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Difficulty: MediumAgricultural Systems, Crop Production, and Pastoralism in Nigeria

Different agricultural crops in Nigeria are adapted to distinct ecological zones based on their moisture requirements. Arrange the following crops in sequence based on their mean annual rainfall requirements, starting from the crop with the highest rainfall requirement to the crop with the lowest rainfall requirement.

  1. 1Oil Palm
  2. 2Cocoa
  3. 3Cotton
  4. 4Millet

Answer

The correct sequence from highest to lowest annual rainfall requirement is Oil Palm, Cocoa, Cotton, and Millet.
Oil palm requires the highest annual rainfall (over 2,000 mm) in the coastal/rainforest zone, followed by cocoa in the rainforest belt (1,250–1,800 mm), cotton in the Guinea/Sudan savanna (700–1,000 mm), and millet with the lowest requirement in the semi-arid northern savanna (400–700 mm).

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Identify the ecological zones and moisture requirements of each crop in Nigeria.
Oil Palm requires humid tropical conditions (>2,000 mm/year); Cocoa requires moist rainforest conditions (1,250-1,800 mm/year); Cotton requires sub-humid savanna conditions (700-1,000 mm/year); Millet requires semi-arid savanna conditions (400-700 mm/year).
Crop distribution in Nigeria is primarily governed by the south-to-north gradient of decreasing annual rainfall.
2
Order the crops starting from the highest rainfall requirement down to the lowest rainfall requirement.
Sequence: Oil Palm → Cocoa → Cotton → Millet.
This reflects the latitudinal shift in Nigerian agricultural systems from coastal rainforest cash crops to far northern savanna grain crops.

Key Concept

Latitudinal gradient of moisture requirements for Nigerian agricultural crops
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Topics

Agricultural Systems, Crop Production, and Pastoralism in Nigeria

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