(a) Define land as a factor of production. (b) State three features of land. (c) Explain four ways in which land contributes to the economic development of ...

Answer Details

(a) Land as a factor of production means all the free gifts of nature used in production. It includes the surface soil and everything on, above and below it, such as forests, rivers, mineral deposits, sunlight and climate, provided free by nature and not by human effort.

(b) Three features of land:

• It is a free gift of nature: it is not produced by human labour, so it originally has no cost of production.
• It is fixed in supply: the total quantity of land is limited and cannot be increased overall, so its supply is perfectly inelastic.
• It is immobile geographically: land cannot be moved from one location to another; only its use can be changed.

(Other acceptable features: its quality varies from place to place; its reward is rent.)

(c) Four ways land contributes to economic development:

1. Provision of raw materials: land supplies agricultural produce and industrial raw materials (crops, timber, minerals) that feed the manufacturing sector and create employment.
2. Source of food: farmland produces the food needed to feed the population and support a healthy, productive labour force.
3. Source of mineral wealth and foreign exchange: mineral resources such as crude oil, tin and gold are exported to earn foreign exchange and government revenue for development.
4. Site for economic activity: land provides the physical space on which factories, farms, roads, houses and markets are built, making all other production possible.