CHAPTER 12: AGRICULTURE 1- INTRODUCTION TO AGRICULTURE

12.3: SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES

By the end of the topic, the learner should be able to:
a) Define agriculture
b) Discus the factors influencing agriculture
c) Explain the types of agriculture
INTRODUCTION: DEFINITION
This is the growing of crops and the rearing of domestic animals .
The history of agriculture
Early human beings were hunter-gatherers /fishermen.
With increase in populations and advancement of civilizations, demands on productivity increased
.
People saved seeds and planted them. They also domesticated animals for meat, milk, skins
and later for use as draught animals.
As permanent settlements began to come up, ways were devised to increase production of food.
 Canals were dug to bring in more water for irrigation .
 Better seeds were developed .
Better methods of cultivation like mechanization developed.
More food production meant there were surpluses. This led to people trading these surpluses
for things they needed but did not produce.
This eventually led to the coming up of international trade as countries that grew little food
could import what they needed.
Factors Influencing Agriculture
A, Climate
1. Temperature
This is the degree of sensable heat in the atmosphere.
Some crops grow well in areas with high temperatures throughout the year, e.g. sugarcane, cocoa,
and oil palm .
Others like coffee and tea do well in cool to warm areas. Maize and wheat do well in warm
regions.
Extremely low temperatures are unsuitable for most plant growth, especially where night frost
occur as they kill the plants .
Beef cattle and goats thrive well in warm to hot conditions while dairy ad exotic cattle and sheep
thrive in cool to warm conditions
The temperature of a place determines the length of the growing season so in warm to hot areas, a
wide variety can be grown through the year , while the variety reduces as temperatures drop.
2. Sunshine:
Sunshine is needed for photosynthesis and crop ripening .
In areas with high sunshine intensity, crops ripen fast and fruits become very sweet .
Dry sunny weather is imperative for during the harvesting of grains like maize and wheat
3. Rainfall/moisture:
This is water available for either from the atmosphere or the ground. The amount and distribution
in the year is important.
Some crops like tea, coffee, sugarcane, oil palm and cocoa require high rainfall well distributed
throughout the year for optimal growth . Crops like wheat and maize require moderate rainfall.
Rainfall amounts are useful in areas where animals depend on natural pasture .
Draught causes shortage of moisture and crops or animals may die .
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 4. Wind:
Winds are a medium of transfer of heat and moisture from one place to another.
Hot dry winds increase the rate of evapo-transpiration and dry up the soil, causing crops to wilt
. For example cocoa is sensitive to dry winds.
Strong winds can cause crops to break or lose their fruits. For example cocoa pods can fall/
delicate stems of crops like maize can break, reducing yields .
Strong winds can carry away fertile top soils if they are exposed, lowering the amounts of
nutrients available to plants, thus lowering yields .
Some crops depend on wind for seed dispersal, like wheat and maize .
B. Topographical/Relief Factors
1. Some crops are sensitive to altitude:
Crops like tea, coffee, temperate fruits, dairy cattle and sheep thrive in high altitude areas due to
the cool conditions . Areas with moderate altitude are suitable to crops like wheat, maize, and
beef cattle as they are warmer. This also favours grasslands.
Terrain determines drainage.
2. Many crops like tea, coffee and wheat do well in undulating terrain as this prevents
waterlogging and creates ease of mechanization and irrigation . However rice does well in flat
areas as it is grown by flood irrigation.
Gently sloping land favour beef cattle for ease of grazing .
3. Aspect
In temperate lands, sun-facing slopes are warmer and thus suitable for crop growing . Slopes
facing away from the sun are cooler and dominated by grasslands for livestock.
Windward slopes are wetter and suitable for the growing of crops and fodder for livestock .
C. Soil/Edaphic Factors
1. Soil texture/structure
Deep soils are easy to plough, and provide anchorage for crops .
Clayey soils are sticky, thus difficult to till and are suitable for flood irrigation as they hold
moisture long .
Crumb soils retain moisture, thus suitable for a wide variety of crops .
Blocky soils are too well drained and can only be farmed under irrigation .
2. Soil Air/Moisture
Well aerated soils allow proper intake of nutrients .
Soil water is essential for plants as they absorb water that have dissolved nutrients through the
roots
o Soil temperature
Plants begin to grow only if soils are at a minimum 60C /stop growing when
temperatures fall below this
Warm soils accelerate intake of water /nutrients, resulting in rapid growth of plants
 Biological/Biotic Factors
o Weeds/Parasitic plants
They compete with plats for sunlight and nutrients, making crops weaker /are expensive
to control
Parasitic plants live of crops, reducing productivity
o Pests/Fungi/Diseases
These attack crops, lowering the quality/quantity of produce/are expensive to treat. The
farmer thus earns very little
o Earthworms/Some bacteria
Dig burrows in the soil, allowing in soil water/air/making the soil easy to work
Bacteria transform dead plant matter into humus, increasing soil fertility
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 Human Factors
o Social Factors:
Tradition
influences the types of crops grown, depending on the staple crops of the community
influences the members of the family who work on the farms, e.g. women /children,
men take care of livestock
the size of land to be farmed depending on labour available
Land Tenure System
Land fragmentation due to inheritance reduces land for large scale agriculture
Communal land is put only to land use that is beneficial to the whole community, e.g. land
owned by pastoralist communities
Religious Factors
Some communities consider some animals, e .g. cattle, as sacred, e.g. Hindus - cattle
Muslim/Jews consider pigs as unclean and so do not rear them
o Economic Factors
Operation Costs
Land/machinery/inputs/maintenance of machinery are expensive. The amount of money
available determine the type/scale of operation on farms /some farmers borrow money
from financial institutions
Marketing Expenses
Many agricultural produce are perishable and must reach market quickly/need refrigeration.
This is expensive and lowers profits/must be considered before embarking on farming
Price Fluctuations
May make farmers change the type of crop being grown, especially if prices are constantly
down /
When world market prices are favourable, then more farmers opt to grow a particular crop
o Political factors
The government may choose to regulate prices of a particular crop /production
It may choose to subsidize/give incentives, e.g. tax exemption /low prices of inputs to
encourage farmers to continue growing the crops
The government may encourage farmers to grow a new crop /limit areas a crop is
grown/encourage diversification
Quotas imposed by the world market limit the amount of a particular crop a country
produces

Types of Agriculture
2 a i) Name 3 main categories of agriculture (3mks)
 Arable
 Livestock
 Mixed
ii) What are the two forms of arable farming? (2mks)
 Subsistence
 Commercial
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iii) Outline three types of arable farming (3mks)
 Shifting cultivation
 Sedentary subsistence farming
 Intensive subsistence agriculture
Define subsistence agriculture. (2mks)
 This is the growing of crops for the purposes of home consumption
b i) Give four characteristics of shifting/slash and burn agriculture. (4mks)
 It is sited in virgin forests
 the pieces of land are small (1 – 3 acres, separated by dense forest)
 primitive tools are used like hoes and digging sticks
 a piece of land is farmed for 2/3 years then abandoned
 crops are grown for subsistence like cassava/yams/maize/millet/
 little addition of manure/fertilizer
 land is cleared and the vegetation burned, exposing the soil to soil erosion
 the land is used for a short while, 3 – 5 years , then fallowed for up to 20 years. (The farmer
then clears another piece of land/returns to land that has been laying fallow, hence field rather
than crop rotation. Factors that influence the shifting are soil exhaustion, attack by
pests/diseases and attacks by wild animals)
ii) State three consequences of shifting cultivation (3mks)
 previously forested land has turned into grassland.
 increase in populations has put pressure on land, thus the land is fallowed for only a short
while before re-use. Soils have thus deteriorated .
 It fails to guarantee sufficient food for the community . The food is supplemented by
hunting/fishing/gathering.
 It exposes land to risk of soil erosion .
 Fires can get out of hand, destroying large tracts of forest land/soil organisms
 It supports only a few people per unit area, hence wasteful as large tracts of land are fallow
 Food is mainly for consumption with little for sale, hence low living standards for the
farmers
c i) Define Sedentary Subsistence agriculture (2mks)
 It’s a form of farming where the community permanently stays in one place as it tills the land
for food production.
ii) Outline three characteristics of Sedentary Subsistence agriculture. (3mks)
 The community has a permanent dwelling spot
 Fallow fields are frequently re-used
 Crop rotation is practiced , and the crops/land is given more attention
 The produce is able to support a larger population
 The farmer uses more labour to work the land /use of ploughs is common
 Some domestic animals are kept to supply milk /meat/eggs
 Farmers may get periodic employment elsewhere e.g. during the dry season
 In some areas, it is combined with cash crop faming /collection and sale of forest products
 A larger population can be supported by the land
d i) Define Intensive Subsistence agriculture. (2mks)

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 This is a system of farming that involves maximum utilization of all cultivable land for food
production
ii) Name three areas where Intensive Subsistence agriculture is practiced (3mks)
 The monsoon lands of China , Japan , Korea , India , Pakistan , Sri Lanka , Java ,
Malaysia
 In Kenya in Kiambu , Murang'a , Nyeri, Kakamega, Kisii
ii) State three characteristics of Intensive Subsistence agriculture. (3mks)
 The cultivated plots are very small , brought about by land fragmentation.
 Irrigation is used in the dry season , sloppy areas are terraced , swamp lands are drained .
 Double/treble plantings are done per year
 In the dry season, fields can be used to grow oil seeds /tobacco/food crops
 Land for pasture is scarce, so few/no livestock is kept/in India, cows are kept for
milk/manure/cow dung fuel.
 There is intensive use of plant/animal manure /fertilizer for maximum yields.
iii) List four crops grown using Intensive Subsistence agriculture. (4mks)
 In Kenya: Maize , beans , potatoes , arrow root , sweet potatoes , cabbage , Kale
 In Asia: rice ,wheat ,
e) i) What is plantation agriculture? (2mks)
 It is a specialized form of commercial cultivation of cash crops on large tracts of land ,
called estates or plantations
ii) Name three areas if the world where plantation agriculture is practiced. (3mks)
 Cameroon, Cote d’Ivore, Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, e.t.c.
 Indonesia, especially Java
 The Philippines
 S. America: Brazil, Columbia
iii) Give four crops grown using plantation agriculture (4mks)
 rubber , fibre crops(cotton, sisal, jute, hemp, flax) oil palm , coconut palm , beverage
crops, (tea, coffee, cocoa), fruits (pineapples, bananas, avocadoes), sugarcane
v) Outline three characteristics of plantation agriculture. (3mks)
 The farms are large
 The farms have undulating landscape
 There is use scientific methods /management/use of machinery/fertilizers/pesticides
/fungicides/herbicides
 It requires large capital outlay
 It is usually a monoculture
 The crops are grown mainly for sale /export
 The workers are highly skilled
vi) Explain three problems facing plantation agriculture (6mks)
 Huge capital outlay is required, making it difficult to establish
Climatic hazards:
 some crops like cocoa, oil palm, rubber require temperatures that are uncomfortable to people,
reducing output per person
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 Local winds like the Harmattan/hurricanes/frost damage crops, reducing output
 It is expensive to constantly repair roads damaged by rainfall
Insects and pests and diseases:
 Hot humid conditions can cause disease/disease outbreaks, causing farmers great loss
/great expenses
 Disease vectors like mosquitoes thrive in hot and humid conditions, causing malaria to farmers
and lowering their efficiency
Dense vegetation
 Dense and rapidly growing tropical vegetation is a hindrance to clearing /road
establishment
 Hot wet conditions allow for weeds to thrive, incurring costs in constant weeding /spraying
Rapid deterioration of soils
 Heavy leaching due to high rainfall reduces soil fertility /necessitates use of
manure/fertilizer which are expensive
 The plantations are a monoculture, which use up nutrients in the soil. Farmers have to use a lot
of manure/fertilizer, which are expensive
f) Apart from plantation agriculture, name two other types of commercial arable farming.
(2mks)
 Extensive mechanized grain cultivation
 Intensive commercial agriculture
g i) Identify three regions in the world where extensive mechanized grain plantations can be
found. (3mks)
 Eurasian steppes
 Canadian/American prairies
 Pampas of Argentina
 Veldt of S. Africa
 Downs of Australia
 Canterbury Plains of New Zealand
 Volcanic plateaus of the Kenyan Rift Valley(Laikipia, Uasin Gishu, Narok, Cherangani/Kitale)
ii) Outline the characteristics of mechanized grain cultivation. (5mks)
 Rain is grown on large tracts of land
 Scientific method of farming is used /the farms are 100% mechanized
 It involves high capital outlay
 It is a monoculture
 Some animals like cattle, sheep and pigs are kept
 The farms give low yield per hectare in the USA /high yields due to intensive cultivation in
Europe
 Surplus grain is stored /exported
iii) Name three types of crop grown using extensive mechanized grain cultivation. (4mks)
 wheat , barley , oats , rye , maize , millet, sorghum,
h i) Define Intensive Commercial Agriculture (2mks)
 This is the full utilization of land for the production of crops for sale
ii) State four characteristics of intensive commercial agriculture. (4mks)
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 Crops are produce mainly for sale /market gardening
 The soil is conserved for maximum production
 It takes place near large urban centers
 Scientific management is applied /highly mechanized
 Irrigation is often used to supplement rain
 Arms are generally small in size
 The farming is highly specialized
ii) Outline the two different types of Mediterranean agriculture. (2mks)
 Viticulture
 Orchard farming
g) i) Define the term mixed farming. (2mks)
 This is the growing of crops and rearing of domestic animals on the same farm at the same
time
ii) Briefly outline four characteristics of mixed farming. (3mk)
o Most of the farms are small /medium sized
o It is an intensive form of farming
o Crops and animals are raised on the same piece of land at the same time
o Scientific farming is employed
o There is high capital expenditure
o The labour force is highly skilled
o Many sell their produce to the nearby towns
iii) Crops grown (3mk)
o Grain crops e.g. maize, wheat, barley, rye
o Fruits , e.g. strawberries
o vegetables
iv) Animals kept (3mks)
o poultry
o cattle
o pigs
o rabbits

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