<h1>AGRICULTURAL POLLUTION</h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Agricultural Pollution</li> <li>Types and Sources of Pollution of Agricultural Lands and Fish ponds</li> <li>Effects of Land/Pond Pollution on Farmers/Man</li> <li>Effects of Land/Pond Pollution on Agricultural Productivity</li> </ol>   <h2>Meaning of Agricultural Pollution</h2> <strong>Pollution</strong> simply means introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes discomfort to the ecosystem. <strong>Agricultural pollution </strong>refers to the introduction of harmful substances into the environment as a result of agricultural practices. It is the totality of the contaminants present in the environment resulting from agricultural practices. Agricultural pollution comprises of: <ul> <li>Wastes,</li> <li>Emissions and</li> <li>Discharges arising from farm activities which may constitute nuisance to the ecosystem.</li>

<h1>ANIMAL HEALTH MANAGEMENT</h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Parasites</li> <li>Types of Parasites</li> </ol> <ul> <li>Ecto-parasites - Ticks, Lice, Mites, Flies</li> <li>Endo-parasites - Tape Worm (<em>Taenia spp), </em>Round Worm (<em>Ascaris lumbricoides</em>), Liver Fluke (<em>Fasciola hepatica</em>)</li> </ul>   <h2>Meaning of Parasites</h2> Parasite is an organism which lives on or inside the body of another organism called the host in order to derive all its nourishment such as food, shelter and protection. The parasite does not provide any benefit but causes damage or harm to the host in return. The host usually belongs to a different species and is often bigger and stronger than the parasite. Sometimes the relationship with the parasite causes the death of the host or reduces its productivity. The relationship between the parasite and the host is known as Parasitism. Based on this relationship, a parasite may be temporary, (living for a short period in or on the host) or permanent, (living their entire lives in the host e.g. endo-parasites)   <h2>Types of Parasites</h2> Livestock parasites are grouped into two namely; <ol> <li>Ecto-parasites</li> <li>Endo-parasites</li> </ol>   <h3>1. Ecto-parasites</h3> These parasites live outside or on the hosts. They usually attach themselves to the skin of the animals. Ecto-parasites include ticks, lice, mites, fleas, flies, etc. <h4>(i) Ticks</h4> Ticks affect livestock such as cattle, sheep, horses and dogs. They live all their lives attached to the hosts and suck blood except during the period of mounting and reproduction. Tick belongs to the order of Acarina and the class Aranchinda.   <h5>Classification of Ticks</h5> <h6>(a) Classification of Ticks based on Mode of Development</h6> <ol> <li><strong>One Host Tick</strong>: All stages of development takes place in one host animal e.g. blue tick.</li> <li><strong>Two Host Tick</strong>: The lava develops into nymph on the first host. The nymph falls off and moults into adult which attaches to the secondary host e.g. red legged tick.</li> <li><strong>Three Host Tick</strong>: These attach to different animals at each stage of development, drop off and moult into the next stage on the ground e.g. water tick.</li> </ol>   <h6>(b) Classification of Ticks based on Body Texture</h6> <ol> <li>Hard tick (Ixodidae)</li> <li>Soft tick (Argasidae)</li> </ol>   <h5>Life Cycle of Host Tick</h5> <img class="size-full wp-image-56041 aligncenter" src="https://classhall.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/life-cycle-of-host-tick.jpg" alt="Animal Health Management - Parasites - Life Cycle of a Host Tick" width="499" height="408" /> Ticks are important arthropods and vectors of infectious diseases. They carry both viruses and protozoan producing organisms. When unfed they are flat, but spherical when engorged with blood of warm blooded vertebrates. They are unisex, the female after mating sucks blood many times until it increases in size. The stages of development: Eggs → Larva → Nymph → Adult Ticks have eight walking legs. Their eggs are laid on the ground and larva emerges to climb grass or shrubs and attaches to any passing animals. The eggs hatch out in about 3-4 weeks depending on the climatic condition.   <h5>Economic Importance of Ticks</h5> <ol> <li>Loss of blood and weight</li> <li>Reduction in quality of hide and skin which lead to reduction in market value</li> <li>Reduction in the production of meat and milk</li> <li>Restlessness caused by skin irritation</li> <li>Loss of farmers’ income</li> <li>Injuries from bite causes secondary infection</li> <li>It causes and transmits diseases such as heart water disease, red water disease, anaplasmosis, tularemia, typhus, etc.</li> <li>It produces substance which causes toxic effect on animals</li> <li>Transmitted diseases may cause death and eventually reduce number of stock</li> </ol>   <h5>Control of Ticks</h5> Ticks can be controlled by the following: <ol> <li>Good sanitation</li> <li>Regular dipping in solution of acaricides</li> <li>Spray animals’ beddings with insecticides</li> <li>Adopt rotational grazing</li> <li>Burning of infected pasture</li> </ol>   EVALUATION <ol> <li>State the classification of ticks and give examples for each.</li> <li>Why is the control of ticks necessary in animal production?</li> </ol>

<h1><strong>ROLES OF GOVERNMENT IN AGRICULTURAL PRODUCTION</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Roles of Government in Agricultural Production</li> <li>Government Organisations Involved in Improving Agricultural Production in West Africa</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Roles of Government in Agricultural Production</strong></h2> In the past, agriculture used to be the mainstay of the Nigerian economy but when petroleum was discovered, agriculture was neglected, food production became relatively low and a lot of money was spent importing food from abroad. To solve the numerous problems which resulted in the poor development of agriculture, the government has to play an important role in the development of agriculture. The role of the government in agricultural production is broadly given as these two major roles: (a) To set up good and functioning policies (b) To formulate good and functioning programmes   (a)<strong> To set up good and functioning policies</strong> A policies is a set of rules set up by the ministry/government towards achieving a goal. Policies sometimes changes as government changes, but the basic objectives of a good policy may include the following: (i) To provide both qualitative and quantitative food (ii) To produce animals and plants that are rich in protein and at a minimum cost for both rich and poor in the society. (iii) To increase the supply of animals and plants that can attain market weight in the shortest possible time (iv) To develop local agro-based industries that will employ the citizen as well as provide finished products. (v) To increase the supply of local raw materials like timber, cotton, groundnut, gum Arabic etc. (vi) To produce plants and animals for export purpose. (vii) To regulate the influx of foreign agricultural products so as not kill agro-based industries in the country. (viii) Mechanizing farming for increased output and income for farmers.   (b) <strong>To formulate good and functioning programmes</strong>

<h1>FORESTRY</h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Forest and Forestry</li> <li>Importance of Forest</li> <li>Forest Management Practices</li> </ol>   <h2>Meaning of Forest and Forestry</h2> <h3>Forest</h3> A forest is defined as a large area of land covered with trees and bushes, either growing wild or planted for some purposes. A forest can also mean a woody ground, trees or pasture that grow in the wild or cultivate for a specific purposes <h3>Forestry</h3> Forestry can be defined as the management of forest for maximum sustained yield of forest resources and benefits. It can as well be defined as the art of planting, tending and managing forests and the utilization of their products. It is a branch of agriculture which deals with the control and management of forest for forest resources. <br> <h2>Importance of Forest</h2> The importance of forest includes the following: <ol> <li>Forest provides timber trees used as planks for furniture, canoes, coffins, pulp wood for papers and match sticks.</li> <li>It is a source of wild animals used for meat.</li> <li>Provides income to people through hunting, felling of timber and sales of other products.</li> <li>It protects the soil against erosion. The intensity of rain drops is reduced by the leaves, the stems reduce the speed of wind and the roots help to bind the soil together.</li> <li>It is a source of wild fruits, nuts, and flowers.</li> <li>It is a source of fuel e.g. fire wood</li> <li>It is a source of medicinal herbs for curing diseases</li> <li>It is a source of fibre and ropes</li> <li>It provides employment for people such as the forest guards, saw millers, forest lawyers.</li> <li>It is a source of revenue to the government</li> <li>It is a source of foreign exchange from the exported timber products. Hence, it raises the country’s national income</li>