WAEC Agricultural Science 2011 past questions

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

Ten questions from the 2011 WAEC Agricultural Science paper, with answers and explanations. We hold 10 questions from this paper, and the Skolra app has all of them.

WAEC Agricultural Science 2011 questions and answers

1. 1.The most important factor which determines the demand for cowpea by consumers is the
   1. A
      Price of cowpea
      Correct
   2. B
      Taste of consumers
   3. C
      Income of consumers
   4. D
      Supply of cowpea in the market
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   Answer: A

   In agricultural economics, demand is defined as the quantity of a commodity consumers are willing and able to buy at a given price, over a given period. This definition itself points to the single factor that matters most: price.

   So the correct answer is price of cowpea.

2. 2.Which type of loan should a farmer obtain to start an oil palm plantation?
   1. A
      Long-term loan
      Correct
   2. B
      Overdraft
   3. C
      Medium-term loan
   4. D
      Short-term loan
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   Answer: A

   Long-term loan is correct.

   Loans are classified mainly by their repayment period, and the right loan for a farmer must match how long it takes the investment to start paying back. An oil palm plantation is a perennial tree crop with a long gestation period: it takes about 3 to 4 years after planting before the palms begin to bear fruit, and the plantation then remains productive for 20 to 25 years or more. Because the farmer's capital is tied down for several years before any real income comes in, and the investment itself (clearing land, buying seedlings, establishing and maintaining the plantation) is a permanent, long-lasting one, it must be financed with a long-term loan — one with a repayment period usually stretching beyond 5 years.

3. 3.A young female cattle which has never calved is known as
   1. A
      Heifer
      Correct
   2. B
      Steer
   3. C
      Calf
   4. D
      Cow
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   Answer: A

   Heifer is correct. In livestock terminology, a heifer is a young female cattle that has not yet calved (given birth). Once she calves for the first time, she is then called a cow.

   Calf is wrong because a calf is a baby cattle of either sex, from birth up to weaning age; the question specifically asks about a mature young female, not a newborn of either sex.

4. 4.In which layer of the soil profile do most biological activities occur?
   1. A
      Parent material
   2. B
      Subsoil
   3. C
      Topsoil
      Correct
   4. D
      Bedrock
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   Answer: C

   The topsoil (A-horizon) is correct. It is the uppermost, dark-coloured layer of the soil profile and contains the highest concentration of organic matter (humus), which comes from decaying plant and animal remains.

5. 5.Land in agricultural business is a durable asset because
   1. A
      it can be converted into cash easily
   2. B
      it does not wear out with continued use
      Correct
   3. C
      it is fixed in location
   4. D
      it appreciates in value over time
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   Answer: B

   In Agricultural Science, farm assets are grouped by how long they last in use. Land is classed as a durable asset because it does not wear out with continued use — unlike machinery, tools or livestock, which depreciate or get used up over a production cycle, land can be cultivated season after season and still remains available for production.

   So the reasoning that fits "durable asset" is that land does not wear out with continued use.

6. 6.Tsetse flies are of economic importance in livestock production because they transmit
   1. A
      Rinderpest
   2. B
      Anthrax
   3. C
      Trypanosomiasis
      Correct
   4. D
      Foot and mouth disease
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   Answer: C

   Trypanosomiasis is correct. The tsetse fly (Glossina species) is a blood-sucking insect that carries the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma in its saliva. When it bites livestock (especially cattle), it injects the parasite into the bloodstream, causing trypanosomiasis — also called "nagana" in cattle. This disease causes severe anaemia, weight loss, reduced milk and meat yield, and often death, which is why the tsetse fly is such an economically important pest in livestock-keeping areas of Nigeria.

   So the defining link between the tsetse fly and livestock economics is specifically its role as the vector for trypanosomiasis.

7. 7.The main function of an agricultural extension agent is to
   1. A
      provide loans and financial grants to rural farmers
   2. B
      educate and inform farmers on improved methods of farming
      Correct
   3. C
      carry out laboratory research to breed new crop varieties
   4. D
      sell improved seeds and fertilizers to farmers at subsidized prices
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   Answer: B

   Educating and informing farmers on improved methods of farming is correct. An agricultural extension agent is the link between research institutes and farmers; the agent's main job is to carry improved farming knowledge, techniques and innovations to farmers in a way they can understand and apply, and to carry farmers' problems back to the researchers.

8. 8.The following fertilizers can be used to neutralize soil acidity except
   1. A
      Ground limestone
   2. B
      Marl
   3. C
      Wood ash
   4. D
      Ammonium sulphate
      Correct
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   Answer: D

   Ammonium sulphate is the odd one out. It is a physiologically acid-forming fertilizer: when plant roots take up the ammonium ion (NH₄⁺), the sulphate ion left behind combines with hydrogen in the soil solution to form sulphuric acid. So instead of correcting soil acidity, ammonium sulphate actually increases it over repeated applications. This is a common distractor because it is a fertilizer — but not every fertilizer is a liming material.

   So a farmer dealing with acid soil in Nigeria would reach for lime, marl, or wood ash — not ammonium sulphate, which would make the acidity worse.

9. 9.Which of the following parasites lives inside the body of its host?
   1. A
      Flea
   2. B
      Tapeworm
      Correct
   3. C
      Tick
   4. D
      Louse
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   Answer: B

   The tapeworm is the correct answer because it lives inside the body of its host, attached to the wall of the small intestine, where it absorbs already-digested food from the host. This makes it an endoparasite.

10. 10.A cowpea farmer obtained a loan of D50,000.oo from his co-operative society at an interest rate of 5%. Calculate the interest to be paid on the borrowed capital after one year?
    1. A
       ₦25,000
    2. B
       ₦500
    3. C
       ₦52,500
    4. D
       ₦2,500
       Correct
    Show answerHide answer

    Answer: D

    This is a simple interest problem. The formula for simple interest is:

    Interest = (Principal × Rate × Time) ÷ 100

    Here, Principal = ₦50,000, Rate = 5% per year, Time = 1 year.

    Interest = (50,000 × 5 × 1) ÷ 100 = 250,000 ÷ 100 = ₦2,500

    So the interest to be paid after one year is ₦2,500. This is the amount the co-operative society charges the farmer for the use of the money — it is not the total amount he will repay.

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

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Practise all 10 questions we hold from the 2011 paper, on a timed CBT screen

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