The Department of Horticulture is one of the eight departments in the School of Agriculture and Agricultural Technology. The department is keyed into Horticulture/Crop/Soil Science Option of the Bachelor of Agricultural Technology degree Programme of the school. Students in the Department of Horticulture are awarded Bachelor of Agricultural Technology degree on successful completion of
their studies.
The department has the mandate to:
i. generate and propagate knowledge in all areas of Horticulture through research and teaching,
ii. develop appropriate eco-friendly technologies for the sustainable production and conservation of
Horticultural crops
iii. promote the dissemination of agricultural knowledge and skills through extension services.
The Bachelor of Agricultural Technology degree programme of Horticulture Department is fully
accredited.
Vision
The vision of the Department is to create a Centre of excellence that will produce well equipped graduates, who will effectively and efficiently manage the nation’s Horticultural resources through teaching, research and capacity building to meet local and international demand.
Mission
The mission is to train students for the development, management and exploitation of Horticultural resources to enable them meet the manpower needs of the public and private sectors of the economy.
Full Name: Dr. Haruna Ibrahim (HOD)
Email: hodhorticulture@futminna.edu.ng
Dr. Haruna Ibrahim joined the services of Federal University of Technology, Minna on 11th November, 2005 as Graduate Assistant. He was born to the family of Alhaji Ibrahim Naibi on 22 ndFebruary, 1970 in Mokwa, Niger State. He attended his Primary and Secondary Education at Tifin-Madza Primary School Mokwa and Government Army Day Secondary School, Minna where he
obtained his first School Leaving Certificate and G.C.E O/level in 1981 and 1988 respectively. He obtained his National Diploma in Agricultural Technology at (Upper Credit Grade) in 1993 from Niger State College of Agriculture, Mokwa, B. Agric. Tech (Crop Production) at (2 nd Class Upper Division) in 2000, M. Tech (Agronomy) in 2007 and PhD (Crop Production) in 2014 from Federal University of Technology, Minna. Dr. Haruna Ibrahim is currently an Associate Professor of Crop Production. He is the pioneer Head of Department of Horticulture since March 2020 and the immediate past Deputy Director, Directorate of Collaboration, Affiliation and Linkages of Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Nigeria. Dr. Haruna Ibrahim has received specialist training on Biological Control for plant parasitic nematodes for sustainable Agriculture in Nigeria (2008). He is also a trained Organic Crop Producer and an erudite Seed Scientist. He has published several Scholarly articles and presented some of his research findings at National and International Conferences.
Dr. Haruna Ibrahim has supervised and graduated the following students: Undergraduate 120, Postgraduate students: Masters 16, PhD 8. He is currently supervising 6 undergraduate, 6 Masters and 5 PhD students. He is a member and the Financial Secretary of Association of Seed Scientists of Nigeria (ASSN), member and Coordinator, North Central States of Nigeria for the Horticultural Society of Nigeria (HORTSON), and member of Biotechnology Society of Nigeria (BSN). In 2013, he won a grant by The Niger State Environmental Protection Agency (NISEPA) to conduct research on the Influence of organic waste on vegetable performance and healthy livelihood in Minna Niger state, Nigeria. His research area encompasses Mother-plant studies of Arable/Horticultural crops for optimum yield and Seed Quality of crop species. He was nominated by The National Seed Council of Nigeria in 2014 to participate in National Seed Retreat in Nigeria. He is currently the Principal Investigator, coordinating the Adopted Schools Programme for Quality Seeds Extension which is a collaborative project between the National Agricultural Seeds Council (NASC) and the Federal University of Technology, Minna. The aim is to educate small-holder farmers on the need to adopt the use of quality seeds for cultivation of crop species in Niger State. Dr. Haruna attracted a grant of 2.5 million naira from NASC which was used for the purchase and distribution of free quality seeds to farmers in Minna.
He held various positions in the University amongst which are: Assistant Faculty exam Officer (2012-2016), Faculty Exam Officer (2016-2018), Deputy Director, Directorate for Collaboration, Affiliation and Linkages (2018-2020), Member Search Team for the selection of vice chancellor, FUT Minna (2017), Council Member FUT Minna (2022-Date), Member Board of Directors FUT Minna Micro Finance (2023), Member Board of Advancement FUT Minna (2023), Member Board of CODel FUT Minna (2022), Member Steering Committee for One Programme one Product Initiative FUT Minna (2023) and currently the pioneer Head, Department of Horticulture of The Federal University of Technology (FUT), Minna, Nigeria (2020-Date). Dr. Haruna Ibrahim is the Hasken Faillan Mokwa.
i. Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)
Credit level passes at GCE Ordinary Level or SSCE or equivalent in at least five subjects, at not
more than two sittings, which must include Mathematics, English Language, Chemistry, Biology or
Agricultural Science. The fifth credit level pass could be in Physics or Geography or Economics. A
minimum of P8 in Physics is, however, required. The UTME subjects must include the following:
Use of English, Biology or Agricultural Science, Chemistry and any one of Physics, Mathematics,
Geography and Economics.
ii. Direct Entry (DE)
At least two Advanced Level (e.g., I.J.M.B) passes in Chemistry, Biology or Agricultural Science are
required for admission into 200 Level. Candidates having OND in Agriculture with a minimum of
Lower Credit from a recognized Polytechnic or School/College of Agriculture or NCE in Agriculture
with a minimum of Merit from a recognized College of Education may also be admitted into 200
Level. Candidates having HND in Agriculture with a minimum of Lower Credit are admissible into
300 Level. Direct entry candidates must, in addition, satisfy the five credit level passes as stated
under the UTME requirements.
1. The Department attracted a grant of 25 million Naira to the University from the National
Agricultural Seeds Council under the Adopted Schools Programme on Quality Seeds Extension since
2020-Date (See pictures below).
2. The Department attracted the grant of 2.5 million Naira from National Agricultural Seeds
Council for the purchase and distribution of improved seeds of crops varieties to some small-
holder farmers in Minna in 2022
3. The Department had Research fellowship with International Institute of Tropical Agriculture
(IITA)
i. The Department in collaboration with the Industrial Training Fund (ITF), Minna Area Office,
trained some youth in Niger State in modern farming system during 2020 farming season (See
pictures below).
ii. The Department has partnership with Leprosy Mission Nigeria and has been training Niger
State Agric Extension Officers on climate resilient models to scale up interventions on farmers’
fields across Niger State from 2020-Date (See pictures below).
iii. The Department has attracted a grant of 25 million Naira to the University from the National
Agricultural Seeds Council under the Adopted Schools Programme on Quality Seeds Extension
since 2020-Date (See pictures below).
iv. The Department has attracted the grant of 2.5 million Naira from National Agricultural Seeds
Council for the purchase and distribution of improved seeds of crops varieties to small-holder
farmers in Minna in 2022 (See pictures below).
Plate 1: Sample of the seed lots and a cross-section of selected small-holder farmers who benefited from the
seed grant attracted from NASC in 2022. With the farmers are the Vice Chancellor, Deputy Vice Chancellor
(Admin), Dr. Haruna Ibrahim and Mall Idris from National Agricultural Seeds Council.
Plate 2: The Director General of NASC speaking during the field day organized at the University in 2021
Plate 3: A Sign Board of NASC sponsored programme 2020-Date
Plate 4: Field Day organized in 2021 by the Department/ FUT Minna to educate farmers on the
need to adopt the use of improved and quality seeds of crop varieties for yield optimization.
Plate 3: Threshing of soyabean of the harvest from NASC pogramme at Demonstration site in the University
Plate 4: Crossing between cotton varieties by staff of the Department of Horticulture and National
Agricultural Seeds Council crossing in 2022
Plate 5: A farmer being guided through the process of crossing at the demonstration farm
Plate 6: Snap shot with some Agricultural Extension Officers after a training on climate resilient models to scale up interventions on farmers’ fields across Niger State in 2023.