Waec Syllabus For Agricultural Science 2026/2027 & Textbooks

By WAEC2026 October 6, 2025 Blog, WAEC Syllabus 2026, WAEC Textbooks 0 Comments

The WAEC Syllabus for Agricultural Science 2026/2027 covers topics including the importance of agriculture, problems and solutions for agricultural development, different types of agriculture, soil science, agricultural engineering, crop production and protection, animal production and health, and agricultural economics and extension. Students are expected to learn about both the theoretical aspects and practical skills, with the syllabus detailing key areas for each section to help with exam preparation.

AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE (1)Download

Contents

1 Aims and Objectives
2 Scheme of Examination
3 PDF DOWNLOAD
4 Waec Syllabus For Agricultural Science 2026/2027
5 Waec Agricultural Science Textbooks 2026/2027

Aims and Objectives

stimulate and sustain students’ interest in agriculture
enable students acquire functional knowledge and practical skills to prepare them for further studies and occupation in agriculture.

Scheme of Examination

There will be three papers: Papers 1, 2 and 3, all of which must be taken. Papers 1 and 2 will be a composite paper to be taken in one sitting.

PAPER 1:

It will consist of fifty multiple-choice questions to be answered within 50 minutes for 50 marks.

PAPER 2:

It will consist of six essay questions, with each drawn from at least two themes in the syllabus. Candidates will be required to answer five of the questions within 2 hours and 10 minutes for 90 marks.

PAPER 3:

This will be a practical paper for school candidates and an alternative to practical paper for private candidates. It will consist of four questions, all of which should be answered within 1½ hours for 60 marks.

PDF DOWNLOAD

Waec Syllabus For Agricultural Science 2026/2027

Major Topics	Sub-Topics and Concepts
Introduction to Agriculture	Meaning and Importance of Agriculture: Definition and branches of agricultural science. Importance to the individual, community, and nation.
	Problems and Solutions: Problems related to land tenure, basic amenities, finance, transportation, storage/processing, education/extension, tools/machinery, farm inputs, marketing, and environmental degradation. Possible solutions.
	Subsistence vs. Commercial Agriculture: Meaning and differences based on characteristics. Advantages and disadvantages of each. Problems of each system.
	Government and NGO Roles: Roles of government in agricultural development (finance/credit, subsidy, education, extension, policies). Role and functions of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs).
	Agricultural Laws and Reforms: Land tenure systems in West Africa. Government laws on land use. Advantages and disadvantages of the Land Use Act/Decree and reforms.
—	—
Agricultural Ecology	Meaning and Importance of Agricultural Ecology: Definition of agricultural ecology and ecosystem. Components of farm ecosystem (biotic and abiotic) and their interactions in terrestrial and aquatic agro-ecosystems.
	Land and Its Uses: Meaning and characteristics of land (free gift, immobile, limited supply). Uses (agricultural: crop/livestock production, wildlife conservation; non-agricultural: industry, housing, transport).
	Factors Affecting Land Availability: Physical (soil type, topography, degradation, pollution). Economic (population pressure, industrial expansion, mining, recreation). Socio-cultural (land tenure, religious purpose).
	Agro-Allied Industries: Agro-based industries and raw materials (paper, beverage, textile, soap). Relationship between agriculture and industries (agriculture provides market for industrial products and food for workers).
	Environmental Factors: Climatic factors (rainfall, temperature, light, wind, relative humidity). Biotic factors (predators, parasites, pests, pathogens, weeds, interrelationships like competition, parasitism, mutualism). Edaphic factors (soil pH, texture, structure, type).
	Rock and Soil Formation: Types of rock (igneous, sedimentary, metamorphic) and processes of formation. Factors and Processes of soil formation (parent rock, organisms, climate, topography, time; physical/chemical weathering). Soil profile development.
	Types, Composition, and Properties of Soil: Types of soil. Chemical/Biological composition (macro/micronutrients, water, macro-organisms, microbes, air). Soil pH. Physical properties (texture, structure).
	Plant Nutrients and Cycle: Macro and micronutrients: functions and deficiency symptoms. Factors affecting nutrient availability (pH, excess nutrients, leaching, crop removal, etc.). Methods of replenishing lost nutrients (crop rotation, manuring, fertilizer, fallowing, liming, cover-cropping). Nutrient cycles (Nitrogen, Carbon, Water, Phosphorus).
	Organic Agriculture: Meaning and importance.
	Water Management: Irrigation (meaning, types: overhead, surface, underground; advantages, disadvantages, importance, problems). Drainage (meaning, importance, types: surface, subsurface; advantages, disadvantages).
	Agricultural Pollution: Meaning. Causes/sources (excessive chemicals, oil spillage, livestock waste). Effects on farmers and productivity.
—	—
Agricultural Engineering/Mechanization	Simple Farm Tools: Meaning, types (cutlass, hoe, spade), general maintenance.
	Farm Machinery and Implements: Farm machinery (tractor, bulldozer, shellers, dryers, incubators, milking machines, combine harvester). Tractor-coupled implements (ploughs, harrows, ridgers, planters, harvesters, sprayers). Maintenance practices and precautionary measures.
	Agricultural Mechanization: Meaning. Mechanized operations. Advantages, disadvantages, limitations, and prospects.
	Farm Power: Sources of farm power. Advantages and disadvantages of different sources.
	Farm Surveying: Meaning, common equipment, uses, maintenance, and importance.
	Farm Planning and Farmstead: Meaning, factors, and importance of farm planning. Principles of farmstead planning (meaning, importance, factors, layout).
—	—
Crop Production and Protection	Classification of Crops: Based on uses (cereals, pulses, roots/tubers, vegetables), life cycle (annual, biennial, perennial, ephemeral), and morphology (monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous).
	Husbandry of Selected Crops: Detailed study (botanical/common names, varieties, requirements, land prep, propagation, planting details, cultural practices, fertilizer, P&D control, harvesting, processing, storage) of representative crops from Cereals, Pulses, Roots/Tubers, Vegetables, Fruits, Beverages, Spices, Oils, Fibres, Latex, and Others (sugar cane).
	Pasture and Forage Crops: Meaning, uses, types. Common grasses and legumes. Factors affecting distribution/productivity. Establishment and management practices.
	Crop Improvement: Aims and methods (introduction, selection, breeding). Mendel’s laws of inheritance. Advantages and disadvantages.
	Forestry: Meaning of forest/forestry. Importance, regulations, management practices, and implications of deforestation.
	Agro-forestry: Meaning and practices (taungya system, alley cropping, ley farming).
	Ornamental Plants: Meaning, importance, common types (bedding, hedging, lawn grasses), examples. Settings and methods of cultivation (seed, vegetative). Maintenance.
	Diseases of Crops: Meaning and general effects. Detailed study (causal organism, economic importance, transmission, symptoms, control) of selected diseases for various crop groups (cereals, legumes, beverages, tubers, fruits, fibre, vegetables, stored produce).
	Pests of Crops: Meaning. Classification of pests (insect, non-insect). Classification of insect pests by mouth parts (biting/chewing, piercing/sucking, boring). Detailed study (life cycle, economic importance, damage, control) of major insect pests of various crop groups (cereals, legumes, beverages, tubers, fibre, fruits/vegetables, stored produce). Non-insect pests (birds, rodents). Side effects of control methods (chemical, biological, cultural).
	Weeds: Meaning, types, effects on crops and economy. Characteristic features. Methods of controlling weeds (cultural, biological, chemical, physical, mechanical).
—	—
Animal Production and Health	Types and Classification: Types (cattle, sheep, goat, poultry, pig, rabbit, fish). Classification by habitat (terrestrial, aquatic) and uses (food, protection, pets).
	Anatomy and Physiology: Parts, organs (heart, liver, lungs), and systems (digestive, circulatory, respiratory).
	Animal Reproduction: Meaning. Roles of hormones. Reproductive systems. Processes of reproduction. Egg formation in poultry.
	Environmental Physiology: Meaning. Effects of changes in climatic factors (temperature, relative humidity, light) on growth, reproduction, milk/egg production, etc.
	Livestock Management: Meaning. Requirements (housing, feeding, hygiene, finishing) for at least one ruminant and one non-ruminant from birth to market weight. Importance of practices.
	Animal Nutrition: Meaning. Classification of feeds. Sources and functions of feed nutrients. Types of ration/diet (balanced, production, maintenance). Malnutrition (causes, symptoms, correction).
	Rangeland and Pasture Management: Meaning and importance of rangeland/pasture. Characteristics. Common grasses and legumes. Factors affecting herbage production. Improvement methods (controlled stocking, rotational grazing, fertilizers, reseeding, etc.).
	Animal Improvement: Meaning, aims, and methods (Introduction, selection, breeding). Artificial Insemination (meaning, semen collection methods, advantages/disadvantages).
	Animal Diseases and Parasites: Meaning of disease. Causal organisms (viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa). Predisposing factors (health status, nutrition, management). Animal reaction to diseases (susceptibility, resistance). Detailed study (causal organisms, symptoms, control) of selected diseases (viral, bacterial, fungal, protozoa). Parasites (meaning, types, life cycle, control) of endoparasites (tapeworm, liverfluke, roundworm) and ectoparasites (ticks, lice). General methods of prevention and control (quarantine, inoculation, hygiene, breeding for resistance).
	Aquaculture: Meaning. Types (fish, shrimp, crab farming). Meaning and importance of fish farming. Conditions for siting, establishment, and maintenance of fish ponds. Fishery regulations. Fishing methods and tools.
	Apiculture (Bee Keeping): Meaning. Types of bees (indigenous, exotic). Importance. Methods (traditional, modern). Equipment (beehives, hive tools). Precautionary measures.
—	—
Agricultural Economics and Extension	Basic Economic Principles: Scarcity, choice, scale of preference, law of diminishing returns. Factors of production (land, capital, labour, management/entrepreneur).
	Market Principles: Demand (definition, law, factors, movements, shifts). Supply (definition, law, factors, movements, shifts). Implications of demand and supply (price support, price control, subsidy programme and its effects).
	Farm Management: Functions and problems faced by a farm manager.
	Agricultural Finance: Meaning, importance, and sources of farm finance. Classes of farm credit (by time: short/medium/long; by source: institutional/non-institutional; by liquidity: cash/kind). Problems faced by farmers in procuring credit and by institutions in granting loans.
	Capital Market: Meaning. Institutions involved (bonds, insurance companies, merchant banks, stock exchange). Sources of funds. Roles in agricultural business.
	Farm Records and Accounts: Importance. Types of farm records (inventory, production, income/expenditure, supplementary). Designing records. Farm accounts (expenditure, income, profit and loss, balance sheet).
	Marketing: Meaning and importance. Marketing agents and functions (assembling, transportation, processing). Marketing of export crops (West African crops, guidelines, corporate bodies/cooperatives, importance of exporting). Problems of marketing.
	Agricultural Insurance: Meaning, importance. Types of insurance policies (specific enterprise, vehicle, fire, life assurance). Insurance premium. Problems with agricultural insurance.
	Agricultural Extension: Meaning and importance. Methods (individual/group contact). Programmes in West Africa (ADP, NDE, Agro-service centres). Problems of agricultural extension.
—	—
Practical Agricultural Science (Skills/Lab Work)	Agricultural Ecology/Soil: Soil profile. Rocks. Laboratory work on physical properties (mechanical analysis, bulk density, pore space, moisture content, water holding capacity, wilting point, capillary action). Chemical properties (soil acidity/pH). Chemical fertilizers. Organic manure (green, farm yard, compost). Irrigation and drainage.
	Agricultural Engineering: Farm tools and equipment. Tractor and animal-drawn implements. Harvesting, processing, and storage equipment. Farm tractor. Horticultural tools use and maintenance. Livestock and fishing equipment. Farm surveying equipment.
	Crop Production: Seeds, seedlings, fruits, and storage organs. Main pests and diseases. Planting dates, seed rates, plant population, and seed quality tests. Practical skills (seedbed prep, fertilizer application, mulching, pesticide use, watering, vegetative propagation, germination tests). Forest products and by-products. Propagation of horticultural plants. Common weeds.
	Animal Production: Common breeds and types. Major internal organs. Animal by-products. Animal feeds and feedstuffs/local sources. Main pests and parasites. Diseases. Routine management practices (selection, culling, ear-notching, tattooing, branding, debeaking, dehorning, castration). Fish harvesting and preservation.

Waec Agricultural Science Textbooks 2026/2027

1. Adeniyi, M. O. et al (1999) Countdown to Senior Secondary Certificate Examination Agricultural Science, Ibadan: Evans.
2. Akinsanmi, A. O. (2000) Junior Secondary Agricultural Science, UK: Longman.
3. Akinsanmi, O. A. (2000) Senior Secondary Agricultural Science, UK: Longman.
4. Antonio, Q. B. O. (1999) General Agriculture for West Africa, London:George Allen
5. Are, L. A.et al (2010) Comprehensive Certificate Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary School, University Press Plc.
6. Egbuna, C. K. et al (2014) Extension Modern Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary Schools (2010), Extension Publication
7. Emmanuel C. A. (2003) A Dictionary of Agriculture, Benue:Agitab Publisher Makurdi
8. Falusi, A. O. and Adeleye, I. O. A (2000) Agricultural Science for Junior Secondary SchoolsBooks 1- 3, Ibadan: Onibonoje
9. Komolafe, M. F., Adegbola, A. A., Are, L. A. and Ashaye, T. I. (2004) Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary Schools 1, 2 and 3, Ibadan: University Press Ltd.
10. Philips T. A. (1986) Agricultural Notebook, Lagos: Longman
11. STAN (1999) Agricultural Science for Senior Secondary Schools, Lagos: Longman

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