Theory question 104
Agriculture(a) What is subsistence farming?
(b) Distinguish between crop farming and livestock farming with specific examples.
(c) Identify four measures that the government of your country can adopt to boost agricultural production.
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(a) Subsistence farming is the production of crops and animals mainly to feed the farmer's family, with little or nothing for sale.
(b) Crop farming is the cultivation of plants for food or raw materials, e.g. maize, yam, cassava, cocoa, cotton. Livestock farming is the rearing of animals for meat, milk, eggs, hides, e.g. cattle, goats, poultry, pigs.
(c) Any four: credit to farmers; subsidised inputs (fertiliser, improved seeds); extension services; mechanisation; irrigation; land reform; guaranteed prices and marketing; rural infrastructure and storage; research; pest and disease control.
Give examples for both kinds of farming.