Theory question 104
Agriculture, Fishing and Lumbering(a) Describe three characteristics of subsistence agriculture in Nigeria. (b) Outline four advantages of subsistence agriculture. (c) Highlight three disadvantages of subsistence agriculture.
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(a) Produce mainly for family consumption with little surplus; small farm holdings; simple tools (hoe, cutlass); family labour; little capital; mixed cropping; bush fallowing or shifting cultivation; low yields; little use of fertilisers or improved seeds.
(b) Feeds the family; low cost (little capital needed); uses family labour; mixed cropping spreads risk and protects soil; fallowing restores fertility; uses simple tools easily available; gives some surplus for local markets.
(c) Low output and income; little surplus for export or industry; cannot feed growing towns; heavy labour and drudgery; slow adoption of modern methods; land degradation where fallow periods shorten.
Keep advantages and disadvantages separate.