AGRICULTURE >>>

It is the growing of crops and rearing of livestock. It may be done at subsistence or commercial scale.

ARABLE FARMING

It is the growing of crops.

FACTORS INFLUENCING ARABLE FARMING

• Soil fertility
• Availability of rainfall
• Temperature must be moderate
• Capital to buy inputs
• Market for the products
• Area free from Pests and diseases
• Government policies
• Availability of labour

SUBSISTANCE ARABLE FARMING

It is the growing of crops for family consumption.

CHARACTERISTICS OF SUBSISTANCE ARABLE FARMING

• Poor fencing
• Small piece of land is used
• Depends on family labour
• Depends on rainfall
• Use of simple tools like hoes
• Mixed cropping is practiced
• Seeds are broadcasted- Use traditional methods of farming
• Use of seeds from the previous harvest
• Use draught power

PROBLEMS FACING SUBSISTANCE ARABLE FARMING

• Drought/low rainfall – crops wilt and die
• Pests and diseases – destroy crops
• Infertile soils – stunted growth of crops
• Lack of skills – low production
• High temperatures/high evaporation rates – crops wilt and die
• Crops destroyed by animals- low production
• Shortage of labour – low productivity

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS
• Proper fencing
• Use of fertilisers
• Use of drought resistant crops
• Use of pesticides, herbicides
• Training on crop production
• Use of treated seeds
• Financial assistance to buy implements
• Modern methods of farming such as row planting

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CHANGES OCCURING IN SUBSISTANCE ARABLE FARMING IN BOTSWANA
• Use of fertilisers
• Use of machinery e.g. tractors,
• Row planting
• Proper fencing of fields
• Irrigation of crops
• Use of pesticides
• Use of hired labour

COMMERCIAL ARABLE FARMING

It is the growing of crops for sale.

CHARACTERISTICS OF COMMERCIAL ARABLE FARMING

• Irrigation is used
• Large area is cultivated
• Modern methods of farming are used e.g row planting
• Use of fertilisers and pesticides
• High capital investment
• Use of machinery
• Use of high breed seeds/treated seeds
• Houses and offices for staff
• Both skilled and unskilled labour is used
• Hired labour

COMMERCIAL ARABLE FARMING IN BOTSWANA

In Botswana commercial arable farming is practiced at the following places:

• Chobe farms
• Tuli Block/Talana farms
• Gaborone block
• Barolong farms
• Mogobane farms
• Pandamatenga farms (irrigated and dryland farming)

PROBLEMS FACING COMMERCIAL ARABLE FARMING

• Low rainfall/ drought

• Infertile soils
• Lack of skills
• Lack of capital
• Destruction of crops by animals
• Lack of reliable market
• Competition with products from outside Botswana
• Poor roads
• Long distance to the market

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POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

• Use of fertilisers
• Electric fencing
• Training to acquire skills – LEA, college agriculture
• Use of irrigation, Net shade
• Plant drought resistant crops
• Get loans from CEDA or NDB to buy inputs
• Insurance to cover against loss

CASE STUDY OF IRRIGATED COMMERCIAL ARABLE FARMING IN BOTSWANA: TALANA FARMS

Location: Talana farms is in the Tuli-block area along the Limpopo River.

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REASONS FOR CHOOSING THE AREA

• Gentle slopes/land is flat

• Fertile soils
• Nearness to market in South Africa
• Availability of water from Limpopo river
• Availability of labour from surrounding villages e.g Bobonong

Crops grown at Talana farms include potatoes, cotton, butternuts, maize, cabbage, tomatoes etc.

INPUTS

• Irrigation equipment
• Machinery
• Fertilisers
• Insecticides
• Storage facilities
• Labour, land

ADVANTAGES OF IRRIGATION

• Availability of water to crops produce throughout the year

• Increase in yields

DISADVANTAGES

• Irrigation equipment is expensive

• Requires skills
• May causes crop diseases
• A lot of water may be wasted e.g. use of sprinklers

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PLANTATION AGRICULTURE IN AFRICA
A plantation is large scale intensive production of one cash crop.

CASH CROP: it is a crop grown for sale.

CHARACTERISTICS OF PLANTATIONS
• Have a nursery for seedlings within the plantation
• Network of roads within the plantation
• Workers’ houses are within / near the plantation
• Processing plant is within /near the plantation
• Use a lot of machinery
• Only one type of crop is grown (monoculture is practiced)
• Employs a large labour force

INPUTS IN PLANTATIONS
• Managerial skills
• Labour
• Heavy capital investment
• Seeds
• Irrigation equipment
• Communication links
• Storage warehouses
• Pesticides
• Fertilisers

PROCESSES INVOLVED IN PLANTATION FARMING

• Ploughing and preparing the land
• Planting in the nursery
• transplanting the seedlings
• Weeding and spraying with pesticides
• Applying fertilisers
• Harvesting
• Processing
• Packaging
• Marketing outputs

OUTPUTS OF PLANTATIONS
• Cash crops for sale
• Bye products e.g crop residue
• Food crops for workers
• Factory waste

IMPORTANCE OF PLANTATIONS TO COUNTRIES WHERE THEY ARE LOCATED

• Create employment – improving the standard of living
• It is a source of foreign exchange- used to buy imports
• Creates self-sufficiency- Reduces food imports
• Encourages development of infrastructure – improving service delivery
• Provides raw materials for other industries- attracts other industries and creating more employment
• Contribute to skills development- empowering locals

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• Lead to development of rural areas e.g by providing roads, schools, and housing
• Generates government revenue used to develop infrastructure

DISADVANTAGES
• It is expensive as it needs large capital investment
• Leads to shortage of labour for subsistence arable farming as locals abandon their fields to seek
employment in plantations
• It occupies large area of land and may lead to land use conflicts
• Creates low paying jobs – exploiting labour
• Most of the profits are sent to countries where the foreign company originates
• Over cultivation of the land leading to soil exhaustion
• The foreign company may leave at any time leading to unemployment
• Crop can be wiped out by pests/diseases as only one type of crop is grown

PROBLEMS FACED BY COUNTRIES WHO’S PLANTATIONS ARE RUN BY MULTINATIONAL (FOREIGN)

COMPANIES
• The company can pull out at any time leading to unemployment
• Profits are sent out and invested in countries where the company originates
• Workers are made to work long hours and paid little
• The companies give top positions to their citizens only
• The economy is dominated by powerful foreign companies whose interest is to make profit rather than
develop the country

CASE STUDIES OF PLANTATIONS

SUGAR CANE PLANTATION – Natal, South Africa

Location: Sugar cane is grown in Natal, South Africa.

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CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR GROWTH OF SUGAR CANE

• Hot humid climate
• Annual rainfall of over 1500mm
• Lowlands not higher than 1500m above sea level
• Frost free conditions
• Fairly good alluvial soils

CULTIVATION OF SUGAR CANE

• Cultivation of the land with tractors pulling ploughs
• Level the land with harrows
• Furrows are dug
• laying sugar cane cuttings in the furrows 1.4m apart and cover with soil
• after two weeks root begin to develop and shoots come out
• weeding is done at the early stages of sugar cane growth
• lower leaves are removed to reduce transpiration
• After 18 to 24 months the sugar cane is cut
• New shoots will appear and will be cut in 2 years’ time
• As soon as yields drop the land is ploughed again

HARVESTING SUGAR CANE

• The cane is cut by hand or machines

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• the cut cane is taken by trucks or rail to the processing factory

PROCESSING OF SUGAR CANE

• The cane is weighed

• Cane is chopped using revolving knives
• The cane is crushed between rollers to extract the juice
• The juice is weighed and lime is added to remove impurities
• The juice is taken to the clarifier where it is further purified
• The juice is boiled to remove water through evaporation
• Crystals and molasses is put in a separator
• The separator spins around and molasses drains off through holes
• Sugar crystals are dried, graded and put into bags
• Sugar is transported to the market

USES OF SUGAR
• Drunk in tea
• Used in food and beverage industries
• Used in breweries
• Used in confectionaries
• Used to make industrial alcohol
• Residue is used as cattle feed
• Burnt as fuel

COTTON PLANTATION

THE GEZIRA IRRIGATION SCHEME – In Sudan

Location: it is found in Sudan between the Blue and White Nile rivers.
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WHY THE AREA IS FAVOURABLE FOR COTTON

• The area has a gentle sloping plain which allows farrow irrigation and easy cultivation
• Irrigation water available from the blue and White Nile rivers
• Fertile alluvial soils deposited by flood water promotes plant growth
• Experience moderate temperatures of about 25⁰c suitable for plant growth
• There is clay beneath the silt. This means canals do not need concrete lining making it cheaper
• Little vegetation to be cleared meant low clearing costs
• Low rainfall resulting in fewer cases of pests and diseases
• Water flows by gravitational force reducing costs of pumping water

GROWING COTTON

• Seedlings are raised in the nursery

• The land is ploughed
• Seedlings are planted in rows
• The cotton plants start flowering after two months
• The pods later bursts and expose the lint
• Lint is harvested and taken to the mill for processing

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The processing mill is located in the plantation in order;

• To reduce transport costs

• To ensure immediate processing after harvest
• Make use of the already available water and electricity

After processing the cotton is transported to countries such as Italy, USA, Britain, China etc

IMPACTS OF AGRICULTURE ON THE ENVIRONMENT

• Deforestation when land is cleared

• Pollution of surface and ground water, air pollution by methane gas
• Salination of the soil due to excessive use of irrigation
• Over ploughing leading loss of soil fertility
• Overgrazing due to overstocking
• Destruction of water holes and ponds
• Soil erosion

PASTORAL FARMING

SUBSISTANCE PASTORAL FARMING

It is the rearing of animals for family consumption.

CHARACTERISTICS
• Mainly carried out in communal land
• livestock kept for the farmers domestic needs
• Use of family labour
• Government vaccinates cattle free of charge
• Animals/cattle are kept at cattle posts
• Mainly keep tswana breed

ACTIVITIES INVOLOVED IN SUBSISTANCE PASTORAL FARMING

• Herding cattle to grazing land in the morning for grazing
• Herding cattle to drinking points the afternoon for drinking
• Milking cows for domestic use
• Branding, ear tagging and dehorning the cattle

CHANGES THAT HAVE OCCURRED IN SUBSISTANCE PASTORAL FARMING

• Farmers can sell part of the animals instead of keeping them for milk, meat, and draught power only
• Use of exotic breeds
• Regular vaccination of animal
• Supplementary feeding
• Dipping for ticks
• Cross breeding

COMMERCIAL PASTORAL FARMING

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It is the rearing of animal for sale. In Botswana it is carried out in ranches e.g at Tuli block, Lobatse farms,
Francistown farms, Sand veld, Ganzhi farms, Kaka farms etc.

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CHARACTERISTICS
• Cattle reared for sale
• Carried out in ranches
• The land is fenced
• Rotational grazing is practiced
• Use of employed labour
• Regular supplementary feeding
• Capital intensive
• Selective breeding
• Use of artificial insemination
• Regular vaccination

INPUTS
• Labour
• Water
• Land or range for grazing
• Sheds and kraals
• Fence
• Vehicles
• Supplementary feeds

PROBLEMS FACED BY PASTORAL FARMWER IN BOTSWANA

• Diseases
• Poor pastures
• Stock theft
• Lack of capital
• Long distance to market
• Low rainfall leading to shortage of water
• Lack of skills
• Lack of labour

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS

• Drilling boreholes to provide water

• Vaccination to prevent disease
• Regular dipping of animals
• Training to acquire skills
• Borrow money from NDB or CEDA to buy inputs
• Free vaccination by government
• Rotational grazing to manage pastures
• Animal off take
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• Supplementary feeding

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