INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURE

Definition of Agriculture:

Agriculture is the Science of crop cultivation and raising or rearing of animals.

A crop is a plant which is grown for a number of purposes. For example, food
for humans, feeding of animals or animal folder e.g (alfafa), for fuel e.g
eucalyptus plant.

History of Agriculture

The practice of agriculture first began around 800 BC in the fertile crescent of
Mesopotamia (part of present day Iraq, Turkey, Syria, and Jordan) which was
then greener. These were the sites of the earliest plant sowing and harvesting of
plants previously gathered in the wild. Agriculture was developed independently
in Northern and Southern China with rice as the main crop. Chinese and
Indonesian farmers domesticated taro and beans.

By 7000BC, farming was entrenched on the bangs of the river Nile in Egypt and
the Indian sub-continent saw farming of wheat and barley. By 5000BC, the
Somalians had developed co-agricultural techniques including large scale
intensive cultivation of land monocropping and irrigation. Maize and cassava
were domesticated in the Americas i.e, North and South America. Potato,
tomato, pepper and several varieties of beans were developed in the New World
(North and South America). Cocoa was domesticated in Mexico and Central
America.

Livestock Agriculture

The first domesticated animal was the sheep which was tamed around 9000BC
in North Iraq. Around 6500 BC, domesticated goats were kept in the same
region. At about 6000 BC, the pig was domesticated in Iraq. By 5900 BC, there
were domesticated cattle in Chad while independently at about 5500 BC, there

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were domesticated cattle in South West Iran. In about 3500 BC, the horse was
domesticated on the Eurasian steppes (a mountain area between Europe and
Asia). Domestication of livestock ushered in the large scale use of animals for
food, fibre and labour etc.

Middle Ages (AD 476 -1453)

During this period, farmers of North Africa, Middle East and Europe began
making use of agricultural techniques like irrigation, dams, reservoirs. These
combined with the invention of crop rotation and ploughing of fields greatly
improved agricultural efficiency.

Modern Era

After 1492, a global exchange of previously used local crops and livestock
breeds occurred between the New world (North and South America) and the Old
world (Europe, Africa and Asia). Key crops in this exchange included;

- From the New to the Old world: tomato, maize, potato, cassava, cocoa,
beans and tobacco.
- From the Old to the New world: wheat, spices, coffee, sugarcane.

Potato became and has remained an important staple crop in Northern Europe.
Maize and cassava introduced by the Portuguese (in the 16th Century) has
replaced traditional African crops as the continent’s most important food crops.

By 1800, agricultural techniques, implements and seed stocks had so improved

that crop yields per unit area of land were many times higher than yields
obtained in the middle ages. With the rapid rise of mechanization in the late 19 th
and 20th centuries, particularly in the form of tractors, farming tasks could be
done with speed and on a scale previously impossible. Combined with the
selectively bred high yielding crop varieties, fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation,
crop yields have increased drastically. However in recent years, there has been a
back lash against the external environmental effects on convention of agriculture
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resulting in organic movement. Agriculture was the key development that led to
the rise of human civilization with husbandry that is, breeding and raising or
growing of domesticated plants and animals creating food surpluses that enabled
the development of more densely populated and satisfied societies.

N/B: Livestock agriculture began before crop agriculture.

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 Crop Types

There are several crop types;

Fruits: grapes, mangoes, pear, apple, jackfruit, plums, guava, strawberry. Grape
fruit is different from grapes, but they all belong to the citrons.

Cereals: Rice, maize, wheat, barley, sorghum, etc.

Legumes: Soya bean, cow pea, beans, ground nuts, etc. They are nitrogen fixers.

Grain legumes: Soya bean, beans, ground nuts, etc

Roots and Tubers: yams, potatoes, cassava.

Leafy vegetables: Cabbage, huckle berry, etc

Fruit vegetables: Tomato, Water melon, Pumpkin, Cucumber, Carrot, Sweat

pepper etc. Pear and Irish potato are eaten as vegetables.

Root and bulb vegetables: lily, onion, tulip, etc

Spices: Garlic, Ginger, Onion, Pepper, Tomato, etc.

Cash Crops: Banana, Oil palm, Cocoa, Rubber, Tea, Coffee etc

Beverage crops: Tea, Coffee.

Oil crops: ground nut, oil palms, etc

Stimulant crops: Tobacco, Marijuana. N/B: They are not food crops.

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 Crop Production Systems

1. Monoculture

It is a system in which one crop cultivar is planted on a large acreage (land),

because of the low biodiversity. Nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build
up thereby necessitating the increasing use of fertilizers and pesticides.

2. Intercropping

It is a system where crops are grown on the same land at the same time arranged
in different rows.

3. Mixed Cropping
It is a farming system where several crops are grown on the same piece of land
arranged in any order.

Crop Production Practices

1. Shifting Cultivation (Slash and burn):

It is a system in which forest is burnt releasing nutrients to support the

cultivation of annual (seasonal) and then perennial crops for a period of several
years. Then the plant is left fallowed to regrow forest and farmer moves to a new
plot (possible in areas with excess land or no pressure on land) without the hope
of coming back to the former plot.

Annual crops are those that are grown for a season; maize, carrot, yams,
cassava, tomato, cabbage, etc. They have a shorter growing period.

Perennial crops are those whose growth period goes more than a year; banana,
cocoa, oil palm, coffee, tea, etc. they have multi years of growth.

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 2. Bush Fallowing

In this system, the farmer cultivates after burning and when the farm yields fall,
he abandons the area with the hope of coming back and the forest is left
fallowed.

Definition of Livestock

These are domesticated animals such as; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs, and poultry
raised for home use or subsistence (but not as pets) or raised also for profits
(commercial purposes). They are raised especially on farms or ranches.

Definition of Poultry

This is the keeping of domesticated birds raised for food (either meat or eggs)
and or feathers and also for profits (for commercial values). They are usually
raised on a poultry farm (chicken, ducks, goose, turkey, quail etc. Bird feathers
are used to produce pillows and stuffing of warm cloths during the winter
seasons since feathers are very good insulators.

Economic Value of Livestock

- Meat: This serves as a key source of dietary proteins.

- Dairy products: mammalian livestock (cattle, sheep, goats not birds since
they do not produce milk) can be used as a source of milk which in turn is
easily processed into dairy products such as; cheese, yoghurt, butter, ice
cream etc.
- Fiber: livestock produce a range of fiber/ textiles e.g wool (from sheep
and goats), leather (from cattle and some from goats and sheep).
- Fertilizer: manure such as cattle dung can be spread on fields to increase
crop yield. The blood and bones of animals are also used as fertilizers.
- Labour: animals such as horses, donkey and cattle can be used for
mechanical energy for ploughing fields and transportation of goods.

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 - Land Management: the grazing of livestock is sometimes used as a way to
control weeds and undergrowth e.g, in areas pruned to wild fire, cattle,
sheep and goats are sent to graze on dry scrubs which remove combustible
material and reduces the risk of bush fires.

Livestock Production Systems

They are classified based on the feed source. They are:

a) Grassland-Based Livestock Production Systems (Transhumance)

This relies on plant material such as shrub land (small trees or plants), range
land and pastures (vegetation which is exclusively intended to feed ruminant
animals since they feed on green vegetation).

Outside nutrient inputs maybe used. However, manure is returned directly to the
grassland as a major nutrient source. The grassland-based livestock production
system is the predominantly used system in the tropics.

b) Mixed Production Systems

These system uses grassland, fodder crops, and grain crops as feed for ruminant
and monogastric animals (one stomach such as; chicken, pigs). Livestock
manure is typically recycled as a fertilizer for crops in this system.

c) Landless Systems

These systems rely on feed from outside the farm (found mostly in the western
countries) because of extreme weather conditions.

Importance of Agriculture to Man

Agricultural Products play important roles in our lives including;

- Food: e.g maize, rice, cassava products, cocoyams, potatoes, plantains,

millet, sorghum, etc. are staples in the diets of many communities. Bread

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 from wheat, vegetable oils from legumes crops (soya bean, ground nut,
maize etc), wine from grapes, etc.
- Dairy products: milk from cattle and goats is used as such or processed
into cheese, ice cream, yoghurt, butter etc.
- Cloths: wool from sheep and goats is used to make cloths. Skin from
cows is used in manufacturing leather jackets.
- Shoes, bags etc: skin from cattle is processed and used in the shoes and
leather industries.
- Cosmetics and pharmaceuticals: pear is a natural ingredient for te
cosmetic and pharmaceutical industries.

Impact of Agriculture on the Environment

Agricultural products involve a variety of external inputs in order to maximize

crop yields. The two most important are fertilizers and pesticides. Fertilizers are
applied to the soil to maintain (maintain) soil fertility and production hence
increasing crop yields while pesticides are used to control crop pests.

However, fertilizers and pesticides have negative effects on the environment.

They pollute our air, water and the soil. When applied to the soil or crops, these
chemicals may leave the field as run-offs eventually ending up in rivers and
lakes or drained into groundwater.

Organic Farming/ Agriculture

In the past few decades, there has been increased concerns over the undesirable
effects of fertilizers and pesticides, not only on the environment but also on
human health e.g., pesticides applied to control pests in a crop may leave
residues on the crops which may be toxic to humans and other forms of animal
life that may feed on the crops.

This concerns have led to a gradual shift away from the use of chemicals in
agriculture to a form of agriculture that produces food and livestock production

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inputs (fertilizers, pesticides, plant growth regulators, livestock drugs, hormones
and feed additives. This type of agriculture is called organic farming or organic
agriculture.

N/B: the motto of the organic farmer is to produce safe, healthy food and
livestock, and also protect the environment from the undesirable side effects of
chemicals. Supporters of the organic lifestyle believe that food and livestock
produced organically are of higher quality and processes higher nutritional value
compared to food and livestock produced by conventional chemical-based
methods.

Organic Crop Farming

To maintain soil fertility, productivity, and control pests, organic agriculture

relies on crop rotation (seasonal changes in crops of different botanical family
on the same piece of land); green manure, compost (use of vegetative parts of
plants), biological pest control and mechanical cultivation (weeding of the farm
by clearing, or with hands) excluding the use of synthetic or manufactured
inorganic chemical fertilizers as well as genetically modified organisms to
influence the growth of crops and toxic chemical pesticides.

Organic Livestock Farming; it excludes the use of drugs and animal hormones to
improve livestock production.

Organic Certification; many developed countries have certification programs to

restrict the labial use of the term “organic” this ensures that, quality assurance
standards have been met and that the source is reliable.

Other related terms and expressions include; organic agriculture, organic

farming, organic milk (milk from livestock which have not received any
artificial chemical), organic lifestyle which includes special diets like
vegetarians who do not eat meat. Lifestyle here means you can decide that you
won’t eat anything cultivated through the use of artificial chemicals but organic

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coffee, organic tea, organic clothing, organic movement (those who fight against
the use of artificial chemicals).

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 THE FARM

a) Orchard; It is a farm producing tree fruits or nuts (e.g coco nut, palm
nuts, etc).
b) Vineyard; it produces grapes
c) Dairy farm; it is a farm that is primarily used for the production of milk
and other dairy products (butter, cheese, ice cream, yoghurt, etc).
d) Market Garden; it produces vegetables.
e) Fish farm; it raises fish for food and profit.
f) Tree farm; it grows trees for sale, transplanting, or even for decorative
use.
g) Plantation; it is a large farm or estate on which a cash crop is cultivated
and primarily worked by others usually resident labourers for the gain of
the plantation owners.
h) Estate; it is a large farm or group of farms under the same ownership.
i) Ranch; it is a farm on which livestock are raised on rangeland. A ranch is
usually includes structures such as a ranch house, water points and
generally serves for grazing livestock such as; cattle, goats, sheep, horse,
etc. Ranches are named after the type of livestock raised on the ranch e.g
cattle ranch, i.e, a ranch were several herds of cattle are raised.

N/B: Rangeland is an expansive land (mostly unimproved) on which a

significant proportion of the natural vegetation is native grasses, grass-like
plants and shrubs suitable for livestock to wonder and graze on.

Specialized Farms

- Dairy farm; Dairy farming is a type of agriculture where female cattle,

goats, and other mammals are raised for milk or further processed in the
farm or transplanted to a dairy facility for processing and eventually retail
sale. They generally sell the male cattle for meat since the dairy breeds are
normally satisfactory for commercial beef production.
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 - Poultry farm; they are devoted to raising chicken, turkeys, ducks etc
generally for meat or their eges.
- Piggery farm (Hog farm); a farm were pigs are raised and kept.
- Ranch; A large piece of land were cattle, horses, goats, sheep, etc are
raised for meat.

Types of Farming

The word farming covers a wide spectrum of agricultural production work.

Characteristics Subsistence Commercial

Land area/ number of Small area of land/ Large fields/ large
animals fewer animals number of animals
Resource input Limited resource inputs Large resource inputs
(fertilizers, pesticides,
herbicides, etc)
Mechanization (the use None High level of
of machines) mechanization
Quantity of food Subsistence farming It produces crops and
produced produces only enough livestock for wide
food to feed the spread distributions to
farmer’s family (self- wholesalers or to retail
sufficiency farming) outlets (supermarkets)
Crops produced They include; They include; banana,
cocoyams, yams, tea, coffee, cocoa,
plantains, tomatoes, cotton, rubber,
cereals like rice, etc pineapples etc.

CHAPTER TWO

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 BRANCHES OF AGRICULTURE

It can be divided into many branches including; agronomy, soil science, plant
protection or plant health management, horticulture, animals science,
agricultural economics, agricultural extension, agricultural engineering, etc.

1. Agronomy (Crop Production):

It is a branch of agriculture which is concerned with the theory and practice of

growing crops and management of soils that is soil size. In the crop area,
agronomy encompasses work in the following areas;

- Plant Genetics and breeding; which involves the development and

selection of high yielding crop varieties, drought resistant crops etc
through plant breeding for example, agronomists have developed high
yielding rice that is adapted to the tropical climate.
- Crop physiology and management
- Crop ecology
- Seed production and physiology.
- Soil Microbiology; studies all the microorganisms that are found in the
soil like nematodes, fungi, viruses, bacteria etc.
- Soil conservation; this means the prevention of soil degradation for
example by erosion.
- Soil fertility; this refers to the availability of mineral nutrients for plant
growth.
- Soil physics.

Agronomists also study how climate affects crop growth and yield. This is
studied under a branch of agronomy called Agroclimatology. Agronomists work
in close collaboration with other specialists in other applied areas such as
Entomology, plant pathology and weed science in order to improve on crop
productivity.

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Examples of crops studied by agronomists include;

- Cereals; rice, wheat, maize, millet, etc.

- Legumes; beans, ground nuts, soya beans, cow pea, etc.
- Roots and tubers; cassava, cocoyams, yams, potato, etc.
- Fibre crops; cotton, wood.
- Vegetable crops; cabbage, huckleberry, cucumber, etc
- Fruit crops; mango, pear, oranges, guava, paw-paw, pineapples, plantain,
banana, etc.
- Spices; ginger, garlic, hot pepper, nut meg, etc.
- Others include; sugarcane.

2. Soil Science (Pethology):

This is the study of the soil as a natural resource on the surface of the earth
including; soil formation, classification and mapping (soil survey), physical,
chemical, biological, fertility, organic matter.

- Physical properties of soils; soil temperature, moisture.

- Chemical properties of soils; pH of the soil, mineral nutrients (N, P, K,
Mg, Ca, Fe, etc.).
- Biological properties of soils; diversity of micro- organisms inhabiting the
soil (fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes, insects, etc.).
- Fertility of soil; the availability of mineral nutrients required for plant
growth.
- Soil organic matter; due to decomposition of plants and animals including
animal dung that increases soil fertility.

3. Plant Health Management (Crop Protection):

A healthy plant is one which is able to carry out all its physiological functions
like; growth, nutrition, movement, respiration, reproduction, repairs and
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excretion. Absorption of water and minerals from the soil into the xylem vessels
of the roots. Transport of the water and minerals through the xylem of the stem
to the leaves. Photosynthesis results in the production of sugars. Translocation
of the products of photosynthesis from the leaves through the phloem to all the
plant for metabolic activities including respiration and the synthesis of proteins
and other plant constituents. Repairs of parts of plant tissues and excretion of
waste products.

However, plants maybe attacked by insects, infected by fungi, bacteria, viruses

or nematodes who’s feeding and reproduction interfere with one or more of the
plants physiological functions. When this occurs, the plant is damaged (by
insects or becomes diseased (infected by fungi, bacteria, viruses or nematodes)
and the plant is no longer able to carry out its physiological functions fully. This
affects the plants growth with consequent reduction in the yields. Moreover,
damage to the flowers or developing seeds by insects causes significant
reduction in crop yields. To maximize crop yields, insect pest attacking crops
and parasitic fungi, viruses and nematodes infecting plants and causing diseases
as well as weeds must be controlled.

This branch of agriculture is called plant health management or plant protection.

There are three major areas of plant protection;

- Entomology; the study of insect pests on plants and their management.

- Plant pathology; the study of microorganisms, fungi, bacteria, nematodes
and viruses that cause diseases to plants.
- Weed science; the study of weeds, their effects on plant growth, yields
and their control.

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 4. Horticulture:

This is the branch of agronomy concerned with growing of flowers, fruits,

spices, vegetables, and ornamental plants. Ornamental plants are plants grown
for decoration e.g cypress, pine, date palm, etc.

4.1Floriculture (Flower farming); this is the branch of agriculture

concerned with the growing and marketing of flowers and ornamentals
as well as flower arrangement. Floriculture crops include; flowering
plants, foliage plants (household or potted plants), cut flowers.
Flowering plants are plants that produce flowers. They are likely sold
in pots for indoor use. Foliage plants are also sold in pots and hanging
baskets for indoor and patio use including larger specimens for office,
restaurant, and hotel interiors. Cut flowers are usually sold in bunches
or as bouquets with cut foliage. The production of cut flowers is
specially known as the cut flower industry. Patio is a place for
relaxation. It is usually at the back of houses.
4.2Olericulture; this is the growing and marketing of vegetables and
spices.

5. Animal Science:

It deals with the study of animal growth, breeding to improve the qualities
considered desirable by man including genetics, nutrition, physiology and
reproductive biology of livestock and poultry.

Animals are an important part of our lives. Livestock and poultry provide
dietary protein. Milk and other diary products are obtained from female cattle
and goats. Sheep and goats provide wool. Horses are used for pleasure as well as
sports. Horses and donkeys are used for mechanical energy for ploughing fields
and transportation of goods (beast of burden i.e, an animal which is used for
heavy work). Bird/ poultry feathers and animal skin are used in the manufacture
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of cold weather clothing in the temperate regions of the world. Animal skins are
used in addition to the manufacture of leather bags, shoes, cloths, etc.

Animal science is a branch of agriculture. The agricultural practice of breeding

and raising livestock and poultry for food, milk and other diary products, wool,
leather, mechanical energy and transportation of goods, pleasure and sports is
called Animal Husbandry. It has been practiced thousands of years ago since
the first domestication of animals.

6. Agricultural Extension:

Also called outreach, it is a service or system which assists farmers through

educational procedures in improving farming methods and techniques,
increasing productivity, service and income, and by implication improving their
quality of life. It consists of the dissemination of useful and practical
information related to agriculture including; improved seeds, fertilizers,
pesticides, herbicides, implements, as well as improved cultural practices.
Research institutions such as IRAD focus on the technical aspects for generating
useful technologies while extension focuses on the acceptance and adoption of
these technologies by farmers.

7. Agricultural Economics:

It is an applied social science that deals with the production, distribution,

marketing, and consumption of agricultural goods and services. It applies the
principles of economics to the production of crops and livestock. It focuses on
topics such as; consumption, food supply chains, prices, trade and development.

Economics and Business of Agriculture

Agricultural production requires inputs: land; labour (human capital), animal

draft; capital (financial, machinery, biological e.g improved seed varieties,
animal breeds, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides); natural factors (rainfall,
temperature, sunshine, humidity, etc) and management (human capital and
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human potential); in combinations that lead to desired output of crops for man’s
use and enjoyment. However, no matter the production objectives, resources are
limited but there are alternative uses for which they can be put. Decisions must
be made on the choice between alternative inputs and outputs so that the
objectives of maximum output and maximum profit can be obtained.

The overriding goal of agricultural economics therefore is to;

- Provide guidance to individual farmers on impose efficiency on their

resources in the production process that is, ensuring better resource
management for individual farmers as well as for the farming industry.
- Facilitate the most efficient use of resources in promoting the
consumption of farm products. This means that resource allocation
problems must be well manged for individual consumers as well as the
consuming public.

This production and consumption are the scopes of the economics of agriculture.
In agricultural sciences, economics occupy a unique place, it complements
agricultural disciplines e.g agronomy, soil science, animal science, crop science,
food science, nutrition, agricultural engineering, entomology, etc as well as to
natural resource disciplines e.g forestry, wildlife, fishery etc. the application of
economic principles and analytical tools e.g fishery economics, veterinary
economics, crop and livestock economics etc facilitate meaningful policy and
investment guidelines.

For instance in agricultural sciences, effort is geared in the production and

employment of resources to facilitate maximum output for eventual supply to
people. Relying solely on the Principle of Maximum Physical Output, we can
continue to fatten a pig until it can hardly move as a result of attaining its
maximum life weight. However, when we apply Economic Principles to the
fattening process, we pay special attention to input prices, units of substitution
of inputs and the production price. These conditions enable us to derive
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Economic Maximum Life Weight. For fattening hogs, this weight is usually
less than the physical maximum. This therefore means that agricultural
economics helps us to translate theoretical as well as laboratory results in
agriculture into practical income or profit generating enterprises for the
production of commodities in demand by the consuming public.

The economics of agriculture seeks to attain four main objectives;

- Determine and outline those factors which give optimum use of capital,
labour, land, water and management in the production of crops and
livestock.
- Determine the extent to which the current use of resources deviate from
what is considered the optimum use level.
- Analyse the factors which influence production patterns and resource use
in relation to the existing opportunities. Such factors may include;
farmers’ educational level, age, gender, access to credit, extension,
religion, taxes, government policy, and climatic factors.
- Explain the means and methods which agrarian producers can adopt to
move from current levels to optimum levels with the use of farm
resources.

Agricultural production can be affected by; government policies, socio-cultural

forces and institutions, economic and political factors as well as environmental
factors.

Sub-disciplines and areas of specialization under agricultural economics include;

farm management, agricultural history, agricultural marketing, agricultural
finance, resource and environmental economics, production economics,
agricultural development, agricultural policy designing and planning, extension
education, agricultural statistics, etc.

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These sub-disciplines are not to be regarded as mutually exclusive as in actual
fact, they are all independent and mutually re-enforcing.

8. Agribusiness (Agriculture as a business or the Business of

Agriculture)

Agricultural production could be divided into sub-structures which are capable

of being administratively integrated this include; Inputs or farm supply sector,
Farm production sector, Processing/ distribution and marketing sectors.
Agribusiness therefore implies the sum total of all the operations involved in the
production, and distribution of food and fibre needs of the economy.

The figure below presents the flow chart of the components of agribusiness;

Farm Supplies

Farm Production

Storage

Processing

Distribution

Consumers

Figure 1: Flow Chart of the Components of Agribusiness

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The figure depicts that, agribusiness is essentially characterized by many firms
linked together through vertical integration. It further reveals that agribusiness is
a marriage of technology and economics. This is in the sense that, it depends on
the technologies of the various agricultural production disciplines e.g plant
science, entomology, agricultural biochemistry, food science, agricultural
biology, etc and economic tools and theories (e.g agricultural economics,
consumer economics/ behaviour, labour economics, resource economics,
industrial business economics, etc) and other behavioural sciences (e.g political
science, sociology and anthropology, psychology, etc). Hence, agribusiness is an
all embracing multidisciplinary approach to the production problems and
patterns of food and fibre in a given economy.

9. Agricultural Engineering:

This is the engineering discipline that applies engineering science and

technology to agricultural production and processing. The work of an
agricultural engineer include;

- Designing agricultural machinery and improved tools to work the soil and
harvest the crops such as tractors, ploughs, harrows, planters, harvesters,
machines, etc.
- Develop irrigation and drainage systems.
- Designing buildings for raising livestock and structures such as green
houses for growing crops.

Most agricultural engineers work with companies that provide services to

farmers such as developing irrigation and drainage systems or eventing
buildings and facilities. Others work with food processing companies which are
involved with packaging, and distribution of food.

10.Agroforestry:

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Agroforestry is an age-old land use system that has been practiced for thousands
of year by farmer all over the world. Although in the last 30 year or more, it a
developed a as science that promise to help farmer increase their productivity,
profitability and sustainability of production. The science of agroforestry lags
behind the arts of existing agroforestry practices.

Nevertheless, scientific methods to understand, clarify and improve agroforestry

systems had increased in recent times. The science of agroforestry started as an
international council for research on agroforestry (1977). In 1987, that is 10
years later, it was known as an international centre for research on agroforestry.

Agroforestry is defined as a land use system which incorporates woody

perennials with arable crops and/ or animals in spatial arrangements or in time
sequence and in which there are both ecological and socioeconomic interactions
between the different components.

A typical agroforestry system allows for symbiotic, socioeconomic and

ecological interactions between the woody and non-woody components of the
system in order to increase, sustain and diversify the total land output. It helps to
reduce erosion, increase infiltration, conserve oil moisture and also modify soil
temperature. It also has the advantage of producing fuel wood, fruit, fodder crop
and other products, alongside with crops on a more sustainable bases.

There are many types of agroforestry systems, the following classification is

as follows;

i.) Agrosilviculture; this involves the planting of tree and arable crop on
the same piece of land. The arrangement of the tree maybe in sequence
or in staggered formation. In this system, there is added productivity
from the tree crop which improves on the farmers’ income and his/ her
livelihood.

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ii.) Taungya; this system is common in areas here there is pressure on land
or here land is scarce. It is normally carried out during the
establishment of plantation, tree crops. The farmer will plant in
between the trees and during weeding his/ her crops, they will also
weed the tree crop e.g rubber plantations. This reduces cost for the
company on weed management. The farmer ill top farming when there
is closure on the canopy.
iii.) Agrosilvipastoral; this system involves the planting of crops, trees, in
pasture. It may also involve only the planting of crops and trees on the
farm land and later animals are moved into the farm land after crop
harvest. The animals will freedom the plant residue and during this
process, they also defecate on the land which aid in improving the
fertility of the land. The presence of the trees also increases the organic
matter level of the land or farm and may also act as shed.
iv.) Silvopastoral; this system involves the planting of specific trees on
pasture land. The animals will graze on the pasture and browse on the
tree and shrub. The tree and shrubs are very useful as sheds for the
animal or livestock and also as fodder plants for the animals. These
plants are also very useful during offseason that I, dry period for
feeding the animals as food supplements.
v.) Silvoepiculture; this is the planting of specific tree that have very good
flower and sweet nectar, used for bee farming. The type of trees you
have on your field will also give you the quality and colour of honey
being produced. Different colours of honey produced can be caused by
the honey bee, harvesting nectar from different plants or trees.
vi.) Alley Cropping/ Hedgerow intercropping; it is the planting of crops in
between alleys or hedgerow. The hedgerows are periodically pruned
and the pruning are put on the alleys as green manure. These pruning
then decomposes and release nutrient for the crop to absorb. The

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 pruning also aid as mulching and also reduce light, wheat infestation.
The trees most often are leguminous that nodulate and this aid in
biological nitrogen fixation (BNF). This increases the nitrogen poll in
the soil and crop yield are always very higher than the areas where
there is no hedgerow (control).
vii.) Fodder Bank; this is an agroforestry system where specific trees and
shrubs that are planted in a specific area within the farm when the
species are established and grown, these species are the branches,
twigs or foliage are act from the tree and taken to the livestock to
supplement as food. This system is suitable for intensive livestock
management and it is similar to a cut and carry system of grasses.
viii.) Improve fallow/ Planted fallow; to allow a fallow farm to restore its
fertility it will take about 10- 15 years and in areas here land is scarce,
the farmer will not wait for too long in order to carry out farming. In
order to increase the natural fallow, some specific trees and shrubs
mostly leguminous are planted on the fallow land. This I to increase
the fertility of the land within 3 – 5 years.
The selected legumes should have the following characteristics;
- Fast growth rate
- Produce much foliage
- Produce profuse root nodules in order to carry out nitrogen fixation
- Long tap root systems
- Pest and disease-free in that area
- Easy to eradicate
- Produce large quantity of seeds
- The seeds produced should not become weeds
- Moderate decomposition rate.
ix.) Plantation Crop Combination; this is a practice that involves the
combination of trees and shrubs such as coffee, cocoa, tea, rubber, etc.

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 this system is more suitable for cocoa agroforestry in the sense that, in
any establishment of the cocoa seedling, shed plants reduces direct
radiation of cocoa plant. Shed plants reduce direct radiation of sun
light. It is good to use fruit trees or trees that have medicinal value in
order to improve on the farmers’ income.
x.) Silvopisciculture; this is an agroforestry system that involves the
planting of trees around fish pond, streams, or lakes. These trees act as
shed which improves the growth of some species. Fruits from these
trees also act as a food source for the fishes. In the case of fish ponds
that are open, the trees may act as a host for pests such as carnivorous
bird that feed on the fishes.
xi.) Home Gardens; trees are used as live fences and these trees may be
periodically pruned and the prunings are used as green manure for the
crops. These live fences prevent stray animals from within the
community from feeding on the planted crops. Live fences may also
produce wood that might be used for cooking and they may also be
used a wind brakes in arid and semi-arid areas.
xii.) Wood lots; this agroforestry system involve the planting of specific
trees on infertile land and these trees may be used as fuel wood or as
timber for building. This reduces pressure on the forest within the
communities. These established plantations can also be used a poles
for either electricity or telephone poles.
xiii.) Watersheds; there has been a lot of controversies on what type of tree
species to be used for water catchments. Some researchers will prefer
to use indigenous trees mixed with exotic trees or indigenous trees
only while others ill prefer exotic tree species. In Cameroon, there has
been no experimental research in order to evaluate indigenous species
that are suitable for water catchments. Trees that are suitable should
have;

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 - Moderate to lo evapotranspiration rate
- Good crown formation
- Not absorb high nutrients from the soil

How Trees improve Soil Fertility

- Decreases input in organic matter, nitrogen and other nutrient

- It reduces loss of organic matter and nutrient by promoting recycling and
checking erosion
- It improves oil physical properties including; water holding capacity
- It has beneficial effects on soil biological processes.

Advantages of Agroforestry systems

a) Biological
- It increases pace utilization
- It improves on soil, chemical, physical and biological properties
- It increases productivity
- It has the potential to reduce soil erosion
- It reduces the risk of complete crop failure
- It also acts as stakes or physical supports for herbaceous climates
- It may be used positively to provide shed for shed loving crops and
animals.
b) Economic and Social
- Increase income opportunities
- It provides variety of products and/ or services
- It also brings about crop diversity and reduces risk
- It has the potential to improve human nutrition
- It reduce cost of farming in that, the farmer can crop on the same piece of
land for a long time as compared to clearing several or pocket of land as
in shifting cultivation
- It reduces the weeding requirement or frequencies.
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 Disadvantages

- There may be increase competition between the trees and arable crops
- There may be mechanical damage from cultivation of harvested crops
- There may be damage to trees and crops component from line stock
- It may act as ultimate alternative host for crop pests
- Some of the trees may have allelopathic tendencies.

Fertilizers and Manures

In order to grow efficiently, plants germinating need light, air, water, warmth,
and a range of plant nutrients (fertilizers). The main source of plant nutrients is
the soil. In agriculture, the constant aim is to increase the yield of crops and a
continuous cultivation of high yielding crops putting a strain for the ability of
the soil to supply sufficient nutrients hence, the need to use fertilizers to
supplement the soil nutrients.

Fertilizers are chemical compounds or manure containing nutrients required by

plants for growth. Fertilizers are used as soil amendment to promote plant
growth and increase yields. Fertilizers are usually directly applied to the soil
from here the nutrients are absorbed by the plants. They may also be sprayed on
the leaves and stem of plants and absorbed into the plant at these sites. This is
called folia fertilization or folia feeding.

Macro nutrients

These are elements required by plants in relatively large quantities conveniently

measured in grams of nutrients/ kg of plant dry matter. They are present in plant
tissues in quantities from 0.2% to 4.0% on a dry matter weight.

Micro nutrients

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These are elements required by plants in much smaller amounts conveniently
expressed in as milligrams of nutrient/ kg of plant dry matter. Micro nutrients
are present in plant tissues in quantities measured in parts per million ranging
from 5 to 200ppm or less than 0.02% dry matter weight.

The actual amount of nutrient required will vary from crop to crop. Plant growth
is dependent upon a combination of all the essential elements and the lack of
anyone of them whether required in very large amounts such as nitrogen,
potassium, or in very small amounts such a; copper, zinc will restrict plant
growth.

Absorption of Nutrients by Plants

Almost all nutrients are absorbed by plants either as simple chemical

compounds or as ions e.g carbon, hydrogen and oxygen enter plants as CO 2,
H2O through their leaves and roots.

All other nutrients enter plants through the roots either as positively charged
ions (cations) such as NH4+, Ca2+, K+, or as negatively charged ions (anions)
including NO3-, SO42-, or H2PO4+. It is with the form of such ions that mineral
nutrients become available to plants. There are two major groups of fertilizers;
that is, organic and inorganic.

1.) Organic Fertilizers

These include animal manures and plant-based manure (compost and green
manure).

a) Animal Manures:

Livestock and poultry manures e.g cattle, goats and sheep dung, and poultry
droppings are the most traditional and widely recognized organic fertilizers.
Under certain conditions, livestock and poultry are integrated with crop farm

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and the manure from the livestock and poultry is considered as a nutrient
resource and recycled back to the crop. In practice, crops and livestock, poultry
production are often separated from each other and the manure is of great
importance.

b) Plant-Based Manures:

These include organic matter which is primarily crop residues and green
manure. One of the best ways of handling plant-based manures is by
composting. Compost can be produced on a farm. Green manuring involves the
incorporation into the soil a crop which is grown for the purpose of the soil
improvement. Crops commonly used are nitrogen fixing legumes which are
grown as cover crops for the purpose of soil and nutrient conservation. The
cover crop is grown during the off season and ploughed under before planting a
commercial crop.

2.) Inorganic or Synthetic Fertilizers

Inorganic fertilizers are chemical compounds containing nutrients required by

plants for growth. Fertilizers are made specially to supply one or more nutrients
to supplement what can be derived from the soil. Fertilizers are needed in most
types of agriculture especially in intensive systems from which high yields are
sought and when the unsupplimented soil can’t supply nutrients quickly or
insufficiently quantities to meet the requirements of crops.

In contrast to manure, most modern compound fertilizers aim to supply only 3 of

the major elements e.g N, P, K and neglect the other elements Ca, S, Mg and the
other trace elements. These other nutrients are supplied mainly in special
fertilizers outside the normal range produced by major fertilizer companies.

A great majority of the compound fertilizers (supplying N, P, K) and simple

fertilizers (supplying 1 element only) are water soluble and readily available to
the plant.

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Physical State of Fertilizers

- Fertilizers maybe solid and in granular form

- They may also be liquid consisting of solid or suspensions of fertilizer
salts usually in water.
- They exist in the form of gas and injected below the surface of the soil
from cylinders e.g anhydrous ammonia (NH3).

Chemical Composition of Fertilizers

In addition to variation in the physical state, fertilizers also vary in the chemical
composition:

a) Simple or Straight Fertilizers

These are fertilizers that are designed to supply only one nutrient element.
Some simple fertilizers essentially used to supply one element may
generously provide another.

i.) Nitrogen fertilizers; Ammonium nitrate (NH4NO3) contains 21 – 26%

nitrogen. This is a very popular fertilizer. Heavy application of
ammonium nitrate to the soil will render the soil acidic.
Urea [Co(NH2)2] contains 45% nitrogen. It has no acidification effect
on the soil. It is the most concentrated solid nitrogen fertilizer because
it contains the highest proportion of nitrogen.
Ammonium sulphate (NH4SO4) contains 21% nitrogren. It also
supplies sulphur in addition to nitrogen. Ammonium sulphate has a
greater acidifying action on the soil than other nitrogen fertilizers.
Anhydrous ammonia (NH3) contains 81% nitrogen. It is liquefied
under high pressure stored in special tanks and injected about 15cm
into the soil from the pressure tanks.

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 ii.) Phosphate fertilizers; supper phosphate is a mixture of monocalcium
phosphate [Ca(H2PO4)2] and gypsium CaSO4.2H2O, and contains
approximately 20% P2O5. The mixture is soluble in water. On the other
hand, triple super phosphate [Ca(H2PO4)2]is water soluble and contains
approximately 45% P2O5.
iii.) Potassium Fertilizers;
KC2 contains 60% K2O.
Potassium sulphate (K2SO4) contains 50% K2O.
Potassium nitrate (KNO3) contains 44% K2O.

b) Compound Fertilizers

These are designed to supply 2 or 3 nutrient elements. Most modern compound

fertilizers supply only the 3 major nutrient elements that is N, P, K. they consist
of granulated mixtures of such fertilizers such as; NH4NO3, Ca(H2PO4)2 and KC2

Ammonium Nitrate Fertilizer; it is a very popular fertilizer supplying nitrogen as

ammonium and nitrogen ions both of which are readily absorbed by plant roots
as the fertilizer dissolves easily when applied to the soil. Reasonable care is
required in handling and storing them. Warnings are printed on the back that it is
an oxidizing agent and assists fire (inflammable). It is safe if stored in tough
polyethene bags away from sources of heat or fire.

It is imperative not to store it loose or in burst bags where it might come into
contact with wood shavings, saw dust or other combustible materials. In
common with other fertilizers containing ammonium compounds. Concentrated
ammonium nitrate will acidify the soil and extra lime will be require to
neutralize this acid except in naturally calcerated soil.

Fertilizers Containing Nutrients other than NPK

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Because of the exclusion of other nutrients from NPK fertilizers, S, Mg, Ca and
the trace elements must usually be supplied separately. Some soils are
sufficiently rich in these elements to need supplementation.

Routine application of trace elements are still rare. However, trace element
fertilizers maybe used to correct deficiency indicated by specific visual
symptoms mainly on the leaves of plants. Some are applied to the soil but in
contrast to major element fertilizers, trace elements are commonly sprayed onto
the leaves of growing plants and they absorb them.

Percentage Composition of Fertilizers

The amount of nitrogen in a fertilizer is always expressed as percent nitrogen. It

would be logical to equally express phosphorus as percentage phosphorus and
potassium as percent potassium. However, most countries for commercial
reasons have retained a very old established system of expressing the
phosphorus and potassium content as P2O5 and K2O respectively.

Labelling of Fertilizers

By tradition and international agreement, if a fertilizer is labelled as 20:10:10, it

is understood that the first figure refers to percent nitrogen, the second figure
represents phosphorus penta oxide (P2O5) and the third figure represents
potassium oxide (K2O).

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