CURRICULUM IMPLICATIONS OF STUDENTS' LACK OF INTEREST IN PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE: IMPACT ON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF FOOD SECURITY COMPONENT OF (7) POINT AGENDA

This paper seeks to establish the curriculum implications of the relationship between learners' lack of interest in practical agriculture and food shortage experienced in Nigeria irrespective of various laudable policies made to improve food production among which is the food security component of the 7-point agenda of the present administration. This, the paper will do by looking at these issues: perceived reasons for students lack of interest in practical agriculture, seven -point agenda and food security, curriculum of agricultural education: implication on learners' interest, strategies for promoting learners' interest in practical agriculture and prospects of food security through increased learners' interest in agricultural practices. Agriculture is the art and science of raising crops and animals for the benefit of man. In a broad sense, it involves cultivation of crops, raising and breeding of livestock, processing, storage, distribution and marketing of agricultural products. Agriculture is often regarded as the mainstay of the economy. It is the means of boosting food production to take care of the food need of the teeming population, raw materials for agro-based industries and employment to a large number of the population. The nation's foreign exchange earning is also boosted by agricultural exports. Based on the important position agriculture occupies in the economy of the nation, Nigerian governments have taken various steps to boost agricultural production and to get many people involved in agricultural practice. Some of the steps include the establishment of the ministry of agriculture and natural sources in the mid sixties, the launching of Operation Feed the Nation in 1976 by then head of state, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, and the Green Revolution programme of President Shehu Shagri in 1980. Other agricultural policies include the creation of the Directorate of Food, Roads and Rural Infrastructure (DFRRI) in 1988, the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) in 1992, Agricultural Insurance Scheme (AIS) in 1992, Agricultural Development Project (ADP), Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SME) scheme in 2003 and presently, the 7-Point Agenda outlined by president Yar 'Adua in 2007 of which food security is the second component. Food security as defined by World Bank is the access by all people at all times to enough food for active and healthy life. These policies were aimed at improving the agricultural sector and boosting food security but unfortunately, most of these reforms and policies were short-lived and could not achieve the objectives for which they were instituted. This could be as a result of certain constraints ranging from lack of interest in agriculture, government instability, and poor implementation strategies and emerging development in agricultural technology. In the National Policy on Education (2004), one of the objectives of agricultural education is to stimulate students' interest in agriculture. Unfortunately, it is observed that students' interest in practical agriculture is dwindling by the day because further observations show that the number of students who enroll to do agriculture as their area of specialization is decreasing in our school system. If the trend is left to continue, the prospect of achieving food security as proposed in the 7-point agenda will be a mirage. It now becomes pertinent to refocus the curriculum of practical agriculture with a view of adding those contents and learning experiences that could enhance learners' interest in the subject since curriculum as defined by Mkpa (1987) is the aggregate of all the planned and organized programmes and experiences to which the learners are exposed under the auspices of the school for the all round development of the learner.