Effective Utilization of the School Farm as Instructional Initiative for Developing Agricultural Interest Among Primary School Children in Nigeria

The study was aimed at studying the effective utilization of the school farm as instructional initiative for developing agricultural interest of primary school children in Nigeria for their proper orientation and participation in science and technology. The study was conducted in Orumba South L.G.A of Anambra State, Nigeria. To carry out the study, thirty five (35) out of the forty two (42) public primary schools in the Local Government Area of study and six teachers from each selected school were randomly sampled. This gave a total of 210 primary school teachers that constituted sample for the study. Questionnaire was the instrument used for data collection and mean was used for data analysis. Among the major findings of the study were that the school farm gives agricultural orientation to children especially those without agricultural background and increases pupils interest in and love for agriculture. It was therefore recommended that every primary school whether rural or urban should have both crop and animal farms which should be used primarily for teaching purpose. In addition, curriculum planners and implementers should take cognizance of the school farm as a critical instructional requirement for affective prosecution of the Primary Agricultural Programme. Finally, teachers of agriculture should lead the way in developing pupil’s interest in agriculture by being proud of their subject and by owning and managing their own farms.