfully to national development.


He encouraged them to continue exploring innovative ways of adding value to agricultural products and positioning themselves as future employers of labour.


The course lecturer, Prof. Olusegun Osibanjo, said the course was introduced under the Nigerian Universities Commission's Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) to equip students with practical knowledge in food science, technology and family life management.
He explained that the curriculum combines food science and technology with family and consumer sciences to expose students to modern methods of food production, processing and household food management.


According to him, students are taught not only how to produce food but also how to apply science and technology to process, preserve and add value to agricultural products for commercial purposes.


Prof. Osibanjo, a specialist in food science and technology, said the programme is designed to expose students to the immense opportunities within the agricultural value chain and encourage entrepreneurship through value addition.


He affirmed that the Faculty of Agriculture has the capacity to contribute meaningfully to addressing Nigeria's food security challenges.


"Food is essential to human existence. Every other business may fail, but people cannot do without food. That is why agriculture remains critical to national development. We have the capacity to produce food for the nation," he said.


Earlier, the students, working in groups, presented products developed from locally sourced agricultural materials and were assessed on processing methods, production procedures, packaging techniques, cost analysis, production time and overall product quality.


Among the products displayed were bread, mayonnaise, pineapple jam, banana jam and other value-added food items, demonstrating the students' growing competence in food science, technology and agribusiness.


Our correspondent reports that the exhibition formed part of the Faculty of Agriculture's drive to strengthen practical learning, innovation and entrepreneurship, with the university expressing optimism that graduates equipped with such skills would play a vital role in boosting food production, agro-processing and Nigeria's quest for sustainable food security.

Nonsense, things we made in secondary school over twenty years ago.

We need manufacturing a industrial scale.

Nigeria will be better again, all we need is to vote better leaders starting with your PVC

Gotocourt:
Nonsense, things we made in secondary school over twenty years ago.

We need manufacturing a industrial scale.

Try and encourage the young minds...everybody cannot build machines...

Nigerians can do a lot of things. What we lack is packaging and maintenance. Don't be surprised that the bread and mayonnaise these students will make will be way better and nutritious than foreign ones but you'll need to see the environment it is manufactured from and the packaging. You'll just puke.

21st century University still at Bread and Mayonnaise making, I wonder what vocational training centers are doing?

voortrekker966:
Nigerians can do a lot of things. What we lack is packaging and maintenance. Don't be surprised that the bread and mayonnaise these students will make will be way better and nutritious than foreign ones but you'll need to see the environment it is manufactured from and the packaging. You'll just puke.

Definitely more nutritious than all the processed junk flooding our supermarkets making a lot of young people nowadays to be having kidney failure. Especially since it is Jos. The kind of fruits and farm produce you see there and in the Middle-Belt, some of it does not make its way to the South because it will spoil and Nigeria has terrible food logistics pathways in place.

One funny thing about this all thing is that 2 out of all those supervisor believes those things are trash. Na God dey help students

Josepholome:
By Israel Adamu, Jos



The University of Jos has declared that practical agricultural education remains critical to tackling Nigeria's food insecurity, as 200-level students of the Faculty of Agriculture showcased locally processed food products, including bread, mayonnaise, pineapple jam and banana jam.


The exhibition, organised under AGR 206: Introduction to Food Science and Technology, featured products developed by the students as part of their hands-on training in food processing, preservation, packaging and value addition.


Speaking after inspecting the exhibition, the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic), Prof. Joshua P. Cholom, said the practical display reflected the University's commitment to producing graduates equipped with entrepreneurial skills rather than mere certificate holders.


According to him, the era when students depended solely on theoretical knowledge has passed, stressing that the University of Jos has deliberately embraced practical learning to prepare graduates for self-reliance and national development.


"I feel proud seeing what our students are doing because that is the essence of establishing the University of Jos. It is not just about learning theory; our emphasis has always been on blending theory with practicals, and this is exactly what we are witnessing today.


"These products demonstrate that the students have successfully translated what they learnt in the classroom into practical solutions," he said.


Prof. Cholom described the University of Jos as a world-class institution that continues to attract students from across Nigeria and beyond, noting that the university has earned recognition for academic excellence and recorded one of the highest numbers of international students among Nigerian universities.


He appealed to governments at all levels to increase investment in tertiary education by expanding infrastructure and providing adequate funding to enable more qualified candidates gain admission.


According to him, the institution receives over 50,000 applications annually but is unable to admit many qualified candidates due to inadequate facilities.


The Deputy Vice-Chancellor expressed confidence that faculties of agriculture across Nigerian universities possess the capacity to contribute significantly to ending food insecurity if adequately supported.


"I am convinced that if government provides the necessary resources and substantially increases investment in universities, particularly faculties of agriculture, they have the capacity to help feed this country through research, innovation, crop production, livestock development and food processing," he stated.



Also speaking, the Plateau State Commissioner for Water Resources, Hon. Bashir Lawandi Datti, commended the students for their creativity and practical demonstrations, urging them to remain focused and committed to acquiring skills that would make them self-reliant after graduation.


He said agriculture remains one of the most viable sectors for Nigeria's economic growth and food sufficiency, adding that the knowledge and practical experience acquired by the students would contribute meaningfully to national development.


He encouraged them to continue exploring innovative ways of adding value to agricultural products and positioning themselves as future employers of labour.


The course lecturer, Prof. Olusegun Osibanjo, said the course was introduced under the Nigerian Universities Commission's Core Curriculum and Minimum Academic Standards (CCMAS) to equip students with practical knowledge in food science, technology and family life management.
He explained that the curriculum combines food science and technology with family and consumer sciences to expose students to modern methods of food production, processing and household food management.


According to him, students are taught not only how to produce food but also how to apply science and technology to process, preserve and add value to agricultural products for commercial purposes.


Prof. Osibanjo, a specialist in food science and technology, said the programme is designed to expose students to the immense opportunities within the agricultural value chain and encourage entrepreneurship through value addition.


He affirmed that the Faculty of Agriculture has the capacity to contribute meaningfully to addressing Nigeria's food security challenges.


"Food is essential to human existence. Every other business may fail, but people cannot do without food. That is why agriculture remains critical to national development. We have the capacity to produce food for the nation," he said.


Earlier, the students, working in groups, presented products developed from locally sourced agricultural materials and were assessed on processing methods, production procedures, packaging techniques, cost analysis, production time and overall product quality.


Among the products displayed were bread, mayonnaise, pineapple jam, banana jam and other value-added food items, demonstrating the students' growing competence in food science, technology and agribusiness.


Our correspondent reports that the exhibition formed part of the Faculty of Agriculture's drive to strengthen practical learning, innovation and entrepreneurship, with the university expressing optimism that graduates equipped with such skills would play a vital role in boosting food production, agro-processing and Nigeria's quest for sustainable food security.

UNIJOS is a big disgrace this is what primary school students should be doing not a tertiary institution


Primary school students in China can do better than this

An entire university wasting time and efforts on what's available on YouTube for free.

Omo, things really dey sub for this country, a whole university ooo

Neoteny:
An entire university wasting time and efforts on what's available on YouTube for free.

Asim ehn, i shock pass electric shock

Commendable

But govt needs to invest more into research and development in our universities

The quality of R&D in our universities is at par with elementary schools abroad

A step up from making toothpicks but we still have a very very very long way to go

It should be school made with many part time student workers

Neoteny:
An entire university wasting time and efforts on what's available on YouTube for free.

What I was about to say.


In this day and age, there is nothing one cannot learn through the internet.
Just know what you want to learn.

Elon Musk was talking about implant for the blind the other day even he said with it people that were born blind would see.We are here talking about bread and butter in this age at such a high level of education.

I am not impressed at all

I am not impressed at all

Something wey road side caterers dey run steady nai university dey showcase.

MoneyMan5:
UNIJOS is a big disgrace this is what primary school students should be doing not a tertiary institution


Primary school students in China can do better than this

While I totally agree with your first paragraph, the second paragraph is pure stupidity. The need to always make baseless comparisons is one of the reasons Nigeria is this messed up.

So Doctors and Prof's sat down to witness all this

SafariHunter:
I am not impressed at all

Something wey road side caterers dey run steady nai university dey showcase.

It can end up with 5 billion naira in annual revenue with 20 percent profit. There are bakeries of that size

Something that anybody can do

erad:
While I totally agree with your first paragraph, the second paragraph is pure stupidity. The need to always make baseless comparisons is one of the reasons Nigeria is this messed up.

You are the one that's supposed to be ashamed of your comment, so you expect him to compare Nigeria to Sudan or what

Lamasta:
You are the one that's supposed to be ashamed of your comment, so you expect him to compare Nigeria to Sudan or what

I expect him to address Nigeria as Nigeria and address the issues we have while proffering solutions within the peculiarities of Nigeria. There's nowhere in my post where I said he can compare to one country but not another. Try comprehending comments before "attacking".

erad:
I expect him to address Nigeria as Nigeria and address the issues we have while proffering solutions within the peculiarities of Nigeria. There's nowhere in my post where I said he can compare to one country but not another. Try comprehending comments before "attacking".

This is academic research and the product is what was displayed by the students, it is pertinent to compare the research and product of developing or developed nations and see if we are making progress or sigmarolling in one direction.....

China is world power now in terms of technology and innovation and its good if we look up to them for improvement cos you can't see an undergraduate in China doing this mayonaise, never ever

Nukilia:
Try and encourage the young minds...everybody cannot build machines...

No bro. There’s nothing to be encouraged in University students making bread and jam.

A university is a place for serious research and education and not to be celebrated for making bread and jam that someone without schooling experience but with the right knowledge on bread making can easily make.

Gotocourt:
Nonsense, things we made in secondary school over twenty years ago.

We need manufacturing a industrial scale.

The talk of a koboless person!

Gotocourt:
Nonsense, things we made in secondary school over twenty years ago.

We need manufacturing a industrial scale.

No mind them. Other universities they develop engines, chips, drugs etc, na bread and mayonnaise them dey celebrate

Neoteny:
An entire university wasting time and efforts on what's available on YouTube for free.

Just imagine. If I want to bake bread I just simply need to go on YouTube and watch a few videos, practice and I’ll make one.

A university professor should not come to tell us how he’s proud of his students making bread.

This is so unfortunate. There's nothing that is worth celebrating about this.