Effects of Soil Degradation in Nigeria
There are problems Nigerians are facing when it comes to soil degradation. The country is striving to come out from this problem, but the lack of education at an increase mong its working class and farmers have not allowed it to fight a good fight against soil degradation. Today, many lands are no longer useful for agriculture or pastoral activities. This also affects the revenue the government generates from exportation of cash crops and animals. This growing soil degradation also affects industrialised farmers. This is causing many Nigerians to go out business or loss their job. On a general term, here is some the effects of soil degradation in Nigeria.
Drought and Aridity
The southern Nigeria is not
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When the land is degraded, it might not be useful for cropping. This alone has cause some states in Nigeria that depends on agriculture get lower revenue. Nothing only that, also, hunger is growing among the over populated Nigerians. Right now, the country is depending on importation of foods to feed the nation. However, this has led to the hike of food prices in the country.
Land Degradation
Like stated above, soil degradation is causing land degradation in Nigeria. Some regions have lost their lands to degradations, which affects land cost, investment, and some other economic activities. In other words, the lands in Nigeria are losing their worth because mismanagement and neglects. Conclusion and Recommendations
Regarding soil degradation in Nigeria, accurate information is needed to guide the government and the public on how and what to do. The government in Nigeria would not deny the fact that the country needs immediate actions to reclaim the quality and fertility of the soil. However, the people did not relax after seeing the developing problems. A lot of researching, teachers and professors, and government are trying so hard to encourage healthy agricultural practices and other measures that would reduce or eliminate soil degradation in the
Roland, J. R. J. (1993). Dry land farming in Africa. The Macmillan press Ltd. London .pp.292-294.
The gathering of a lot of fuel wood had contributed greatly to deforestation, desertification and other soil erosions. One area that has been decertified is the Sahara desert. Over many years of deforestation and taking of fuel wood, this once a rain forest has become an arid land for heat. When people gather the wood or cut down the tress this leads to soil erosion. The roots from the trees help soil stay in place when there are floods and heavy rain falls. Also trees can help decrease wind speed and not cause sandstorms. In many cases through out Africa, which has low fuel, wood resources there are a lot of sandstorms. The greatly reduce these problems, people should start planting more trees to take the place of all the trees that have been cut down. Trees help us in many ways. With more trees air qualities can be much better. Also by using other resources for fuel can be a good idea to lessen the amount of trees used and cut down.
resources are limited, as most of the soil is leached and stony. Neither the soil nor
This is so because, though the country is rich in land, natural and human resources, the people are still considered to be poor, as nearly 70% of Nigerians in 1999 were living in poverty (FOS, 1999; Okojie, et al 2000; World Bank 2000; Soludo, 2006), while the incidence of poverty has remained relatively high, hovering around 54% between 2005 and 2009 (CBN, 2009). Per Capita income by 2000 was still around the same level as in 1965 and in between, Nigeria 's cumulative revenues from oil (after deducting the payments to the foreign oil companies) have amounted to about US$350 billion at 1995 prices (Salai-Martin and Subramanian, 2003). Worse still, the problems of poverty in Nigeria are multi-faceted, among which are widespread outbreak of AIDS pandemic, lack of access to good health facilities, lack of essential infrastructure, high infant mortality rate , unemployment and, corruption, e.t.c.
Africa has a regular coastline characterized by few indentations. Because of the smooth coastline, natural harbors were non-existent. Today, however, there are important coastal cities, such as Lagos and Dakar. With the exception of the Mediterranean coast, most of the coastline is low-lying , generally narrow and rising sharply to high elevations. The African climate and topography varies greatly. Although temperatures are usually high, due to being so close to the equator, rainfall, soil quality and elevations are of various degrees. Because most of the African continent has not been covered by water for millions of years, soils have developed according to their weathering e...
Like most eastern countries that rely on one source of income Nigeria has had major
Contours of Environmentalism in Nigeria’s Niger Delta Region." Journal of the Historical Society of Nigeria 20 (2011): 45-66. JSTOR. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. .
As humans, we need food to survive. This is a basic need and want and has always been primarily done by farming the land. That farmed land requires sunlight, nutrients, and fresh water. If one of these three criteria is missing, the land is no longer able to birth vegetation. The biggest issue we face here in Canada is desertification. This term means that the land being classified with this is losing its water either to drought or to human causes. Desertification is a form of land degradation and is found to be an issue all over the globe. These dry lands are not just centered on a small percentage of people but affect up to half of the world’s population. This type of soil erosion is due to many factors. The biggest is the latitude of the area under concentration. Of course the closer you are to the equator the hotter and less precipitation is going to reach the land and this also affects natural weather cycles. The sad thing is however that where there is desertification, poverty will not be far. This makes sense for the reason we have poverty is because there are people without food and shelter. This connects to the lack of vegetation for with desertification the food and materials needed cannot grow to make a successful civilization. Looking at what causes desertification we can at least attempt to reverse the results. Desertification is caused by human error by globalizing prematurely.
For farmers, foresters, and plant ecologists, understanding which nutrients are essential, and why, is basic to understanding why certain plants thrive and others fail. Now, where do these nutrients come from? The answer—soil—is simple. But soil itself is astonishingly complex. Grow crops and food for us to live (FREEMAN) Without plants we can not grow and survive it is essential to our lives. Farmers especially have to explore this process to see which will help them yield better crops and is cost effective. Vegetable we consume for energy to live and grow deficiency of it will affect us as well. It is important to know which soil to pick one that gives us plants right away to satisfy food requirements for the rapid growing population or to pick one that will will be free of chemicals and won't harm our body. Plants contain essential elements for our survival from the food we eat to our medicine we
Growth in Africa is not enough for its people to grow, which is leading to poverty and hunger in Africa. Today Africa is one of the leading countries having poverty and economic problems. One half of the Africans live below the poverty line which leads to low human development in Africa. The main cause of poverty in Africa is a problem in its economic system and environmental factors. Because of poverty people of Africa remain hungry as they don’t have enough money to buy their food and their basic needs. Some of the African countries have less poverty rate than others due to good government and economic system in those countries. Most of the African is facing challenges to survive and keep their family healthy.
Agriculture is the major farming activity. Agriculture's scale means not only that large area is directly affected, but that local and even regional climates can be affected. The draining of water from rivers and watersheds for irrigation leads to drier natural habitats. Those rivers that receive runoff from farmland are often poisoned by excessive nutrients and pesticides.
However, South Africa is not rich in agricultural resources; rather it has low rainfall, impoverishment and greater susceptibility of vegetation to drought, resulting in soil degradation. Soil degradation is also caused by excessive fuel wood collection, inappropriate land use, population density and overgrazing. Rural areas lack good roads and bridges, small-scale irrigation systems, post-harvest storage facilities, processing and market facilities, clinics, electricity and telecommunication facilities, and also have poor financial markets. As a result, the poor find it difficult to cope with risks of various sorts and cannot afford to purchase important inputs such as fertilizer, chemicals and farm machinery. Globalization There is an increased competition for South Africa’s agricultural products both on export markets and locally.
Soil is the most important non-renewable resource on any farm. Healthy soil is key to a good
Increased economic development/production negatively affects a country's environmental and agricultural health. Agriculture holds a significant role in underdeveloped countries. It is often the backbone of their economic and social well-being. It acts as the main source of employment and income, 70% of a country's population rely on framing as a mean of living (CITE HERE). Because most underdeveloped countries have low rates of educational attainment, farming is a popular source of employment.
NIGERIA AND THE PATH OF ECONOMIC PROSPERITY. Economic development is a term that economists, politicians, and others have used frequently since the 20th Century. The concept, however, has been in existence in the West for centuries. The term refers to economic growth accompanied by changes in output distribution and economic structure. It is concerned with quality improvements, the introduction of new goods and services, risk mitigation and the dynamics of innovation and entrepreneurship.