Week 1

Monday, 10 August 2020

Topic: General Agriculture

Agriculture as a food provider

Agriculture provides both people/humans and animals with food. Some foods are either
specifically for human or animal consumption, while some can be for both human and animal
consumption.

Ways in which Agriculture provides food to people and animals.

Agriculture as a provider of food to people
➢ Through cultivating the land, people obtain food in the form of:
o vegetables (e.g. carrots, cabbage, and potatoes)
o fruits (e.g. grapes, apples, oranges, and bananas)
o cereals (e.g. millet/mahangu, rice, oats, maize, and sorghum)
o oil crops (e.g. pumpkins, sunflowers, and groundnuts)
➢ Through keeping farm animals, people obtain food in the form of:
o milk
o meat
o eggs

Agriculture as a provider of food to animals

➢ Fodder crops such as lucerne and grass can be grown as animal feeds.
➢ Crops such as wheat, millet, sorghum, cabbage, groundnut, sunflower, and maize can
be grown to feed animals.
➢ Animal bones, blood, and milk can be prepared as feeds for animals.

Agriculture as a provider of income

Agriculture today is, by nature, a profitable business. Thus, you are no longer just a farmer,
you are an entrepreneur.

Ways in which people can earn money through agricultural production.

Through agricultural production, people can earn income in different ways as follows:
• selling animal food products such as meat, milk, and eggs.
• growing and selling fruits, vegetables and cereals.
• growing and selling fodder such as lucerne, green and dry grass.

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 • selling animal manure to other farmers.
• selling raw materials such as milk, skins/hides, feathers, and timber to manufacturing
industries.
• keeping and selling live animals, e.g. chickens, goats, sheep, and cattle.
• earning wage through working at the farm, e.g. as a labourer.
• earning income through offering services such as transportation, storage, and
advertising agricultural food products.
• selling pesticides, or offering pest control service to farmers.
• earning money through ploughing service.

Assessment Activity 1

1. What products other than meat do we get from the following animals. List atleast two
products for each animal.
a) Sheep
b) Ostrich
c) Cows
d) Pigs

2. what products do we get from the mahangu plant?

Answer the activity on the answer sheet provided.

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Tuesday, 11 August 2020

Agriculture as a provider of raw material

Food preservation
Food preservation is the process of extending the shelf life of food byremoving conditions
under which bacteria can grow. Some food are veryperishable, thus, it is necessary to
preserve them if not consumed or disposedimmediately. Food preservation is done:
• to prevent spoilage
• to maintain or improve the quality of the food
• and to keep food in good condition for later consumption.

Methods of food preservation

There are a wide range of ways in which different food can be preserved. Some of the ways
used to preserve food include, among others, sun-drying, salting, cooking, canning, bottling,
chilling or refrigerating, freezing, and pasteurisation.
Ways of preserving food such as milk, meat, grain, fish, and others.
Sun/Solar–drying: This method is mostly ideal for preserving meat and fish. However,
grains (e.g. millet/sorghum) can also be preserved in this method by spreading out a thin
layer of grain in the sun. The meat is first cut into long strips, while small fish are cleaned
and gutted. The meat strips or gutted fish are hung and left hung on a rail in the open sun to
get dry. The presence of bacteria is eliminated by dipping the meat strips/fish into salty water.
This is the cheapest method, and it is the one used to make biltong. Though cheap, there are
significant losses due to spoilage, contamination by dust and insects infestation, especially
when the meat or fish are laid close to the ground.
Salting: Meat and fish are commonly preserved by this method. The meat is first cut in long
strips, while fresh fish is cleaned and gutted/cut open. The meat or fish is dipped in salted
water in a container, and put suspended on a rail in the open sun to get dry. A high-salt
environment creates an environment in which bacteria cannot multiply.
Smoking: This method is ideal for meat and fish. Fresh meat, cut in long strips or cleaned
and gutted fish are hug over hot smoke of wood for several hours, and turned over every five
minutes. The smoke deprives bacteria of moisture and oxygen to multiple. The method gives
fish a sought-after taste from the smoke.
Cooking: This method is ideal for fish. Fresh, cleaned and salted or unsalted fish are
cooked/boiled over medium heat for several hours until the flesh is done. The method
eliminates the many bacteria present in the fish. However, cooking denatures the fish protein.

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Canning/tinning: The method is ideal for fruits, vegetable, meat, and fish. The food products
are cooked and sealed in airtight containers with sauce, salted water or fish oil. The heat
during cooking destroys bacteria. The method increases shelf life and improves taste through
brining or pickling
Bottling: This is ideal for fruits and vegetables. After heating, fruits are mostly bottled with
syrup or juice, while vegetables are in salt or vinegar. A highsugar solution in the bottle
creates an environment in which bacteria cannot multiply.
Chilling or refrigerating: This method is ideal for meat and fish. Fresh meat or cleaned fish
are put in ice and covered with layers of ice in refrigerated containers. The method ensures
these food products keep taste and texture. However, the fish/meat should be as fresh as
possible in order to ensure their good quality.
Freezing: This method is ideal for vegetables, meat, and fish. Fresh meat or fresh, cleaned
fish are kept in a freezer at a temperature below freezing point. Freezing deprives bacteria of
warmth. The food does not loose moisture, colour, nutrients or taste.
Pasteurization: This method is idea for milk. Milk is heated to a specific temperature for a
predefined length of time and then immediately cooling it after it is removed from the heat.
The process slows spoilage caused by microbial growth in the milk.

Commercial products
As previously indicated, the Agriculture sector is the biggest supplier of a wide range of raw
materials to other industries. Many agricultural crops can be used to produce a wide range of
products of commercial value, e.g. drinks, oil, sugar, and glue.
Crops that are used to produce commercial products such as drinks, glue, oil, and sugar.
a) Commercial drinks
The following crops are used to produce commercial drinks such as juice,
wine, and beer:
guavas (juice)
apples (juice and wine)
grape (juice and wine)
peach (juice)
orange (juice)
pineapple (juice)
straw berries (juice and wine)
marula (juice)
granadilla (juice)
barley (beer)
banana (juice)
mango (juice)

b) Commercial oil
Following are some crops that can be used to produce commercial oil:
olive

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 sunflower
cotton
coconut palm
pumpkin
avocado
camellia
moringa
jatropha curcas

c) Commercial sugar
Some crops used to produce commercial sugar are:
sugar cane
sugar beets

d) Commercial glue
Following are some crops that can be used to produce commercial glue:
maize
cassava

e) Other commercial products

The following crops are used to produce other commercial products:
sisal (carpets and sacks/bags)
cotton (clothing)
millet/mahangu (flour)
maize (flour)
prickle pear/cuctus (soap, syrup, jam, and mampoer – a
home-distilled brandy)

Assessment Activity 2
1. Write down the different ways I which the following foods can be preserved
• Milk
• Omahangu
• Pork
• Maize
• Fish
• Cauliflower
• Eggs
• Rice
• Beef
• Peaches
Answer the activity on the answer sheet provided

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Wednesday, 12 August 2020

Environmental Problems associated with Agriculture

The use of agricultural chemicals Globally, agriculture uses a wide range of chemicals such
as fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides to achieve maximum crop yields.
Pollution
Pollution is defined as the contamination of air, land or water by addition of any harmful
substance (solid, liquid, or gas) to the environment. The major kinds of pollution are; air
pollution, water pollution, and land pollution.
Air pollution: Is the release of harmful substances such as smoke or pesticides into the
atmosphere.
Land pollution: Is the degradation or destruction of earth’s surface and soil, directly or
indirectly as a result of human activities.
Water pollution: Is the contamination of water, especially surface water, by sewage effluent,
fertilizer runoff, industrial chemical discharge etc.

The danger of land and water pollution

When land and water are polluted by such chemicals at a rate faster than they can be
dispersed, diluted, or decomposed, they pose many direct and indirect danger to both land
and water.

the danger of land and water pollution resulting from fertilisers, pesticides, and herbicides.
The danger of fertilisers, herbicides, and insecticides includes:
• eutrophication (an increase in the growth of water plants that cover the water surface)
occurs due to runoff of fertilisers rich in phosphorus into water sources/reservoirs.
• due to the presence of fertilisers in water, excess growth of algae occurs, leading to
deoxygenation of water and death of fish and water plants.
• the presence of chemicals (i.e. pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers) causes bad taste
and odour in public water supply.
• water becomes unfit for both human and animal consumption, because of bad taste
and odour.
• the soil becomes toxic for plants to grow, due to the accumulation of fertilisers,
pesticides, and herbicides makes.
• human health related problems occur as a result of drinking chemically polluted
water.
• death of beneficial or non-target plants, as herbicides can be carried to other areas.
• loss of soil and water biodiversity due to the accumulation of pesticides and
herbicides

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Population growth and Agriculture
The earth is increasing its population by 90 million people per year, and yet we still have 5.9
billion people left to feed and to give shelter. Along with the increase in the population, there
are also more people on earth who are living longer lives. Population growth has both
positive and negative effects.

The positive effect of population growth on Agriculture.

Following are the positive effects which population increase may have on Agriculture:
• more food production (food security in the country) in order to feed people.
• inventions of more efficient means of food production.
• reduction of unemployment rate/ employment of many people to produce more food.

Discuss the negative effect of population growth on Agriculture.

The following are the negative effects that an increase in population may have on
Agriculture:
• loss of forest areas due to land clearing.
• overuse of soil and other resources such as water.
• accelerated degradation of farming land.
• decreased farming land.
• increased soil salinity and accelerated mineral leaching of soluble materials in the soil
due to overirrigation.
• increased rate of water, air, and land pollution from high use of fertiliser and other
agricultural chemicals.
• more food will be produced scientifically, hence unhealthy to human.
• extinction of wildlife due to the destruction of their habitats.

Assessment Activity
1. Define pollution
2. Discuss the dangers of land and water pollution through the use of chemical
fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides
3. What can you do to prevent some of the damage done to the environment?

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