AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

THEME: BASIC CONCEPTS

CLASS – SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOLS (SS 1)

PREVIOUS LESSON – Agricultural Science Plan Lesson Notes for Senior Secondary Schools – SSS 1

TOPIC – AGRICULTURAL LAWS AND REFORMS

LEARNING AREA

1. Land Tenure Systems in Nigeria

2. Land Use Degree of 1978 and Its Characteristics

3. Advantages and Disadvantages of the Land Use Decree

4. Lesson Evaluation and Weekly Assessment (Test)

PERFORMANCE OBJECTIVES 

By the end of the lesson, most of the students should have attained the following objectives –

1. List and explain the land tenure systems in Nigeria.

2. Explain the land use decree of 1978 and its characteristic/features.

3. List the advantages and disadvantages of the land use decree.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS

The teacher will teach the lesson with the aid of a copy of the Nigerian land use Acts of 1978.

REFERENCE MATERIALS

1. Scheme of Work

2. National Curriculum SSS Classes

3. Course Book

4. All Relevant Material

5. Online Information

CONTENT OF THE LESSON

LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

The Land Use Decree of 1978 was an attempt by the Federal Military Government to try to correct some of the problems with the existing land tenure regimes in the country, to provide the country with a uniform land tenure system and to ensure equitable and secure access to land for productive proposes.

The Land use act (formerly called the Land Use Decree) was promulgated on 29th of March 1978. Former President Olusegun Obasanjo takes credit for being the man who made the Land Use Act an integral part of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria during the military regime before he eventually handed over to Alhaji Shehu Shagari led Federal Government.

TYPES OF LAND TENURE SYSTEM IN NIGERIA

There are various forms of land tenure systems in Nigeria –

1. Communal Ownership – Communal ownership is a system where the head of the community decide the basis for allocating or sharing land. In some parts of Nigeria, land is owned and managed collectively by a community, with individual rights to use specific plots allocated by traditional leaders or community elders.

2. Inheritance Tenure System – Inheritance tenure system is the transfer of ownership one person to the next of kin. In this system, land is based on traditional customs and practices, where land is owned and controlled by communities or families. It involves informal land rights and can be passed down through generations. It is common practice in Nigeria.

3. Leasehold Tenure System – Leasehold tenure system is a temporary ownership based on agreement between the tenant and landlord. The lease agreement is usual on a long term and cannot serve as security for loans for any of the parties involved. In this system, individuals or companies hold a lease on land for a specific period of time, usually 99 years. The leaseholders have rights to use the land but do not own it outright.

4. Rent Tenure System – Rest tenure system is also temporary ownership of land for a short period of time, usually a year.

5. Gift Tenure System – Gift tenure system as the name implies, land owner has the rights to voluntarily given out by his ownership to another person as a gift.

6. Freehold Tenure System – In freehold tenure system, the new owner pays a certain sum of money to own a piece of land. In this system, individuals are allowed to own land outright, with full rights of possession, use, and disposal. Freehold land can be inherited, sold, or transferred at the owner’s discretion.

7. Tenant at Government will/Statutory Land Tenure – Tenants at government will system is whereby land is given out to farmers by the Federal Government of Nigeria. This system involves land ownership governed by statutory laws and regulations, such as the Land Use Act of 1978. Land under this system is usually owned by the government and can be leased or sold to individuals or corporations.

9. Registered Land Tenure – In this system, land ownership rights are formally registered with the government, providing legal protection and evidence of ownership.

FEATURES OF THE LAND USE ACT 

The main features of the Land Use Act were:

1. to effect structural change in the system of land tenure.

2. to achieve fast economic and social transformation.

3. to negate economic inequality caused by the appropriation of rising land values by land speculators and landholders.

4. to make land available easily and cheaply, to both the government and private individual developers.

ADVANTAGES OF THE LAND USE DECREE IN NIGERIA

To a large extent, the land use act achieved its aims and objectives:

1. Ensuring that whosoever requires land for any purpose with the ability to make optimum use of it will obtain it.

2. Making it illegal for indigenes to allocate land without government’s approval.

3. Preventing the practice of land speculators buying up large acres of land in order to obtain high prices for a future sale to another person.

4 Reduction in boundary disputes, the number, and frequency of court cases of land ownership since the survey of acquired land is mandatory for occupancy right to be granted.

5. Allowing for easy acquisition of land for agricultural.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE LAND USE DECREE IN NIGERIA

The disadvantages of the Land Use Decree in Nigeria include:

1. Restrictions on land ownership.

2. Lack of security of land tenure.

3. Slow and bureaucratic land allocation process.

4. Lack of incentives for land investment.

5. Limited access to land for certain groups.

6. Lack of transparency and accountability.

7. Abuse of office.

PRESENTATION

TEACHER’S ACTIVITIES

Teacher,

1. leads a class discussion on different types of land acquisition.

2. explains the concept of land use act.

3. leads a guided discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of land use act.

4. summarizes the lesson on the board.

STUDENT’S ACTIVITIES

Students,

1. participate actively in the class discussion on different types of land acquisition.

2. listen to the teacher’s explanation on land use act.

3. Itemize the advantages and disadvantages of land use act.

CONCLUSION

To conclude the lesson for the week, the teacher revises the entire lesson and links it to the following week’s lesson.

LESSON EVALUATION 

Teacher asks students to:

1. List and explain five land tenure systems in Nigeria.

2. Explain the land use decree of 1978 and state five characteristics.

3. Give examples of the land tenure system in their locality.

4. List 5 advantages and 5 disadvantages of the land use decree.