Agriculture

Master of Science in Agri-Business Management

The Master of Science in Agri-Business Management is a postgraduate programme that prepares professionals for advanced practice in agribusiness management, agricultural finance, and value chain development. The programme provides specialised training in agribusiness strategy, agricultural marketing, supply chain management, and enterprise development.

Core areas include agribusiness management, agricultural finance, marketing, supply chain management, agricultural policy, research methods, and thesis. Students engage with both theoretical and practical work through coursework, examinations, and research.

The programme is offered by Kenyatta University as a public institution through the School of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. Egerton University offers a related MSc in Agribusiness Management through the Faculty of Agriculture. Both programmes are available over two years.

Students develop competencies in agribusiness management, agricultural finance, marketing, supply chain analysis, and research. The programme includes coursework, examinations, and a supervised research thesis, preparing graduates for agribusiness leadership and management roles.

KU charges approximately KES 141,200 per year while Egerton University charges approximately KES 110,000 per year. No private university confirmed offering this exact programme. Entry requires at least an Upper Second Class Honours degree in Agriculture, Agribusiness, Agricultural Economics, Horticulture, or a related field from a recognised institution.

Graduates pursue careers as agribusiness managers, agricultural finance officers, supply chain managers, marketing managers, enterprise development consultants, and lecturers across agribusiness firms, banks, cooperatives, government agencies, and universities.

Skills Required

Agribusiness Management and Strategy
Agricultural Finance and Credit Management
Agricultural Marketing and Market Analysis
Supply Chain Management in Agriculture
Agricultural Value Chain Development
Agricultural Policy Analysis
Enterprise Development and Entrepreneurship
Quantitative Methods for Agribusiness
Research Methods in Agribusiness
Academic Writing and Thesis Research

Key Subjects

Agribusiness Management and Strategy
Agricultural Finance and Credit Management
Agricultural Marketing and Market Analysis
Supply Chain Management in Agriculture
Agricultural Value Chain Development
Agricultural Policy Analysis
Enterprise Development and Entrepreneurship
Quantitative Methods for Agribusiness
Research Methods in Agribusiness
Thesis Research

Certifications

FAO Agribusiness Certification
Kenya Institute of Management (KIM) Membership

Specializations

Agribusiness Finance

Focuses on agribusiness finance, covering agribusiness, finance, credit, agricultural, and managing agribusiness finance and credit management.

Agricultural Marketing

Examines agricultural marketing, covering agricultural, marketing, market, analysis, and managing agricultural marketing and market analysis.

Supply Chain Management

Covers supply chain, covering supply, chain, management, agriculture, and managing supply chain management in agriculture.

Value Chain Development

Focuses on value chain, covering value, chain, development, agriculture, and managing agricultural value chain development.

Enterprise Development

Examines enterprise development, covering enterprise, development, entrepreneurship, agribusiness, and managing enterprise development and entrepreneurship.

Agricultural Policy

Covers agricultural policy, covering agricultural, policy, analysis, regulation, and managing agricultural policy analysis.

Duration: 2 years
Public, up to: Ksh 326,400
Job market: High

The programme

What you study, how long it takes, and how it is delivered.

Practicalities

Study mode: Full-time, Part-time
Attachment: 0 months
Average class: 20 students
Award: Masters

What you study

10 subjects

Agribusiness Management and Strategy
Agricultural Finance and Credit Management
Agricultural Marketing and Market Analysis
Supply Chain Management in Agriculture
Agricultural Value Chain Development
Agricultural Policy Analysis
Enterprise Development and Entrepreneurship
Quantitative Methods for Agribusiness
Research Methods in Agribusiness
Thesis Research

Modules

12 in the programme

Agribusiness Management and Strategy
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines agribusiness management, covering agribusiness, management, strategy, operations, and managing agribusiness management and strategy.
Agricultural Finance and Credit Management
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers agricultural finance, covering agricultural, finance, credit, management, and managing agricultural finance and credit management.
Agricultural Marketing and Market Analysis
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines agricultural marketing, covering agricultural, marketing, market, analysis, and managing agricultural marketing and market analysis.
Supply Chain Management in Agriculture
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers supply chain, covering supply, chain, management, agriculture, and managing supply chain management in agriculture.
Quantitative Methods for Agribusiness
Year 1Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines quantitative methods, covering quantitative, methods, statistics, agribusiness, and managing quantitative methods for agribusiness.
Agricultural Value Chain Development
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers value chain, covering value, chain, development, agriculture, and managing agricultural value chain development.
Agricultural Policy Analysis
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines agricultural policy, covering agricultural, policy, analysis, regulation, and managing agricultural policy analysis.
Research Methods in Agribusiness
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Covers research, methods, agribusiness, statistics, and conducting research in agribusiness, preparing students for their thesis.
Enterprise Development and Entrepreneurship
Year 1Semester 23 creditsCore
Examines enterprise development, covering enterprise, development, entrepreneurship, agribusiness, and managing enterprise development and entrepreneurship.
Agribusiness Project Management
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Covers project management, covering project, management, agribusiness, development, and managing agribusiness project management.
International Agricultural Trade
Year 2Semester 13 creditsCore
Examines international trade, covering international, agricultural, trade, markets, and managing international agricultural trade.
Research Thesis
Year 2Semester 212 creditsCore
Original supervised research thesis on an agribusiness management topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and agribusiness knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Specialisations

Agribusiness Finance
Focuses on agribusiness finance, covering agribusiness, finance, credit, agricultural, and managing agribusiness finance and credit management.
Agricultural Marketing
Examines agricultural marketing, covering agricultural, marketing, market, analysis, and managing agricultural marketing and market analysis.
Supply Chain Management
Covers supply chain, covering supply, chain, management, agriculture, and managing supply chain management in agriculture.
Value Chain Development
Focuses on value chain, covering value, chain, development, agriculture, and managing agricultural value chain development.
Enterprise Development
Examines enterprise development, covering enterprise, development, entrepreneurship, agribusiness, and managing enterprise development and entrepreneurship.
Agricultural Policy
Covers agricultural policy, covering agricultural, policy, analysis, regulation, and managing agricultural policy analysis.

A day as a student

A typical day combines lectures, seminars, case studies, and independent study. Sessions cover agribusiness management, agricultural finance, marketing, supply chain, and value chain development. Agribusiness management sessions examine agribusiness, management, strategy, operations, and managing agribusiness management and strategy. Agricultural finance sessions cover agricultural, finance, credit, management, and managing agricultural finance and credit. Marketing sessions cover agricultural, marketing, market, analysis, and managing agricultural marketing and market analysis. Supply chain sessions cover supply, chain, management, agriculture, and managing supply chain management in agriculture. Value chain sessions cover value, chain, development, agriculture, and managing agricultural value chain development. Seminars provide opportunities for agribusiness case studies and presenting research findings. The programme culminates in a supervised research thesis on an agribusiness management topic.

The trade offs

In its favour

Programme addresses Kenya's key agricultural sector with growing demand for agribusiness managers.
Two public universities confirmed offering the programme, providing options for students.
Programme covers diverse areas from finance to marketing to value chain development.
Graduates are eligible for FAO certification and KIM professional membership.

Against it

Egerton fees estimated from Nairobi Campus postgraduate rates; specific programme fees not separately verified.
No private university confirmed offering this programme.
Agribusiness roles may require practical agricultural sector experience for advancement.
Programme may require travel to agricultural field sites for research and case studies.

What it costs

Tuition at both ends of the market, and how to pay for it.

What it costs, and where

Against 303 agriculture courses

Public189k to 326k

189k at Egerton University326k at Kenyatta University

Annual tuition in Kenyan shillings, rounded. The upright tick is the median for this field, so a bar sitting entirely to its right is an expensive programme by the standards of its own subject.

The fine print

KU 326.4K/yr (ku.ac.ke); Egerton FOA ~188.7K/yr. Private unverified.

HELB postgraduate loans are available for Kenyan students. Universities may offer scholarships for eligible students. AfDB and FAO may offer fellowships for agribusiness research and education.

Funding options

HELB Postgraduate Loan
University Scholarship
AfDB Agriculture Fellowship

Scholarships

3 recorded

HELB Postgraduate Loan
LoanKsh 200,000Kenyan
Kenyan students pursuing postgraduate studies at recognised universities.
University Scholarship
ScholarshipKsh 141,200Kenyan
KU and Egerton University may offer scholarships for eligible postgraduate agribusiness students.
AfDB Agriculture Fellowship
ScholarshipKsh 300,000
AfDB and FAO may offer fellowships for agribusiness research and education.

Getting in

The grades, the alternatives, and who accredits the award.

What you need

KCSE mean grade: N/A (Postgraduate)
Alternative entry: KU and Egerton University require at least Upper Second Class Honours in a relevant degree. Lower Second Class may be considered with at least two years of relevant work experience. Contact respective universities for specific admission requirements.

How you are assessed

4 components

Coursework and Continuous Assessment
Coursework30% of the mark
Continuous assessment through coursework assignments, case studies, seminar presentations, and class participation.
Written Examinations
Examination70% of the mark
Written examinations covering agribusiness management, agricultural finance, marketing, and supply chain management.
Project Assessment
Project40% of the mark
Practical assessment through agribusiness projects, demonstrating financial analysis, market analysis, and supply chain planning skills.
Research Thesis
Research100% of the mark
Original supervised research thesis on an agribusiness management topic, demonstrating mastery of research methods and agribusiness knowledge, assessed through written submission and oral defence.

Accreditation

The programme is accredited by the Commission for University Education (CUE). KU (public) offers MSc in Agribusiness Management through the School of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. Egerton University (public) offers MSc in Agribusiness Management through the Faculty of Agriculture. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in agribusiness management. Graduates may interact with FAO for international standards and KIM for professional membership. The programme aligns with CUE, FAO, and AfDB global agribusiness frameworks.

Accredited by

Commission for University Education (CUE)
Academic accreditationRequired
Programme accredited by CUE. KU (public) offers MSc in Agribusiness Management through the School of Agriculture and Enterprise Development. Egerton University (public) offers MSc in Agribusiness Management through the Faculty of Agriculture. The programme meets CUE standards for postgraduate training in agribusiness management. Graduates may interact with FAO for international standards and KIM for professional membership. The programme aligns with CUE, FAO, and AfDB global agribusiness frameworks.

Where it leads

The roles it opens, and what you leave with.

Where graduates go

6 roles

Agribusiness Manager
High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000
Manages agribusiness operations, covering agribusiness, manager, operations, strategy, and managing agribusiness management and operations.
Agricultural Finance Officer
High demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 380,000
Manages agricultural finance, covering agricultural, finance, officer, credit, and managing agricultural finance and credit.
Supply Chain Manager
High demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000
Manages agricultural supply chains, covering supply, chain, manager, agriculture, and managing supply chain management in agriculture.
Marketing Manager
Moderate demandKsh 110,000 to Ksh 380,000
Manages agricultural marketing, covering marketing, manager, agricultural, market, and managing agricultural marketing and market analysis.
Enterprise Development Consultant
Moderate demandKsh 120,000 to Ksh 400,000
Provides enterprise consulting, covering enterprise, development, consultant, agribusiness, and managing enterprise development consulting.
Agribusiness Lecturer
Moderate demandKsh 100,000 to Ksh 400,000
Teaches agribusiness management at university or college level, overseeing instruction, research, and academic supervision.

Graduate outcomes

Where these fields lead

8 careers

Tools you will learn

SPSS
SoftwarePrimary
SPSS for agribusiness research data analysis, covering statistics, data, analysis, agribusiness, and managing agribusiness research data analysis.
Excel
Software
Excel for agribusiness financial analysis and modelling, covering Excel, finance, analysis, agribusiness, and managing agribusiness financial analysis.
Stata
Software
Stata for econometric analysis in agribusiness research, covering Stata, econometrics, analysis, agribusiness, and managing agribusiness econometric analysis.
SAP Agricultural Resource Management
Software
SAP for agribusiness supply chain and resource management, covering SAP, supply, chain, agriculture, and managing agribusiness supply chain management.

Industry links

Common misconceptions

Agribusiness management is just about farming.
Agribusiness management covers finance, marketing, supply chains, policy, and enterprise development beyond just farming.
This programme is only for agriculture graduates.
Agribusiness management is for professionals from business, economics, and related fields, not just agriculture graduates.
Agribusiness has limited career prospects in Kenya.
Agribusiness is a growing sector in Kenya with demand for managers in agribusiness firms, banks, cooperatives, and government.
This programme is the same as an MBA.
Agribusiness management focuses specifically on agricultural value chains and agricultural finance, while an MBA covers general business management.
Agribusiness is only about crop production.
Agribusiness covers crops, livestock, fisheries, processing, marketing, and finance across the entire agricultural value chain.
You need farming experience to study this programme.
The programme is accessible to graduates from various fields seeking agribusiness specialisation, not just those with farming experience.