<h1><strong>MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Agriculture</li> <li>Definition of Agriculture</li> <li>Branches of Agriculture</li> <li>Importance of Agriculture<strong> </strong></li> </ol> <strong> </strong> <h2><strong>Meaning Of Agriculture</strong></h2> Agricultural science is a subject that deals with the planting of crops, rearing of animals as well as the provision of raw materials for industries. Agriculture is derived from two Latin words ‘<em>ager</em>’ (field) and ‘<i>cultūra</i>’ (cultivation or growing). Literally it means field cultivation. Agriculture is as old as the existence of man. It is regarded as the mother of all other occupations. It is the live-blood of the nation’s economy   <h2><strong>Definition of Agriculture </strong></h2> Agriculture can therefore be defined as the act and science of cultivating the soil for the production of crops and livestock management to the processing, packaging, distribution and marketing of plants and animals products for man’s use. Simply put, <strong>agriculture </strong>is the art and science that deals with the cultivation of crops and the rearing of animals for man’s use. Agriculture is defined as the production of crops and the rearing of animals for man’s use. It involves the tilling of the soil, cultivation of crops, rearing of animals for numerous purposes as well as for food .   <h2><strong>Branches of Agriculture </strong></h2> The scope and branches (areas of specialization) of agriculture include the following:

<h1><strong>SUBSISTENCE AND COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture</li> <li>Characteristics of Subsistence Agriculture</li> <li>Characteristics of Commercial Agriculture</li> <li>Differences between Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture</li> <li>Problems of Subsistence Farming</li> <li>Problems of Commercial Agriculture</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Meaning of Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture </strong></h2> Basically, agriculture is of two types. All farmers are not the same. Some are rich while others are poor; some have large areas of land while others have very limited land space. The differences among all farmers help to categorize agriculture into two major types, namely subsistence and commercial agriculture. <h3><strong>Subsistence Agriculture (Subsistence Farming) </strong></h3> Subsistence farming is the type of agriculture whereby a farmer cultivates the soil and rears animals in order to produce food enough to feed himself and his family, with little or none left for to be sold. <h3><strong>Commercial Agriculture (Commercial Farming) </strong></h3> This is the type of farming which involves the production of cash crops and animals in large quantity. Food are produced mainly for sale with a motive to make maximum profit. Commercial agriculture is therefore a profit-oriented venture/enterprise. <h2></h2> <h2><strong>Characteristics of Subsistence Agriculture</strong></h2> The following are the characteristic features of subsistence agriculture:

<h1><strong>PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT AND POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Problems of Agricultural Development</li> <li>Solutions to the Problems of Agricultural Development</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Problems of Agricultural Development </strong></h2> Many developing countries in West Africa are faced with numerous problems that militate against the development of agriculture. Some of these problems are: <ol> <li>Inadequate Land or Land Tenure System</li> <li>Poor Storage and Processing Facilities</li> <li>Inadequate Finance or Credit Facilities</li> <li>Inadequate Farm Inputs</li> <li>Inadequate Basic Amenities</li> <li>Problems of Transportation</li> <li>Low level of Agricultural Education and Extension</li> <li>Unstable or Inconsistent Government Policies</li> <li>Environmental Degradation</li> <li>Rural-Urban Migration</li> <li>Poor Marketing Systems.</li> <li>Pests and Diseases Infestation.</li> </ol>   <h3><strong>Inadequate Land or Land Tenure System</strong></h3> This problem is discussed under the following points: <ol> <li>Increase in Population increases alternative use of land for agriculture which will reduce the size of farm land</li> <li>The type of Land Tenure system which encourages family ownership of land does not allow farmers to acquire large areas of land for commercial agriculture</li> <li>It leads to land fragmentation which does not support mechanization.</li> <li>Deforestation and desert encroachment contribute lack of land.</li> <li>Soil erosion and marshy or swamping areas also contributes to lack of farm land.</li> </ol> <h4><strong>Solution to the Problem of Inadequate Land or Land Tenure System </strong></h4> <ol> <li>The Land Use Decree of 1978 should be fully and judiciously implemented</li> <li>The government can acquire land for farm settlement scheme</li> <li>Cooperative farm can be encouraged</li> <li>Crop rotation system should be practiced by farmers</li> <li>Fertilizers and manure should be used to increase production of crops in the available land</li> </ol>   <h3><strong>Poor Storage and Processing Facilities</strong></h3>

<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><strong>THE ROLE OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (NGOs) IN AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)</li> <li>Characteristics of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)</li> <li>Examples of NGOs Involved in Improving Agricultural Production</li> <li>The Roles/Importance of NGOs in Agricultural Development</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Meaning of Non-Governmental Organization (NGO)</strong></h2> Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) are bodies set up by private agencies or corporate bodies to develop agriculture all over the globe. These are organisations formed by individuals or group of individuals who run the organization’s affairs without government intervention. They support government projects with their wealth and resources. People found in this kind of organizations have in their heart the true love of the nation and the upliftment of the less privileged citizens in order to make the environment healthy and safe to live in. They are independent of government.   <h2><strong>Characteristics of Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) </strong></h2> The following are some characteristic features of NGOs: