- Overview
- Programme Structure
Overview
PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAMME
To address the demand of Information Technology techniques and analysis for Agricultural Systems in the areas of sustainable food production, natural resource management and overall economic growth.
ENTRY REQUIREMENTS
NORMAL ENTRY
Prospective students should have at least five ‘O’ Level passes including English Language, Science and at least a B in Mathematics and any two ‘A’ Level passes in the following subjects Agriculture, Mathematics, Economics, Management of Business, Sociology, Accounts, Geography and Biology.
SPECIAL ENTRY
Relevant Diploma based on departmental board evaluation.
CAREER OPPORTUNITIES AND FURTHER EDUCATION
Employability: Private Sector – Land-use Planners, eCommerce System Designers, Data Base Designers, Supply Chain Managers, Commodity Brokers, Agribusiness Finance Managers, Consultants, Marketing Agents/Sales Representatives, Extensionists, education, real estate, and public relations.
Public Sector – Researchers (Applied Economists, Marketing Agents,) Extensionists, Lecturers, natural resource and environmental management, Education and Public Relations
Self-Employment – Farmers, Consultants
Further Studies: Masters and Doctoral studies in Precision Agriculture, Information Technology, Agricultural Economics, Economics, Development, Policy
Programme Structure
PROGRAMME STRUCTURE
- The degree programme shall have at least 32 taught modules spread over the six teaching semesters
Level 1 Semester 1
Code Module Title Prerequisite Credits
AWS101 Agricultural Biology 12
AGPR131 Practices in Farm Entrepreneurial skills 1 6
CS131 Basic Communication Skills 12
HSC135 Introduction to Information Technology 12
AGED131 Introduction to Agricultural Economics 12
AGED133 Mathematics for Agricultural Economics 12
AGED139 Introduction to Agricultural Planning & Development 12
Level 1 Semester 2
AGED132 Micro Economics for Agriculture AGED131 12
AGED134 Macro-Economics for Agriculture AGED131 12
AGED105 Introduction to Rural Sociology 12
AGPR132 Practices in Farm Entrepreneurial Skills 2 AGPR131 6
HAWS122 Principles of Animal Production 12
AGRO133 Principles of Crop Production 12
Level 2 Semester 1
HITAS201 Introduction to Biostatistics 12
HITAS202 Mathematics for Programming 12
HITAS203 Introduction to Content Management Systems 12
AGED232 Financial Management 12
AEGS201 Gender Studies 12
Electives Choose 1
AGED201 Agri-Business Law 12
AGED231 NGOs and Agricultural Development 12
Level 2 Semester 2
Code Module Title Prerequisite Credits
HITAS 204 Programming for Internet and Mobile Devices 12
HITAS205 Data Base Systems 12
HITAS206 Research Methods and Innovation Skills 12
HITAS 207 Econometrics and Socio-economic Data analysis 12
AGED239 Project Management 12
Electives Choose 1
AGED237 Agribusiness Management 12
AGED238 Farm Business Management 12
Level 3 Semester 1: Work-Related Learning
*AGPR330 Work-Related Preliminary Report 30
Level 3 Semester 2: Work-Related Learning
*AGPR331 Work-Related Learning Report 45
*AGPR332 Employer’s Assessment Report 30
*AGPR333 Academic Supervisor’s Report 45
Level 4 Semester 1
HITAS401 Business Information Systems Design and ICT security 12
HITAS402 Web Designing 12
AGED432 Agricultural Policy Analysis 12
AGED405 International Trade 12
AGED431 Agricultural Price Analysis and Forecasting 12
Electives Choose 1
AGED437 Banking and Capital Markets AGED202 12
AGED440 Econometrics 11 AGED209 12
AGED412 Rural Development 12
Level 4 Semester 2
HITAS403 Geographical Information System 12
HITAS404 Operating Systems 12
AGED413 Agriculture Value Chain 12
HITAS 414 Dissertation HITAS 205 24
Electives (Choose 1)
AGED433 Entrepreneurship in Agriculture 12
AGED439 Agricultural Extension 12
AGED436 Insurance and Risk Management in Agriculture 12
Module Synopsis
AGPR131 Practices in Farm Entrepreneurial Skills 1
This module gives first-year students in the field of Agriculture, a broad understanding of the fundamental entrepreneurial skills essential in starting a farming business. The module will also cover certain animal production enterprises such as ruminant production systems (beef, dairy, small ruminants); non-ruminant production systems (broilers, layers, piggery and rabbitry) and intensive wildlife management enterprises. A field trip shall take place.
AGPR132 Practices in Farm Entrepreneurial Skills 2
In addition to entrepreneurial skills learnt in AGPR102, students shall learn to finance a farming business, do cash flow budgets and apply for a successful bank loan. Production enterprises shall include the production of maize, wheat, leafy vegetables, onions, etc. Students shall also be exposed to the production of major flowers e.g. carnations and roses. Students shall be exposed to aspects of marketing, human resources, pricing, government policies and taxation. Students shall visit a crop production farm during each semester.
AGED 131 Introduction to Agricultural Economics
This module gives students knowledge of economic systems and organisation theory. The module will cover the following topics; economic systems and organization, theory of supply and demand, market equilibrium and nature of markets. In macroeconomics topics to be covered include the consumption, investment and savings functions, international economy and the role of the agricultural industry in the national economy.
AGED 132 Micro Economics for Agriculture
This module gives students knowledge on the economics of agricultural production. The main areas to be covered include physical and economic relations, The factor- product relationship, the factor-factor relationship, the product- product relationship, the product supply and input demand; efficiency of resource use, technical, allocative and economic efficiency.
AGED 133 Mathematics for Agricultural Economics
The module is designed to give students a basic understanding of mathematical tools and techniques required in economics, policy formulation and business decision-making. The module seeks to show the relevance of mathematical tools/concepts such as integration linear algebra, differentiation and optimization theory in the field of economics. Trigonometry, probability, functions, graphs, solving equations, matrix algebra, multivariate calculus, differentiation and integration
AGED 134 Macro Economics for Agriculture
The module will look into the branch of economics at the national level through variables such as macro-economic issues, inflation, the gross national product, employment, national accounting, demand/supply, national economics equilibrium, monetary policy, bank rate, foreign currency reserves and balance of payments, foreign currency exchange market, food policy, agricultural policies, and production theories and agriculture at the elementary level.
CS131 Basic Communication Skills
Refer to the Department of Communication Skills
HCS135 Introduction to Information Technology
Refer to the Department of Computer Science
AWS101 Agricultural Biology
Refer to the Department of Livestock and Wildlife Management.
AGED 135 Introduction to Rural Sociology
The modules will equip students with the skill of examining rural social systems, and structures and how they impact positively or negatively on development and examining social change theories and how they relate to the development discourse
AGED139 Agricultural Development and Planning
This course focuses on the role of agriculture in economic development and how to develop appropriate interventions to improve the role of the sector at different stages of economic growth. Topics to be covered include the role of agriculture in economic development – product contribution, market contribution, factor contribution and foreign exchange contribution; agricultural development models and agriculture in developing and developed countries.
HAWS 122 Principles of Animal Production
Refer to the Department of Animal and Wildlife Sciences.
AGRO133 Principles of Crop Production
Refer to the Department of Agronomy.
AGED 201 Agri-Business Law
The module covers the following aspects as a matter of principles of law but more so as they apply to the current challenges in the agricultural sector; sources of law, contract law, operations and marketing, modes of access to land, the law of agency, challenging of agency and employment contracts.
AGED 232 Financial Management
The modules will equip students with the skill of examining of managing financial resources in an agricultural entity. The main areas to be covered include sources of agricultural finance in Zimbabwe, interest rates, capital budgeting and appraisal techniques, Cash flow budgeting and contracting as a source of financing.
HITAS 201 Introduction to Biostatistics
The overall aim of the module is to provide students with an understanding of the nature and structure of data and data collection, and a good working knowledge of basic descriptive statistics and inference.
HITAS 202 Mathematics for Programming
The module covers pure mathematical tools used in economics. It covers number systems, set algebra, functions, equilibrium analysis, matrix algebra, and differentiation with a focus on maxima, minima and applications, unconstrained and constrained optimization, and various applications to the field of agriculture.
HITAS 203 Introduction to Content Management Systems
The module introduces the concept of a Content Management System (CMS) and why it is widely used in the market. Components of CMS, Features of CMS, Advantages and disadvantages of CMS.
HITAS 204 Programming for Internet and Mobile Devices
This module introduces Android-based operating systems frameworks, architecture, design and engineering issues, and methodologies for developing applications for smartphones, tablet computers, and other mobile devices. It covers memory and power management, user interface design for mobile devices and unique user interactions using multi-touch technologies, object-oriented design using model-view-controller paradigm, event handling, animation, audio and video, multi-threading, networking, data storage, and performance considerations.
HITAS 205 Data Base Systems
This module consists of two main components namely data structure, algorithms, and data base systems. The Data structure and algorithms focuses on logical structures of data as well as the design, implementation and analysis of algorithms operating on these structures and their application to solving practical problems. The module covers basic and essential topics in data structures, including array based lists, linked lists, skip lists, hash tables, recursion, binary trees, scapegoat trees, red–black trees, heaps, sorting algorithms, graphs, and binary tree. Data base systems introduces the basic concept of data management and guides towards the concepts of its application. It includes representing information with the relational database model, manipulating data with an interactive query language (SQL) and database programming, database development including internet applications, and database security, integrity and privacy issues.
HITAS 206 Research and Innovation Skills
The module is designed to shape students to have an understanding of the importance of multi-disciplinary and interdisciplinary partnerships in research and innovation, to appreciate the different tools, software packages, methods and approaches in data analysis and to be able to draw conclusions. The module will capacitate students with skills to implement context-specific ‘hands-on’ research activities under targeted conditions (e.g. archival, field, laboratory, industrial, civil and commercial conditions). Students will learn to structure and compose various types of professional documents relevant to their professions such as case study reports, community project reports, grant proposals, letters, memos, curriculum vitae, feature articles, minutes, survey research reports and software manuals. Students will be moulded to be able to; articulate a research problem diagnosis and translate it into a good or service, identify and distinguish an innovation, explain intellectual property (IP) registration processes and identify opportunities for marketing IPs and package and present information for a wider audience using different approaches and technologies. Research proposal formulation, problem definition, methods of data collection, Questionnaire formulation, and interviewing techniques, sampling procedures for surveys, organisation and implementation of surveys, survey quality control, analyses and interpretation, results presentation. Software; SPSS, GENSTAT, SAS etc
HITAS 207 Econometrics and Socioeconomic Data Analysis
The module integrates economic theory, statistics and mathematics to analyze economic phenomena. The econometrics component covers the methodology of econometric research, correlation, Ordinary Least Squares, properties of Least Square Estimators and Multiple Regression. The socioeconomic data analysis part introduces students to SPSS, R, and STATA as software for practical data analysis for case studies.
AGED 237 Agribusiness Management
The module seeks to appropriately recall all values from other modules and contextualize them to advantage. Agribusiness Management shall cover specific topics that include: Forms of business and analysis of business environment, Value chain in agricultural operations, Management principles, cooperate governance, Operations research and Agribusiness viability and analysis.
AGED 238 Farm Business Management
The modules will equip students with the skill of managing a farm business. It covers the following areas functions of management, forms of business organization in commercial agriculture, farm records and Information systems management, labour management farm planning and budgeting, gross Margin Analysis, partial budget, sources of agricultural finance, Government support schemes, contract production schemes, and management of working capital. Further, the course will cover farm accounting.
AEGS231 Gender Studies
The module empowers the students with knowledge and skills that enable them to be gender sensitive in the university, workplace and in all their social interactions. Topics covered include Understanding Gender, Theories of Gender Inequalities, Historical Development of Gender, Gender Analysis, and Gender Issues in Zimbabwe, Redressing Gender Imbalances, Empowerment and Strategies for creating a gender-responsive environment. Every student has to pass the module in order to graduate.
AGED 239 Project Management
This module is about the modes and mechanisms through which development assistance is channelled, via investment in developing countries, for the promotion of agricultural and rural development. It is thus primarily about the rationale, context, and methods of planning, appraising and evaluating development projects and programmes. While the module emphasises financial and economic efficiency, other important issues in assessing project design and impact are presented.
AGED 231 NGOs and Agricultural Development
The modules will have knowledge of types of non – profit organisations in agricultural development, their registration, management structures of non – profit organizations, funding and financial management, scope, corporate governance and ethics in NGOs. The module also looks at civil society theory, farming systems, stakeholder consultations in agricultural development, and links with governmental and other developmental agencies.
HITAS 401 Business Information Systems Design and ICT Security
This module consists of two main components: Business Systems Analysis and Design: This component examines the analysis and design of business systems. It introduces the systems development life cycle (SDLC), the fundamental four-phase model (planning, analysis, design, and implementation) common to all development projects. This includes business value creation; business systems requirements analysis and specification; logical and physical design of business systems. It overviews object-oriented systems analysis and design and describes the Unified Process and its extensions. Multimedia systems and applications: This is an introductory component in digital media. Students will be introduced to the principles and current technologies of multimedia systems. Issues in effectively representing, processing, and retrieving multimedia data such as sound and music, graphics, images and video will be addressed. The practical component of the course is organized around learning about and using various software for manipulating digital sound, digital images, and digital video.
HITAS 402 Web Designing
The module introduces students to web concepts, and understand that the internet supports a range of services such as the World Wide Web (WWW), file transfer, email, and IM. Understand the relationship between the browser and the webserver. Html coding- learning how to create a web page, the basics of CSS- learning how to style and format web pages. Primary protocols, URL, hyperlink, web hosting etc. Web Publishing, Legal issues and general terms of use.
HITAS 403 Geographical Information System
The purpose of this module is to acquaint agricultural and environmental science students with fundamental principles and applications of Geographic Information Systems. The module provides the students with theoretical principles and techniques for handling and analyzing spatial data in the following application areas: natural resources management, agriculture, land management, water resources management; transport network systems; solid and liquid waste management; wildlife management, etc. The module is also designed to guide students to become thinkers regarding the use of spatial data/information to solve agricultural and environmental management challenges for informed decisions. After their successful completion of the module, the students should be able to use GIS technology in natural resources management, agriculture, land management, water resources management; transport network systems; solid and liquid waste management; and wildlife management, to provide goods and services at local, national, regional and global scales. For example, the students should be able to map Zimbabwe’s key natural resources.
HITAS 404 Operating Systems
Operating systems familiarize students with resource management and hardware abstraction, the different operating system types, hardware addresses and types of addresses.
AGED 432 Policy Analysis
This course offers a multi-disciplinary approach to understanding agricultural and food policy in Zimbabwe and the world. It examines the agricultural policy process in terms of rationale, content, and consequences. It thereby helps students develop a better understanding of policy-making entities at various levels of government. It also provides a broad understanding of how policy actions in agriculture impact not only farmers’ incomes but also the well-being of consumers.
AGED 433 Entrepreneurship in Agriculture
The modules will equip students with the skill of understanding the role of entrepreneurship in agricultural development and the economy. Topics to be covered include theories of entrepreneurship, processes of establishing a business, sources of funding, feasibility studies, planning production and marketing of enterprise and public policy.
AGED 435 International Trade and Policy
The modules will equip students with theories and policies that guide international trade. This course allows students to learn why international trade is important for Zimbabwe and other nations, and they examine how it affects production, profit and the economy.
AGED 436 Insurance and Risk Management in Agriculture
The module looks at concepts of risk management in agriculture. The main areas that are covered include theories and definitions of risk management, the measurement of risk, the stochastic basis of risk, the Beta Risk adjustment methods and techniques used in dealing with risk, hedging against risk, and the future options and contracts.
AGED 437 Banking and Capital Markets
The course deals with the description of the activities of banks in agriculture, financial intermediaries, central banks, regulatory agencies, and monetary theory. Money market institutions. Capital market institutions. It shores up knowledge in bank management and capital markets as they relate to agriculture.
AGED 439 Agricultural Extension
The modules will equip students with the knowledge of the history of agricultural extension in Zimbabwe, mass media, kinesics, extension methods and training programme planning: projects, programmes and policy in agricultural extension, farmer participation in extension programme planning, monitoring and evaluation. The course further looks at donor organisations in agricultural development and extension, female extension agents and gender in agricultural development and extension.
AGED 440 Econometrics 11
This module in econometrics is designed to provide students with tools required to evaluate and carry out empirical research. It focuses on violation of classical liner regression model assumptions. Issues such as heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, model specification and multicollinearity are discussed. Modelling with dummy variables, simultaneous equation, time series and panel data econometrics will be studied.
AGED412 Rural Development
The module focuses on rural poverty alleviation, the role of agriculture and agro-industries in the improvement of the quality of rural lives, and social and economic development of rural areas, evaluation of alternative theories of rural development, and how to address hunger and rural poverty through innovations, infrastructural development, community participation, agro-processing and value addition. Attention is paid to the management of development institutions, participatory and integrated planning, infrastructure and physical resources.
HITAS 414 Dissertation
This is a scientific report of between 15 000 and 20 000 words, based on supervised research by the student. The dissertation should be presented to a panel of the Departmental Board,
AGED431 Agricultural Price Analysis and Forecasting
This course is aimed at developing an understanding of the principles of price theory and how these principles can be applied to problems in agriculture starting from the supply and demand of agricultural products. The role of price in agricultural production is examined at the onset. Specific topics include detailed analysis, modelling and forecasting of agricultural commodities prices. Students are also introduced to the modelling of market structures, market outlook and hedging and its effectiveness.