55 questions. Try each one, then open the answer to check yourself and read the explanation.
Commercial agriculture is characterised by
Answer: A (use of machines.)
Commercial farms are large and use machines, high capital and research.
The most common method of acquiring land in West Africa is by
Answer: D (inheritance.)
Most farmers get their land by inheriting it from their family.
The agricultural sector in West Africa is plagued with poverty because
Answer: B (yields obtained per annum are relatively low.)
Low yields mean low income for farmers.
The function of the seed-tube of a seed drill is to
Answer: A (transport seeds from the metering device to the furrow opener.)
The seed tube carries seeds from the metering unit down to the furrow.
The machine used for removing seeds from maize cobs is called a
Answer: D (sheller.)
A sheller strips grains off the maize cob.
The appropriate farm tool for lifting tomato seedlings for transplanting is the
Answer: C (hand trowel.)
A hand trowel lifts a seedling with a ball of soil round its roots.
It is important to clean and grease plough discs after use to
Answer: A (prevent rusting.)
Grease keeps air and moisture off the metal, preventing rust.
Wind can be beneficial to crop production because it
Answer: B (aids pollination of crops.)
Wind carries pollen in crops like maize.
The method of surface irrigation widely used in rice fields is
Answer: A (basin irrigation)
Rice is grown in bunded, levelled basins kept flooded with water.
The practice of growing different crops in sequence on a piece of land is known as
Answer: C (crop rotation.)
Growing crops in a planned order on the same land is crop rotation.
Which of the following is not an effect of over-grazing on soil?
Answer: A (Improvement of soil structure)
Overgrazing damages soil; it never improves structure.
The major factor affecting distribution of crops in West Africa is
Answer: A (climate.)
Rainfall and temperature decide which crops grow in each zone.
Nutrient replenishment in soil can be enhanced by
Answer: D (crop rotation.)
Rotation with legumes and different rooting depths restores nutrients; the others remove them.
What is the function of nitrosomonas bacteria in the nitrogen cycle?
Answer: B (Nitrification)
Nitrosomonas turns ammonium into nitrite, part of nitrification.
A mass of decayed plant and animal wastes processed in pits is referred to as
Answer: C (compost manure.)
Compost is made by rotting plant and animal wastes in heaps or pits.
A major disadvantage of monoculture is that
Answer: C (diseases and pests build up.)
The same crop every year lets its pests and diseases multiply.
Which of the following pairs of farming systems uses bush fallowing?
Answer: B (Shifting cultivation and land rotation)
Both shifting cultivation and land rotation leave used land to rest under bush.
Continuous soil tillage could lead to
Answer: C (breakdown of soil structure.)
Too much tillage breaks soil crumbs and destroys structure.
A bag of fertilizer had a ratio of 0:10:0 written on it. This means that the fertilizer is a
Answer: C (phosphate fertilizer.)
The order is N:P:K, so 0:10:0 contains only phosphate.
Theobroma cacao grows best in the
Answer: B (humid rain forest zone.)
Cocoa needs high rainfall, humidity and shade found in the rain forest.
The following plants are forage grasses except
Answer: D (Calopogonium mucunoides.)
Calopogonium is a legume.
Which of the following statements about budding is not true? The resulting crops
Answer: C (develop broader leaves for photosynthesis.)
Budding gives early fruiting and the hardiness of the rootstock, not broader leaves.
A farm produce which does not require fermentation during processing is
Answer: D (rice grains.)
Cocoa, coffee and cassava (for gari, fufu) are fermented; rice is only threshed and milled.
The offspring which will result from a cross between heterozygous and homozygous dominant plants will be
Answer: C (50% heterozygous.)
Tt × TT gives TT, Tt, TT, Tt: half are heterozygous.
Calculate the amount of maize seeds required by a farmer to cultivate 5 hectares of farmland at the recommended seed rate of 25 kg/hectare.
Answer: D (125kg.)
5 ha × 25 kg/ha = 125 kg.
Causal organisms of diseases in crop production do not include
Answer: D (protozoa.)
Crop diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses and nematodes; protozoa mainly cause animal diseases.
An example of fungal disease of stored grains is
Answer: A (mould.)
Moulds are fungi that grow on damp stored grain; streak and mosaic are virus diseases.
Cultural control of crop diseases involves the following practices except
Answer: C (using insecticides.)
Insecticides are chemical control.
Control of maize stem borer is most effective when
Answer: A (affected crops are uprooted and burnt.)
The borer lives inside the stem, so destroying infested plants kills it.
The average gestation period in rabbits is
Answer: C (31 days.)
A doe carries her young for about 30–32 days.
The correct sequence of the passage of feed through the digestive system of a ruminant is
Answer: D (rumen → reticulum → omasum → abomasum.)
Feed goes rumen, reticulum, omasum, then abomasum (true stomach).
The main objective of flushing in animal production is to
Answer: C (promote multiple births.)
Extra feeding before mating raises ovulation, giving more twins and triplets.
Pigs wallow in muddy pools of water primarily to
Answer: D (lower their body temperature.)
Pigs have few sweat glands, so they cool themselves in mud.
Fowls are debeaked in order to
Answer: C (reduce cannibalism.)
Trimming the beak stops birds pecking one another.
A chicken that pecks at palm fruits could prevent a deficiency of
Answer: D (vitamin A.)
Red palm fruit is rich in carotene, which the body turns into vitamin A.
The common name for Andropogon gayanus is
Answer: B (Northern gamba grass.)
Andropogon gayanus is gamba grass.
A footbath on a poultry farm contains
Answer: D (disinfectants.)
Visitors step in disinfectant so they do not carry disease into the pens.
Ectoparasites of cattle do not include
Answer: C (lice and termites.)
Termites are not parasites.
Use the information below to answer questions 40 and 41.
The following symptoms were observed in a bull: I. watery discharge from eyes and nostrils; II. sores in the mouth and nostrils; III. excessive saliva with offensive odour; IV. severe diarrhoea with blood staind faeces.
What disease is the bull suffering from?
Answer: D (Rinderpest.)
Discharges, mouth sores, foul breath and bloody diarrhoea together point to rinderpest.
The following symptoms were observed in a bull: I. watery discharge from eyes and nostrils; II. sores in the mouth and nostrils; III. excessive saliva with offensive odour; IV. severe diarrhoea with blood staind faeces.
Which of the following measures would best control the disease?
Answer: B (Vaccinating animals)
It is a virus disease, so it is controlled by vaccination.
Which of the following factors affect the supply of agricultural produce?
I. Improvement in technology
II. Increase in rainfall
III. Decrease in temperature
IV. Input cost
Answer: D (I, II, III and IV.)
Technology, weather and input costs all change how much farmers produce.
In agricultural production, farm gate price is mostly enjoyed by
Answer: B (producers.)
Buyers collect produce at the farm and pay the farmer the farm gate price.
Dissemination of new ideas by agricultural extension workers can be effective if they
Answer: A (work with existing local organizations and leaders.)
Farmers trust local leaders and groups, so ideas spread faster through them.
Which of the following pairs are mass methods of extension?
Answer: D (Radio and posters.)
Mass methods reach many people at once, like radio and posters.
Calculate the annual depreciation of a farm machinery with a total depreciation of D63,000 and a useful life of 5 years.
Answer: C (D12,600.00)
Annual depreciation = total depreciation ÷ years = 63,000 ÷ 5 = 12,600.
In hook and line fishing, the bait is fixed onto the
Answer: B (hook.)
The bait is put on the hook to attract and catch fish.
Water in a fish pond is made suitable for fish by
Answer: B (liming.)
Liming corrects acidity and makes pond water suitable for fish.
Forest regulations are formulated in order to encourage
Answer: B (afforestation.)
Forest laws protect forests and encourage planting of trees.
Ornamental crops are used for the following purposes except
Answer: D (as fodder.)
Ornamentals beautify places and are given as gifts; they are not grown to feed animals.
(a) Explain the term commercial farming.
(b) Mention two agricultural produce used by each of the following agro-based industries: (i) canning industry; (ii) beverage industry; (iii) feed mill.
(c) State two aims of each of the following organizations involved in agricultural development in West Africa: (i) International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA). (ii) International Institute for Tropical Agriculture (IITA).
(d) What is surface irrigation?
(e) Describe the following horizons of the soil profile: (i) horizon A; (ii) horizon D.
(a) Large-scale farming in which crops or animals are produced mainly for sale and profit, using much capital, hired labour and modern inputs.
(b)(i) Canning: fruits (pineapple, tomato, mango), fish, meat, beans/peas, milk. (ii) Beverage: cocoa, coffee, tea, kola. (iii) Feed mill: maize, sorghum, groundnut cake, soyabean meal, fish meal, bone meal, palm kernel cake.
(c)(i) ILCA: research into improved livestock breeds; better feeding/pasture systems; control of livestock diseases; training of livestock scientists.
(ii) IITA: develop high-yielding and disease-resistant food crop varieties (cassava, yam, maize, cowpea); improve farming systems in the tropics; improve processing and use of food crops; train scientists and farmers.
(d) Surface irrigation is the application of water over the soil surface, letting it flow by gravity from a river, dam or canal (basin, furrow, flooding).
(e)(i) Horizon A: the topsoil at the surface; dark, rich in organic matter (humus) and living organisms; most weathered; zone of leaching (eluviation); where most roots are.
(ii) Horizon D: the bedrock (parent rock) at the bottom of the profile; hard, unweathered rock.
Two examples per industry and two aims per organisation.
(a) Explain each of the following terms: (i) farmstead; (ii) secondary tillage.
(b) State one function of each of the following parts of a mouldboard plough: (i) hitch; (ii) furrow wheel; (iii) disc coulter; (iv) plough share; (v) mouldboard.
(c) Describe one natural process that takes carbon away from the atmosphere.
(d) Outline three ways of replenishing plant nutrients in the soil.
(e) State two deficiency symptoms of calcuim in crops.
(f) List four soil organisms.
(a)(i) Farmstead: the part of the farm where the farmer's house and farm buildings (stores, pens, sheds) are located.
(ii) Secondary tillage: working the soil after ploughing (e.g. harrowing, ridging) to break clods into a fine tilth, level it and prepare the seedbed.
(b)(i) Hitch: attaches the plough to the tractor. (ii) Furrow wheel: runs in the furrow to keep the plough steady and control width/depth. (iii) Disc coulter: cuts the soil and trash vertically ahead of the share. (iv) Ploughshare: cuts the furrow slice horizontally. (v) Mouldboard: lifts and turns (inverts) the furrow slice.
(c) Photosynthesis: green plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and, using sunlight and water, turn it into carbohydrates (sugar and starch) stored in their bodies, releasing oxygen. (Or: dissolving of CO2 in oceans/rain.)
(d) Any three: application of organic manure/compost; fertilizer application; growing legumes/crop rotation; bush fallowing; liming; mulching/cover cropping; erosion control.
(e) Any two: death of terminal buds and young leaves; poor root growth; weak stems; blossom-end rot of fruits (tomato); curling of young leaves.
(f) Any four: earthworms; termites; ants; nematodes; bacteria; fungi; protozoa; rodents; millipedes.
One clear function for each plough part.
(a) Discuss the cultivation of cassava under the following headings: (i) soil requirements; (ii) spacing; (iii) one disease; (iv) one pest.
(b) Differentiate between natural pasture and artificial pasture.
(c) Explain the term disease as used in crop production.
(d) State Mendel's law of independent assortment of genes.
(e) Explain the term regeneration as a forest management practice.
(f) State five effects of deforestation.
(a)(i) Deep, loose, well-drained sandy loam soil, fairly fertile; avoid waterlogged soils.
(ii) About 1 m × 1 m (or 0.9 m × 0.9 m).
(iii) Disease (one, with cause, symptoms, control): cassava mosaic disease – virus spread by whiteflies; mottled yellow leaves, leaf distortion, stunting, small tubers; control by resistant varieties, clean cuttings, uprooting and burning infected plants. (Or cassava bacterial blight.)
(iv) Pest (one, with damage and control): cassava mealybug – sucks sap, causing bunchy top and leaf fall; control by biological control (parasitic wasp), resistant varieties, insecticides. (Or green spider mite, grasshoppers, rodents.)
(b) Natural pasture grows on its own without being planted, contains mixed and often low-quality species; artificial (sown) pasture is planted and managed by man with selected grasses and legumes of high quality and yield.
(c) A disease is any harmful change in the normal functioning of a plant caused by pathogens (fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes) or by unfavourable conditions, which reduces growth and yield.
(d) When two or more pairs of characters are inherited, the members of each pair of genes separate (segregate) independently of those of other pairs during gamete formation.
(e) Regeneration is the renewal of a forest after trees have been felled, either naturally (seeds, coppices) or artificially by planting seedlings.
(f) Any five: soil erosion; loss of soil fertility; loss of wildlife and biodiversity; desert encroachment; climate change/less rainfall; loss of timber and forest products; flooding; reduced water supply.
Give cause, symptom and control for the disease, and damage and control for the pest.
(a) Explain the term animal nutrition.
(b) State four functions of oestrogen in animal reproduction.
(c) Explain each of the following methods of animal improvement: (i) selection; (ii) breeding; (iii) introduction.
(d) What are ornamental plants?
(e) State four vegetative methods that could be used to propagate ornamental plants.
(a) Animal nutrition is the feeding of animals with the right quantity and quality of feed, and the processes by which the animal takes in, digests, absorbs and uses the nutrients for maintenance and production.
(b) Any four: causes heat (oestrus) signs; develops female secondary sexual characters; prepares the uterus lining for implantation; develops the mammary glands; stimulates contraction of uterine muscles; controls the oestrous cycle.
(c)(i) Selection: choosing animals with desirable traits as parents and culling the poor ones.
(ii) Breeding: mating chosen animals (inbreeding, line breeding, cross breeding, AI) to produce offspring with better qualities.
(iii) Introduction: bringing in improved animals from another region or country to rear or to mate with local stock.
(d) Ornamental plants are plants grown for their beauty (flowers, leaves, shape) to decorate homes, offices, gardens and public places.
(e) Any four: stem cuttings; layering (marcotting); budding; grafting; division of suckers/clumps; bulbs, corms, rhizomes.
Each improvement method needs a one-line explanation.
(a) What is elasticity of demand?
(b) Explain each of the following terms as used in agricultural production: (i) collateral; (ii) farm inventory record.
(c) State three merits and three demerits of the retailer in the marketing of agricultural produce.
(d) State two roles of each of the following hormones in animal reproduction: (i) testosterone; (ii) progesterone.
(e) List four ways of preserving fish.
(a) Elasticity of demand is the degree of responsiveness of the quantity demanded of a good to a change in its price (or income).
(b)(i) Collateral: property (land, buildings) pledged by a borrower as security for a loan, which the lender can take if the loan is not repaid.
(ii) Farm inventory record: a record listing all the assets of the farm (land, buildings, machinery, livestock, stores) with their values at a particular date.
(c) Merits (three): sells in small quantities to suit consumers; brings produce near to consumers; gives credit to customers; stores goods; informs producers of consumer wants. Demerits (three): raise prices; may hoard goods; may adulterate or mislabel produce; may give short measure; add to the chain of middlemen.
(d)(i) Testosterone: develops male secondary sexual characters; stimulates sperm production; maintains sex drive (libido).
(ii) Progesterone: prepares and maintains the uterus for pregnancy; prevents further ovulation/heat during pregnancy; develops mammary glands.
(e) Any four: smoking; sun drying; salting; freezing/refrigeration; canning; frying; fermentation.
Two roles for each hormone.
(a) Highlight five roles of agricultural extension in agricultural development in West Africa.
(b) Outline four problems faced by agricultural extension workers in West Africa.
(c) Discuss the cultivation of groundnut under the following headings: (i) soil requirements; (ii) method of propagation; (iii) two methods of storage.
(d) Mention two field pests and two storage pests of maize.
(a) Any five: teach farmers improved practices; spread research results; carry farmers' problems back to research; help farmers obtain inputs and credit; organise farmers into co-operatives; improve rural living standards; advise on marketing and records; train rural youths.
(b) Any four: too few extension workers; poor transport/mobility; illiteracy and conservatism of farmers; language barrier; poor pay and motivation; lack of teaching aids/funds; poor link with research.
(c)(i) Well-drained, loose sandy or sandy loam soil, rich in calcium, pH about 6–7; avoid heavy clay.
(ii) By seed: shelled seeds (dressed with fungicide) sown at stake, 2–3 per hole, 3–5 cm deep, spacing about 45–60 cm × 15–30 cm.
(iii) Any two: store dried pods in bags in a cool, dry, well-ventilated store; store in rhumbus/cribs; airtight containers/silos; treat with insecticides; store as shelled nuts in airtight tins.
(d) Field pests (two): stem borer; armyworm; grasshoppers; birds; rodents. Storage pests (two): maize weevil; grain moth (Angoumois); rats; flour beetle.
Separate field pests (on growing maize) from storage pests (on stored grain).