(a) Draw a sketch map of Africa and on it show and name: (i) Nile Basin; (ii) Zaire (Congo) Basin; (iii) Mediterranean region in North Africa. (b) Write geo...

(a) Sketch map of Africa

(b) Geographical notes
Write on any two of the following.

(i) Irrigation agriculture in the Nile Basin

• It is practised along the Nile Valley and Nile Delta in Egypt and Sudan, where the climate is arid or semi-arid.
• Rainfall is very low, generally less than 20 cm annually in much of Egypt; therefore, crop production depends on water from the River Nile.
• Water is supplied by basin or flood irrigation, perennial irrigation, pumping and manual lifting methods. Traditional lifting devices include the shaduf and sakia.
• The Aswan High Dam stores water in Lake Nasser and permits a more regular year-round supply of irrigation water.
• Canals distribute water from the river to farms. The fertile alluvial soils, abundant sunshine and irrigation permit intensive cultivation and, in places, more than one crop in a year.
• Main crops include cotton, rice, wheat, sorghum, maize, barley, sugar cane and vegetables.
• The system supplies raw materials, especially cotton and sugar cane, to industries; it also provides food, employment, income and export earnings.
• Problems include high evaporation losses, flooding in some areas, salinisation and waterlogging of irrigated soils, silting, and water-borne diseases.

(ii) Lumbering in Zaire, Democratic Republic of Congo

• Lumbering is concentrated in the Congo Basin, especially in the dense equatorial forest north and south of the Equator.
• The hot, wet equatorial climate supports extensive evergreen rain forest containing valuable hardwoods.
• Important timber trees include mahogany, limba and okoume.
• Logs are felled, cut and moved to rivers. The Congo and its tributaries provide important routes for floating logs to sawmills and river ports; timber can then be exported through Matadi.
• The industry is favoured by the large forest resource, navigable rivers, demand for timber and availability of labour.
• It provides employment, income, foreign exchange and raw materials for furniture, building and paper-related industries.
• Major difficulties are poor roads, inadequate capital and machinery, dense undergrowth, heavy rainfall, tropical diseases and the scattered occurrence of particular tree species in mixed forest.
• Indiscriminate felling may deplete the forest resource; selective cutting, replanting and controlled exploitation are necessary.

(iii) Fruit farming in North Africa

• Fruit farming occurs mainly along the Mediterranean coastal belt of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia, in river valleys and in irrigated oases near the desert margin.
• The Mediterranean climate has mild, wetter winters and hot, sunny summers. Irrigation supplements rainfall during the dry summer.
• Fertile valley and coastal soils, sunshine, irrigation, a nearby European market and transport routes encourage commercial fruit production.
• Major products include grapes and raisins, olives, citrus fruits, figs, dates, apricots and apples.
• Grapes, olives and citrus fruits are grown mainly in the coastal Mediterranean belt, while dates are especially important in oasis settlements.
• Fruit farming provides food, employment, farm income, raw materials for processing industries, and foreign exchange through exports. Grapes may be processed into raisins and wine, while olives are processed into olive oil.
• Problems include dry summers, pests and diseases, occasional drought, hilly relief, soil erosion and inadequate storage or processing facilities.
• These problems are reduced through irrigation, terracing, pest control, improved storage and processing facilities.