Theory question 101
Farming Systems(a) Give eight characteristics of agricultural systems in West Africa.
(b) Explain four ways in which land tenure systems affect agricultural production in your country.
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(a) Any eight: mostly small-scale/subsistence farming; small, scattered holdings; use of simple tools (hoe, cutlass); family labour; low use of inputs (fertilizer, improved seed); low yields; dependence on rainfall; mixed cropping and shifting cultivation/bush fallow; little mechanisation; poor storage and processing; poor record keeping; nomadic livestock rearing
(b) Any four, explained: fragmentation into small plots prevents mechanisation and large-scale farming; insecure tenure (communal, rent) discourages permanent crops and land improvement; land cannot be used as collateral for loans; land disputes and litigation waste time and money; strangers/landless people cannot easily get land; freehold/Land Use Act allows easier acquisition and investment
Eight features; explain the effect of each tenure point.