The Department of Food Science and Technology is one of the programmes in the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology, Federal University of Technology Minna, Nigeria. The Department has the mandate to adopt a multi-disciplinary approach in the training of students to produce quality graduates that would promote industrialization, food security and food safety, create jobs and reduce post-harvest food losses among others. The Department is committed to advancing the Science of food to ensure a safe and abundant food supply and contribute to a healthy society. The Department has well-trained and experienced lecturers, facilities and functional industrial linkages to achieve the vision and mission of the programme. The Food Science and Technology Department was granted full accreditation in 2017.
Vision
To provide a world class environment for high quality academic and technological training in all areas of Agriculture suitable for the developments of high caliber manpower and to generate sustainable improvement in all areas of Agriculture, through teaching, research and extension to local and international communities.
Mission
To provide graduates that are adequately equipped with comprehensive theoretical knowledge and practical skills required for engaging in efficient Agricultural production for self-employment and conducting of cutting edge problems solving research in aspect of Agriculture.
Professor Chiemela Enyinnaya Chinma holds a PhD in Food Science and Technology from the University of Agriculture Makurdi, Nigeria. He has supervised 195 undergraduate 13 postgraduate and 11 PhD and 13 MSc students. He has served as the Deputy Director of Academic Planning and Deputy Director of Research, Innovation and Development, Federal University of Technology Minna (FUT Minna), Nigeria. He is the current Head of Department, Food Science and Technology and the Chairman, University Policies and Manuals Advisory Committee, FUT Minna, Nigeria.
Professor Chinma has several publications which include journal articles, book chapters and proceedings among others. He is a member of the Nigerian Institute of Food Science and Technology (NIFST) and Editorial Board (Associate Editor) of the Nigerian Food Journal (2016 till date). He has served as the Chairman of the Ad-hoc Accreditation Panel of the National Universities Commission to evaluate Food Science and Technology Programmes in several Universities in Nigeria. He was a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at UPM-BERNAS Research Laboratory, Faculty of Food Science and Technology, Universiti Putra Malaysia. He is also a Visiting Professor at the Department of Biotechnology and Food Technology, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He has served as an External Examiner in several Universities in Nigeria and other foreign universities. He has won several research grants and received academic awards. He leads the Food Product Development Research Group at FUT Minna, Nigeria with research interest in improving the functionality of underutilized grains using conventional and innovative food processing methods.
Plate 1: Practical session by the Food Science and Technology Students
The Department was involved in community/volunteering services with United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in July 2019 to render community service to local farmers and commodity aggregators in Niger State. The Community service was in the form of educating and demonstrating to the participants novel methods of handling and storage of agricultural products with a view to enhancing the export capability of local farmers and processors. USAID donated solar driers to the Department as support for the services.
The minimum entry requirement into the Bachelor of Technology in Food Science and Technology are:
Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME) Entry Requirements:
Candidates to be admitted through UTME must possess five credits in their Senior Secondary Certificate Examination (WAEC/NECO/NABTEB) in the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Physics and Biology or Agricultural Science. Agricultural Science will be accepted in place of Biology only if the candidate has a pass in Biology.
Direct Entry Requirements:
National Diploma (ND) with minimum of lower credit in Food Science and Technology plus five credits in senior school certificate examination (WAEC/NECO/NABTEB) in the following subjects: English, Mathematics, Chemistry, Biology/Agricultural Science and Physics In exceptional circumstances holders of HND in Food Science and Technology with Distinction may be considered for admission into 300 level but must audit specified courses from100 and 200 levels. In addition, such candidates must possess the minimum O’level requirements.
Transfer to the Programme (Intra/Inter-University)
In addition to the university requirements regarding transfer (Intra/Inter-University) placements, the candidate must have a minimum CGPA of 2.0.
