Excellence in education:

Peradeniya University Agriculture Faculty

Higher Education in agriculture in Sri Lanka has evolved over the past 63 years going through significant transformations to foster the much-needed trained manpower to steer the development agenda of the country.

Agriculture education was introduced to the University system of Sri Lanka at Peradeniya University in 1948. Agriculture degree program was initially offered by the then Agriculture and Veterinary Science Faculty.

An independent, fully-fledged Agriculture Faculty was established at this prestigious University in 1972. Today, the Faculty consists of eight Departments of Study, namely Agriculture Biology, Agriculture Economics and Business Management, Agriculture Engineering, Agriculture Extension, Animal Science, Crop Science, Food Science and Technology and Soil Science and is the undisputed leader in agriculture higher education, research and outreach in Sri Lanka.

The curriculum of the B.Sc. Agriculture degree program was revised periodically to suit the changing needs of the agricultural sector and the transformations taking place in the national and global arena. The latest revision of the curriculum done during 2004-2006 led to the development of a student-centred learning outcome-based academic program and the launching of a new four year (eight semesters) degree program on B.Sc. in Agricultural Technology and Management in 2006 (B.Sc. AgTech & Mgt), replacing the B.Sc. Agriculture degree that was offered previously.

The Faculty has further expanded its horizons by introducing two new four years (eight semesters) degree programs on B.Sc. in Food Science and Technology (B.Sc. FST), (2004) and B.Sc. in Animal Science and fisheries (B.Sc. AS&F), respectively.

The Agriculture Faculty of the Peradeniya University consists of 119 academic cadre and more 240 academic support staff to conduct the academic programs. Of the academic staff recruited, about 85 percent have been trained up to the Ph.D. level, which is an unparellel strength. During its 63 years long academic journey, the Faculty has embraced new frontiers and formed an extensive research and development network with local and international institutes.

The faculty also comprises of fully equipped laboratory facilities, training/research farms and field stations covering all major agro-ecological regions, an Agricultural Biotechnology Centre (AgBC) and Agriculture Education Unit (AEU) and Agribusiness Centre (AbC) as the outreach arms.

The annual intake of the Faculty is about 270 students under the normal intake through the UGC (200 for B.Sc. AgTech & Mgt, 20 for B.Sc FST and 50 for B.Sc. AS & F). The Faculty also admits those who are employed in the State and private sector organizations under special provisions admission (a maximum of 10 to the B.Sc. AgTech & Mgt, two to the B.Sc. FST and five to the AS & F) and foreign students according to the guidelines stipulated by the University Grants Commission (UGC). The total number of students admitted in a given year accounts for more than 30 percent of the total annual intake of the agriculture higher education in the Universities of Sri Lanka.