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AGR 201 MODULE 1 NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA COURSE CODE :AEM 411 COURSE TITLE: GENERAL AGRICULTURE 1 AGR 201 GENERAL AGRICULTURE COURSE GUIDE AGR 201 GENERAL AGRICULTURE Course Developer/Writer Professor M.A.K Smith Department of Crop, Soil & Pest Management Federal University of Technology, Akure Programme Leader Professor A. Adebanjo National Open University of Nigeria Course Co-ordinator Dr. N. E. Mundi National Open University of Nigeria NATIONAL OPEN UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA 2 AGR 201 MODULE 1 National Open University of Nigeria Headquarters 14/16 Ahmadu Bello Way Victoria Island Lagos Abuja Office No. 5 Dar es Salaam Street Off Aminu Kano Crescent Wuse II, Abuja Nigeria e-mail: [email protected] URL: www.nou.edu.ng Published by National Open University of Nigeria Printed 2009 ISBN: 978-058-583-8 All Rights Reserved Printed by: 3 AGR 201 GENERAL AGRICULTURE CONTENTS PAGE Introduction……………………………………..………………….. 1 The Course………………………………………..………………… 1 Course Aims……………………………………..…………………. 4 Course Objectives………………………………..………………..... 4 Working through the Course………………………………………… 5 The Course Material…………………………...……………………. 5 Study Units……………………………………….………………… 5 Textbooks and References ………………………..……………….. 7 Assessment…………………………………………………………. 10 Tutor-Marked Assignment……………….…………………………. 10 Final Examination and Grading …………………………………….. 10 Summary……………………………….…………………………… 10 Introduction Agriculture is the production of food, feed, fibre, fuel and other goods through the systematic raising of plants and animals. It encompasses farming, tending of orchards and vineyards and ranching. Ordinarily, agriculture means the cultivation and tillage of the soil of a field, in order to prepare a suitable seedbed, eliminate weed growth and improve the physical condition of the soil. Farming covers a wide spectrum of practices, ranging from subsistence agriculture (traditional production of food for family consumption and animal feeding), intensive agriculture, industrial agriculture to animal traction and farm mechanization. All these activities have a common objective of maximization of financial income from grain, produce or livestock. However, modern agriculture covers all activities essential to food, feed, fibre production, including techniques for raising and “processing” livestock, and increasingly widening areas of human efforts and practices to ensure survival and sustainable development. Modern agricultural activities include pastoralism (nomadic farming), horticulture, fisheries, aquaculture, apiculture, forestry, wildlife conservation, food science technology, production of industrial chemicals and drugs, application of chemical fertilizers, wood ash and limestone, pest control, soil management, hydroponics, crop improvement, irrigation and sanitary engineering, packaging, processing and marketing of agricultural products. The use of radio and television for disseminating vital weather reports, etc. as well as computerization of farm operations are also agricultural activities. Agriculture is not only basic to human existence but also an important factor in determining the complexity of the global socio-economic change from the original, simple and primitive hunter-gather cultures. While the latter ancient practices ensure a subsistent food and fibre 4 AGR 201 MODULE 1 supply, intensive and industrial farming guarantees large-scale supplies of raw and processed foods, feeds, fibre, fuel and other goods for community consumption and incomes, and foreign exchange earnings for national development as well as global advancement. The role of agriculture in human development can therefore, not be over- emphasised. The Course This Course Guide gives a brief description of the topical areas of this course material. There is the need not only to understand the meaning and scope of agriculture as a basic activity to human existence, but also to appreciate the distinct classes of activities which combine to ensure international (global) food security. Agriculture is also a major contributor to diverse environmental alterations which threaten human existence on the planet earth, in respect of the multitude of cultural operations used to achieve optimum crop, animal and forest yields. The ownership of land is critical to land use for agriculture and other purposes, and this varies widely with the existing laws and customs in different parts of the world. In Nigeria, agriculture is the largest contributor to national development, and its development is greatly influenced by political history. Several intervention schemes have been implemented to ensure increased food production. Agriculture is ancient in origin, but has witnessed several random and systematic transformations resulting in complex, more sustaining and efficient modern systems of food, feed and fibre production. This accounts for the wide variations in the systems of farming, depending on the intensity of cropping and duration of bush fallow. Thus, tropical agriculture consists of largely the traditional multiple cropping systems which are strongly influenced by population growth, commercialization and modernization. Tropical cropping systems range from nomadic herding, and bush fallowing to crop rotation, monocropping, Taungya farming, alley cropping, mixed farming, which guarantee soil sustainability and environmental preservation. Cultural operations adopted in crop production not only ensure a favourable environment for optimum crop yield and quality, but also include breeding of improved varieties, adaptation to diverse environments and provide alternative to herbicides. Seed propagation of crops is more ancient than asexual propagation, which in recent times led to the evolution of micro-propagation to produce new disease and pest-resistant crop varieties. In spite of these, the onset of the cropping season, cropping pattern and systems and the number of crops cultivable by farmers depend on the climatic factors, especially rainfall and temperature. In Nigeria, the distribution of crops 5 AGR 201 GENERAL AGRICULTURE across ecological zones depends largely on the seasonality of rainfall, and the duration and regimes of the wet season. This accounts for the cultivation of the long-season root and perennial tree crops in the wetter south and the short-season grain crops in the drier north. Soil type, fertility and land use systems also exert considerable influence on agricultural production. Animal husbandry involves the breeding and raising of animals not only for meat, milk, eggs and wool on a continual basis but also for companionship, farm work and secondary benefits such as pharmaceuticals, drugs, organic manuring and farm income. Farm animals vary widely in their feedings habits (ruminants, non-ruminants, monogastrics), the type of food they eat (herbivores, carnivores, omnivores) as well as the purpose of management (beef, dairy, work, egg-laying). In Nigeria, farm animals vary widely in their spatial distribution across ecozones depending on the husbandry system, cultural, social, religious, ecological factors and the type of animal breed. However, the main livestock types are cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, donkeys, horses and poultry. The systems of management of these animals depend mainly on the intended scale of output (subsistence versus export), farmer’s convenience, financial base and available resources such as land and pasture. The systems are largely traditional, nomadic and free range and to a smaller extent, semi-intensive, intensive and ranching. Certain practices are critical to adequate supply of good- quality animal products and by-products, not only to guarantee huge profits but also to sustain livestock production. These include selection of good animals, feeding, housing, disease control, etc. Fish production is major source of animal protein for human consumption. Non-food fish products can be used as dietary supplements in livestock production while parts of fishes have several direct and indirect benefits to humans, particularly industrial uses. In Nigeria, fish production is highly valued as a renewable source of cheap, high-quality animal protein from large supplies of fish and other aquatic living organisms such as sea weeds and coral reefs. Fish production systems range from capture fisheries, industrial fisheries, small-scale fisheries and artisanal fisheries to culture fisheries (aquaculture). Fish vary widely in type depending on the habitat characteristics and body skeleton, and include tropical and coldwater fish, freshwater and marine fish, cartilaginous and bony fish. Forest management is an important area of agriculture, which provides man with several economic, social, religious and environmental values. The forest contains not only a great quantity of timber reserves and manufacturing wood products (alcohol, plywood), but also abundant non-woody plant and animal resources such as mushrooms, honey, 6 AGR 201 MODULE 1 biomedicals and spices. Sustainable forest management involves silvicultural systems which assure full and inexhaustible benefits and services from natural forests, forest reserves and forest plantations. Silviculture is based on principles of forest ecology and ecosystem management which are targeted at the creation and maintenance of pure, even-aged stands of single tree species. Wildlife management is a particularly important sub-sector of agriculture, because it generates huge foreign exchange through exports, game-viewing and tourism. It is also highly valued for its socio-cultural, religious and trado-medical

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