Introduction to Agriculture

    Definition of Agriculture           

• Agriculture is the science and art of cultivation of crops and rearing of livestock.
• As a science, it involves experimentation and application of scientific knowledge in such areas as;

Ø  Soil analysis,

Ø  Control of pests and diseases,

Ø  Farm machinery and structures,

Ø  Crop and livestock breeding.

• As an art, it involves the use of learned skills in;

Ø  Tilling the land,

Ø  Construction,

Ø  Measurement,

Ø  Harvesting of crops,

Ø  Feeding and handling of livestock

Ø  Marketing.

Branches of Agriculture

Crop Farming (Arable Farming)

• The practice of growing crops on cultivated land.

      It is subdivided into:

·       Field crops Cultivation:

Ø  maize, beans, potatoes, coffee, tea,    cotton to name but a few.

·       Horticulture:

Ø  It involves the growing of perishable crops which have high value.

Ø  It is further subdivided into:

Ø  Floriculture - the growing of flowers.

Ø  Olericulture - the growing of vegetables.

Ø  Pomoculture - the growing of fruits.

Livestock Farming

• This branch deals with the rearing of livestock for various products.

It is further subdivided into:

• Pastoralism: This is the rearing of mammalian livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs and camels.
• Fish Farming (Aquaculture): This is the practice of rearing fish and other aquatic organisms , in ponds.

· Bee Keeping (Apiculture): This involves the rearing of bees in structures known as beehives.

· Poultry Keeping: This is the keeping of domesticated birds.

Agricultural Economics

• It deals with the allocation of scarce resources (land, labour, capital and management) for agricultural production.

Agricultural Engineering

• This branch of agriculture deals with the use and maintenance of farm tools, machinery and structures.

Farming Systems

·       A farming system is the organization of the various enterprises in a farm.

  It is determined by the following factors:

·       Resources available (land, labour, capital and management).

• Skills of the farmer.
• Environmental factors such as climate, soil type and topography.
• Government policy.
• Farmer's choice and preference.
• Enterprise requirement.
• Social-cultural factors.

The following are systems of farming:

Extensive System:

·       It is a system where a large piece of land with low investment of resources per unit area is carried out.

Advantages

•  It is cheap.
•  Does not require high level of management.
• Requires less labour.

Disadvantages

• Low profit per unit area.
• Cannot be practiced where land is limited.
• Low output per unit area.
•  The land is under-utilized,

Intensive Farming:

·       This system utilizes the factors of production to the maximum and involves high level of management.

Advantages

• Maximum utilization of the resources.
• Can be practiced even where land is a limiting factor.
• Results in high yields.

Disadvantages

• Labour intensive.
• High capital investment is required.
• Requires high level of management. 
• Can lead to high loses in case of poor management.

Large Scale Farming

·                Refers to the farming practice under large areas of land over 20 hectares.

·                It is used mainly for commercial purposes.

·                The system is highly mechanized.

Advantages

• Results in high yields.

·       Due to economics of scale high profit is realized.

Disadvantages

· Lack of diversification may lead to total failure in case of unfavorable conditions.

• High level of management is required.
• Heavy capital investment.
• Requires skilled and qualified manpower.

Small Scale Farming

·       Refers to farming carried out on a small area of land less than 5 hectares.

·       Family or casual labour can be engaged during the peak periods.

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