AGRICULTURE: MEANING, COMPONENTS & SYSTEM

MEANING OF AGRICULTURE

Agriculture can be defined as the production of crops, animals, fishes and forest resources for the consumption and other benefit of human. It is a dominant occupation which employs about 65-70% of the total population of West Africa.

COMPONENTS OF AGRICULTURE

Agriculture is made up of the following-

Live stock
Fishing
Crop production
Forestry

LIVE STOCK

This involves rearing of domestic animal, e.g pigs, cattle, horses, donkeys, goats, sheep, e.t.c. Most of these animals are reared to satisfy domestic consumption.

FORESTRY

It concerns the preservation of economic trees or plant. Also, it involves the extraction of various forms of resources associated with forest e.g furniture, plywood, boat, manufacturing of papers, electric pools, e.t.c.these are some of the things we derive from plant preservation.

CROP PRODUCTION

It involves cultivation of various crops. Crops are divided into two categories: food crops and cash crops.

Food Crops: these are majorly for consumption e.g maize, rice, beans, coco yams, yam, tomatoes, corn, millet e.t.c.
Cash Crops: these are meant for sale either locally or export. E.g cocoa, palm oil, rubber, palm kernels, cotton, groundnut, e.t.c.

FISHING

This involves breeding and catching of fishes from the rivers for human consumption. it constitutes major occupation of people that reside in the riverine area.

SYSTEM OF AGRICULTURE

Systems of agricultural production include:

Plantation farming
Peasant farming
Cooperative farming
Mechanized farming

Plantation farming

It involves the use of large estate of land permanently planted with economic or commercial crops. Examples of crops planted on plantation farming include: sugar, cotton, rubber, sugar cane, tobacco, e.t.c. In plantation farming, land could be owned by the government, private individual, or corporate bodies.

Peasant farming

This is also known as subsistence agriculture. It involves cultivation on a small scale (acres of land). Land in this situation is often owned communally and they employ mainly their own family labour. The size of land used by peasant farmers is majorly determined by the size of their family members and their family land. Rudimentary farming equipment such as cutlasses, axes, hoes, e.t.c.which are crude in nature are usually used in peasant farming.

Cooperative farming

In this nature of farming, farmers come together to form a sort of association or union. This form of union is adopted in other to obtain loans and aids from government, in order to hire or purchase farming equipments.

Mechanized farming

This involves the extensive use of machine and other types of advanced mechanical devices in agricultural production. It ensures large scale production because the use of human labour is replaced with that of machines. E.g. harvesters, ploughs, tractors. e.t.c. this form of farming has not been popularized in west Africa.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE IN WEST AFRICA

Source of raw materials
Provision of food
Provision of employment
Creation of market for industrial product
Source of income
Source of Labour for industries

PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURE IN WEST AFRICA

Illiteracy/ignorance
Lack of medical facilities
Use of crude implement
Poverty
Lack of credit facilities
Lack of storage facilities
Poor transportation
Problem of land tenure system
Pests and diseases
Natural disaster

SOLUTION TO THE PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURE

Granting of credit facilities to farmers
Improvement of transportation system
Discouraging migration
Mechanization of agriculture
Effective control of pest and diseases
Provision of medical facilities
Education
The use of research
Use of irrigation
Control of erosion

GENERAL EVALUATION QUESTIONS

What is trade by barter?
Highlight the problems posed by trade by barter.
What is partnership?
Explain the function of money as the i store of value ii measure of values
Give three reasons why primary production pre-dominates in developing countries.
Define agriculture.
State the three component of agriculture
Define mechanized farming
List and explain two component of agriculture.
List seven problems of agriculture
List and explain three ways of how to solve the problems of agriculture in west Africa.

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

Use of crude implement is a problem of ____ (a) transportation (b) agriculture (c) politics (d) environment.

Which of these is a component of Agriculture? (a) education (b) fishing (c) cutlass (d) tractor.
Subsistence agriculture is another name for (a) mechanized (b) plantation (c) peasant (d) cooperative farming.
Rubber and cotton are examples of ____ crops (a) food (b) cash (c) plantation (d) consumer.
Poverty is a problem of agriculture (a) false (b) true (c) none (d) indifference

THEORY

What do you understand by the term Agriculture
List and explain seven importance of Agriculture in West Africa.