JAMB Agricultural Science Syllabus

1. Meaning and Scope of Agriculture

• a.
• Definition of Agriculture
• b. Branches of Agriculture
• c.
• Types of Agriculture i.e., subsistence and commercial

2. Importance of Agriculture

• i. Provision of raw materials for agro- allied industries
• ii. Provision of employment
• iii. Development of rural areas, etc.

3. Agricultural Ecology

• a.
• Ecological zones of West Africa

4. Agricultural Genetics

• a.
• First and second laws of Mendel
• b. Cell division
• c.
• Terminologies
• e.g., locus, alleles, genotype, dominance
• d. Methods of crop improvement e.g., introduction, selection, crossing, quarantine etc.
• e.
• Methods of animal improvement e.g., introduction, breeding, quarantine and selection:
• Breeding systems
• – inbreeding, line-breeding, cross- breeding, artificial insemination

5. Farm Inputs

• e.g., planting materials, agrochemicals, etc.

6. History of Agricultural Development in

• West Africa
• a.
• Agricultural systems
• e.g., shifting cultivation, bush fallowing, etc.
• b. Problems of Agricultural development
• e.g., land tenure systems, inadequate infrastructures, inadequate finance for agriculture, environmental degradation,
• etc.
• c.
• Establishment of national research institutes e.g., NCRI, IAR, IAR&T, zones in West Africa.
• classify agricultural products according to each ecological zone.
• differentiate abiotic from biotic factors affecting agricultural production.

7. Roles of Government and NGOs in

• Agricultural Development
• a.
• Development of fiscal policies favourable to agricultural production
• e.g. import duties, ban on importation,
• e.t.c.
• b. Agricultural laws and reforms e.g. Land
• Use Act.
• c.
• Government programmes aimed at agricultural development e.g. subsidies, credit facilities, e.t.c.
• d. Provision of infrastructures e.g.
• transport systems, communication systems, e.t.c.
• e.
• Contribution of NGOs to agricultural development
• ii. assess their role in the development of agriculture.
• give reasons for the establishment of ADPs.
• evaluate the contributions of national agricultural programmes.

1. Rocks and Soil formation

• a.
• Rock formation
• b. Factors affecting rock weathering and soil formation

2. Soil Water and Soil Conservation

• a.
• Soil water: its importance, sources, movement, management and conservation.
• b. Soil conservation:
• meaning and importance, causes, effects, prevention and control of leaching, erosion, continuous cropping, burning and oxidation of organic matter.
• c.
• Irrigation and drainage methods.

3. Soil Fertility

• a.
• Macro and micro-nutrients and their roles in plant nutrition: carbon, water and nitrogen cycles.
• b. The living population of the soil (flora and fauna), and their roles in soil fertility.
• c.
• Maintenance of soil fertility:
• Methods of maintaining soil fertility
• e.g. use of cover crops, application of organic manures, etc.
• d. Nutrient deficiency symptoms e.g.
• chlorosis, sickle leaves, stunting, apical necrosis etc.
• differentiate between the horizons in a soil profile.
• i. differentiate between the components of soil.
• ii. compute the proportion of soil components.
• iii. analyse soil into its component parts.
• iv. determine the water-holding capacity of soil.
• determine the soil pH.

4. Land Preparation and Soil Tillage

• a.
• Principles and practices of land preparation and soil tillage
• b. Factors affecting choice of tillage methods: Zero tillage, minimum tillage, etc.

5. Plant Forms and Functions

• a.
• Parts of monocot and dicot crop plants and their functions
• b. The anatomy and morphology of the storage organs of common crop plants

6. Growth,

• Development and
• Reproduction
• a.
• Gametogenesis
• b. Pollination
• c.
• Fertilization
• d. Embryo formation and development

7. Plant Propagation Methods

• a.
• Sexual: the use of seeds, seed viability, viability test, seed rate and seed germination
• b. Asexual (vegetative propagation) e.g.
• cutting, budding, grafting, layering,
• e.t.c.
• c.
• Nursery and nursery management

8. Cropping Systems, Planting Patterns

• and Plant Densities
• a.
• Cropping systems: Monocropping, mixed-, multiple-, inter-, relay-, strip- and rotational cropping
• b. Planting patterns:
• Broadcasting, row spacing and drilling
• c.
• Plant densities: single, double and multiple stands

9. Crop Husbandry

• Common and scientific names, gross morphology, anatomy of storage organs, methods of propagation, husbandry practices, harvesting, processing and storage, common diseases and pests, economic importance of the following groups of crops.
• Group 1: Cereals e.g. maize, guinea corn, rice etc.
• Group
• 2:
• Legumes
• e.g.
• cowpea, groundnut, soyabean etc.
• Group 3: Tubers e.g. yam, cassava, sweet potatoes etc.
• Group 4: Vegetables and Spices e.g.
• tomatoes, eggplant, pepper, onions, okra, cabbage,
• Amaranthus sp. etc.
• Group 5: Fruits e.g. citrus, pineapple, pawpaw etc.
• Group 6: Beverages e.g. cocoa, kola, coffee etc.
• Group 7: Oils e.g. oil palm, coconut, Shea butter etc.
• Group 8: Latex e.g. para rubber, gum
• Arabic etc.
• Group 9: Fibres e.g. jute, cotton, sisal

10. Pasture and Forage Crops

• a.
• Study of gross morphology, methods of propagation and husbandry of common pasture grasses and legumes.
• Establishment, maintenance, conservation and uses of pastures and forage crops.
• b. Study of natural grasslands and their distribution in West Africa
• c.
• Range management

11. Floriculture

• Identification, establishment, maintenance and uses of ornamental trees, shrubs and flowers

12. Weeds

• a.
• Gross morphology, methods of reproduction, dispersal and effect of weeds
• b. Weed control methods – weeding, mulching, cover cropping, tillage, herbicides and trap cropping

13. Crop Diseases

• a.
• Identification of disease–causing organisms both in store and in the field.
• b. A simple account of diseases caused by fungi, bacteria, nematodes and viruses; symptoms, the nature of the damage, methods of transmission and common methods of control.

14. Crop Pests

• a.
• General account of pests of agricultural plants both in the field and in the store, their types, importance, principles and methods of prevention and control
• b. Life cycles of: biting insects e.g.
• grasshopper;
• boring insects
• e.g.
• weevils; sucking insects e.g. aphids and cotton strainer.
• c.
• Common pesticides and their side effects

15. Forest Management (Silviculture)

• a. Importance: Source of wood, pulp, fibre and other forest products
• b. Conservation: regulation, exploitation, regeneration, afforestation, agro- forestry and management systems;
• taungya, alley, ley, e.t.c.
• relate each control method to its side effect.

1. Forms and classification of major farm

• animals in West Africa
• a.
• Species, breeds, distribution and uses.
• b. External features of cattle, sheep, goat, pigs, rabbits and poultry

2. General

• terminologies in animal production

3. Anatomy and physiology of farm

• animals
• a.
• Functions of tissues and organs of farm animals
• b. Animal body systems e.g. digestive (ruminants and non-ruminants), reproductive, respiratory, urinary (excretory) and nervous systems.
• c.
• Effect of environmental changes on physiological development of farm animals
• e.g.
• climate change (temperature, relative humidity, light,
• e.t.c.)

4. Reproduction in farm animals

• a.
• Gametogenesis, oestrus cycle, signs of heat and heat periods, secondary sexual characters, gestation periods, parturition and the role of hormones in reproduction.
• b. Development, nourishment and birth of the young. Mammary glands and lactation in farm animals.
• c.
• Egg formation, incubation and hatching in poultry.

5. Animal nutrition

• a.
• Feed nutrients and functions
• b. Feeds and feeding: Simple ration formulation
• – balanced ration, common pasture/forage crops e.g.
• guinea grass, elephant grass, giant star grass.
• Andropogon sp,
• Calopogonium sp. Hay and silage preparation, different types of rations, namely maintenance ration and production ration.
• c.
• Nutrient deficiencies: Causes and distinguish between the various terms in animal husbandry.

6. Livestock management

• Housing, feeding, sanitation and veterinary care of ruminants, pigs, rabbits and poultry under intensive, semi- intensive and extensive systems of management from birth to slaughter.

7. Animal Health

• a.
• Animal diseases (pathology)
• i. Environmental factors predisposing animals to diseases;
• causal organisms, symptoms, transmission and effects.
• ii. Preventive and curative methods for diseases caused by viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa.
• b. Parasites (parasitology)
• i. Life cycles and economic importance of livestock parasites
• e.g. endoparasites, ectoparasites and disease vectors.
• ii. Prevention and control
• - dipping
• - spraying
• - deworming
• - sanitation

8. Fisheries and Wildlife

• a.
• Fish culture systems; Common types of fishes e. g Tilapia, Catfish, etc.
• i. Extensive systems: inland and deep sea fishing, lakes and rivers.
• ii. Semi-intensive systems: dams
• iii. Intensive systems: fish ponds –
• Factors to consider in ponds establishment and pond management
• e.g.
• pond fertilization, liming and desilting.
• b. Fish harvesting and processing methods animals.
• ii. apply appropriate corrective measures to nutrient deficiencies in farm animals.

9. Bee-keeping (Apiculture)

• a.
• Meaning and importance of apiculture
• b. Types of bees
• e.g.
• exotic and indigenous bees
• c.
• Methods of bee-keeping e.g. traditional and modern bee-keeping
• d. Equipment and safety measures in bee- keeping methods.
• ii. determine the appropriate methods of catching
• fish.
• iii. identify the various methods of fish preservation.
• identify the various fishery regulations in Nigeria.
• i. identify animals found in West African game reserves.
• ii. give reasons for the establishment of game reserves.
• iii. Identify the common wildlife regulations.

1. Factors of agricultural production

• a.
• Land
• i. Types of land ownership in West
• Africa
• b. Labour
• c.
• Capital

2. Basic Economic Principles

• a.
• Demand and supply
• b. Production function:
• Input/input, Output/output
• Input/output relationships; stages of production, concepts of diminishing returns, scale of preference and choice.
• c.
• Characteristic Features of Agricultural
• Production;
• Smallness of farm holdings: biological limits of farm production and susceptibility of farm production to climate, seasonality of farm productions, price elasticity in demand and supply of agricultural produce.
• Labour Management
• a.
• Labour relations: Supervision, etc.
• b. Types of labour: Permanent labour etc.
• c.
• National labour laws and regulations.
• Farm Management
• a.
• Qualities, functions and problems of a farm manager.
• b. Records and record-keeping: Types and importance of record-keeping – livestock records, profit and loss account book.
• c.
• Stock evaluation:
• i. gross and net profits in farm management.
• ii. Appreciation, depreciation and savage problems.
• determine the functions of a farm manager in an agricultural enterprise.

1. Farm surveying and farmstead

• planning
• a.
• Meaning and importance
• b. Common surveying equipment, their uses and care
• c.
• Common survey methods
• d. Principles of farmstead planning.

2. Simple farm tools

3. Farm machinery and implements

• a.
• Types
• i. Machinery e.g. tractor, milking machine etc.
• ii. Implements
• b. Uses and maintenance of farm machinery and implements

4. Mechanization and sources of farm

• power
• a.
• Sources of farm power e.g. animal and machines
• b. Advantages and disadvantages of agricultural mechanization
• c.
• Problems and prospects of mechanized agriculture in West Africa

5. Processing and storage

• a.
• Processing: traditional and modern methods of food processing e.g. gari, rice and groundnut processing, etc.

6. Introduction to biotechnology

• Basic terms, e.g. tissue and anther culture in vitro fertilization and genetic engineering

7. Application of ICT in agriculture

• a.
• Features of computers
• b. Uses of computers in agriculture: disease and weather forecasting, ration formulation, database and simulation studies, etc.
• c.
• Use of communication gadgets e.g.
• mobile phone, internet, etc.

8. Introduction to agricultural research

• and statistics
• a.
• Basic concepts in planning agricultural experiments e.g. hypothesis, treatment and control, etc.
• b. Interpretation of results, e.g. measures of central tendency and experimental errors.
• processing agricultural produce.
• i. Identify and compare different storage methods.
• ii. apply appropriate storage methods to different crops.