Agricultural Entrepreneurship (MSC)
Programme Overview
The M.Sc. in Agricultural Entrepreneurship is a full-time, practical-oriented Masters Degree programme aimed at creating a new breed of agricultural practitioners/farmers in Jamaica and the Caribbean. The practitioners produced by this programme would be technology savvy, managerially strong, and capable of creating their own enterprises or successfully managing, rejuvenating or converting existing operations into viable and profitable businesses. This new breed of managers would also possess the skills necessary to translate cutting edge agricultural research into business opportunities along the agriculture value chain. This course is also intended to assist in meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDG) aimed at assisting in the eradication of extreme hunger and to ensure environment sustainability.
Programme Objectives
The aim of this M.Sc. in Agricultural Entrepreneurship programme is to provide students with the tools and skill set necessary to create, resuscitate and/or rehabilitate agricultural enterprises.
Admission Requirements
- Applicants must have either a First Degree (GPA 2.00) or its equivalence in basic or applied sciences such as agriculture, forestry, botany, biology, soil science, environmental or social sciences, rural development, development planning and management or a related area.
- Applicants with other qualifications and who have at least 2 year’s professional experience in a relevant field of agriculture, engineering, management or development are also eligible to apply for admission to this course.
- Applicants who do not possess the requisite qualification and experience will be required to do pre-qualification courses in agricultural sciences and the social sciences.
Programme Structure
COURSES IN THE AGRICULTURAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP PROGRAMME
Level I
- Introduction to agro-environmental management
- Introduction to agriculture, crop and livestock production
- Post harvest technology
- Management accounting
- Marketing
- Decision models for managers
- Finance
Level II
- Tropical livestock development
- The agriculture value chain
- International entrepreneurship in agricultural enterprises
- Standards and risk management in agriculture production systems
- Advanced crop production technologies
- Market assessment and analysis
- New venture creation
- Research methods in science Agro-processing technologies
- Agriculture seminar
Level III
- The economics of farm and farming system
- Agricultural marketing strategies
- Final project
DURATION AND DELIVERY MODE
The course duration is 24 months and will be offered on evenings and weekends.
Careers after Graduation
Graduates from the M.Sc. in Agricultural Entrepreneurship will be equipped with the necessary tools to start their businesses within any aspect of the agricultural value chain.
Graduates from this programme will have the ability to work on their own and within private, national and international institutions which focus on agricultural research and development.