Changes in Agriculture Mean New Name for A&T Department

January 10, 2001

Greensboro, NC: With mergers such as that proposed by IBP and Tyson Foods, emerging international markets and developments in technology, agriculture is changing, and an academic department at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is changing with it.

To reflect changes in the agricultural industry, the North Carolina A&T State University Department of Agricultural Education, Economics and Rural Sociology has shifted its focus and taken on a new name: the Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education.

According to Dr. Anthony Yeboah, interim chairperson of the department, the move was driven by changes in the market and by input from the university's corporate partners.

"Any good academic program prepares its students to enter the workforce with the skills and background needed in the current and near-future climate," said Yeboah. "To make sure that we are doing this, we not only monitor the agricultural industry, we also meet with the companies hiring our students to learn what they expect from their employees and how we can meet those expectations."

According to Yeboah, what companies expect from a new graduate is the ability to function in an economy that has moved from being industrial to knowledge-based. More specifically, students must be able to understand consumer needs and the relationship between technology and business goals, and to make business decisions based on that understanding.

"Years ago, independent small to mid-size farms were numerous, and they were the dominant factor in agriculture," said Yeboah. "Because today's farming enterprises are larger, use more technology and are often owned by corporations, the needs of today's agriculture are different from what they were years ago. While careers in production agriculture have become more scarce, careers in agribusiness have moved into high demand."

As proof of the changing face of agriculture, Yeboah points to an article in the Journal of Education for Business, which states that, of the 16 percent of the U.S. gross national product comprised by the agribusiness industry, firms that store, process, transport and otherwise add value to agricultural products account for 82 percent. Meanwhile, traditional farming contributes approximately 8 percent, and businesses that supply inputs to production farming contribute another 10 percent.

To respond to this shift, the A&T Department of Agribusiness, Applied Economics and Agriscience Education has not only changed its name, it has also added areas such as sales and marketing, finance, human resources and entrepreneurship to its curriculum.

"Our graduates are increasingly finding themselves in marketing and management positions with companies that are on the leading edge of technology," said Yeboah. "These companies expect their employees to be able to anticipate consumer needs and to understand how technology fits into the cycle of supply and demand. We have been steering our curriculum this way, and the name change is a good way to let the public know this."

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For more information, please contact Dr. Anthony Yeboah, NC A&T State University, (336) 334-7943, or visit the department's Web site.