Uses Of Land | Meaning, Policy, Classifications

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Hi, welcome to this blog on the topic, the Uses of Land in agriculture.

Table Of Contents

  1. Meaning Of land
  2. State the characteristics of land
  3. Land use policy
  4. Mention the uses of land
  5. Identify physical, economic and social factors affecting land available for Agricultural purposes.

Meaning: Land Can be defined as the uppermost layer of the Earth’s crust on which Agricultural and non-agricultural activities are carried out. in other words, it can also be defined as the solid part of the earth’s surface which has as its component water, Soil, Rock, minerals, natural vegetation and animal life and suitable for agricultural production.

Land is a factor for agricultural production. It is immobile and limited in supply. It is a free gift of nature.

Characteristics Of Land

  • Land is a natural gift.
  • Land can appreciate or depreciate in value.
  • It is geographically immobile.
  • It is abundant in some areas and scarce in other areas.
  • It is heterogeneous in quality, offering from one place to another in topography, soil texture, and structure, soil fertility, etc.
  • Because of it’s limited supply, land is also subject to the law of diminishing return.
  • Reward for land is rent.
  • Availability is subject to land use act/law.
  • It suitability influences output.
  • It value is also determined by its location.
  • It can be used as collateral for loan.

LAND USE POLICY: Land demands careful planning in order to ensure increased agricultural production. In order to use land most efficiently there is the need to ensure a continuous land-use policy which must not change as government changes. Current demand on land centres on agriculture, forestry, wildlife Conservation, industry, housing, recreation, transport, etc. However, it is agricultural, forestry and wildlife that make the greatest demand for lands.

Classification of Land based on Uses

There are two major classification of Lands based on uses. These are:

A. Agricultural Land: this include

  1. For crop production
  2. livestock production.
  3. Fisheries.
  4. Forestry.
  5. wildlife Conservation.

B. Non- Agricultural Land: The following are non-agricultural uses of lands:

  1. Industrial or factory use.
  2. Construction of building (residential purposes)
  3. sports centres: example; stadium, race course, golf course.
  4. Mining
  5. Recreational purposes, e.g parks.
  6. markets.
  7. Worship places: churches, mosques, shrine.
  8. Transportations: example; railways, airport, road, etc.
  9. cemeteries.
  10. Commercial purposes, e.g Banks, Warehouses, etc.

Uses Of Lands For Agricultural Purposes

  1. Production of crops: Lands are used for the production of food crops like yam, Rice, Maize, cassava, cowpea and so on. As well as production of cash crops like Cotton, rubber, Cocoa, groundnut, etc.

2. Uses of land for livestock production: lands are also used for natural grazing for livestock like cattle, sheep and goat. Large areas of lands are set aside in Savannah Belts where they are abundant grasses for grazing by livestock.

3. Uses of land for forestry: It is used for forestry which involves the management of the forest and its resources for man’s use. Forest reserves are established where there is low pressure for cultivation of low population density, and also where the land seems to be suitable for agriculture. some forests are specially kept by government for specific purpose, hence, they are called forest reserve.

4. Uses of land for wildlife conservation: It is also used for wildlife conservation. Wildlife refers to animals and birds found in the bush. Wildlife is conserved in games reserve which are centres of tourist attractions. Lands which is not suitable for agriculture and forestry may be used for game reserve, located in sparsely populated areas. Game reserves are places where wildlife wild animals are conserved to avoid Extinction while they are carefully and widely exploited. Poaching or the indiscriminate killing of animals in a game reserve should be prohibited. Also forest fires, fishing with chemicals should be avoided.

5. Uses of land for fishery: Some portion of land is set aside for the production of fish through fish farming. It involves the establishment of fish ponds where fishes are reared artificially to provide the necessary sources of protein and income for the people.

Uses of Land for Non-Agricultural Purposes:

1. Residential purpose’ (e.g. Housing): This involves the use of land for the construction of residential houses and buildings. It Also involves the development towns, housing estates and all other forms of settlements. In urban Areas, a large portion of land is needed for the construction of residential houses.

2. Transportation: Land iss also used for construction of many forms of roads, railway line as well as airports. Transportation by road alone constitute one of the uses of land especially in urban areas.

3. Mining: Land where minerals are found are used for mining. In Nigeria, most of the Lands where petroleum, Coal, tin and other minerals are located are used mainly for mining purposes.

4. Industrial purpose: Industries are also located on land, majority of the industries are located in industrial estates which constitutes a large proportion of urban land.

ORDER NON-AGRICULTURAL USE OF LAND INCLUDE:

5. Sport center, e.g stadia, golf course and race course.

6. Educational purpose, e.g, schools.

7. Market .

8. Worship places, e.g, Church, mosque and shrine.

9. Carpenteries.

10. Commercial purposes, e.g, banks and warehouses.

FACTORS AFFECTING LAND AVAILABILITY FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSE

Many factors affects land availability and uses in Nigeria. This factors directly or indirectly determine whether land will be available for Agricultural and non-agricultural purposes. This factors include:

  1. Ecological Factor: The nature of the Land determine whether such land will be available for agricultural purposes or not. The dry and non swampy land will be suitable for livestock farming while a wet and swampy lands will be good for swamp rice production.
  2. Population density or population growth: The higher the population, the lower the availability of land for Agriculture and vice versa.
  3. Rate of growth of the population: The lower the rate of growth of a population, the more the land availability for farming purposes. high population growth lead to land fragmentation.
  4. Climatic condition: Wet and raining conditions favours tree crop production while dry climate with little rains favour livestock production like goat, sheep and cattle.
  5. Topography of slope of the Land: FLAT or gentle slope of the Land encourages farming while steep slope of the Land discourages farming because of the effect of gully erosion.
  6. Social cultural factors: Some cultural factors may forbid the rearing of certain animals, e.g, Islam religion forbid the rearing of pigs in the environment.
  7. Economic Factors: Availability of good capital of finance promote agricultural activities while inadequate finance discourages intensive farming.
  8. Prevalent land tenure system: The type of land tenure practice in area will determine whether such land will be available or not for agricultural purposes.
  9. Fertility status of the Land/soil type.
  10. Degree of land degradation: The level of land degradation will determine whether such land will be available for agricultural purposes. Land that are prone to erosion will not be suitable for farming.

Revision Questions

  1. Briefly explain the land use policy in Nigeria.
  2. Explain four agricultural and four non agricultural uses of Land.
  3. State six major uses of Land in Nigeria.
  4. Discuss briefly five factors affecting land availability for Agricultural production.
  5. State and explain three characteristics of land as used in agriculture.

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