(1)Draw a sketch map of Nigeria.On the map, show and name:

1. the North Central Highlands;
2. the rivers Niger and Benue.
(2) Name two export crops and four foods crops of the North Central Highlands.
(3)Describe the North Central Highlands under the following headings:
        (i) agricultural activities;
        (ii) problems of development.

This was a very popular question among the candidates and most of the candidates who answered the question performed well in the (a) and (b) aspects of the question.  However, some of the candidates could not describe the North Central Highlands properly.  The expected points for the agricultural activities in the North Central Highlands include:

• maize and other grains are cultivated;
• mono cropping is giving way to mixed cropping;
• in many areas, crop rotation is practiced;
• some of the agricultural products are processed locally;
• animal rearing is important e.g. cattle, goat, sheet e.t.c.;
• poultry is kept e.g. guinea fowl, duck, turkey, e.t.c.;
• nomadic herding is common;
• irrigation farming is carried out in some areas;
• fishing is carried out in some of the rivers e.g. R. Yobe, R. Hadeija, e.t.c.

The problems of development of the North Central Highlands include:

• agriculture in the area is mainly subsistence;
• high incidence of deseases e.g. cerebrospinal meningitis, river blindness, e.t.c.;
• inadequate rainfall;
• excessive dryness/heat;
• inter-regional disturbances;
• soil erosion in some areas;
• desert encroachment;
• urban flooding from weak/substandard dams;
• rugged terrain;
• dust storms;
• pests, e.g. locust, grasshoppers;
• nomadic nature of the cattle Fulanis;
• labour shortage because of rural urban migration.