Is general agriculture marketable in Kenya?

John Gitahi — Sat, 09 Sep 2023 04:41:26 +0000

So, still on the question of whether different courses are marketable, today we shall look at general agriculture and the question we want to answer is this: Is general agriculture marketable in Kenya?

So read on if you want to take the course and you’re not sure about where it can take you in terms of opportunities:

Is general agriculture marketable in Kenya?

Well, while the course does not appear to have as many formal jobs as let say ICT courses such as Cyber security, it is worth noting that general agriculture is , in general, a very good course.

Why?

Because food will always be a very important issue when it comes to human beings meaning agriculture professionals will eternally be in demand.

Yeah, food security is crucial and anybody with the skills required to help produce food for humanity should not struggle to find work.

In other words, even if you do not want to start your own commercial farm and make use of your skills to engage in high-value production of food, food producing businesses (read farms) should hire you at some point after you’re through your course.

Problem is, a lot of young Kenyans (students like you) do not fancy agriculture courses since they don’t fancy working in a farm all their life (it’s dirty. Isn’t it?) so they shun the course.

Which is why there are tons of opportunities for people like you who are passionate about pursuing about general agriculture, food production, Agronomy, animal health, crop sciences, and related areas.

And because of shortage of skilled and properly qualified agricultural professionals, the pay can be more than for people who have taken many other seemingly ‘smarter’ courses.

General agriculture salary in Kenya

To give you a clearer picture, somebody with just a certificate in general agriculture in Kenya can earn between Kshs. 26,000.00 per month to Kshs. 86,000.00 depending on your experience and skills.

To reiterate, it is also very easy to venture into profitable self-employment with the course too….you don’t have to wait for someone to hire you.

Which is another big plus of doing this course.

Need we say more?

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Now proceed reading below..

What is general agriculture course?

If you do not know, a general agriculture course simply covers myriad basic principles of agriculture(it is not a specialized course, that is why it’s called general).

To be clear, it typically introduces you to essential agricultural topics like:

Crop production
Soil science
Agricultural communication
Animal production
Agricultural engineering
Agricultural economics
Agricultural marketing
Agricultural policies
Agricultural extension

So it is basically a course that gives you a foundation in all the fundamentals of agriculture, as applied to a host of agricultural sector careers.

That makes it a great starting point too for anyone who wants to later on specialize in specific areas of agriculture(crop science, agricultural engineering, animal science, etc.)

What jobs can you do with general agriculture?

A course in general agriculture could unlock the door to a range of jobs in Kenya’s agricultural sector including:

Extension officer
Agronomist
Farm manager
Agricultural engineer
Veterinarian
Agricultural researcher
Sales representative(for agricultural products)
Consultant for different agricultural projects
Trainer in TVET colleges in Kenya (agricultural courses trainer)

Agriculture courses and requirements

Below is a summary of agriculture courses and requirements including general agriculture requirements in Kenya:

Agriculture certificate courses in Kenya

KCSE Mean Grade (Minimum) – D Plain

Cluster requirements- none

Diploma in Agriculture course in Kenya

KCSE Mean Grade (Minimum) – C –

Cluster requirements- none

Degree in general Agriculture in Kenya

There’s no university offering a degree programme in general agriculture in Kenya.

Instead, local universities offer degrees in areas such as:

Agri Business Management
Agricultural Economics And Resource Management
Agricultural Resource Management
Agricultural Economics
Agricultural Economics And Marketing
Agribusiness Management And Marketing
Agribusiness

Degree courses in agriculture in Kenya

Colleges offering general agriculture in Kenya including universities offering agriculture courses in Kenya

Many of the colleges offering agronomist courses in Kenya also offer various other agricultural courses including general agriculture.

Here is a list of a few of them to point you in the right direction:

BARINGO TECHNICAL COLLEGE- GENERAL AGRICULTURE
BUKURA AGRICULTURAL COLLEGE- AGRICULTURE & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
BUNGOMA NORTH TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
COAST INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
ELDORET POLYTECHNIC
FRIENDS COLLEGE KAIMOSI
GATANGA TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
KARUMO TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE
KENYA SCHOOL OF AGRICULTURE (Search for Kenya school of agriculture fees structure from their website)
KITALE NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC
MASINGA TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
MUSAKASA TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE
NAVAKHOLO TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
MWEA TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
NYAKACH TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
NYANDARUA NATIONAL POLYTECHNIC
RAMOGI INSTITUTE OF ADVANCE TECHNOLOGY
TANA RIVER TECHNICAL & VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
KAPCHEROP TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL COLLEGE
KISIWA TECHNICAL TRAINING INSTITUTE
LAIKIPIA UNIVERSITY
MASINDE MULIRO UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY
MERU UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
MURANG’A UNIVERSITY OF TECHNOLOGY TVET INSTITUTE
RONGO UNIVERSITY
SOUTH EASTERN KENYA UNIVERSITY
TURKANA UNIVERSITY COLLEGE