Agricultural development Process and land Use, tenure and Conservation in Nigeria(Part 3)

   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.(27^th 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.

5. most of the purchases were done by wealthy non-farmers who held the land idle waiting to capitalize on the appropriate market situation while food production is on the decline

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,