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Difficulty: Very hardLiteral Comprehension and Fact Retrieval

Read the passage below carefully and answer the question that follows:

Established in 1977, the Chad Basin Development Authority (CBDA) was mandated to execute agricultural and water resource projects across northeastern Nigeria. To mitigate drought, the agency launched the South Chad Irrigation Project (SCIP) in 1979, drawing water directly from Lake Chad to irrigate 67,000 hectares of arable land. However, by 1985, severe Sahelian desiccation and the recession of the lake’s shorelines left the main intake canal completely dry, reducing functional irrigation to under ten percent of the target area. Consequently, local farmers were forced to abandon wheat cultivation and pivot to drought-tolerant sorghum. Although emergency boreholes were drilled in 1988 to supplement the water supply, high soil salinity hampered crop yields, preventing a return to full operational capacity.

According to the passage, which factor directly hindered the outcome of the 1988 emergency intervention?

  1. High soil salinity that negatively impacted crop yieldsAnswer
  2. B
    The total failure of the emergency boreholes to yield any water
  3. C
    The refusal of local farmers to transition from wheat to sorghum
  4. D
    An expansion of the irrigation project area beyond the original 67,000 hectares

Answer

High soil salinity that negatively impacted crop yields
The passage explicitly directly states that when emergency boreholes were introduced in 1988 to supplement the water supply, high soil salinity hampered crop yields, preventing a return to full operational capacity.

Step-by-Step Solution

1
Locate the specific sentence detailing the 1988 emergency intervention in the passage.
Identified the sentence: 'Although emergency boreholes were drilled in 1988 to supplement the water supply, high soil salinity hampered crop yields, preventing a return to full operational capacity.'
Literal comprehension requires retrieving facts directly stated in the text without adding external assumptions.
2
Identify the cause of the problem specified for the 1988 effort.
The direct cause stated for hampered crop yields is 'high soil salinity'.
Matching the explicit constraint in the passage ensures accurate retrieval of stated facts.

Key Concept

Literal Fact Retrieval and Direct Text Evidence
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Topics

Literal Comprehension and Fact Retrieval

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