Introduction to Agriculture
Senior 1 · Agriculture
Introduction to Agriculture
Lesson 2 of 4
18 min
Let's begin
Think of the people who make a farming cooperative work. One member raises tomato seedlings, another keeps bees, a third looks after the dairy cows. A veterinary officer comes to vaccinate the herd, an engineer designs the irrigation channel, and the cooperative's accountant keeps the books and finds buyers.
All of them work in agriculture, but in different branches. Knowing the branches helps you see how wide agriculture is, and which careers it offers.
A branch of agriculture is a specialised area of agricultural knowledge and practice. The two biggest branches deal with living things (crops and animals); the others support them.
The growing of plants for food, fodder, fibre and other products. It divides into:
The rearing of domestic animals for products such as milk, meat, eggs, hides and manure, or for work. Special names are used for some kinds:
| Branch | What it deals with | Example of work |
|---|---|---|
| Soil science | How soils form, their properties and fertility | Testing a soil's pH before planting |
| Agricultural engineering | Farm tools and machines, irrigation, farm buildings, soil and water conservation structures | Designing a drip irrigation line or a cow shed |
| Agricultural economics | Using money, land and labour well; farm records, budgets and marketing | Working out whether pigs or chickens will earn more |
| Agricultural extension | Carrying research knowledge to farmers and farmers' problems back to research | A field day showing a new bean variety |
| Crop protection and animal health | Pests, diseases and weeds of crops; diseases of animals (veterinary science) | Controlling fall armyworm; vaccinating cattle |
| Forestry and agroforestry | Growing and managing trees, alone or with crops and animals | Planting fodder shrubs along terrace edges |
| Agro-processing | Turning farm produce into products that keep longer or sell for more | Making yoghurt or ikivuguto from milk; cassava flour |
Question: Keza's family farm does the following. Name the branch each activity belongs to. (a) grafting avocado seedlings; (b) keeping three beehives; (c) laying a pipe to water vegetables from a tank; (d) recording how much milk is sold each week; (e) vaccinating goats; (f) growing climbing beans on a terrace.
Method: ask what the activity works with: plants, animals, machines and structures, money, or people and knowledge.
(a) Fruit trees: horticulture (pomology).
(b) Bees: animal production (apiculture).
(c) Water supply structure: agricultural engineering (irrigation).
(d) Records of sales: agricultural economics.
(e) Animal health: veterinary science.
(f) A field crop: crop production (agronomy).
Tip
Memory hook: ask what the person works with. Plants → crop production. Animals → animal production. Machines and structures → engineering. Money → economics. People and knowledge → extension.
Exam technique: the Latin roots give the meaning of the "-culture" words: olus vegetable, pomum fruit, flos flower, apis bee, aqua water, cuniculus rabbit, sericum silk.
Distinguish between agronomy and horticulture.
Solution: Agronomy deals with field crops grown on large areas, such as maize, beans and cassava. Horticulture deals with intensive growing of high-value crops on small areas with close care, such as vegetables, fruits and flowers.
Name the branch of agriculture concerned with (a) bees, (b) fish, (c) vegetables.
Solution: (a) Apiculture. (b) Aquaculture. (c) Olericulture.
Give two examples of work done by an agricultural engineer.
Solution: Any two: designing irrigation systems; designing farm buildings such as cow sheds or stores; building soil and water conservation structures such as terraces and drains; maintaining farm machines.
Explain why agricultural extension is important to a smallholder farmer.
Solution: Extension brings research findings, such as new varieties, correct spacing and pest control, to farmers who would not otherwise hear of them. It also carries farmers' problems back to researchers, so research answers real needs.
Summary
Sources and credits
This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.
