Diploma in Agriculture (Full-Time)
- Entry level
- O-Level results
- Field of study
- Agriculture & Farm Management
- Duration
- About 2 years in total (3 taught trimesters, a project period and a farm attachment)
- Institution
- Blackfordby College of Agriculture
Entry requirements
Diplomas, certificates and other programmes: what you need to apply
O-Level results · 5 O-Level passes (C or better) incl. English, Maths, a Science
O Level: 5 passes at C or better incl. English, Maths, a Science | A Level: not required | Under 40 | Farming experience an advantage
As the institution publishes it
O-Level: 5 passes (C or better) incl. English, Maths, a Science (C or better) A-Level: Not required Previous award needed: None (O Level entry) Work experience: Prior farming or relevant work experience an added advantage Other conditions: Under 40 years of age; prospectus calls the course the Diploma in General Agriculture
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About this programme
A practical, commercially minded agriculture diploma. It combines four compulsory disciplines (Animal Production, Crop Production, Farm Mechanisation, and Farm and Agribusiness Management) with a year-long attachment on productive farms. It is the college's main course, founded on a tobacco-training heritage and broadened to general agriculture in 2000.
What you will study
Four compulsory disciplines, taught in three trimesters: Trimester 1: Animal Production (Animal Health, Animal Nutrition); Crop Production (Soil Science, Botany, Weed Science, Winter Cereals); Farm Management (Land Use Planning, Agricultural Economics); Farm Mechanisation (Soil and Water Conservation, Agricultural Tractors, Tillage Systems and Machinery Management). Trimester 2: Animal Production (Beef Production, Pig Production); Crop Production (Tobacco Production, Crop Protection, Principles of Horticulture); Farm Management (Farm Budgeting, Farm and Agribusiness Management, Accounting); Farm Mechanisation (Farm Machinery I, Irrigation and Water Management). Trimester 3: Animal Production (Dairy Production, Poultry Production, Sheep and Goats Production); Crop Production (Summer Crops, Plantation Crops, Floriculture and Post Harvest Handling); Farm Management (Labour Management, Agricultural Marketing, Agricultural Extension); Farm Mechanisation (Energy Systems, Farm Machinery II). Then a project period and a one-year farm or agro-industrial attachment.
Further study and pathways
Further agricultural study or work. The prospectus notes wide recognition within the SADC region; the sources do not name degree pathways.
Source: Blackfordby College of Agriculture: Blackfordby_Programme_Catalogue.xlsx, sheet "Programmes"