Observation

This was a popular question among the candidates and their performance was good. Some candidates however failed to relate the solutions in (b) component of the question to the problems raised in (a) which made them lose valuable marks.  Some problems of agriculture in Nigeria that were listed included:

• inadequate storage facilities
• pests e.g. rodents, grass hoppers, locusts, etc
• diseases e.g. blight, black pod disease, capsid bug, aphids, etc
• inadequate capital/credit
• fluctuating prices
• management problems
• use of simple farm implements
• weather hazards/climatic conditions
• poor leached soils in some areas
• land tenure system
• inadequate transport facilities
• inadequate extension services
• high taste for foreign agricultural products
• rural urban migration
• reluctance of farmers to accept innovations
• smuggling of agricultural products
• negative attitude towards agriculture
• inconsistent government policies
• inadequate processing facilities
• high cost of agricultural inputs
• poor farming practices
• inadequate basic facilities e.g. electricity, pipe borne water etc
• inadequate pastures
• annual bush burning in some areas

The solutions to the problems of agriculture that should have been highlighted included:

• provision of adequate storage facilities
• use of pesticides
• use of disease control measures
• provision of loan facilities
• price control measures
• effective management of agricultural resources
• mechanization of agriculture
• practice of irrigation agriculture
• use of manures and fertilizers
• adoption of co-operative farming method.
• improvement in transportation network
• training of farmers
• social orientation
• development of rural areas
• improved boarder patrols
• conflicts between farmers and nomadic cattle rearers
• controlled grazing/ranching
• legislation against bush burning
• consistent government policy on agriculture
• establishment of processing plants
• training and re-training of extension workers
• land reform policy
• subsidy for agricultural inputs
• restriction on importation of agricultural products