Benson Idahosa University Agricultural Economics(M.Sc) - Benson Idahosa University

Agricultural Economics(M.Sc)

Admission Requirements

Candidate seeking admission to the Master of Agricultural Economics Degree Programme must have any of the following qualifications from recognized institutions:

  1. Matriculation requirement of individual university including mathematics and English language
  2. Higher National Diploma in Agriculture with a postgraduate Diploma in Agricultural Economics with a least credit level.
  3. Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture with a minimum of second class lower from a recognized University, or a third class degree with PGD with at least credit level.

Duration of the professional Master of Agricultural Economics Degree Programme

  1. The Full-time Master of Agricultural Economics Degree Programme shall run for a minimum duration of three (3) semesters and maximum of six (6) semesters.
  2. The part-time professional Master of Agricultural Economics Degree Programme Shall run for a minimum duration of six (6) semesters and maximum of eight (8) semesters.

Course Synopses for the Master of Science Degree in Agricultural Economics

AEE 811      Microeconomic Theory 2 Credit Units

Methodology and role of models in economic theory. Theory of consumer behavior – demand functions. Theory of production – types of production functions. Technical progress; Types of production; Recent models of oligopoly and the behavior of multi-national corporations. Welfare economics including an extended discussion on externalities.

AEP 811      Production Economics 2 Credit Units

Theories of production, agricultural production functions, resource returns in agriculture, cost and supply functions, input demand functions, optimization and farm planning under uncertainty, efficiency and innovation in agriculture. Theory of the firm in application to the problems of product supply, input demand and resource allocation.

AEE 813        Introduction to Quantitative Techniques 2 Credit Units

Examination of research process in agricultural economics with particular reference to problems of measurement and estimation, practical application of the techniques of model building. Review of mathematical techniques in economic analysis. Topics include: Calculus of variation, Integration, Linear algebra, Classical optimization, Games theory and applications to economic analysis, Programming.

AMC 811     Agricultural marketing and Price Analysis 2 Credit Units

Analysis of demand, supply and equilibrium price measurement and use of different types of elasticities, pricing efficiency for agricultural commodities. Construction and use of index numbers. Types and basis of government price policies. Methodology in price analysis.

AEE 821      Macroeconomic Theory 2 Credit Units

The classical macroeconomic models; The Keynesian model with fixed and variable price levels in economic theory. Comparison of classical and Keynesian models. Consumption function, investment demand theory, Monetary and fiscal policies as demonstrated by IS-LM curves. Demand and supply of money, inflation, unemployment, trade cycle theories, economic growth.

AEP 821      Farm Management 2 Credit Units

Application of concepts and tools of farm business management in farm planning and management, business analysis and planning interpretation, use of information for decision making in organizing farm business to achieve goals. Planning under risk and uncertainty, farm budgeting, cost-benefit analysis, time value of money.

AMC 823     Agricultural Cooperatives 2 Credit Units

Agricultural marketing theory, concepts and theory, marketing functions; processing, transportation and distributing channels; marketing institutions, cooperatives, market structure, conduct and performance, social and private costs, cost-price relationships, marketing margins, efficiency, agricultural trade and foreign price analysis; specialization, forward and backward integration; contracts and bargaining strategies; utilization and commercialization; promotions strategies.

AEE 824      Agricultural Development and Policy 2 Credit Units

Public policies and programmes affecting agriculture and agribusiness, development of policies and programmes, identification of relevant issues, reviewing past and projecting future means to attain the goals.

AEM 821     Agribusiness Management 2 Credit Units

Establishment of objectives, policies, operating methods and organization of agribusiness, personnel management, design and control of production systems; selection of equipments and processes; inventory and production control, quality control, use of accounting record management control, break-even analysis, capital budgeting.

AER 821      Resource Economics 2 Credit Units

Land as an economic concept. Land ownership and decision-making, economic, social and institutional factors affecting the industry of land and development. Assessment, wealth generation capacities of national resources – forestry, fisheries, water and minerals. The social economic trade-off in development and conservation of resources. Analysis of pollution, economic theory of common property resource. Divergence between social cost and private cost, property rights and amenity, risk, transaction costs, dynamics of resource use. Tools for economic property resource use. Tools for economic evaluation. Cost benefits measurement of land and irrigation projects, environmental cost of economic growth, economic growth and natural resource environmental regulation.