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Crop Production: Types and Methods of Farming

🌱 Agricultural Science 📋 JSS3 📅 First Term ⏱ ~20 min 📝 5 quiz questions
📖 Content 📝 Quiz (5)

Importance of Agriculture in Nigeria

Agriculture is the backbone of the Nigerian economy. It provides food, employment, raw materials for industries, and earns foreign exchange through exports (cocoa, rubber, groundnuts).

Types of Crops

CategoryExamplesUse
CerealsMaize, rice, sorghum, millet, wheatFood — energy rich
Legumes/PulsesGroundnut, cowpea (beans), soya beanFood — protein rich
Roots and tubersYam, cassava, sweet potato, cocoyamStaple food
VegetablesTomato, pepper, okra, leafy greensVitamins and minerals
Cash/export cropsCocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palmIndustry, export

Methods of Farming

Traditional Farming

  • Shifting cultivation: farm a piece of land for a few years, then move to a new area to allow soil to recover
  • Bush fallowing: leave land uncultivated for a period to regain fertility
  • Mixed cropping: grow two or more crops on the same land at the same time
  • Crop rotation: grow different crops in sequence on the same land each season

Modern/Commercial Farming

  • Mechanised farming (tractors, harvesters)
  • Use of fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation
  • Improved seed varieties (HYV — High Yielding Varieties)
  • Greenhouse farming
💡 Crop rotation helps maintain soil fertility — legumes (beans, groundnuts) fix nitrogen back into the soil, benefiting the next crop grown.

📝 Quiz — Test Your Understanding

Answer all 5 questions, then click Submit to see your result.

Question 1 of 5
Which of these is a cash/export crop in Nigeria?
Cocoa is Nigeria's most important export crop, especially from the south-western states. Other major cash crops include rubber, oil palm, and cotton.
Question 2 of 5
What is shifting cultivation?
Shifting cultivation involves farming land for a few years until the soil becomes less fertile, then clearing new land while the old land is left to recover naturally.
Question 3 of 5
Crop rotation helps soil fertility mainly because:
Legumes (beans, groundnuts, soya) have nitrogen-fixing bacteria in their root nodules. When grown in rotation, they replenish soil nitrogen, reducing the need for artificial fertilisers.
Question 4 of 5
Yam is classified as which type of crop?
Yam is a root and tuber crop. Nigeria is the world's largest producer of yam.
Question 5 of 5
Mixed cropping means:
Mixed cropping (also called intercropping) involves growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land, maximising land use and reducing risk.
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