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ADVANCED INSTITUTE FOR SUPPLY CHAIN RESEARCH (AISCR)

Vocational Training Centre of AISCR (VTC-AISCR)

Prepared for submission to the Ministry of Employment and Vocational Training (MINEFOP), Republic of Cameroon

AISCR L2-H — ADVANCED PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATE

AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

Advanced Institute for Supply Chain Research (AISCR)

Course Description

Provides a comprehensive, competency-based understanding of supply chain management within agricultural and agribusiness contexts. Equips participants with the knowledge and practical skills required to manage agricultural input procurement, commodity trading, post-harvest logistics, food safety and traceability, smallholder and cooperative supply relationships, and agri-logistics infrastructure and cold-chain management.

Course Duration and Credits

Specification Details
Qualification Level Level 2 (Advanced Professional Certificate), AISCR-NPQF
Duration 6 Months, delivered on a blended basis with guided self-directed study
Compulsory Core 5 units, 18 contact days, 28 Credits
Elective Requirement Choose 1 unit(s) from a pool of 2, worth 6–6 additional Credits
Total Credits 34–34 Credits, within AISCR's standardised 30–40-Credit band for Level 2 Advanced Professional Certificates
Entry Requirements GCE Advanced Level / Baccalaureate or equivalent, or admission by Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) in accordance with the AISCR Admissions Policy
Delivery Mode Blended — in-person or virtual contact days combined with guided self-directed study, delivered in English and French
Award AISCR Advanced Professional Certificate in Agricultural and Food Supply Chain Management

Course Outline

A Compulsory Core of five study units: one existing AISCR Level 1 Professional Certificate from Family E, plus four newly developed AISCR Level 1 modules (flagged below, pending Academic Board approval). A single elective, drawn from AISCR's cross-cutting Family F business-skills modules, brings the qualification within AISCR's standardised 30–40-Credit band.

Compulsory Core Units

Core Unit 1 (E2): AGRIBUSINESS SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Manage agricultural input procurement processes.
  • Apply post-harvest logistics principles to reduce losses.
  • Manage perishable-goods supply chains, including cold-chain basics.
  • Apply seasonal demand planning to agribusiness contexts.
  • Manage smallholder supply relationships and agricultural market linkages.
  • Apply quality standards for agricultural produce, storage and warehousing.
Core Unit 2 (H2): AGRICULTURAL COMMODITY TRADING AND MARKET SYSTEMS + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60 — newly developed AISCR Level 1 module (pending Academic Board approval)

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Describe the structure and function of agricultural commodity markets, including spot and futures mechanisms.
  • Apply commodity grading, weighing and quality-assessment standards to trading decisions.
  • Manage commodity price-risk exposure using basic hedging and contracting approaches.
  • Prepare and negotiate agricultural trade and off-take agreements.
  • Apply warehouse-receipt and collateral-management systems to agricultural trade finance.
  • Analyse market information to support buying and selling decisions.
Core Unit 3 (H3): FOOD SAFETY, TRACEABILITY AND QUALITY STANDARDS + Click to expand Duration: 3 contact days | Credits: 5 | Notional Learning Hours: 50 — newly developed AISCR Level 1 module (pending Academic Board approval)

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply Codex Alimentarius and comparable food-safety standards to agricultural supply chains.
  • Apply Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) principles to food-handling processes.
  • Design and operate a basic food-product traceability system, from farm to consumer.
  • Manage food-safety incidents, including recall and withdrawal procedures.
  • Prepare for third-party food-safety certification and audit.
  • Apply labelling and consumer-information requirements to agricultural and food products.
Core Unit 4 (H4): SMALLHOLDER AND COOPERATIVE SUPPLY CHAIN DEVELOPMENT + Click to expand Duration: 3 contact days | Credits: 5 | Notional Learning Hours: 50 — newly developed AISCR Level 1 module (pending Academic Board approval)

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply farmer-organisation and cooperative development principles to supply chain integration.
  • Design aggregation models that connect smallholder producers to formal markets.
  • Apply contract-farming and outgrower-scheme structures appropriate to different crops.
  • Support access to inputs, extension services and finance for smallholder suppliers.
  • Apply gender- and youth-inclusive approaches to agricultural supply chain development.
  • Monitor and report on smallholder supply chain development outcomes.
Core Unit 5 (H5): AGRI-LOGISTICS INFRASTRUCTURE, STORAGE AND COLD CHAIN MANAGEMENT + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60 — newly developed AISCR Level 1 module (pending Academic Board approval)

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Assess agricultural storage infrastructure options, including warehouses and silos, against commodity requirements.
  • Apply post-harvest handling techniques to minimise spoilage and quality loss.
  • Design and operate cold-chain solutions appropriate to perishable agricultural products.
  • Plan rural transport and aggregation logistics for dispersed agricultural production.
  • Apply storage-pest and quality-control management practices.
  • Evaluate infrastructure investment options against cost, capacity and loss-reduction criteria.

Elective Units — Choose 1 of 2

Learners choose one of the following two AISCR cross-cutting business-skills units:

Elective Option 1 (F1): FINANCIAL AND COST MANAGEMENT FOR PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY CHAIN PROFESSIONALS + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply Total Cost of Ownership (TCO) analysis to a sourcing decision.
  • Prepare basic cost and budget estimates for a procurement requirement.
  • Apply should-cost modelling to a supplier quotation.
  • Interpret basic financial statements relevant to supplier evaluation.
  • Apply cost-benefit analysis techniques to a procurement decision.
  • Build a simple business case with cost justification.
Elective Option 2 (F2): PROJECT MANAGEMENT FUNDAMENTALS FOR SUPPLY CHAIN AND PROCUREMENT + Click to expand Duration: 4 contact days | Credits: 6 | Notional Learning Hours: 60

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this unit, learners will be able to:

  • Apply the basic project management lifecycle to a work assignment.
  • Develop a simple project schedule and work breakdown structure (WBS).
  • Identify and manage basic project risks.
  • Track project progress against a plan.
  • Identify and communicate with project stakeholders.
  • Manage scope and change, and apply lessons learned at project closure.

Assessment and Evaluation

Formative Assessment

  • Class participation and attendance (minimum 80% attendance required).
  • Weekly/unit quizzes.
  • Individual assignments.
  • Case study analysis.
  • Practical exercises and simulations relevant to each unit.
  • Portfolio of Evidence (PoE) documenting achievement of each unit's Learning Objectives, including elected units.

Summative Assessment

Conducted at the end of the training programme to evaluate learners' overall achievement of the course outcomes.

  • Group project and presentation.
  • Applied Agricultural Supply Chain Project — development of an integrated aggregation, storage and market-linkage plan for a realistic agribusiness case.
  • Final written examination.

Learning Resources

Recommended Textbooks

  • Food Supply Chain Management and Logistics: From Farm to Fork — Samir Dani.
  • Post-Harvest Handling: A Systems Approach — Robert L. Shewfelt and Stanley E. Prussia (eds.).
  • Agricultural Value Chain Finance: Tools and Lessons — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
  • Codex Alimentarius: General Principles of Food Hygiene — FAO and World Health Organization.
  • Contract Farming for Inclusive Market Access — Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
  • World Bank, Missing Food: The Case of Postharvest Grain Losses in Sub-Saharan Africa (report).

Supplementary Resources

  • Case studies, including AISCR field material from Cameroonian and regional agribusiness value chains.
  • Sample warehouse-receipt, off-take and outgrower-scheme agreements.
  • AfCFTA agricultural trade facilitation guidance.

Delivery Methods

  • Onsite Training: face-to-face lectures, practical sessions and hands-on training.
  • Online Training: virtual classrooms, webinars, interactive modules and online assessments.

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