AGRICULTURE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

The most basic contribution of agriculture to economy is, the supply of foodstuff to the populance, and the provision of employment and the means of livelihood. But beyond these, agriculture also provides raw materials for industry and contributes to the improvement of the nation's foreign exchange through export as well as savings in import.
The issue that people must address themselves, is the role agriculture should play in relation to the other sectors of the economy. In developing agriculture, a nation has several options to follow. It may stress the role of agriculture as an important instrument for sustaining expansion in the non agricultural sector of the economy. A nation can stress agricultural development because it can yield huge sum of money in foreign exchange or because it can absorb abundant cheap labour. Therefore, any country that wants to use agriculture to develop its economy must understand these options before setting up strategies for implementing agricultural policies. Development economist now seem to agree that there are no inherent advantages of manufacturing over agriculture or for that matter, of agriculture over manufacturing. Decisions on the balance of in any development situation should be based on rational grounds in the light of considerations of cost and comparative returns from alternative allocation of national material and human resources. But such decisions should not be based on maxims or arbitrary dogmas and prejudices.

Farmers face certain problems in their march towards self sufficiency in agricultural production. Some farmers are frustrated by the lack of storage facilities for most of their perishable products. Also, they have to put up with inadequate market outlet,or else farmee can be assured of adequate benefits from their labour in the form of enhanced incomes, they will be much discouraged and their efforts towards higher productivity will seem pointless. These problems appear to have come to a head with the recent death of the ineffective commodity boards.

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Natural soil

Natural soils are influenced by rainfall and temperature,heavy rain causes the soil to become leached. High temperatures increase the rate of decomposition of organic matter in the soil, thereby lowering its humus content. Thus, climatic conditions tend to produce poor soils in the tropics and rich soils in the temperate regions. Besides climate and vegetation, the parent rock material also contributes to the quality of the soil. For example volcanic rocks tend to produce fertile soils. Laterite, a red soil which is a product of leaching, is commonly found in the tropics. It is composed mainly of iron and aluminium compounds,and poor in humus and essential plant nutrients, such as phosphorus, nitrogen and potassium. The black and brown soil of the temperate grasslands are the world's richest soils, with a high mineral and humus content. The light coloured desert soils tend to be very rich in minerals but have a low humus content. Mainly the soils ar...

Rock Formation

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Physical fitness

Physical fitness is the ability to function effectively throughout your workday, perform your usual other activities and still have enough energy left over to handle any extra stresses or emergencies which may arise. There are 5 Components of Physical Fitness The 5 components of physical fitness are often used in our school systems, health clubs and fitness centers to gauge how good a shape we are truly in. The 5 components that make up total fitness are: Cardiovascular Endurance Muscular Strength Muscular endurance Flexibility Body Composition Total fitness can be defined by how well the body performs in each one of the components of physical fitness as a whole. It is not enough to be able to bench press your body weight. You also need to determine how well you can handle running a mile etc. A closer look at the individual components: Cardiovascular endurance is the ability of the heart and lungs to work together to provide the needed oxygen and fuel t...

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