The 8th Academic Department of Awassa College of Agriculture at Hawassa University started its existence as of September 2006. In line with the four out of the eight UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), such as reducing poverty and hunger, promoting gender equality and empowering women, addressing environmental sustainability, and creating global partnership for development, the University’s vision, mission, and core values, and the Ethiopian Government’s policy of Agricultural Development Led Industrialization (ADLI), a Department of Agricultural Extension was established and started to function in 2006/2007 academic year in the College of Agriculture, Hawassa University. |
Among others, the University’s mission includes the importance of student-centered, practical-oriented teaching and pubic services, and its core value also includes innovativeness. The mission and core values of the University have been given due emphasize in establishing the Department of Agricultural Extension.
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The Department was established in collaboration with Sasakawa Africa Fund for Extension Education (SAFE) in consistent with the aforementioned issues of concern at various levels.To establish the Department, a comprehensive need assessment, including various stake-holders was undertaken and a curriculum enrichment workshop was also organized. Accordingly, a well-refined curriculum was developed for mid-career extension agricultural professionals to be upgraded to a first-degree in Agricultural Extension. This mid-career programme is unique and innovative in its nature owing to its focus on experiential learning and greater emphasise to independent supervised extension projects that are conducted by students in their work places. |
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The objective of the mid-career program is to
assist the agricultural development effort of
the Federal Republic of Ethiopia through
training and producing qualified manpower
in the field of Agricultural Extension. |
 More specifically, extension workers who hold Diplomas in the fields of agriculture and related areas will be trained to the B.Sc. level in Agricultural Extension in two and half years. Currently, the Department has 21 mid-career students who have successfully completed the first semester and are doing their second semester classes.
To strengthen the capacity of the Department, SAFE has purchased vehicles, various books, computers with their full accessories and different equipments.
A curriculum is also in preparation to start a regular (generic) program in Agricultural Extension in 2008/09 academic year.
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