<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:

<h1><strong>AGRICULTURAL LAWS AND REFORMS</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Land Tenure System in Nigeria</li> <li>Definition of Land Tenure System</li> <li>Classification of Land Tenure System</li> <li>The Land Use Decree of 1978 and its Implications</li> <li>Features of the Land Use Act (Decree) of 1978</li> <li>Aims of the Land Use Decree</li> <li>Implications of the Land Use Act</li> <li>Advantages and Disadvantages of the Land Use Decree</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Land Tenure System in Nigeria</strong></h2> <strong>Definition of Land Tenure System</strong> Land tenure is defined as the system of land ownership or acquisition by individuals, family, community or government agencies either for temporal or permanent use. <h3><strong>Classification of Land Tenure System</strong></h3> <ol> <li>Communal land tenure</li> <li>Land tenure by inheritance</li> <li>Land tenure by purchase or freehold</li> <li>Land tenure by free gift or pledge</li> <li>Tenant at the will of government</li> <li>Leasehold land tenure system</li> </ol>   Brief explanations of the above are given below: <h4><strong>Communal Land Tenure System</strong></h4> This is the whereby land belong to the community. The head of the community decides the basis of sharing out land .Every adult especially male member of the community is allocated a piece of land. <h5><strong>Advantages of Communal Land Tenure System </strong></h5> <ol> <li>Every adult member of the community can acquire land and each person has full right to the land allocated to him</li> <li>It is cheap to acquire as no cost is involved</li> <li>It is ideal for large scale farming</li> <li>It facilitate land development</li> <li>Farmers cooperative may be easily organized</li> </ol> <h5><strong>Disadvantages of Communal Land Tenure System </strong></h5>

<h1><strong>MEANING AND IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Introduction to Agricultural Ecology and Ecosystem</li> <li>Meaning of Agro-ecology and Ecosystem</li> <li>Definition of Agricultural Ecology</li> <li>Components of Farm Ecosystem</li> <li>Interactions of the Terrestrial and Aquatic Agro Ecosystem</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Introduction to Agricultural Ecology and Ecosystem</strong></h2> The goal of agriculture is to provide food for the nation. The business of agriculture is carried out within the ecosystem. Therefore the environment is very important because it constitutes all the physical surrounding around us. All the living organisms that have been domesticated by man in agriculture are all the components of the environment. These domesticated plant and animal species interact together in the environment to form the agro-ecological system.   <h2><strong>Meaning of Agro-ecology and Ecosystem</strong></h2> Ecology is the study of the relationship between organisms and their environment. The study of an individual organism or a single species is termed autecology while the study of groups of organisms is called synecology. Human activites have interfered with the complex ecological relationships. Such human activities include agricultural activities like: <ul> <li>Large scale farming that involves the use of pesticides, herbicide, insecticides etc.</li> <li>Expansive land clearing</li> <li>Oil exploration.</li> <li>Construction</li> <li>Urbanization</li> </ul> These have seriously disturbed the natural balance in the ecosystems.   <h2><strong>Definition of Agricultural Ecology

<h1><strong>LAND AND ITS USES</strong></h1> CONTENT <ol> <li>Meaning of Land</li> <li>Characteristics of Land</li> <li>Classification of Land</li> <li>Factors Affecting Land Availability and Uses</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Meaning of Land </strong></h2> Land can be defined as the solid part of the earth’s surface which comprise of water, air , soil, rocks, minerals, natural vegetation and animals and which is suitable for agricultural production. It can also be defined as the uppermost layer of the earth's crust on which agricultural and non-agricultural activities are carried out.   <h2><strong>Characteristics of Land</strong></h2> The following are the characteristics of land: <ol> <li>Land is a free gift of nature</li> <li>it is immobile</li> <li>limited in supply</li> <li>It is a factor of agricultural production.</li> <li>Land can appreciate and depreciate over time</li> <li>It is heterogeneous in quality. i.e. it differs in one place to the another in area of the topography,texture,structure,fertility etc.</li> <li>The reward for land is rent.</li> </ol>   <h2><strong>Classification of Land</strong></h2> <h3><strong>Classification of Land Based on Use</strong></h3> Land can be classified based on the uses they are put into. Thus we have: <h4><strong>Agricultural Land </strong></h4> This include land for; <ul> <li>Crop production</li> <li>Livestock production and fisheries</li> <li>Forestry</li> <li>Wildlife conservation</li> </ul> <h5><strong>Uses of Land for Agricultural Production</strong></h5> <h6>(i) <strong>Production of Crops </strong></h6> Land is used for producing both food crops like yam, maize, rice, cassava, cowpea etcand cash crops like cocoa, rubber, oil palm, cotton etc.land used for these activities is usually fertile <strong>Importance or Merits of Production of Crops </strong> The importance of crops include;