Theory question 101
Farming Systems(a) Distinguish between the following agricultural systems: (i) monoculture and monocropping; (ii) shifting cultivation and land rotation.
(b) State four problems of commercial agriculture in West Africa.
(c) Mention four uses of the farm tractor.
(d) List four indigenous methods of land preparation.
Show the model answer
(a)(i) Monoculture: the same single crop is grown on the same land year after year. Monocropping: one crop is grown on a piece of land in a season (the crop may change from season to season).
(ii) Shifting cultivation: the farmer cultivates land until it is exhausted, then abandons both the land and his settlement and moves to a new area. Land rotation: the farmer moves to new plots in turn but keeps his permanent home and returns to the first plot after a fallow.
(b) Any four: high capital needs and lack of credit; land tenure problems/fragmentation; high cost of machines, spare parts and inputs; lack of skilled manpower; poor marketing, storage and processing facilities; poor infrastructure; pests and diseases; unfavourable government policies.
(c) Any four: pulling implements such as ploughs, harrows and ridgers; transporting inputs and produce with a trailer; powering stationary machines (pumps, shellers, grinders) through the PTO; lifting implements with the hydraulic system; spraying, planting and harvesting with attached machines.
(d) Any four: clearing with cutlass/machete; felling trees with axe; burning the bush; stumping; hoeing/tilling with hoes; making mounds or ridges by hand.
Each distinction must say what is different between the two systems.