Agriculture

16 Grade 10 Geography questions on Agriculture, with worked marking schemes. 16 questions are available on this topic in full.

1. Question 1

   1 mark

   Which one of the following is an advantage of beef ranching over nomadic pastoralism in Kenya's rangelands?

   A. Animals on a ranch do not need water to be provided for them.

   B. The number of animals is kept within the carrying capacity of the pasture, so the land is not degraded.

   C. Only indigenous breeds are kept, and these mature faster than exotic breeds.

   D. Herders are free to move with the animals in search of pasture during a drought.

   (1 mark)

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2. Question 2

   3 marks

   State three physical conditions that favour the growing of tea in the Kericho highlands.

   (3 marks)

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3. Question 3

   4 marks

   Account for the rapid growth of horticultural farming in Kenya in recent years.

   (4 marks)

   Marking scheme

   Award 1 mark each for any FOUR reasons that are explained: - There is a large and growing demand for fresh vegetables, fruit and flowers in Europe and the Middle East. - Daily air-cargo services through the international airport allow the highly perishable produce to reach those markets within hours. - The climate allows production throughout the year, including the months when European producers cannot grow, so Kenyan produce commands good prices. - Fresh water from lakes, rivers and boreholes supports irrigation on the farms. - Foreign and local companies have invested in greenhouses, cold stores and packhouses, and contract many smallholders to supply them. - Government and Horticultural Crops Directorate support, including quality standards and marketing help, has opened export outlets. - Horticultural crops mature quickly and give quick returns, which attracts farmers away from slower crops. - Improved roads and refrigerated transport reduce losses between the farm and the airport.

4. Question 4

   1 mark

   In parts of Kisii, farmland has been subdivided among heirs for several generations. What is the main effect of this subdivision on farming in the area?

   A. Holdings become too small to farm economically or to work with machinery.

   B. Soil fertility rises because each holding is cultivated more carefully.

   C. Farmers leave the land because the climate no longer supports crop growing.

   D. Farmers abandon crops and turn to keeping large herds of cattle.

   (1 mark)

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5. Question 5

   1 mark

   Sugar factories such as Mumias and Chemelil are sited inside the cane-growing areas they serve. The main reason for this siting is that

   A. sugar cannot be refined unless the factory draws its water from the cane fields themselves.

   B. cane is bulky and begins to lose its sucrose soon after cutting, so it must be crushed nearby.

   C. cane can be moved only by rail, and the railway line ends inside the growing area.

   D. milling machinery can be installed only on the flat land found in the growing areas.

   (1 mark)

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6. Question 6

   6 marks

   Describe the stages followed in preparing coffee for the market by the wet method, from harvesting to sale.

   (6 marks)

   Marking scheme

   Award 1 mark each for any SIX stages given in a sensible order: - Only the ripe red cherries are picked selectively by hand, and picking is repeated over several rounds. - The cherries are delivered to the factory the same day, where they are sorted and floated in water to remove light, unripe and damaged berries. - Pulping: a machine strips off the outer red skin and the pulp. - Fermentation: the beans are held in tanks for about 12-48 hours so that the sticky mucilage breaks down. - Washing and grading: the beans are washed in channels with clean water, which also separates them by weight. - Drying: the parchment coffee is spread on raised wire tables and turned until the moisture content falls to about 11 per cent. - Hulling and grading at the mill: the parchment is removed and the clean beans are graded by size and quality, for example AA, AB, C. - Marketing: the graded coffee is sampled and sold through the Nairobi Coffee Exchange auction or by direct sale, then bagged for export.

7. Question 7

   3 marks

   Outline three measures a dairy farmer in Kiambu can take to increase the amount of milk obtained from the herd.

   (3 marks)

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8. Question 8

   1 mark

   Paddy rice is the main crop of the Mwea Irrigation Scheme. Which soil condition of the scheme area makes it suitable for this crop?

   A. Peat soils that are rich in partly decayed plant material.

   B. Heavy clay soils that hold water in the flooded basins.

   C. Thin stony soils that warm up quickly during the day.

   D. Loose sandy soils that allow water to sink quickly down to the roots.

   (1 mark)

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9. Question 9

   4 marks

   Explain four problems facing nomadic pastoralists in northern Kenya.

   (4 marks)

   Marking scheme

   Award 1 mark for each of any FOUR problems that are both named and explained. A bare name with no explanation earns no mark. - Recurrent droughts dry up pasture and water points, so animals lose weight and many die. - Keeping large herds as a sign of wealth causes overstocking and overgrazing, which strips the vegetation and leads to soil erosion and desertification. - Livestock diseases and pests such as trypanosomiasis, foot-and-mouth and ticks spread easily where veterinary services are few, lowering meat and milk output. - Cattle rustling and insecurity along grazing boundaries cause loss of stock and of life, and keep herders off good pasture. - Poor roads and long distances to markets mean animals trek far and arrive thin, fetching low prices. - Loss of dry-season grazing land to conservancies, irrigation schemes and settlement narrows the grazing area. - The indigenous stock kept are of low quality, giving little milk and poor-quality meat.

10. Question 10

    2 marks

    Distinguish between intensive farming and extensive farming.

    (2 marks)

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11. Question 11

    1 mark

    A farmer in Kitui cultivates a two-hectare plot of sorghum, cowpeas and green grams using family labour. Most of the harvest is kept to feed the household and only what is left over is sold at the local market. Which type of farming is the farmer practising?

    A. Plantation farming

    B. Shifting cultivation

    C. Market gardening

    D. Subsistence farming

    (1 mark)

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12. Question 12

    1 mark

    Maize yields per hectare on many smallholder farms in Vihiga are lower than those on the large farms of Trans Nzoia. Which one of the following best accounts for this difference?

    A. Rainfall in Vihiga is too low and unreliable for maize to reach maturity.

    B. Trans Nzoia farmers grow a higher-yielding species of maize that smallholders may not plant.

    C. Many smallholders cannot afford certified seed and enough fertiliser, while the large farms buy both.

    D. The soils of Vihiga are too young and shallow to support any cereal crop.

    (1 mark)

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13. Question 13

    5 marks

    Explain five benefits of irrigation to agriculture in Kenya.

    (5 marks)

    Marking scheme

    Award 1 mark each for any FIVE benefits that are explained: - It makes crop farming possible in arid and semi-arid areas that are too dry for rain-fed farming, for example Bura and Perkerra. - It allows production all year round, so a farmer can raise more than one crop from the same land in a year. - It protects the farmer against crop failure when the rains are late, unreliable or fail altogether. - Water is applied in the right amount at the stage the crop needs it, so yields per hectare rise. - It permits crops that need standing water, such as paddy rice at Mwea, to be grown. - It creates employment and encourages settlement in formerly dry, sparsely populated areas. - It increases the national food supply and reduces the need to import food. - It supplies raw materials to processing industries and horticultural produce for export, earning foreign exchange.

14. Question 14

    1 mark

    State what is meant by the term agroforestry.

    (1 mark)

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15. Question 15

    1 mark

    Coffee growing in Kenya is concentrated on the slopes of Mount Kenya and the Aberdare Ranges. Which one of the following best explains this concentration?

    A. The slopes have deep, well-drained volcanic soils and the cool highland temperatures that arabica coffee needs.

    B. Coffee will grow only where the land is steep enough for water to run off it rapidly.

    C. The slopes receive rain in every month of the year, so the crop never experiences a dry spell.

    D. The area lies close to the port of Mombasa, which lowers the cost of exporting the crop.

    (1 mark)

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16. Question 16

    1 mark

    Which one of the following is the main characteristic that distinguishes a tea plantation at Kericho from a smallholder tea farm in Nyamira?

    A. The plantation applies fertiliser to its tea bushes.

    B. The plantation is a large estate under one management growing a single crop and processing it in its own factory.

    C. The plantation grows tea for sale rather than for home use.

    D. The plantation plucks only two leaves and a bud from each shoot.

    (1 mark)

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