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Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Analytics and Digital Trade

The binding constraint on African agriculture is increasingly not production but the market: price discovery, aggregation, quality grading, finance, logistics and the paperwork of cross border trade. The African Continental Free Trade Area ...

BSc (Hons)Hybrid3 years (6 semesters)Intake August 2027132 credit units
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Employment thesis

What this programme is designed to produce

Forward publishes the destination of every programme before you enrol. If the thesis stops holding, the programme is reviewed and, where necessary, retired. Next review: 2031.

Roles

  • Agribusiness analyst
  • commodity trader and buyer
  • agricultural credit and risk analyst
  • supply chain and aggregation manager
  • export documentation and compliance officer
  • cooperative business manager
  • market intelligence analyst
  • agritech commercial lead.

Employer types

  • Commodity trading and export firms
  • agricultural banks and microfinance institutions
  • cooperatives and farmer organisations
  • food manufacturers procuring raw material
  • agricultural insurance providers
  • commodity exchanges and warehouse receipt operators
  • development programmes
  • and trading ventures.

Target outcomes we hold ourselves to

  • Strong commercial demand across trading, finance and processing, with an unusually direct self-employment route through aggregation and trading.

Compulsory · The Forward Core

How the Core works →

Every Forward programme, including this one, carries the same five cross-cutting requirements. They are graded, not optional.

  • AI Fluency
  • Quantitative Reasoning
  • Ethics and African Context
  • Human-Advantage Skills
  • Enterprise

Includes 12 months paid work-integrated learning

Read the co-op commitment

Am I eligible?

Check yourself against the published requirements

7 questions written specifically for Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Analytics and Digital Trade. Every answer is checked against a requirement Forward has published, and the result tells you which page that requirement comes from. Indicative only, the admissions office decides on your full file.

Question 1 of 70%

What is the highest qualification you hold or are completing?

Requirement tested: A completed upper-secondary qualification (UACE, A-level, IB, high-school diploma or recognised equivalent), or a post-secondary award.

Curriculum structure

The same degree, in both pathways

Every Forward programme is published in both pathways: Path One, the term plan of two six-month terms, and Path Two, the block sequence of twelve four-week blocks. Same competencies, same assessments, same award. Toggle to see this programme in each.

Path One term plan shown

Path One · The Term Model

TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1Year 1
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 101
AI Fluency I: How Intelligent Systems Work
Both
42-2-0
AFT 110
Agricultural Systems and Commodity Knowledge
Both
42-2-2
AFT 111
Microeconomics and Agricultural Markets
Both
53-2-2
AFT 112
Data Analysis and Spreadsheet Modelling for Agribusiness
Performance
52-2-4
AFT 113
Accounting and Financial Records
Both
42-2-2
TERM 2 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 2Year 1
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 102
Quantitative Reasoning and Evidence
Both
42-2-0
AFT 130
Value Chain Analysis and Market
Both
53-2-2
AFT 131
Agricultural Finance, Credit and Risk
Both
53-2-2
AFT 132
Supply Chain, Logistics and Warehousing
Both
42-2-2
AFT 133
Market Data Practicum: Live Price and Trade Analysis
Performance
41-0-6
COP 190
Workplace Immersion (4 weeks, recess term)
Performance
00-0-0
TERM 3 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 2, SEMESTER 1Year 2
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 201
Ethics, Society and the African Context
Both
42-2-0
AFT 210
Commodity Trading, Grading and Contracts
Performance
52-2-4
AFT 211
Digital Agriculture Platforms and Traceability
Performance
52-2-4
AFT 212
Regional and International Agricultural Trade
Both
53-2-2
AFT 213
Agricultural Insurance and Weather Risk
Both
31-2-2
TERM 4 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 2, SEMESTER 2Year 2
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 202
Human Advantage: Argument, Writing and Teams
Both
42-2-0
COP 290
Co-operative Education Placement I (6 months)
Performance
100-0-0
AFT 230
Aggregation Enterprise Practicum
Performance
50-0-0
AFT 231
Machine Learning for Price and Demand Forecasting
Performance
31-0-4
TERM 5 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 3, SEMESTER 1Year 3
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 301
AI Fluency II: Building, Evaluating and Auditing
Both
42-2-0
COP 390
Co-operative Education Placement II (6 months)
Performance
100-0-0
AFT 310
Cooperative and Farmer Organisation Management
Both
53-2-2
AFT 311
Export Standards, Certification and Documentation
Both
31-2-2
TERM 6 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 3, SEMESTER 2Year 3
22 credit units
CodeCourseCUHours
FDC 302
Enterprise, Employability and Financial Literacy
Both
42-2-0
FDC 401
AI Fluency III: Domain Deployment, Governance and Assurance
Both
31-2-0
FDC 402
Capability Portfolio and Day One Preparation
Both
31-2-0
AFT 330
Agribusiness Capstone: Live Trade or Enterprise Commission
Performance
80-2-14
AFT 331
Agricultural Policy and Food Security
Both
42-2-2

Total credit units: 132

Curriculum source

Forward University Curriculum Compendium

Assessment

Coursework + project + integrated exam

Work-integrated learning

12 months paid co-operative education

Your week at Forward

A typical week on Bachelor of Science in Agribusiness Analytics and Digital Trade

Path One, the Term Model: your own pace across a six-month term, one live session a week, short flexible lessons, and assessment on demand.

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Mandatory live session Flexible bite-sized lesson Optional event

Curriculum explorer

Drill into the degree, step by step

Choose a study path, then a year, then a term or block, then a course. Credit totals add up as you go, and every course shows what comes before it and what it unlocks.

Step 1, choose a year

Step 2, choose a term

TERM 1 (SIX MONTHS) | FORMERLY YEAR 1, SEMESTER 1

Year 1 · this step is worth 22 CU

Cumulative

22

Programme total

132

22 CU of 132 CU completed by the end of this step (17%)

Step 3, choose a course

Pick a course to see the detail

Credits, assessment, prerequisites and what each course unlocks later.

The twelve Forward capabilities

What this programme develops in you

Every Forward degree develops the same twelve cross-cutting capabilities. The profile below is the level this programme is designed to develop and verify by graduation, on the four-level scale in Part B2 of the Curriculum Compendium. Every claim above Level 2 is verified by someone other than the teaching lecturer.

  • C1Intelligent Systems Fluency CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C2Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C3Ethical and Contextual JudgementLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C4Communication and PersuasionLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C5Disciplinary MasteryLevel 3 of 4, Independent
  • C6Technical Production and CraftLevel 3 of 4, Independent
  • C7Problem Framing and Systems Thinking CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C8Collaboration and Multidisciplinary TeamingLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C9Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy CriticalLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C10Professional Conduct and Workplace PerformanceLevel 4 of 4, Leading
  • C11Learning to Learn and Adaptive CapacityLevel 3 of 4, Independent
  • C12Stewardship and Public ContributionLevel 4 of 4, Leading

Critical capabilities for this programme: Intelligent Systems Fluency · Quantitative and Evidential Reasoning · Problem Framing and Systems Thinking · Enterprise, Value and Commercial Literacy. A graduate cannot pass out of this programme below the stated level on any capability marked critical.

Programme Learning Outcomes

What you will be able to do

Each outcome is assessed, and each is tagged with the Forward capabilities it is verified against.

  1. PLO 1Analyse agricultural markets, prices and value chains using real data.
    C2C1
  2. PLO 2Structure and execute an agricultural trade including grading, contracts and logistics.
    C9C10
  3. PLO 3Assess agricultural credit and risk and design an appropriate financing structure.
    C2C9
  4. PLO 4Apply regional and international trade rules, standards and documentation.
    C10C12
  5. PLO 5Design digital platforms and services for aggregation traceability and market access.
    C1C7
  6. PLO 6Manage a cooperative or aggregation business to a measurable margin.
    C9C8

Why this programme exists

The binding constraint on African agriculture is increasingly not production but the market: price discovery, aggregation, quality grading, finance, logistics and the paperwork of cross border trade. The African Continental Free Trade Area ...

Admission requirements

UACE with two principal passes from Economics, Mathematics, Agriculture, Geography, Entrepreneurship or a science subject, plus UCE with five passes including Mathematics and English. Alternative pathways: Foundation Year, diploma entry with advanced standing, mature age entry and recognition of prior learning, all governed by Part A5 and Part G. Online applicants additionally complete the compulsory Digital Readiness orientation under Part D6.

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