(a) Market gardening is predominantly practised around major urban areas (b) Lumbering is practised mainly in the high forest belt (c) Rice is cultivated in...

Answer Details

Give reasons for the following agricultural patterns in Nigeria.

(a) Market gardening is predominantly practised around major urban areas

1. Market gardening produces perishable crops (vegetables, tomatoes, fruits) which must reach the consumer quickly, so nearness to the urban market reduces spoilage.
2. The large urban population provides a ready and high-demand market for fresh produce.
3. Nearness to the city gives access to water (for irrigation), transport and manure/refuse from the town, and reduces transport cost of the bulky, fragile produce.

(b) Lumbering is practised mainly in the high forest belt

1. The high forest belt of the south has heavy rainfall and high temperatures that support dense evergreen tropical forest.
2. It contains large stands of valuable timber trees such as mahogany, iroko, obeche and opepe.
3. The area's rivers and nearness to ports (and sawmills) aid the movement and export of logs.

(c) Rice is cultivated in large quantity in the Middle Belt

1. The Middle Belt has extensive river valleys and fadama (flood plains) with alluvial soils that hold water needed by rice.
2. It has a moderate to heavy rainfall and a long enough wet season suited to rice.
3. There is abundant land and a smaller population, allowing large-scale cultivation, and government support for rice production.

(d) Cattle rearing is important in the Sudan Savanna Belt

1. The belt has extensive grassland that provides natural pasture for grazing.
2. The dry climate and low rainfall keep the area relatively free of the tsetse fly which spreads sleeping sickness (trypanosomiasis) in cattle.
3. The open, gently undulating land and the pastoral tradition of the Fulani favour large-scale herding.