Rationale
Students trained in this programme are to assume leading roles of public and private commerce of agricultural and food products. These organizations contribute greatly toward the economic well being of the country. Students that select the Agribusiness specialization will focus on the vertical integration of agribusiness and trade. These specializations provide students with the skills to examine domestic and global consumer interests and how they impact the demand for food and agriculture products. Students that select these specializations will have a basic foundation in business, marketing, finance, and accounting. They will specialize in marketing intelligence for agribusiness by supplementing basic marketing research with coursework that applies marketing research techniques to agribusiness. In addition, students will use marketing research techniques to provide a client with a marketing plan. The internship will provide student experience in the marketplace by applying marketing research techniques and working with clients to solve real agribusiness marketing problems. Students examine the efficient allocation of scarce resources within the country and profit maximization. They will understand both the supply and demand sides of agribusiness. Graduates can assume positions of managerial responsibilities in public and private agricultural and food-related enterprises and organizations.
Programme Objectives
The Bachelor‘s Degree program in Agribusiness Management offers a combination of both Agricultural and Social Sciences required for the management of agribusiness and related organizations. The program offers latitude to its graduates in the job market that is currently offered by other programmes. It also offers better prospects for employment in the smaller and upcoming agro-industries that may not have the resources to employ specialists in Human Resource Management, Accounting, Production and Marketing.
At the completion of the training in Bachelor of Agribusiness Management Programme, the graduates should be able to:
i) Have a critical understanding of agro-industrialization and relationships between producers, processors, manufacturers and consumers of commodities involved in the agribusiness sector;
ii) Analyze the farm and market situations to solve day to day and long term problems in the agribusiness sector of the economy;
iii) Use their knowledge in agribusiness management to run their own individual firms and agribusiness enterprises including consulting;
iv) Have a sound knowledge of supply chain management in agribusiness, business and strategic decision making concepts;
v) Provide a theoretical and practical orientation to the graduate to be able to provide solutions to organizational problems;
vi) Participate in agribusiness research and knowledge creation.
Admission Requirements
Candidates applying for the Bachelor in Agribusiness Management must satisfy the minimum University entrance requirements in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (K.C.S.E.). In addition to this, all candidates should meet the requirements provided in the Egerton University Statutes. In addition to the above, applicants must offer passes in the following subjects:
i) B in Biology OR B- in Biological Sciences and B+ in Mathematics.
ii) An added advantage will be given to applicants who have passed with at least a C grade pass in economics, commerce or accounting.
iii) Admission may be granted to outstanding diploma holders who have passed with distinction, Credit or equivalent in management, farm management or other discipline recognized by the Egerton University Senate.
Course Structure and Duration
The entire duration of the course is Four (4) academic years comprising of eight (8) semesters of Seventeen (17) weeks. To graduate, the student will be expected to have covered a total of 156.5 Credit Factors (CF) and 4 C.Fs of field attachment, making a total of 160.5. The grading system for BAM - Bachelor of Agribusiness Management courses offered by the Department of Agricultural Economics and Business Management is as follows:
i) All Course Codes begin with an abbreviation ―AGBM‘ indicating that the course is offered from the Department.
ii) The abbreviation is followed by a set of three digits as follows:
(a) The first digit is a 1, 2, 3, or 4 denoting the year the course should be offered.
(b) The second digit denotes the course discipline within the Department. A course falls under any of the five disciplines as follows:
Category 0. Introduction or General
Category 1. Accounting Related
Category 2. Cooperatives
Category 3. Behavioural Sciences
Category 4. Statistics, Economics and Project
Category 5. Marketing and Policy
Category 6. Industrial/Field Attachment
(c) The last digit denotes the course ranking within the discipline and courses given to students outside this program.
Examination Regulations
All examinations for this programme shall be conducted in accordance with the examination regulations as stipulated in the Statutes of Egerton University. The following practical related courses shall be examined as indicated:
AGBM 361 Field Attachment shall be assessed in accordance with the existing Egerton University regulation relating to field attachment.
AGBM 414 Research Project shall involve the preparation of a final typed and bound report based on the proposal prepared in AGBM314, which shall be graded out of 100. This report MUST be submitted two (2) weeks before the end of the semester.
Grading System
The grading of examinations for this programme shall be conducted in accordance with Egerton University Statute XXVIII.
Graduation Requirements
To graduate, a student shall be required to take and pass all scheduled courses within the stipulated period.
Degree Classification
Degree classification shall be in accordance with Egerton University Statute XXVIII.