Theory question 102
Farm Power(a) List six sources of farm power.
(b) Explain how five of the sources of farm power listed in 2 (a) are utilised on the farm.
(c) Give two disadvantages each, of any four sources of farm power listed in 2 (a).
Show the model answer
(a) Human; animal; mechanical (engines/tractors); electricity; wind; water; solar; biogas
(b) Any five: human – planting, weeding, harvesting with hand tools; animal – pulling ploughs, ridgers, carts; mechanical – tractors pull ploughs, harrows, planters, combines, and run processing machines; electricity – incubators, milking machines, grinding mills, refrigerators, pumps, lighting; wind – windmills pump water and grind grain, winnowing; water – turbines for hydro-electricity, water wheels; solar – drying crops, solar panels for pumps and lights
(c) Any four with two each: human – slow, tires, low output; animal – needs feed and care, slow, can fall sick; mechanical – expensive, needs fuel and skilled operators, compacts soil; electricity – costly to install, unreliable supply, risk of shock and fire; wind – unreliable, low power; water – only near rivers, expensive dams; solar – not at night or in cloudy weather, costly panels
Name the source, then its use and two drawbacks.