Diploma in General Agriculture course

A diploma in General Agriculture is a course that will equip the graduates with skills to manage agricultural enterprises. The management can include the planning,  production, processing, and marketing of agricultural produce.

In Kenya, General Agriculture is offered at both universities and TVET institutions. Some of the universities that offer Bachelor in Agriculture-related courses include the University of Nairobi, Embu University, and Karatina University among others. However, TVET uses a common syllabus produced by KICD and examined by KNEC. In this article, we concentrate on the Diploma in General Agriculture for the KNEC syllabus.

The objective of the General Agriculture course

By the end of this Diploma in General Agriculture, the trainee is expected to be able to do the following.

1. Acquire knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will enable him/her to venture into self-employment in agricultural enterprise and processing of agricultural produce.
2. Utilize and sustain the available human and natural resources for agricultural production.
3. Acquire skills that will enable them to share and communicate agricultural information and policies with others.
4. Apply skills required in the maintenance, operation, and management of the enterprise within the farm and its environment.
5. Apply the principles of planning and management for sustainable production.

The entry requirement for the Diploma in General Agriculture

Being a Diploma course those who wish to join the course in any TVET institution will require a minimum KCSE grade of C-. However, it should be noted that you will require basic science knowledge since agriculture is a science-based course.

Those who have done a Craft certificate in General Agriculture and passed can proceed to a diploma level. Depending on your performance at the craft level you can request KNEC to exempt you from some units. When exempted you will be admitted to module 2 of the diploma instead of module 1.

Diploma in General Agriculture units per module

For the diploma KNEC program, the course is divided into 3 modules/levels which are supposed to take 3 years. The student does the unit in each module and sits for the KNEC exam for those specific units before proceeding to the next level.

If you fail 3 units among all your units per module, KNEC considers it as FAIL and you have to repeat all units in that module. When you fail 1 or 2 units you are allowed to proceed to the next level but you must repeat the failed unit and pass before you are Certified by KNEC.

For the Diploma in General Agriculture course, the following are the units that you are required to cover to be certified.

Module 1 units in General Agriculture

1. Communication skills.
2. Entrepreneurship I.
3. Mathematics I.
4. Science I.
5. Technical Drawing.
6. Principles of Crop Production I
7. Soil  Science I
8. Animal Production I
9. Agricultural Economics I
10. Agricultural Engineering I
11. Agricultural Extension and Sociology
12. Industrial attachement I

After modules 1 and 2 students are expected to go for an industrial attachment which is a requirement of the course. Students can be attached to any industry or area that deals with agriculture enterprise and farm management. This includes but is not limited to farm management, agricultural research centers, agribusiness, horticultural farms, and large-scale farm production industries among others.

General Agriculture Module 2 units

1. Entrepreneurship II.
2. Mathematics II.
3. Science II.
4. Principles of Crop Production II
5. Soil  Science II
6. Animal Production II
7. Agricultural Economics II
8. Computer Application.
9. Industrial attachement II

Module 3 units in General Agriculture

1. Crop Production III
2. Animal Production III
3. Agricultural Engineering III
4. Agricultural extension and planning
5. Farm Management I & II
6. Environmental Management.
7. Trade Project.

Career Progression in General Agriculture

After you have done the course you will have enough knowledge to manage farm activities and the processing and marketing of farm produce.

With a Diploma in agriculture, you can progress to a Bachelor’s degree in Science Agriculture and other related courses. Later on, you can specialize in areas such as

1. Crop protection
2. Agronomy
3. Plant breeding and genetics
4. Plant pathology
5. Horticulture

Prospect employment areas/opportunities in the agriculture field

With a Diploma in General Agriculture, you can manage farm activities during the day-to-day running of the farm. Other job opportunities in the agriculture area include the following: 

1. Farm manager
2. Agronomist
3. Dairy extension officer
4. Agriculture extension officer
5. Agribusiness manager and consultant.
6. Seed production executive
7. Agricultural product sales personnel
8. Farming journalist
9. Soil scientist
10. Plant breeder.

For self-employment, you can start by using your parent’s farm or hire a piece of land to practice what you learned in class. If you have enough capital you can also start an agrochemist and sell farm input. 

You can also collaborate with the soil lab and do soil testing and advice to the farmers.

For employment opportunities, you can go to companies and organizations that deal with large-scale farming, dairy production, agricultural research centers, farm machine sales, Government extension officers, and farm input sales representatives among others.