Introduction to Agriculture

Agriculture

• Agriculture is the practice of growing crops on cultivated land and rearing animals.
• It is subdivided into Field Crops Cultivation and Horticulture.

Field Crops Cultivation

• This involves growing crops like maize, beans, potatoes, coffee, tea, and cotton.

Horticulture

• It involves the cultivation of perishable crops with high value.
• It's further subdivided into Floriculture, Olericulture, and Pomoculture.
• Floriculture: Growing flowers
• Olericulture: Growing vegetables
• Pomoculture: Growing fruits

Agriculture as a Science

• Agriculture, as a science, involves experimentation and application of scientific knowledge.
• This includes soil analysis, pest and disease control, farm machinery and structures, and crop and livestock breeding.

Agriculture as an Art

• Agriculture, as an art, involves using learned skills.
• This includes tilling the land, construction, measurement, and harvesting of crops.

Farming as a System

• Farming can be viewed as a system with inputs, processes, and outputs.
• Inputs are things put into the system (e.g., human labor, machinery, seeds, livestock).
• Processes are the events that happen to turn inputs into outputs (e.g., planting, harvesting, milking).
• Outputs are the products of the system (e.g., crops, milk, meat).
• Physical inputs are natural things (e.g., water, sunlight, soil).

Livestock Farming

• This branch of agriculture deals with rearing livestock for various products.
• It is further subdivided into Pastoralism (rearing mammals such as cattle, sheep, goats, rabbits, pigs, and camels), Fish farming (aquaculture), Beekeeping (apiculture), and Poultry keeping.

Inputs

• Inputs to a farming system can be categorized into human inputs (e.g., labor, machinery, buildings, animal feed, fertilizers, pesticides, young livestock) and physical inputs (e.g., soil, water, sunlight).

Processes

• Processes in agriculture include rearing animals to maturity, shearing wool, ploughing land, fertilizing soil, weeding, irrigating, cultivating crops, harvesting crops, slaughtering animals, planting seeds, and milking animals.

Outputs

• Outputs are the products created by farming activities (e.g., meat, milk, profits, wool, waste products, crops).

Farming Types

• Pastoral Farming: rearing animals
• Arable Farming: growing crops
• Mixed Farming: combining animal rearing and crop growing
• Subsistence Farming: producing enough for family use
• Shifting Cultivation: moving farm location periodically
• Commercial Farming: farming for profit

Types of Farming

• Extensive Farming: Relatively few inputs and outputs per hectare of land, typically larger farms, with fewer workers.
• Intensive Farming: Relatively high inputs and outputs per hectare of land, typically smaller farms, with many workers.

Agro-ecological Regions of Zimbabwe

• Agro-ecological zoning (AEZ) divides an area by characteristics related to climate and production potential.
• Zimbabwe is divided into 6 main natural regions based on rainfall differences.
• Each natural region (I-V) presents different suitability and characteristics for various farming practices (e.g., cropping, livestock) based on rainfall patterns, soil quality, and elevation.

Natural Regions of Zimbabwe (examples)

• Natural Region I: high rainfall, diverse crops, intensive horticulture, tea, coffee, and timber production
• Natural Region II: moderate rainfall, various crops like tobacco, maize, wheat, soybeans.

Conditions Favoring Pastoral Farming

• Steep slopes: less suitable for machinery and crop farming, better for livestock.
• Poor soil nutrition: supports grasses, which benefit grazing animals.
• Extreme climates: unsuitable for crops, better for grazing.
• Windy regions: creates unfavorable conditions for crop farming, livestock better adapted

Advantages and Disadvantages of Different Farming Types

• Advantages and disadvantages of farming types vary based on multiple factors including land type, rainfall, location and market demand. For example, subsistence agriculture is cost-effective, but has limitations on scale and profit. On the other hand, commercial farming can be very profitable, but needs higher initial investment and requires different inputs.

Causes of Food Shortages

• Natural causes include soil erosion, drought, floods, tropical cyclones, pests, and disease
• Human causes include low capital investment, rapidly increasing populations, poor distribution/transportation difficulties, and conflicts.

Short-Term and Long-Term Effects of Food Shortages

• Short-Term Effects: malnutrition, reduced resistance to diseases, impaired physical and intellectual potential
• Long-Term Effects: death, conflict, loss of education, and reduced workforce.

Possible Solutions to Food Shortages

• Food aid: relief aid in times of crisis, and longer-term development projects.
• Green Revolution: introducing high-yielding crop varieties that require less land.

Notes on Different Farming Practices (Examples)

• Arable Farming: focused on crops, needing fertile soil, balanced moisture, and suitable conditions for crops to grow well.
• Mixed Farming: combines animal rearing with crop production, often diversified to enhance profits, capital intensive.
• Subsistence Farming: relies on family labor, produces enough for family needs, little surplus for market, often less capital intensive.
• Commercial Farming: requires significant capital, seeks to produce products for sale/export markets, high profit potential, can be extensive or intensive farming.

Explore the fundamentals of agriculture including the cultivation of field crops and horticulture. This quiz covers the scientific and artistic aspects of farming, as well as the different subcategories such as floriculture, olericulture, and pomo culture. Test your knowledge on agricultural practices and terminologies.