Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan (formerly called School of Agriculture) was established in 1921. It is the first Agricultural institution in Nigeria and even in West Africa. The history of this great citadel of learning is intricately woven with the history of moor Plantation and Agricultural Development in Nigeria.
Moor Plantation is one of the oldest Agricultural Stations in Nigeria. It was established in 1899 as a model farm with the objectives of propagating rubber trees and general agricultural improvement. The station became an experimental station in 1905, largely for research activities on cotton to feed the textile industries, through an association of member farmers, directed by the British High Commissioner, Sir Ralph Moor who was immortalized in the name Moor Plantation.
It is not an over statement that Moor Plantation was the origin of formal agricultural training in Nigeria. In 1910, Moor Plantation became the headquarters of the Department of Agriculture and later became a place for the establishment of botanical laboratory in 1915. Following the demand for training of members of staff and the potential farmers, the School of Agriculture, now Federal College of Agriculture, was established in 1921 by Mr. O. T. Faulkner, the then Director of Agriculture in Nigeria. The mandate was to train Agriculture Assistants in Nigeria and West Africa at large.
The School took her ground in Bora, where the College farm is presently located, after which she was relocated to the present site, following the regionalization in 1954. The first entrance examination into the school took place in July 1921 for the Junior course and in November of the same year, for the senior course. It is interesting to note that the classes began in a converted store of corrugated iron sheets. As earlier mentioned, the School remained in the premises called Rural Education Centre in Bora until the new building was erected in 1926.
The maturity of students admitted in the early years of the College explains their ability to withstand the rigors of the training of that period. Apart from the duration of the courses which lasted between sixteen months and four years for the training of Agricultural Assistants, they still had to perform duties assigned to them as Agricultural Assistants. The intensity of practical work was such that work commenced from 5.00 am and went on till about 6.00 pm, with breaks in between. The status of students of the School, as well as their reputation was rated very high all over West Africa.
To make FCA the first among equals in Nigeria’s Agricultural Education industry at the tertiary level
To contribute towards achieving the goals of Nigeria in agriculture through qualitative education and production of middle level manpower
To produce diplomates at both the National and Higher National Diploma levels with high academic standard and sound practical skills to meet the demands of the agricultural sector of the economy. Our diplomates are trained to be self-sufficient and also to provide middle level manpower needs of farmers, agro-allied industries, agricultural institutions and government agencies. They are trained to be extension agents in Federal and States’ Ministries of Agriculture and related sectors.
