(a) Draw a sketch map of Nigeria and on it locate and name: (i) the Niger-Benue trough (ii) the rivers Niger and Benue (iii) one confluence town (iv) Bacita...

(a) Sketch map of Nigeria

Key: The shaded Y-shaped belt represents the Niger-Benue trough. Lokoja is the confluence town where River Benue joins River Niger. Bacita lies in the Niger valley, while Numan lies on the River Benue.

(b) Commercial production of sugarcane in the Niger-Benue Trough

(i) Method of cultivation

• Sugarcane is cultivated commercially on large estates, especially on the fertile, level alluvial floodplains of the Niger and Benue valleys.
• The land is cleared, ploughed, harrowed and made into ridges or furrows, often with tractors and other machinery.
• Short pieces of mature cane stem, called setts, each with buds, are planted in furrows. Planting is commonly carried out from about November to April.
• Water from Rivers Niger and Benue is used to irrigate the farms during the dry season.
• The crop is weeded, supplied with fertiliser where necessary, protected from pests and allowed to mature before harvesting.

(ii) Method of harvesting

• Mature cane stalks are cut a few centimetres above ground level, either manually with cutlasses or mechanically with harvesters.
• The leafy tops and dry leaves are stripped off and the stalks are tied or loaded.
• The cut cane is transported quickly by lorry or rail to the sugar factory for crushing, since delay reduces its sugar content.

(iii) Economic importance

• It supplies raw material to sugar-processing industries, including the sugar estates and factories at Bacita and Numan.
• It provides employment and income for farm workers, factory workers, transporters and farmers.
• It produces sugar for consumption and thereby helps to reduce the importation of sugar and conserve foreign exchange.
• Its by-products are useful: molasses may be used in alcohol production and animal feed, while bagasse may be used as fuel, for paper-making or as livestock feed.
• The cane itself may be chewed as food, and its residues can serve as fodder for cattle.