What you will learn 

This Executive Master's will combine classroom lectures, laboratory practicals, greenhouse experiments, and field tours to fertilizer manufacturing and distribution plants. Visits are also organized to farms to allow the trainees to comprehend farmers’ strategies for fertilizer use in their crops. A professional project will also be assigned at the beginning of the course to each student.  The project will allow them to explore a topic in fertilizer manufacturing, as well as fertilizer recommendations and use in farming operations. Each student will be mentored by a faculty member among those contributing to the courses.  

The Master Courses 

At the end of each module, a certificate is awarded to participants who have attended all the training days, and successfully completed the module assessments. The training program is certified if the candidate completes 4 modules. Thus, a certificate is awarded to participants who have completed all four modules, and successfully completed the assessments for all four modules. The training program is diploma granting if the candidate completes 8 modules in addition to defending a personal final project. Thus, an Executive master’s degree is awarded to participants who have completed all eight modules as described below, defended their personal final project, and successfully completed the training assessments.

• To obtain the Executive master’s degree in "Fertilizer Science and Technology," participants must fulfill the following requirements:

1. Five mandatory modules:

• Introduction to Agriculture or Sustainable Agriculture
• Nutrient Management
• Fertilizer Application Methods
• Phosphate Mine Geochemistry
• Fertilizer Industry

  2. Three elective modules chosen from the following:

• Fundamentals of Soil Science
• Soil-Plant-Atmosphere Interactions
• Rhizosphere and Soil Microbiome
• Plant Health
• Agro-economics
• Production Economics and Agricultural policy
• Smart Agriculture
• Introduction to Precision Agriculture
• Soil Classification and Mapping

3. Successful completion of a personal final project.

Summary 

Courses of the Executive Mater in “Fertilizer Science and Technology” would tackle the following issues: processes of fertilizer manufacturing, innovation in the fertilizer industry, soil fertility evaluation and management, fertilizer use and recommendation, diagnosis and management of soil nutrients, and marketing and use of fertilizers.

Laureates of the Fertilizer Science and Technology Executive Master will see their professional efficiency improved to the benefit of their organization be it in the public and/or the private sector. The competencies acquired will enable them to establish laboratories for plant and soil testing thereby rationalizing fertilizers application in crops, thus saving money and protecting the environment.

Description

The Executive Mater in “Fertilizer Science and Technology” aims to provide participants with sound knowledge of the use of fertilizers to boost crop productivity and soil fertility. Potential participants would be senior managers and leaders in the fertilizer industry, crop advisers, and extension specialists of the public and private sectors.

Key Benefits 

The laureates will acquire knowledge allowing them to develop fertilizer products, reduce costs while increasing the quality of fertilizers, evaluate and correct soil fertility to maximize crop productivity, develop tools allowing promotion and rational use of fertilizers, establish soil and plant analysis laboratories, and practice precision farming, create and manage small and medium-sized enterprises along the fertilizers.

Who Should Attend ?

The program is designed for individuals holding at least a bachelor’s degree and working in areas of agricultural production, agribusiness especially the fertilizer industry and distribution, agricultural technology related to soil testing and fertilizer recommendations, and agricultural services including public and private crop advisers.