Theory question 110
Nigeria: People and EconomyWrite explanatory notes on any four of the following (a) Cocoa growing in western Nigeria (b) Oil palm production in the eastern states (c) Rice cultivation in the middle belt (d) Intensive farming in the Kano close-settled zone
Show the model answer
(a) Cocoa: rain forest of Ondo, Oyo, Ogun, Osun; rainfall 1,250-2,000 mm, deep well-drained loamy soils, shade; small family farms; seedlings, harvesting of pods, fermenting and drying beans; sold to buying agents and exported through Lagos; problems of pests, diseases and old trees
(b) Oil palm: south-east (Imo, Anambra, Cross River, Rivers); mostly wild groves, some plantations; fruits processed by hand or mills into palm oil and kernels; used for food, soap, margarine and export
(c) Rice: fadama/flood plains of the Niger and Benue (Bida, Makurdi, Lafia); swamp and upland rice; planting with the rains, much hand labour, harvesting in the dry season; food crop and income
(d) Kano close-settled zone: dense population around Kano; permanent cultivation with manure from livestock; mixed cropping of millet, sorghum, groundnut, cowpea; small-scale irrigation (shaduf, fadama) for vegetables; markets in Kano
Give location, method and importance for each.