Talking About the Past
Primary 4 · English
Talking About the Past
Lesson 3 of 4
45 min
Habimana's grandfather farms on a hill in Bugesera. “When I was your age,” he says, “we dug the whole field with hoes. It took weeks!” Down in the valley, Habimana can see a red tractor ploughing a rice field in one morning.
Today you will read about farming long ago and today, and learn to compare the two.
Most families in Rwanda are farmers. They grow beans, maize, bananas, sorghum, cassava and potatoes, and they keep cows, goats and chickens.
Long ago, farmers did almost all the work by hand. They dug the soil with hoes and cut bushes with machetes. They planted seeds that they kept from the last harvest, and they put cow dung on the soil to make it rich. They waited for the rain, because there was no other water for the crops. After the harvest, they dried the beans and sorghum in the sun and stored them in a granary.
Today, many farmers still use hoes, but farming is changing. On big, flat fields, like the rice fields in the valleys, some farmers use tractors. A tractor is a work vehicle that pulls things, like a plough or a trailer. Most tractors have big wheels, but some have rubber tracks, so that they do not get stuck in soft, muddy ground.
When there is no rain, some farmers use pumps and pipes to bring water to their crops. This is called irrigation. Many farmers buy better seeds and use fertiliser to grow more food. On steep hills, they dig terraces, like big steps, so that the rain does not wash the soil away. Farmers also work together in cooperatives, and some use mobile phones to check the weather and the prices at the market.
Where did farmers get their seeds long ago?
They kept them from the last harvest.
What is irrigation?
Bringing water to the crops with pumps and pipes when there is no rain.
Why do farmers dig terraces on steep hills?
So that the rain does not wash the soil away.
| Good sides | Bad sides | |
|---|---|---|
| hoe | cheap; works on small, steep fields; needs no fuel | slow and tiring |
| tractor | fast; ploughs a big field in a morning | very expensive; needs fuel; can't work on small, steep fields |
| irrigation | crops grow even when there is no rain | pumps and pipes cost money |
So there is no single “best” way. A good farmer chooses the right tool for the field.
Speak: Class debate: “Farming was better long ago.” One group agrees and one group disagrees. Give reasons with because.
Write a paragraph of five sentences comparing farming long ago and today. Use used to, but today, and one comparing word such as faster or easier.
Tip
Compare in pairs: then → now. Hoe → tractor. Rain → irrigation. Kept seeds → bought seeds. Say one sentence for each pair and you have a whole paragraph!
Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.
Complete: A tractor is ___ (fast) than a hoe.
Answer: faster
Complete: Long ago, farmers ___ store beans in a granary.
Answer: used to
What is the word for bringing water to crops with pumps and pipes?
Answer: irrigation
Give one bad side of a tractor.
Answer: Example: It is very expensive, or it needs fuel.
Write one sentence with both … and about farming.
Answer: Example: Both my grandfather and my mother grow beans.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Quick check
Match each word to its meaning.
Tap one on the left, then its partner on the right.
