The Department of Crop Production and Protection (formerly Department of Plant Science) was separated from the jointly run Faculty of Agriculture and established as an independent department in 1966, by the approval of the Senate of the University of Ife, now Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria. The Department is located in the Faculty of Agriculture Building, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.
The Department of Crop Production and Protection aims at providing academic, research and practical training opportunities to undergraduate students in all specialized areas of Crop Production; so that the students would be confident and competent to enter the job market after their training. Often after graduation, most of the graduates seek employment in the Public Service, Teaching Service, and Industry in varied capacities. The undergraduate program has been designed to:
- provide opportunity for acquaintance with commonly grown food, industrial, vegetable, and horticultural crops in the southwest zone of Nigeria as well as to impart the basic expertise in the management of these crops for maximum productivity;
- impart the technical know-how regarding the control of insect pests, weeds and diseases of economic crops and, at the same time, alert undergraduates of necessary precautions to be taken in Crop Protection activities to avoid environmental pollution;
- expose undergraduates to how these economic crops may be improved genetically for better and higher yields, resistance or tolerance to biotic and abiotic stresses, and be better adapted to unpredictable environmental conditions; and
- provide opportunity for students to eventually specialize in any of the core areas of Crop Production and Protection: Plant Breeding, Seed Production, Agronomy, Weed Science, Farming Systems, Crop Physiology, Horticulture, Insect Taxonomy, Insect Ecology, Insecticide Toxicology, Biological Control of Insects, Nematology, Virology, Bacteriology and Mycology.