Junior Secondary Agriculture introduces students to the basics of farming, crop production, animal care, and simple gardening, emphasizing hands-on activities to foster interest and foundational knowledge. On the other hand, Senior Secondary Agriculture offers an in-depth study of advanced topics like agricultural economics, soil science, pest management, and modern farming techniques.
Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary 1 (SS1) in Nigeria introduces students to agriculture’s fundamental principles and practices. The Lagos state unified scheme of work for Agricultural Science in SSS1 is designed to provide a comprehensive understanding of agricultural concepts, including crop production, livestock management, soil science, and agricultural economics.
In senior secondary school 1, students are assessed in Agricultural Science based on the school’s prerogative. However, typically, they are evaluated through tests or quizzes (Continuous Assessment Tests), practical exercises, and end-of-term exams.
Grading follows a scale from A to F, with A representing excellent performance, typically scoring around 70% or 80%, and F indicating failure, usually below 50% or 45%.
| LAGOS STATE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION: UNIFIED SCHEMES OF WORK FOR SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS | ||
| Agricultural Science Scheme of Work for Senior Secondary Schools 1(SSS1) | ||
| Class | S.S.S 1 | |
| Subject | Agricultural Science | |
| Term | First Term | |
| Week | Topic | Breakdown |
| THEME: BASIC CONCEPTS | ||
| 1 | Meaning and important of Agriculture | 1. Definition of Agricultural Science. 2. Importance of Agricultural Science to individual, community and the Nation. |
| 2 | Problems of Agricultural development and possible solutions. | 1. Problems related to land tenure, basic amenities, finance, transportation, storage and processing facility, agricultural education and extension tools and machinery, farm inputs, marketing system, environmental degradation, etc. 2. Possible solutions to identified problems. |
| 3 | Meaning and Differences between subsistence and commercial Agriculture. | 1. Meaning of subsistence and commercial agriculture. 2. Differences between subsistence and commercial agriculture based on their characteristics. 3. Advantages and disadvantages of subsistence and commercial agriculture. 4. Problems of subsistence and commercial agriculture. |
| 4 | Role of Government in Agricultural Development. | Roles of Government in Agricultural Development -Agricultural finance, credit subsidy -Agricultural Education -Agricultural extension and services -Agricultural policies and programmes review of past and present e.g. OFN, ADP, etc. |
| 5 | Role of Nongovernmental Organization in Agricultural Development. | 1. Meaning of nonGovernmental Organization NGOs 2. Roles of NGOs in Agricultural Development e.g.-capacity building-extension services |
| 6 | Agricultural laws and reforms. | 1. Land tenure system in Nigeria. 2. The land use decree of 1978 and its implications for agricultural development. 3. Advantages and disadvantages of land use decree in Nigeria. |
| THEME 2: AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY | ||
| 7 | Meaning and importance of Agricultural Ecology. | 1. Meaning of Agricultural ecology and ecosystem. 2. Components of farm ecosystem e.g. Biotic, abiotic, autotrophism and heterotrophism. 3. Interactions of the components in the terrestrial and aquatic agroecosystem. -mono or sole cropping system. -mixed cropping system. -mixed farming system. -fish ponds. -forest rainforest or savanna. |
| 8 | Land and its uses | 1. Meaning of land. 2. Characteristics of the land-free gift of nature, immobile, limited in supply, etc 3. Uses of land: -agricultural purposes -crop production -Wildlife conservation -game reserves -livestock production etc. 4. Non-Agricultural purpose: -industry -housing -transportation etc. |
| 9 | Factors affecting land availability for agricultural purposes. | Factors affecting land availability for agricultural purposes -land tenure system -population pressure -soil type and topography etc. |
| 10 | 1. Agro-based industries and raw materials: -paper industry pulpwood -beverage industry cocoa, tea, etc. -textile industry cotton. -soap industry -oil seeds etc. 2. Relationship between agriculture and industries: -agriculture provides a market for industrial products e.g. Farm machinery, and chemicals. -agriculture provides food for industrial workers etc. | |
| 11 | Revision | |
| 12 | Examination | |
| Term | Second Term | |
| Week | Topic | Breakdown |
| 1 | Environmental factors affecting Agricultural production | 1. Environmental factors affecting crops and animal production a. climate factors e.g. rainfall, temperature, light, wind, etc b. biotic factors e.g. predators, parasites, soil micro-organisms etc interrelationships such as competition, parasitism symbiosis etc c. edaphic factors–soil Ph, soil texture, soil structure, soil type, etc |
| 2 | Soil formation | 1. Processes of rock formation. 2. Types of rock-igneous-sedimentary-metamorphic |
| 3 | Soil formation and profile development. | 1.Factor of soil formation the parent rock, organisms, climate, topography and time. 2. Outline of soil formation process e.g. Weathering process. |
| 4 | Soil profile development. | 1. Soil profile development. 2. The basic principles of soil classification |
| 5 | Types, composition and properties of soil I | 1. Types of soil. 2. Chemical or mineral matter such as clay, sand and silt. |
| 6 | Types, composition, and properties of soil II | 1. Soil Ph 2. Physical properties of soil-soil texture-soil structure 3. Soil classification system. |
| 7 | Simple farm tools Uses and maintenance I | 1. Meaning of simple farm tools. 2. Types of simple farm tools cutlass, hoe spade, shovel, etc 3. Identification and description of each of the tools. |
| 8 | Simple farm tools Uses and maintenance II | 1. The uses of simple farm tools. 2. General maintenance of simple farm tools. |
| 9 | Farm machinery and implements I | Farm machinery: -tractor -bulldozer -shellers -dryers -incubators -milking machines etc |
| 10 | Farm machinery and implements II | Tractor-coupled implements: -ploughs -harrows -planters -harvesters -sprayers, etc |
| 11 | Revision | |
| 12 | Examination |
| Term | Third Term | |
| Week | Topic | Breakdown |
| 1 | Maintenance practices and precautionary measures | 1. Reasons for maintaining farm machines. 2. Maintenance of farm machinery – check water and oil level regularly – carry out routine service – keep the machine clean etc |
| 2 | Problems of Agricultural mechanization. | 1. Meaning of agricultural mechanization. 2. Mechanized agricultural operations. 3. Advantages of agricultural mechanization e.g. increased productivity, reduced drudgery, timeliness of operation etc. 4. Disadvantages of agricultural mechanization e.g. displacement of workers, destruction of soil structure, environmental pollution etc 5. Limitation of farm mechanization – economic limitations – technical knowhow etc |
| 3 | Prospects of agricultural mechanization | Possible ways of improving agricultural mechanization – developing less expensive machines. – establishing agricultural engineering school for personal and fabricate simple machines etc |
| 4 | Sources of farm power. | 1. Source of farm power – human, animal, mechanical, electrical, solar, wind, water 2. Advantages and disadvantages of each type. |
| 5 | Classification of crops. | 1. Classification of crops based on their use -Cereals, pulses, roots and tubers, vegetables. 2. Classification based on their life cycle. -Annual, biannual, perennial, ephemeral. 3. Classification based on their morphology -Monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous crops |
| 6 | Husbandry of selected crops I | 1. Botanical name and local or common names of the crop 2. Varieties or types 3. Climatic and soil requirement 4. Land preparation 5. Methods of propagation, planting date, seed rate, spacing, sowing depth and cultural practices, supply, thinning, manuring and fertilizer applications, weeding, pests and diseases 6. Harvesting, processing and storage of the selected crops |
| 7 | Husbandry of selected crops II | 1. Botanical name and local or common names of the crop 2. Varieties or types 3. Climatic and soil requirement 4. Land preparation 5. Methods of propagation, planting date, seed rate, spacing, sowing depth and cultural practices, supply, thinning, manuring and fertilizer applications, weeding, pests and diseases 6. Harvesting, processing and storage of the selected crops |
| 8 | Husbandry of selected crops III | 1. Botanical name and local or common names of the crop 2. Varieties or types 3. Climatic and soil requirement 4. Land preparation 5. Methods of propagation, planting date, seed rate, spacing, sowing depth and cultural practices, supply, thinning, manuring and fertilizer applications, weeding, pests and diseases 6. Harvesting, processing and storage of the selected crops |
| 9 | Pasture and forage crops I | 1. Meaning of pasture and forage crops. 2. Uses of forage crops. 3. Types of pasture crops: – natural pasture – artificial pasture and their characteristics. 3. List types of pasture and characteristics of such type. |
| 10 | Pasture and forage crops II | 1. Common grasses and legumes used for grazing Livestock their botanical names and characteristics of some of them. 2. Factors affecting the distribution and productivity of pasture. 3. Establishment of pasture. 4. Management practices of pasture. |
| 11 | Revision | |
| 12 | Examination |
The recommended Agricultural Science textbooks for SSS1 include but are not limited to the following:
Spectrum Books Ltd
University Press Plc
Noble Publishers
Longman Group Ltd
Mis-Fav Publishers SS 1-3
