66 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
Agriculture helps to solve all the following problems except
Answer: C (high population growth rate)
Agriculture provides food, jobs and building materials, but it does not slow population growth.
Wastage of perishable farm produce is likely due to the following problems except
Answer: D (inadequate water supply in rural areas.)
Produce rots when it cannot be stored, processed or moved quickly; water supply is not the cause.
Plant quarantine was introduced to
Answer: A (control incoming diseases and pests)
Quarantine stops new pests and diseases coming in with imported plants.
Which of the following is an advantage of communal land tenure system?
Answer: B (Each member of the community can own land)
Under communal tenure every member of the community is entitled to land to farm.
An advantage of individual system of land ownership is that
Answer: C (it encourages long term planning)
Secure ownership lets the farmer plan long-term, e.g. plant tree crops.
The role of government in promoting agricultural development includes the following except
Answer: D (breeding of plants and animals.)
Government sets policy, builds infrastructure and funds research; actual breeding is done by research scientists and farmers.
Which of the following is not a function of forestry?
Answer: B (Establishment of pasture)
Pastures are grassland for grazing, not part of forestry.
The factors involved in the formation of metamorphic rocks are
Answer: A (heat and pressure)
Heat and pressure change existing rocks into metamorphic rocks.
Which of the following is not a factor of soil formation?
Answer: B (Land conservation)
Soil-forming factors are climate, parent material, topography, organisms and time.
The rate of soil erosion is not affected by
Answer: B (leaching)
Leaching moves nutrients downward; it does not remove the soil itself.
Which of the following soil properties cannot be easily altered?
Answer: C (Texture)
Texture is fixed by particle sizes; structure, consistency and fertility can be improved.
What is the percentage water content of a soil sample which weighed 180g when fresh and 120g when oven dried?
Answer: D (33.3%.)
Water = 60 g; 60/180 × 100 = 33.3% of the fresh soil.
Nitrogen deficiency in plants can lead to the following except
Answer: B (excessive growth)
Excessive growth comes from too much nitrogen, not too little.
Nitrogen may be lost from the soil through the following processes except
Answer: D (irrigation.)
Irrigation itself adds water; crops, erosion and leaching remove nitrogen.
Which of the following is not a principle of crop rotation?
Answer: B (A period of fallow must be provided in the course of the rotation)
A fallow can be included but is not required in every rotation.
The most efficient irrigation method on large scale farms involves the use of
Answer: A (overhead irrigation facilities)
Overhead sprinklers spread water evenly over large areas with little waste.
What is the main use of a Gunter's chain?
Answer: A (Taking measurements of distances)
Gunter's chain measures distances in land surveying.
The main reason why the disc plough is preferred over the mouldboard plough for use in heavy soils is that
Answer: A (the scraper removes any adhering mud)
The discs roll through sticky soil and the scraper cleans off mud, so it does not clog.
Which of the following parts is common to both the disc and mouldboard plough?
Answer: D (Beam.)
Both ploughs have a beam (frame); share, landside and coulter belong to the mouldboard plough.
Which of the following farm implements is not hand operated?
Answer: B (Ridgers)
Ridgers are drawn by tractors or animals.
Primary tillage equipment performs the following functions except
Answer: C (preparing ridges for planting)
Ridging is secondary tillage done after ploughing and harrowing.
Which of the following is a method of conducting a simple farm layout survey?
Answer: C (3:4:5)
The 3:4:5 triangle gives a right angle for setting out plots.
Which of the following activities does not clearly describe the art of mechanization?
Answer: B (Clearing land with a cutlass)
A cutlass is a hand tool, so its use is not mechanisation.
An example of grain legume is
Answer: A (pigeon pea)
Pigeon pea is a legume; the others are cereals.
Cassava is mainly propagated by
Answer: D (cuttings.)
Cassava is grown from stem cuttings.
Which of the following groups of crops requires a nursery?
Answer: B (Oil palm, cocoa and tomato)
Oil palm, cocoa and tomato are all raised in nurseries first.
The scientific name for guinea grass is
Answer: A (Panicum maximum)
Guinea grass is Panicum maximum.
The national tree-planting campaign is aimed at stimulating
Answer: B (afforestation)
Planting trees on open land is afforestation.
The most common grazing system in West Africa is
Answer: A (continuous grazing)
Most herds graze the same open range all year.
Smut disease of cereals is caused by a
Answer: B (fungus)
Smuts are fungal diseases.
Moths, aphids and mealy bugs cause damage to crops by their
Answer: A (piercing and sucking activities)
Aphids and mealybugs pierce plants and suck sap; adult moths also feed by sucking.
The variety of maize which is less susceptible to weevil attack is
Answer: B (flint maize)
Flint maize has hard grains that weevils find hard to bore into.
Weevils can be controlled by
Answer: B (storing dry grain in air-tight containers)
Airtight storage cuts off the oxygen weevils need.
The most common weed of pasture in West Africa is
Answer: C (Imperata cylindrica)
Spear grass spreads by rhizomes and takes over pastures.
Improvement of yam through breeding is difficult because
Answer: A (it possesses no sexual reproductive system)
Most cultivated yams rarely flower or set seed, so crossing them is hard.
Animals which chew the cud are
Answer: C (ruminants)
Ruminants bring food back up and chew it again.
Birds temporarily store their food in the
Answer: A (crop)
The crop stores food before digestion.
Spermatozoa are produced in the
Answer: B (testicles)
Sperm are made in the testes.
Which of the following is not a sign of heat in farm animals?
Answer: C (Udder enlargement)
The udder enlarges before birth, not during heat.
The act of giving birth in farm animals is called
Answer: C (parturition)
Parturition is giving birth.
Which of the following factors usually affects the colour of egg yolk?
Answer: C (Type of feed)
Pigments in feed (e.g. yellow maize, green leaves) colour the yolk.
Sexing in animal production is the process of
Answer: D (separating the male from the female.)
Sexing sorts animals (e.g. day-old chicks) into males and females.
Management practices in a piggery include the following except
Answer: D (weekly vaccination of pigs.)
Pigs are vaccinated on a schedule, not every week.
The process of stopping a young animal from suckling milk and placing it under hand feeding is
Answer: C (weaning)
Weaning stops milk feeding.
Artificial colostrum can be prepared from mixing all the following materials except
Answer: A (groundnut oil)
Artificial colostrum is made from milk, egg, a little castor or cod-liver oil and antibiotics, not groundnut oil.
Which of the following classes of nutrients is used mainly for energy production in farm animals?
Answer: A (Carbohydrates)
Carbohydrates are the main energy source.
Newcastle disease attacks
Answer: C (poultry)
Newcastle disease is a poultry disease.
Coccidiosis can be treated with
Answer: A (sulphamethazine)
Sulpha drugs such as sulphamethazine treat coccidiosis; piperazine is a dewormer.
The resulting calf from crossing a White Fulani bull with a Muturu cow is a
Answer: B (Keteku)
Keteku is the cross of zebu (White Fulani) and Muturu.
The major advantage of inbreeding in animals is that it
Answer: C (eliminates undesirable traits)
Inbreeding brings hidden recessive faults into the open so those animals can be culled, and fixes good traits.
Study the graph (supply and demand curves for rice). The graph shows
Answer: C (the equilibrium market price for rice)
The point where supply and demand cross gives the equilibrium price.
Study the graph (supply and demand curves for rice). What is the change in quantity of rice demanded when the price increases from N1.00 to N5.00?
Answer: B (4 kg)
On the demand curve, 8 kg is demanded at N1 and 4 kg at N5: a fall of 4 kg.
Study the graph (supply and demand curves for rice). What is the equilibrium price of rice?
Answer: C (N2.00)
The curves cross at a price of N2.00.
Farm records are important for the following reasons except
Answer: C (assessing the quality of farm produce)
Records show money and performance; produce quality is judged by inspection or grading.
The activities of middlemen may cause the following problems except
Answer: D (inadequate storage facilities.)
Middlemen often hoard and raise prices; they do not cause a lack of storage.
The best method of introducing a new pesticide to rural farmers is through
Answer: C (demonstration)
Farmers believe what they see work in a demonstration.
(a) Mention three ways in which each of the following factors affect agricultural development: (i) poor tools and implements; (ii) poor storage facilities.
(b) Suggest one solution to the problem of poor tools and implements.
(c) State three objectives each of: (i) Land Use Act; (ii) quarantine programme; (iii) government agricultural loan and subsidy schemes.
(a)(i) Poor tools (any three): only small areas can be farmed; hard, tiring work (drudgery) discourages youths; operations are slow and late; low output and income; poor quality work
(ii) Poor storage (any three): heavy losses to pests, rot and moulds; farmers forced to sell cheaply at harvest; scarcity and high prices later; low income discourages production; less raw material for industries
(b) Any one: tractor hiring units; local fabrication of improved tools; subsidies/credit to buy machines; training in the use of machines
(c)(i) Land Use Act (any three): make land easier to obtain for farming and development; reduce land disputes; prevent speculation and hoarding of land; give secure title (certificate of occupancy)
(ii) Quarantine (any three): keep out foreign pests and diseases; stop spread of diseases within the country; maintain healthy crops and animals; protect export quality
(iii) Loans and subsidies (any three): help farmers buy inputs; reduce cost of production; encourage adoption of new technology; increase output and farm income; make farming attractive
Three effects for each factor, then three objectives for each scheme.
(a) List six sources of farm power.
(b) Explain how five of the sources of farm power listed in 2 (a) are utilised on the farm.
(c) Give two disadvantages each, of any four sources of farm power listed in 2 (a).
(a) Human; animal; mechanical (engines/tractors); electricity; wind; water; solar; biogas
(b) Any five: human – planting, weeding, harvesting with hand tools; animal – pulling ploughs, ridgers, carts; mechanical – tractors pull ploughs, harrows, planters, combines, and run processing machines; electricity – incubators, milking machines, grinding mills, refrigerators, pumps, lighting; wind – windmills pump water and grind grain, winnowing; water – turbines for hydro-electricity, water wheels; solar – drying crops, solar panels for pumps and lights
(c) Any four with two each: human – slow, tires, low output; animal – needs feed and care, slow, can fall sick; mechanical – expensive, needs fuel and skilled operators, compacts soil; electricity – costly to install, unreliable supply, risk of shock and fire; wind – unreliable, low power; water – only near rivers, expensive dams; solar – not at night or in cloudy weather, costly panels
Name the source, then its use and two drawbacks.
(a) What is land?
(b) Mention six uses of land
(c) State four ways through which an agricultural land may appreciate in value
(d) State five benefits derived from soil organisms in agriculture.
(a) Land is the surface of the earth and all the natural resources on and below it (soil, water, minerals, vegetation) used for production; a natural factor of production
(b) Any six: crop farming; livestock grazing; forestry; wildlife reserves; housing; industry; roads and transport; mining; recreation; schools
(c) Any four: development such as roads, electricity or water nearby; improvements such as irrigation, drainage, fencing, buildings; increased soil fertility through manuring; rising demand for land/population growth; planting tree crops; secure title
(d) Any five: decompose organic matter releasing nutrients; fix nitrogen; improve soil structure; burrows improve aeration and drainage; mix soil layers; form humus; some control pests (predators)
Define land, then the lists.
(a) State four functions of each of the following macro-nutrients in plant nutrition: (i) nitrogen; (ii) phosphorus; (iii) potassium
(b) List four factors that affect the availability of nutrients to crops.
(a)(i) Nitrogen (any four): forms proteins and protoplasm; part of chlorophyll; promotes leafy growth; gives dark green colour; increases protein in grain; helps use of other nutrients
(ii) Phosphorus (any four): root development; flowering, fruiting and seed formation; early maturity; energy transfer (ATP); cell division; strengthens straw
(iii) Potassium (any four): formation and movement of sugars and starch; strengthens stems against lodging; disease resistance; controls opening of stomata/water balance; improves fruit quality; activates enzymes
(b) Any four: soil pH; soil texture; organic matter content; soil moisture; leaching; soil temperature and aeration; activity of micro-organisms; cation exchange capacity; nutrient fixation
Four functions under each nutrient.
The plan shows the survey of a school farm: a trapezium with parallel sides 70 m and 90 m and perpendicular height 45 m.
(a) Calculate the area of the land in hectares
(b) If the school plans to cultivate plantain at a spacing of 4m x 4m on 80% of the land and pineapple at a spacing of 2m x 2.5m on 20% of the land, calculate the number of plantain and pineapple planting materials that would be required for the farm.
(a) Area = ½ × (70 + 90) × 45 = ½ × 160 × 45 = 3,600 m²; 3,600 ÷ 10,000 = 0.36 hectares
(b) Plantain: 80% of 3,600 = 2,880 m²; area per plant = 4 × 4 = 16 m²; 2,880 ÷ 16 = 180 suckers
Pineapple: 20% of 3,600 = 720 m²; area per plant = 2 × 2.5 = 5 m²; 720 ÷ 5 = 144 suckers/slips
Use the trapezium formula, then divide each area by the space one plant needs.
(a) Outline the life cycle of the bean beetle
(b)(i) Describe briefly four damages done by cotton stainer to cotton plants on the field (ii) Name four alternate hosts of cotton stainer.
(a) Bean beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus) has complete metamorphosis: female lays eggs on the seed/pod surface; larva hatches and bores into the seed, feeding inside; it pupates inside the seed; adult emerges through a round hole; the cycle takes about 3–4 weeks and repeats in store
(b)(i) Any four: sucks sap from developing bolls and seeds; seeds shrivel and lose viability/oil; stains the lint yellow/brown, lowering quality; introduces fungi that cause internal boll rot; causes boll shedding
(ii) Any four: okra; kenaf; baobab; silk cotton tree (kapok); hibiscus/roselle; Sida and other wild Malvaceae
Follow the life cycle stage by stage.
(a) Mention four factors that should be considered when siting a fish pond
(b) Explain six ways of maintaining a fish pond.
(a) Any four: reliable water supply; soil that holds water (clay/clay loam); gentle slope for filling and draining; water quality free from pollution; accessibility/market; security; flood-free site; availability of fingerlings
(b) Any six: control water level and inflow/outflow; remove weeds (deweeding); desilt the pond; repair dykes, screens and monks; lime to correct acidity; fertilise to encourage plankton; supplementary feeding; control predators; control diseases; regular harvesting/correct stocking
Explain what each maintenance practice does.
Discuss each of rinderpest and Newcastle diseases under the following headings: (i) host organism (ii) causal organism (iii) mode of transmission (iv) symptoms (v) control.
Rinderpest: (i) cattle, also sheep, goats, buffalo; (ii) virus (morbillivirus); (iii) contact with sick animals and their discharges, contaminated feed and water; (iv) high fever, discharge from eyes and nose, mouth ulcers, bloody diarrhoea, dehydration, death; (v) vaccination, quarantine, isolation and slaughter of infected animals, disinfection, control of animal movement
Newcastle disease: (i) poultry – chickens, turkeys, guinea fowl; (ii) virus (paramyxovirus); (iii) contact, droplets in air, contaminated feed, water, equipment and people; (iv) gasping and coughing, greenish diarrhoea, twisted neck and paralysis, drop in egg production, sudden death; (v) vaccination (e.g. Lasota, Komarov), sanitation, isolation, burning dead birds
Both are viral; cover all five headings for each.
(a) Name and explain three factors of production in agriculture.
(b) Mention four functions of a farm manager.
(a) Any three: land – all natural resources used in farming (soil, water, minerals); fixed in supply; reward is rent; labour – human physical and mental effort, family or hired, skilled or unskilled; reward is wages; capital – man-made assets used to produce more (tools, machines, buildings, money); reward is interest; management/entrepreneur – organises the other factors, takes decisions and bears risks; reward is profit
(b) Any four: planning; organising; decision making; coordinating and supervising workers; controlling/evaluating; record keeping; marketing and buying inputs; staffing
Explain each factor with an example and its reward.
(a) List four marketing agents.
(b) State (i) four characteristic features and (ii) four advantages of co-operative societies in agriculture.
(c)(i) Give three merits of individual contact in extension methods. (ii) List three Agricultural Extension Programmes in your country.
(a) Any four: producers/farmers; wholesalers; retailers; middlemen/brokers/commission agents; cooperative societies; commodity boards/marketing agencies; processors; exporters
(b)(i) Any four features: voluntary and open membership; democratic control (one member, one vote); members pool resources/buy shares; limited interest on capital; surplus shared according to patronage; registered with government; education of members
(ii) Any four advantages: bulk buying of inputs at lower cost; better prices through collective marketing; easier access to credit; shared storage, processing and transport; training of members; spreads risk; bargaining power
(c)(i) Any three: personal attention to the farmer's own problem; builds trust and confidence; farmer can ask questions directly; advice suits the farmer's own farm; quick feedback
(ii) Any three: Agricultural Development Projects (ADPs); Fadama project; National Accelerated Food Production Programme (NAFPP); Operation Feed the Nation; Green Revolution; National Special Programme for Food Security; Root and Tuber Expansion Programme; Agricultural Transformation Agenda
Answer each part separately.