LAND USE IN NIGERIA
With respect to Agriculture,
the use to which land can be put can be broadly divided into 2 namely
Agricultural and Non Agricultural use.
The agrcultural uses include i)
direct agricultural production e.g crop, animal and fish. That is, a situation where
you use the land to raise crops, fish
and/or rear animals for consumption or export ii)seed multiplication and plant
propagation iii)infrastructural purposes e.g experimental stations and farm
buildings iv)regenerative purposes such as pastures, forests and fallow
rotation
The non-[agricultural
uses of land include commercial or industrial uses, residences, recreation,
infrastructure, mining/quarrying uses
So we see that land has
many competing uses to which it can put hence the need to maximize the use of
land.
Factors
affecting the use of land: natural limits i.e total land
area under the user’s control; state of technology; population or decline,
migration, nomadism and standard of
living
In developing countries
like Nigeria land use is characterize by poor technology, low yields,
continuing poverty, soil degradation , increasing population pressure, limited
mgt skills restricted farm size
LAND
TENURE
The term "tenure" is used to signify the relationship between
tenant and lord, not the relationship between tenant and land.
Land tenure is the relationship, whether
legally or customarily defined, among people, as individuals or groups, with
respect to land. (For convenience, “land” is used here to include other natural
resources such as water and trees.) Land tenure is an institution, i.e., rules
invented by societies to regulate behaviour. Rules of tenure define how
property rights to land are to be allocated within societies. They define how
access is granted to rights to use, control, and transfer land, as well as
associated responsibilities and restraints. In simple terms, land tenure
systems determine who can use what resources for how long, and under what
conditions. These arrangements have become necessary in view of the fact there
is population pressure on land and increase in the alternative uses of land.
That is why in Nigerai, we have the Land Use Decree in 1978 which later became the Land Use Act
which stipulates:
An Act
to Vest all Land compromised in the territory of each State (except land vested
in the Federal government or its agencies) solely in the Governor of the State
, who would hold such Land in trust for the people and would henceforth be
responsible for allocation of land in all urban areas to individuals resident
in the State and to organisations for residential, agriculture, commercial and
other purposes while similar powers will with respect to non urban areas
are conferred on Local Governments.(27th March 1978) Commencement.
This
necessitated the setting up of land use and allocation committees
by state governments to administer and supervise the allocation of land to land
seekers from within and outside each state in order to create proper
integration in resource use and permit more effective use of such lands that
would otherwise lie idle. The ACT also made it possible for state governments
to acquire lands compulsorily for eventual redistribution to users and set
aside lands for public purposes.
As good as
this ACT may seem to be, it is not without limitations or problems associated
with it
1. the govt
took advantage of the ACT to prosecute their own projects within the state yet
it has not been easy for enterprising farmers to secure enough lands for their
uses nation-wide
2.many
states do not give lands to people of other states for the fear of losing one’s
property to natives of another states
3.there is
usually a conflict between the political and established farms of govt, thereby
creating confusion as to which group could validly allocate the land (and
whose) to enterprising farmers
4.
sometimes also there is a lack of understanding of the sufferings of land
seekers on the part of those who allocate the land farmland.
All these
and many more are the reasons why the Land Use Act may need to be reviewed or
strengthened so as to guarantee equitable access to productive
opportunities on the land and security of such access once gained.
LAND
CONSERVATION
Definition: it means
the wise use of the land in such a way that there is a continuous flow of
benefits from the land resources to the land users (at present) and future
generations.
There are 3 broad types
of land resources
i) stock resources: e.g
coal, petroleum,metals,stones etc. these resources are not renewable. How
then can we ensure the future generations benefit from it? It is by
investing the revenue from such land in profitable and lasting ventures.
ii) flow resources:
they are the resources in continuous supply e.g sunlight, stream, precipitation
etc. modern technology has made the storage
of these flow resources possible. e.g solar energy panel to store sunlight, dam
and dykes to store stream water
iii) composite
resources (having both stock and flow characteristics):these include biological
resources such as plants, animals, fish and wildlife; soil resources, man-made
improvements especially rural
infrastructure that complement agricultural land resource use.
CONSERVATION PRACTICES with respect to agricultural land resources include
i) prevention of
erosion arising from excessive farming and overgrazing
ii) building of dam to
retain water for multi-purpose uses
iii) afforestation to
influence precipitation and climate
iv) flood control, and
v) education for
awareness about fire use for land clearing,
