Career family
Agriculture, Food & Environment
Growing and processing food, caring for animals and land, and protecting the environment.
- Mainly Making & Fixing
- Also Investigating & Solving
- Also Leading & Enterprising
What the work involves
A closer look.
Work can be outdoors, practical and seasonal, but also scientific and commercial: improving yields, processing, logistics, and agribusiness. Environmental roles include conservation, waste and climate work.
Typical roles
- Farmer or farm manager
- Agronomist or extension officer
- Veterinary doctor
- Food scientist or technologist
- Agribusiness entrepreneur
- Environmental officer
- Fisheries or livestock specialist
Entry routes in Nigeria
- Science subjects at SSCE (Agricultural Science, Biology and Chemistry help)
- Degrees or diplomas in agriculture, veterinary medicine, food science or environmental science
- Colleges of agriculture, farm apprenticeships and agribusiness programmes
- Professional registration for vets with the Veterinary Council of Nigeria
Requirements change. Always verify with the official body, JAMB or the institution.
Skills that matter
- Practical problem-solving outdoors
- Science of soils, plants or animals
- Planning around seasons and risk
- Basic business and selling
- Patience
By life stage
Where you could start.
Secondary school
Often-linked SSCE stream: Science. Check with your school.
Undergraduate
Agriculture, agricultural economics, animal science, veterinary medicine, food science, environmental management. Internships: farms, research institutes, food processing firms.
Fresh graduate
Farm supervisor, extension assistant, quality officer in food processing, agribusiness associate.
Young professional
People move in from business, engineering and science, often into agribusiness, processing and agri-tech.
Vocational routes, entrepreneurship, public service and further study are all valid paths. We don’t show salaries or employment rates without a dated, verified source.
Ask a practitioner
Questions to ask.
Use these in a 15–20 minute conversation with someone who works in this family.
- What does a normal week look like for you?
- What do you enjoy most about the work, and what is hardest?
- How did you get into this field? Were there other routes you could have taken?
- Which subjects, courses or qualifications really matter, and which matter less than people think?
- What skills do you use every day that school didn’t teach you?
- What do people misunderstand about your job?
- If you were starting today, what would you do first?
- Who else should I talk to?
Test it
Ways to check if it suits you
Informational conversation
Talk to one person who does the work, using the questions on this page.
Job description review
Read three real adverts for roles in this family and list the requirements that keep coming up.
Small project
Try a small piece of the work yourself, then reflect on whether you enjoyed it.
Short course
Take a free or low-cost introductory course to test your interest before committing.
Job shadow or workplace visit
Spend a few hours watching the work happen. CPI arranges visits for participants.
Mentor conversation
Discuss what you have found with a mentor or coach.
Official qualification research
Check requirements with the professional body, JAMB, the institution or the employer directly.
Related
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ExploreScience & Research
Asking questions about the natural world and testing answers carefully, in labs, the field, universities, industry and government.
ExploreWant to know if this fits you?
Take the self-assessment, then use your roadmap to test this direction.