Lesson Notes By Weeks and Term v4 - JHS 2
FARMING SYSTEMS
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FARMING SYSTEMS
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Subject: Science
Class: JHS 2
Term: 2nd Term
Week: 5
Grade code: B8.3.4.1.2
Strand code: 3
Sub-strand code: 4
Content standard code: B8.3.4.1
Indicator code: B8.3.4.1.2
Theme: SYSTEMS
Subtheme: FARMING SYSTEMS
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A farming system is the way a farmer organises land, crops, animals, labour, tools, money and knowledge to produce food and income. In Ghana, many families depend on farming for food security, jobs, raw materials for industries, and income. Understanding the usefulness of different crops (and how they support animals and the whole system) helps learners appreciate why some farmers mix crops, rotate crops, keep livestock, or practise agroforestry to make farming more sustainable (able to continue for a long time without destroying the environment).
2.1 Key Terms Farming system: An organised way of producing crops and/or animals using available resources (land, labour, capital, tools, knowledge). Sustainability: Farming that meets today’s needs (food/income) without reducing the ability of future generations to farm (protects soil, water, biodiversity). Cropping system: The pattern of growing crops on a farm (e.g., mixed cropping, monocropping, crop rotation). Mixed farming: Growing crops and rearing animals on the same farm. Monocropping (monoculture): Growing one crop on a large area (e.g., only maize). Mixed cropping (intercropping): Growing two or more crops on the same land at the same time (e.g., maize + beans). Crop rotation: Growing different crops on the same land in different seasons/years (e.g., maize → legumes → root crops). Legumes: Crops like cowpea, groundnut, soybean that can improve soil nitrogen through root nodules (with bacteria). Agroforestry: Growing trees together with crops and/or animals (e.g., cocoa under shade trees; planting Gliricidia with crops).
2.2 Usefulness of Different Crops (What crops do for people and the farming system)
Crops are useful in many ways, not only for eating. In farming systems, crops can provide: Food for humans Income/cash (selling produce) Feed for animals (stover, peels, bran, leaves) Raw materials for industries (oil, starch, textiles, beverages) Soil improvement (especially legumes; also mulch and compost materials) Erosion control and water conservation (ground cover crops reduce runoff) Pest and disease management (rotation breaks pest cycles; mixed cropping confuses pests) Fuel and construction materials (some crop residues and stems) A. Cereal crops (e.g., maize, rice, millet, sorghum) Examples in Ghana: maize (every region), rice (Volta, Northern, Ashanti), millet/sorghum (Northern belt)
Usefulness Food: maize for kenkey, banku, tuo zaafi (as flour), roasted corn; rice for jollof, waakye. Income: sold as grain; maize is a major market crop. Animal feed: maize bran for poultry; maize stover (dry stalks/leaves) for ruminants. Industrial uses: maize for starch, animal feed processing; sorghum for local beverages. System contribution: cereals provide bulk calories and residues for mulching/feeding animals.