Zambia College of Agriculture - Monze
The Principal,
Zambia College of Agriculture,
P.O. Box 660053
Monze
Tel: +260 213 250544
Fax: +260 213 250174
Location
Zambia College of Agriculture – Monze is situated 6km east of Monze Town, about a kilometer off the Monze-Chivuma road. Monze town is situated 200km south of Lusaka city and some 300km before the tourist town of Livingstone.
Mission Statement
“To provide quality agricultural training and consultancy in order to contribute to a sustainable and viable agricultural sector.”
Background
Zambia College of Agriculture – Monze was opened in 1948 as Monze Agriculture Training School (MATS) and was administered by the Director of African Agriculture. The school was producing African Agriculture of Assistants (AAAs) who would go out in the field advising African farmers on issues of agriculture. At that time, the Monze Agricultural Training School was enrolling students at standard six (6) levels.
In 1965, the school was transformed into a college called “Zambia College of Agriculture” enrolling students of form two level. The college was operating strictly as an in-service institution. The students were recruited through the District Agricultural Offices and these (students) had been serving in the field as Commodity Demonstrators (CD’s).
In 1969, the courses offered at the college were upgraded to a level where Grade 12 school levers are recruited directly from secondary schools. On completion of the course, in two (2) years, the graduates are awarded a certificate in General Agriculture.
Most of the graduates are absorbed by the department of Agriculture, where they serve as Agricultural Assistants (AAs). Others find jobs in the private sector, or become self employed due to the liberalization of employment since 1990 when graduates were free to choose which way they wanted to go.
In 2008, the college introduced and enrolled the first students for a diploma course in General Agriculture for In-service students only. These are, for the time being, graduates of certificate courses in Agriculture and related fields. The diploma courses will in future be open to grade 12 school leavers.
The academic calendars for both courses (Certificate and Diploma) follows a semester system whereby each course takes four (4) semesters to complete.
The College is divided into two sections, the pre-service and the In-service wings. The In-service wing is called the Center for In-service & Continuing Education (CICE) and it is administered on a day to day basis by the Director and the staff. Under this section there are numerous animal production short courses namely;
- Practical Nutrition and feed formulation
- Broiler Production
- Egg Production
- Pig Production
- Profitable Dairy Farming
- Profitable Beef Production
- Profitable Sheep & Goat farming
The Pre-service section is divided into two academic departments namely:
- Production Department (Animal & Crop Production)
- Support Services (Engineering, Home Economics, Farm Management & Extension)
Courses Offered for both Certificate and Diploma levels
1.Production Department
- Animal Production
- Crop production
2.Support Service Department
- Agricultural Engineering
- Economic & Rural Development
i. Farm Management
ii. Rural Development
iii. Home Economics
Assessment
Assessment for both the Certificate and Diploma is by continuous assessments texts, examinations and assignments. Assessments are conducted for each of the four (4) semesters. All subjects and projects taken must be successfully completed for the student to proceed into the nest semester and award of the Certificate and Diploma. Students who fail in three (3) or more subjects at the end of each semester are discontinued. Those that fail in less than 3 subjects are given another opportunity to resit the failed subjects and will proceed once they pass.
Recreation, Study and Service facilities
ZCA campus provides a comprehensive range of recreational and study facilities and services. These include: Library, Clinic, Lecture rooms, on –campus accommodation, TV and Video recreation rooms with DSTV, telephone, email and internet facilities, sports facilities for badminton, football, netball, basketball, chess, table tennis and volleyball, places for workshops, Tuck-shop and Student canteen, Clubs and Societies including the student Union and Personal Tutors.
Entry Requirements
The Minimum admission Certificate course requirement to the College is a full grade 12 Cerificate or its equivalent, with credits in English, Mathematics and atleast two of the following subjects; Agricultural Science, Science, Biology, Physics and Chemistry.
As for the Diploma course, the above stated requirements stated under certificate courses apply, except the applicant must have a certificate in General Agriculture from a recognized Agricultural College with minimum experience of two years.
When to Apply
The dead line for receiving application forms for the next intake is April 30th, of each academic year. Applicants will be informed about the outcome of their application in June of that particular academic year.
