WEEK 3
Agricultural Science S.S.S 1
TOPIC: AGRICULTURAL LAWS AND REFORMS
LAND AND ITS USES
From agricultural stand point, land is defined as the solid part of the earth surface in which agricultural activities can be practiced. Land like air and water is a free gift of nature.
Use of Land for Agricultural and Non-Agricultural Purposes
There are two schools of thoughts. They are the pedeathologists and edaphologists. The pedeathologists are concerned with land used for construction and other non-agricultural activities, while the edaphologists are interested in such lands used for agricultural activities. From the above, land has two major uses.
(a) Agricultural Land (b) Non-agricultural land.
1. Agricultural Land:
Land for agriculture must be fertile, flat and free from many problems. Agricultural land can be used for food crop production e.g. rice, yam, potato, beans, sorghum and cash crops like kenaf, cotton, rubber, cocoa, kola, groundnut, etc. Agricultural land requires regular management practice like drainage, irrigation, and fertilizer application.
a. Land for Forestry:
i. Land for forestry must not be too fertile.
ii. Forest is established in area of sparse population.
iii. Land should be where the rate of erosion is high.
iv. Sometimes at state or country boundaries.
v. Disputed land.
Uses of forests include the following
The wood of trees can be used in making paper, furniture, match sticks, coffins, canoes.
The trees help to prevent erosion.
The leaves of rainfall in an area.
Herbs of various kinds can be got from the forest for medicinal purposes.
Dyes, ropes, fibers, wax and latex are essential products from the forest.
Forest acts as home for wild animals.
Forest products can generate revenue and employment for people.
Some Forest Reserves in Nigeria
Shasha River Forest Reserve in Ogun State.
Omo Forest Reserve in Ogun State.
Sapoba Forest Reserve in Edo State.
Mamu River Forest Reserve in Anambara State.
Afi River Forest Reserve in Kadnuna State.
Awba Hills Forest Reserve in Oyo State.
Sanga Forest Reserve in Plateau State
Anara Forest Reserve in Kaduna State.
Zamfara Forest Reserve in Sokoto State
Okomu Forest Reserve in Edo State.
Ofosu Forest Reserve in Edo State.
b. Land for Wildlife
i. The land to be utilized for wildlife must not be good for agriculture and forestry.
ii. There should be sparse population where it is to be located.
iii. It may be a plain, hill or valley.
A wildlife reserve is a place where wild animals are conserved to avoid extinction while they are carefully exploited.
Uses of wildlife including the following:
i .Tourist attraction.
ii. Revenue generation.
iii. They provide horns, meat, egg and fish for food.
1v. Hides and skins from wildlife like zebra, giraffe, tiger are also very important.
Poaching or the indiscriminate killing of animals in a game reserve should be prohibited. Forest fires, fishing with chemicals should be avoided.
Examples of game reserves in Nigeria are:
i. Yankari Game Reserve in Bauchi State.
ii. Zugurma Game Reserve in Niger State.
iii. Borgu Game Reserve in Kwara State.
iv. Kainji National Park in Kogi State.
Some animals conserved in the game reserve are:
i. Lions. ii. Monkeys iii. Elephants iv. Tigers
v. Leopards v1. Snakes vii. Turtles viii. Tortoises
ix. Crocodiles x. Birds.
2. Non-Agricultural Land use
a. The lands for non-agricultural use are not good for agriculture, forestry and wildlife.
b. They are smaller in size in terms of land mass.
c. They are also suitable where population is high.
Types of non-agricultural activities:
i. Construction: This includes land for road, bridge, railway lines, airport, etc. Their major problem is the reduction of agricultural land as well as their ability to cause erosion due to inadequate drainage, and again, because agricultural land may be destroyed. Their usefulness lines in the case of transportation of goods and persons.
ii. Social / Recreational Centres: This includes the land for building viz: (i) Cinema houses (ii) Parks – amusement park (iii) Stadia and gymnasia (iv) Churches and mosques (v) Schools – primary, secondary and tertiary (vi) Markets (vii) Hospital (viii) Cemeteries.
iii. Residential Buildings: This includes lands used for the construction of residential buildings, which we live. It also includes land for building offices, banks , etc.
iv. Industrial Buildings: these are located either close to the raw materials or markets in Nigeria. Many industries are located in the industrial estates like Ikeja, Matori, Agbara in Lagos State.
v. Land for Mining: This includes land used for the extraction and mining of petroleum, gold, tin and others. The size of land may be very large therefore reducing agricultural land.
Exercise
Give two Agricultural land use
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