American Research Journal of Agriculture

Postharvest losses (PHLs) and food insecurity are major threats to agricultural growth and development in Nigeria. The challenges are enormous, especially in rural areas where food insecurity, poverty and educational deprivation often create a vicious circle. Therefore, this study was carried out to assess the potentials and challenges of Agricultural Education in reducing PHLs and food insecurity in Ogun State, Nigeria. One hundred and twenty-five (125) respondents were selected as sample size using simple random sampling technique. Data obtained were analyzed with descriptive statistics and chi-square. Results showed that majority of the respondents acquired knowledge of Crop Production and Management (83.20%), Cassava processing (48.00%), Poultry (57.60%), and fish production skills (41.60%). In the same vein, Agricultural Education has been identified as important driven force to reduce PHLs ( products and its availability all the year-round ( = 4.22; SD = 1.18) and facilitate quality farm = 4.16; SD = 0.92). Results of chi-square showed a significant relationship between the skill acquisition (χ2 = 13.26, df = 1) and perception of the respondents on Agricultural Education at p < 0.05 level of significance. However, effective Agricultural Education teaching and learning process was constrained by inadequate resource personnel (t = -2.492), epileptic power supply (t = 2.233), poor funding of agricultural education (t = 2.525), inadequate agricultural instructional materials (t = 2.286), poor support for agricultural researches and findings (t = 6.643), inadequate functional processing facilities (t = -4.543) at p < 0.05 level of significance. This study concluded that Agricultural Education contributed to skill acquisition in agricultural production and food security.