Theory question 101
Agricultural Development(a) Explain four roles of government in agricultural development under the following headings: (i) pest and disease control; (ii) marketing of agricultural produce.
(b) Give four general problems of land tenure system in agricultural development in West Africa.
(c) List three farm machinery and three farm implements. Farm machinery: (i) ____ (ii) ____ (iii) ____ Farm implements: (i) ____ (ii) ____ (iii) ____
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(a)(i) Pest and disease control (any four): supply/subsidise drugs, vaccines and agrochemicals; provide veterinary and crop protection services; quarantine at ports and borders; fund research institutes; train farmers on control.
(ii) Marketing (any four): fix guaranteed minimum prices; set up commodity/marketing boards; buy surplus produce and build silos/strategic reserves; build markets, storage and processing facilities; encourage exports; good rural roads.
(b) Any four: land fragmentation prevents large-scale and mechanised farming; land cannot easily be used as collateral; insecure ownership discourages permanent crops; land disputes and litigation; outsiders cannot easily get land; high cost of land; time lost moving between scattered plots.
(c) Machinery (three): tractor; bulldozer; combine harvester; power tiller; milking machine; incubator; dryer. Implements (three): plough; harrow; ridger; cultivator; planter/seed drill; boom sprayer; fertilizer spreader; mower.
Machinery are self-powered; implements are pulled or driven by a tractor.