(a) List four management practices carried out in poultry production. (b) Discuss four advantages of dehorning in cattle production. (c) State five marketing services in Agricultural Production (d) Briefly state five problems of agricultural marketing in West Africa
Explanation
(a) Management practices carried out in poultry production - Candling - Sexing - Egg handling - Incubation - Hatching - Brooding - Turning of litter/litter management - Age group rearing - Feeding - Watering - Sanitation - Housing - Debeaking - Vaccination - Caponisation - Control of parasites
(b) Advantages of dehorning in cattle production - Less space is required for feeding - The animals eat more conveniently and grow faster - Dehorned animals are more attractive and therefore yield more money - They are easy to transport in vehicles from one area to another - They are more safe to handle/docile - It prevents injury of animals/handlers (c) Marketing services in Agricultural production - Standardisation/grading - Packaging - Transportation - Storage - Risk bearing/insurance - Financing - Assemblage - Processing - Distributed - Advertising (d) Problems of agricultural marketing in West Africa - Scattered sources of supply/small holdings - Inadequate transportation - Inadequate processing facilities - Inadequate storage facilities - Non-uniform weights and quantity -measuring devices - Inadequate financing - Poor marketing skills/systems - Adulteration of produce - Instability of prices - Inadequate market research - Inadequate information about production and marketing - Activities of middlemen - Perishability of farm produce