Classwork Series and Exercises {Social Studies – JSS3}: National Economy

Social Studies JSS 3 Week 4

Topic: National Economy

Contents

• Meaning of National Economy
• Farming

Meaning of National Economy

National Economy can be refers to the goods and services which a country is able to produce at any given time using all the natural, human and capital resources available to it.

Natural resources of a country are those things in that country’s natural environment. These include land, water, plants, minerals

Human resources are the people within the country who are capable of engaging in in productive activity

Capital resources are those things made by human beings to make the production of goods and services easy.

The Economic activities that are undertaken in the production of a national economy include farming, fishing,manufacturing , trading, etc

Farming

Farming is the cultivation of land and growing of crops to produce food items and industrial raw materials. Agriculture provided about 70% of Nigeria’s National income

Kinds of farming practiced in Nigeria

1. Plantation Farming: It is usually carried out in large scale for the production of crops for local industries or for export.The crops include palm oil, rubber, cocoa, etc
2. Livestock Farming: It involves the rearing of animal like cattle , sheep, goats, donkeys etc.
3. Poultry Farming: This is the rearing of birds of birds for the supply of meat and eggs. Poultry are grouped according to what they produce best
4. Arable Farming: This is ploughing of land for the growing of crops. It can be labour or capital intensive

Farming System

Types of Farming systems are:

Mixed Farming: It is a system of farming in which the farmer grows crops and rares animal on the same land as part of the same farming enterprise

Advantages of mixed farming

1. Animal dung and droppings are used as manure to improve soil fertility.
2. It encourages efficient use of farm labour and hence increased crop yields.
3. It is an insurance against failure.

Disadvantages of Mixed Farming

1. It is labour intensive.
2. It is capital intensive.

iii.Animals may graze on the crops and totally destroy them.

Bush fallowing or shifting cultivation

This is a farming system in which periods of crop productions are alternated with periods of crop productions are alternated with periods of vegetative fallow. A piece of land is cultivated for some years and when its nutrient is exhausted it is then allowed to go back to bush for some years.

Advantages of Bush Fallowing

1. It is the cheapest way of maintaining soil fertility.
2. It prevents the rapid buildup and spread of diseases and pests.

Disadvantages of Bush Fallowing

1. It wastes land because a large area of land is left fallow.
2. It does not encourage long term planning e.g. erection of homes.

   Pastoral farming

This is a system of farming where a farmer keeps grazing only livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats etc. There are three types of pastoral farming, namely nomadic farming, ranching and ley farming.

  Nomadic farming: This is a system of animal rearing whereby the herdsman moves about from place to place with his animals to look for greener pasture and water.

The advantages are;

1. The animals enjoy unlimited freedom of exercise.
2. It does not require skill and technical knowledge.

The disadvantages are;

1. There is irregular supply of feed to animals.
2. There is high incidence of pests and diseases etc.

  Ranching: This is the system of livestock production whereby the animals are kept on large but enclosed expanse of and the advantages include the following;

• Grazing of field can be controlled
• It ensures efficient management

The disadvantages are;

1. It is expensive to practice.
   
2. Overstocking may lead to an increase in the incidence of pests and diseases.

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