This question was not popular with the candidates. In question 1(a), majority of the candidates misconstrued characteristics of agricultural systems with the importance of agriculture. In question 1(b), many candidates could not explain ways in which land tenure systems affect agricultural production. The expected answers include:
Characteristics of Agricultural Systems in West Africa:
- Farm sizes are usually small
- Simple farm tools and implements are used
- Farm mechanization is not widely practiced
- Yields are usually small because of low application of farm inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides
- Farmers still rely on the use of unimproved seeds and planting materials
- Farming is still at the subsistence level in most cases
- Output of livestock products such as milk, eggs and meat are usually low and uneconomical
- Improved breeds of livestock and poultry are not widely used on many farms except in large scale farms
- There is poor record keeping on many farms
- Modern storage facilities are absent on many farms leading to lots of waste of produce
- The level of application of capital for production is very low/most farmers cannot apply for development loans
- Marketing of farm produce is poorly organized
- Processing of farm produce is usually poorly done
Ways in which Land Tenure Systems affect agricultural production:
- May lead to fragmentation of land which cannot be mechanized
- Correct ownership of some plots of land cannot be determined, hence may not be used as collateral for loans
- Large scale farming cannot be practiced on small scattered farm holdings
- Strangers are prevented from owning land, hence cannot come to develop the landBecause of the short tenancy period in some systems, permanent improvement cannot be carried out by holders, hence land remain poor
- There is often restriction on the type of crops that can be grown on the land in some systems
- Some land owners may not have the intention of farming while those willing to farm cannot own land because of the tenure system
- Some land owners may exploit those without land by unfavourable tenancy conditions. Thus they deprive them of some of their benefits
- Production is very high on land acquired by purchasing or freehold because land improvement can be carried out
- Land use Act/Decree (of 1978 in Nigeria) made more land available to farmers for large scale production Acquisition of land through freehold is expensive thereby discouraging potential agricultural investors
