WAEC Agricultural Science 1995 past questions

Checked by the Skolra question team · Last updated 23 October 2026

Ten questions from the 1995 WAEC Agricultural Science paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 48 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Agricultural Science 1995 questions and answers

1. 1.Farm-gate price is usually obtained through
   1. A
      Wholesalers
   2. B
      Middlemen
      Correct
   3. C
      The producer
   4. D
      Co-operatives
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   Answer: B

   Farm-gate price is the price a farmer is paid for produce right at the farm, before the produce enters any marketing channel. This is almost always arranged through middlemen (local buying agents or itinerant traders) who travel directly to farms, buy the produce from farmers at that low farm-gate price, and then move it into the marketing chain — transporting and reselling it at the higher market/retail price. The gap between the farm-gate price and the final market price is the middleman's profit, which is exactly why Nigerian agricultural economics lessons stress this channel: the farmer, lacking storage, transport and market contacts, sells cheaply to the middleman right at the farm.

2. 2.Which of the following characteristics is not normally considered in the selection of animal for breeding?
   1. A
      Resistance to disease
   2. B
      Milk yield
   3. C
      Growth rate
   4. D
      Colour of the animal
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   When a farmer selects an animal for breeding, the goal is to pass on economically useful and heritable traits to the offspring, so the animal improves the productivity of the herd or flock.

3. 3.The fertility of the soil is an important factor in the selection of site for a fish pond because a fertile soil will
   1. A
      encourage the growth of plankton which serve as natural food for the fish
      Correct
   2. B
      increase the clay content needed to line the pond bed
   3. C
      prevent predators and pests from entering the pond
   4. D
      reduce the rate of water seepage from the pond
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   Answer: A

   Correct: a fertile soil, when flooded to form a pond, releases plant nutrients into the water. These nutrients support the growth of plankton (tiny algae and microorganisms) in the pond, and plankton forms the natural food chain base that feeds the fish. This is exactly why fertility, not just texture, is checked before siting a pond.

   So the link the question is testing is: fertile soil → nutrients in pond water → plankton growth → food for fish.

4. 4.Land in agricultural business is said to be a dural asset. This means land
   1. A
      is fixed in total quantity and can never be increased
   2. B
      can be moved from one location to another when needed
   3. C
      does not wear out or lose its usefulness through continuous use
      Correct
   4. D
      loses a large part of its value through wear and tear over time
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   Answer: C

   Land is called a durable (or indestructible) asset because, unlike buildings, machinery and other capital items, it does not wear out, get used up, or lose its usefulness no matter how long or how continuously it is used in farming. A farmer can cultivate the same plot year after year, generation after generation, and the land itself still exists and can still be worked.

5. 5.Control of water level in a fish pond with minimal loss of fish can be achieved with the aid of
   1. A
      Wooden panels alone, stacked to the required height
   2. B
      Wooden panel and screen only, without an outlet channel
   3. C
      A monk fitted with panels, screens and an outlet channel
      Correct
   4. D
      A monk and outlet channel, without screens fitted
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   Answer: C

   A monk fitted with panels, screens and an outlet channel is the structure built into the pond embankment for exactly this job. The removable panels (stop-boards) are slid in or taken out to raise or lower the water level as needed, the screens stretched across the opening stop fish from being swept out or escaping while water drains, and the outlet channel carries the drained water safely away from the pond and dyke.

6. 6.Rice bran is usually obtained from the paddy after
   1. A
      Threshing
   2. B
      Milling
      Correct
   3. C
      Parboiling
   4. D
      Winnowing
   Show answerHide answer

   Answer: B

   Milling is correct. After paddy (rough rice) has been harvested, it is threshed and winnowed to clean it, and sometimes parboiled, but none of these steps remove any part of the grain itself. It is during milling that the husk is removed to expose the brown rice, and the bran layer covering the grain is then rubbed off (polishing) to produce white rice. Rice bran is this outer layer removed from the grain, so it is correctly described as being obtained after milling.

7. 7.Flood irrigation is mainly used in
   1. A
      Vegetable production
   2. B
      Fruit orchard management
   3. C
      Nursery seedling raising
   4. D
      Rice cultivation
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Flood irrigation is a method in which water is allowed to flow or stand over the entire surface of the field, soaking into the soil from above. This method suits crops that can tolerate, or even require, waterlogged conditions during part of their growth cycle.

8. 8.When individual crop with desired characteristic mostly favoured by the environment are chosen for breeding this type of breeding is referred to as
   1. A
      Pure line selection
   2. B
      Pedigree selection
   3. C
      Mass selection
      Correct
   4. D
      Natural selection
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   Answer: C

   Mass selection is correct. In mass selection, the breeder walks through a population of crop plants and picks out individual plants that show the desired character by their outward appearance (their phenotype). Because phenotype is shaped by both the plant's genes and the growing environment (soil, rainfall, spacing, and so on), the plants chosen are simply the ones the environment has allowed to express the trait best — there is no testing of their offspring before selection. This matches the question exactly: individuals favoured by the environment are picked and bred from.

9. 9.A metamorphic limestone is
   1. A
      Marble
      Correct
   2. B
      Gneiss
   3. C
      Slate
   4. D
      Quartzite
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   Answer: A

   Marble is correct. Limestone is a sedimentary rock made mainly of calcium carbonate. When it is subjected to intense heat and pressure inside the earth (metamorphism), its mineral grains recrystallize and it turns into marble.

   The other options are real metamorphic rocks, but they come from different parent rocks, which is why they are tempting:

   Slate is the metamorphic product of shale or mudstone, not limestone.
   Quartzite forms when sandstone is metamorphosed, not limestone.
   Gneiss forms from granite or other rocks under high-grade metamorphism, not limestone.

10. 10.Which of the following factors has the greatest influence on crop production?
    1. A
       Soil fertility
    2. B
       Amount of capital invested
    3. C
       Climate
       Correct
    4. D
       Availability of farm labour
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: C

    Climate (rainfall, temperature, sunlight and humidity) has the greatest influence on crop production, and this is the standard WAEC Agricultural Science answer to this type of question.

The questions come from past JAMB, WAEC and NECO papers. We use software to help write the answer options and explanations, and every answer is checked twice before it goes on the site. How we check

Spotted a wrong answer? Tell us from the app or on the contact page and we check it.

Practise all 48 questions we hold from the 1995 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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