We will be discussing the various forms of Agriculture in Nigeria. But before we go into that, let’s know the definition of Agriculture.
Agriculture can be defined as a discipline dealing with the selection, breeding, and management of crops and domestic animals for consumption and economic production.
A person who wants to go into an Agriculture business will pick at least one of the following forms he or she wants to practice.
Forms Of Agriculture
- Crop Production.
- Shifting Cultivation
- Crop Rotation
- Mono-Cropping
- Mixed Cropping
- Mixed Farming
- Horticulture
- Livestock Farming
- Apiculture
- Fisheries
- Snail rearing
Crop Production.
This is the planting and harvesting of different plant varieties. This deals with the planting of different kinds of crops like cassava, groundnut, maize, etc.
The purpose of crop production is for consumption and for economical purposes like selling to earn money.
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Crop Production is one of the forms of agriculture. You can also cultivate crops on an industrial scale.
For example, the former President of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo is an industrious farmer that is he farms on a very large scale.
There are different farm practices farmers use in crop production.
Shifting Cultivation
This is a process a farmer plants on a land for a while and then abandons that land and moves to another to cultivate.
During this period, the piece of land that was abandoned will regain back its fertility it was lost during the period the farmer was planting on the land.
Crop Rotation
This is a farm practice in which the farmer demarcate a piece of land into the different segment to plant different kinds of crop. The cultivation is rotated every year.
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For example, If a cereal like rice is cultivated in plot A and a Legume like beans is cultivated in plot B. Then after a whole farming year the rice will then be cultivated in plot B and then the beans will be cultivated in plot A.
Mono-Cropping
This is a farm practice in which a farmer cultivates a kind of crop on a piece of land.
For example, cassava which is a biennial crop is planted on a plot of land, or groundnut which is an annual crop is planted. This depends on the choice of the farmer.
Mixed Cropping
This is a farm practice that’s under crop production which is among the forms of agriculture.
As the mixed implies, this involves the planting of different crops on a particular piece of land.
This is kind of preferable because the farmer harvest different kind of crop at the end of the planting season.
Mixed Farming
This is a farm practice that involves a farmer planting crops and also rearing animals on the same piece of land.
This has more advantages than the other farm practice because the farmer uses the feces of the animal as a manual for the crop.
Horticulture
This is a farm practice in which a farmer cultivate fruit, ornamental crops, and vegetable.
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We know that ornamental crops are mainly for decoration e.g. flowers.
Livestock Farming
Livestock farming is an agriculture form that involves the rearing of farm animals.
We rear farm animals for different purposes. For Example, Cows are reared for their milk and meat, birds are eggs and also meat.
Farmers earn money from livestock as they also earn from crop cultivation.
Apiculture
Apiculture is one of the forms of agriculture that involves the rearing of bees.
Bees are reared for their honey. Honey is used by humans mostly as a substitute for sugar and also for industrial purposes.
Fisheries
This deals with the rearing of aquatic animals in an artificial habitat. For example, Fish are reared in a fish pond.
The fish pond is not their natural habitat, it is their artificial habitat.
Snail rearing
This involves feeding and taking care of snails. The pens or areas are usually waterlogged.
Snails are usually reared for human consumption and also for industrial purposes.
When you hear about agriculture, it does not only mean farming and rearing of animals. You now know the different forms of agriculture.
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