LAND FRAGMENTATION NOTES


LAND FRAGMENTATION
Land fragmentation is a situation where a farmer owns a number of small plots of land that are scattered in different places.

Causes of land fragmentation
1. Customary inheritance of property. Land and other assets are shared out equally among the heirs.
2. Increasing population pressure on limited land resource.
3. Accumulation of land as in the case of farmers with limited capital who wish to increase their land holding , purchasing small pieces of land in different places at different times.
4. Government allocation of land to settlers in new area. The government may decide to divide land among landless people who have been allowed to settle in area.
5. Poverty . Lack of enough money to buy large chunks of land.

Disadvantages of land fragmentation

1. It is difficult for the farmer to efficiently supervise the activities being carried out on each of the plots.
2. The farmer wastes time in traveling from one plot to another.
3. It is very difficult for a farmer to control disease and pests of crops and livestock on his / her plots, because neglected plots in the neighborhood acts as source of infestation.
4. Agricultural extension is not very easy to carry out because farm operations cannot be centralized.
5. It make mechanization difficult as there may be no direct route from one plot to another.
6. It is difficult to make and follow a sound farm plan for all plots, especially when the distances between them are great.

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