Agro-Allied Industry – SS1 Agricultural Science Lesson Note (First Term)

Agro-allied industries, also called agro-based industries, are industries that depend on agriculture for their raw materials. They turn farm produce into finished goods that people and animals use.

Behavioural objectives

1. Explain what agro-allied industries are.
2. Give examples of agro-allied industries and the raw materials each one uses.
3. State the products made by some agro-allied industries.
4. Describe how agriculture helps industries.
5. Describe how industries help agriculture.

What are agro-allied industries?

An agro-allied industry is an industry that needs agricultural raw materials to operate and produce finished goods.

• Agro-allied industry: an industry that uses crops, livestock, forest or fish products as inputs.
• Raw material: a material, such as cotton or sugarcane, that an industry changes into a finished product.
• Finished product: a good ready for use, such as sugar, soap or cloth.
• Processing: the series of treatments that changes raw farm produce into a new product.

What are the features of agro-allied industries?

• Raw materials: they depend on farms, forests or livestock for their inputs.
• Processing: they change the form of farm produce into goods with more value.
• Location: many are sited near the farms that supply their raw materials.
• Supply: they need a steady supply of produce to keep running.

What are examples of agro-allied industries and their raw materials?

The table shows fourteen common agro-allied industries, the raw materials they use and what they make.

What are the groups of agro-allied industries?

Agro-allied industries fall into four groups by the source of their raw materials: crop-based, livestock-based, forest-based and fish-based.

Which cereals do some of these industries use?

• Cereals: grass crops grown for their edible grains.
• Maize: used in flour, starch, feed mills and breweries.
• Rice: milled for food.
• Sorghum (guinea corn): used for food and for brewing.
• Millet: a grain crop grown mainly in the northern states.
• Wheat: milled into flour for bread and biscuits.

Which industries use livestock products?

• Dairy industry: uses milk to make products such as cheese and yoghurt.
• Tannery: uses hides and skins to make leather.
• Meat processing: uses animals from the abattoir to make packed meat products.

Why are agro-allied industries important?

Agro-allied industries add value to farm produce and support the national economy.

• Jobs: they employ factory workers, drivers, traders and farm suppliers.
• Value addition: processed goods sell for more than raw produce.
• Market for farmers: they buy farm produce regularly.
• Less wastage: processing and canning reduce post-harvest losses of perishable produce.
• Foreign exchange: processed goods can be exported, and local products reduce imports.

What is the relationship between agriculture and industries?

Agriculture and industry depend on each other in many ways.

How does agriculture help industries?

1. Provision of raw materials: agriculture supplies cocoa, cotton, palm produce and groundnut to industries.
2. Provision of market: farmers buy industrial products such as farm machinery, chemicals and fertiliser.
3. Provision of food: agriculture feeds industrial workers.
4. Provision of labour: people leaving farms can take up jobs in industries.
5. Provision of foreign exchange: export crops such as cocoa earn money that industries use to import machines.

How do industries help agriculture?

1. Provision of agro-chemicals: industries produce pesticides, fertilisers, vaccines and herbicides.
2. Provision of tools and machinery: industries make tractors, ploughs, cutlasses and hoes.
3. Provision of storage facilities: industries provide storage for grains, milk, fruits, vegetables, meat and fish.
4. Provision of processing facilities: industries provide equipment such as grinders and millers.
5. Provision of essential goods: industries make many goods that farmers want to buy.

What other links exist between agriculture and industry?

• Competition for labour: both agriculture and industry need workers, so they compete for labour.
• Growth of the industrial sector: higher farm income raises demand for industrial goods, which helps industry to grow.

What problems do agro-allied industries face?

Agro-allied industries face problems that reduce output and profit.

• Irregular raw material supply: farm output depends on weather and varies by season.
• Poor transport: bad roads delay produce and raise costs.
• Power shortage: machines need steady electricity or fuel.
• Lack of capital: setting up and running a factory is costly.
• Poor storage: perishable produce spoils before it reaches the factory.

Evaluation

1. What are agro-allied industries?
2. Name the raw material used by each of these industries: sugar, tyre, paper and textile.
3. State four ways in which agriculture helps industries.
4. State four ways in which industries help agriculture.
5. Name the four groups of agro-allied industries and give one example of each.

Assignment

Draw a table of five agro-allied industries. For each one, write the raw material it uses and the product it makes. Then state two ways in which industries help farmers.