Free CXC Agricultural Science Paper 2 May/June 2024 past paper from 2024. Includes a worked answer key. Open the PDF, take a timed test, and study with AI on Caribbean AI.
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CSEC Agricultural Science Paper 2 May/June 2024 - Free CXC Past Paper with Answers
Free CXC Agricultural Science Paper 2 May/June 2024 past paper from 2024. Includes a worked answer key. Open the PDF, take a timed test, and study with AI on Caribbean AI.
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Every question from this paper as text. See the answers and worked solutions. Questions are the property of the Caribbean Examinations Council; Caribbean AI is not affiliated with CXC.
Define the term 'marketing' as it relates to agricultural production.
[2 marks]
Mary produces vegetables on her 1-hectare farm. She gathers information from the Ministry of Agriculture's website regarding the demand and selling prices for vegetables in the main market segments in her country. Table 1 shows the quantity demanded and retail prices for each market segment.
| Market Segment | Quantity Demanded | Retail Price |
|---|---|---|
| Hotels | 100 kg | $20 per kg |
| Restaurants | 300 kg | $10 per kg |
| Supermarkets | 150 kg | $10 per kg |
| Greengrocers | 200 kg | $6 per kg |
[7 marks]
Suggest the best market segment to which Mary can supply her vegetables.
[1 mark]
State ONE benefit of having different market segments for agricultural products.
[1 mark]
James wants to grow tomatoes to sell to different market segments in his country. He is not sure how to go about marketing his produce so he seeks advice from the extension officer.
As the extension officer, outline THREE steps in the marketing process that James can take when marketing his tomatoes. You MUST provide one reason for EACH step.
Marketing step Reason
Marketing step Reason
Marketing step Reason
[6 marks]
Differentiate between gross margin and net profit.
[2 marks]
Table 2 shows the income and expenditure of Kushi's poultry farm.
| Income | $ |
|---|---|
| Sale of broilers | 1 500 |
| Sale of eggs | 1 000 |
| Total income | 2 500 |
| Expenses | |
| Taxes | 200 |
| Fuel for machinery | 300 |
| Feeds | 400 |
| Depreciation on machinery | 300 |
| Farm labour | 1 000 |
| Interest on loan | 700 |
| Medicines for bird | 600 |
| Insurance | 200 |
| Repairs to equipment | 300 |
| Total expenses | 4 200 |
| Gross margin | |
| Net profit |
State ONE purpose of preparing income and expenditure statements for a farm enterprise.
[1 mark]
State ONE purpose of preparing income and expenditure statements for a farm enterprise.
[1 mark]
From the information in Table 2, identify TWO fixed costs.
[2 marks]
From the information in Table 2, state TWO variable costs.
[2 marks]
Kushi wants to take a loan from the bank to expand her farm. Using the information from Table 2 on page 6, suggest TWO reasons why Kushi would MOST likely be unable to obtain a loan for her farm.
[3 marks]
Kushi wants to take a loan from the bank to expand her farm. Using the information from Table 2 on page 6, suggest TWO reasons why Kushi would MOST likely be unable to obtain a loan for her farm.
[2 marks]
Kushi still wants to be able to obtain a loan from the bank to expand her poultry farm. Suggest ONE action that she would need to undertake to be able to obtain a loan from the bank in the future.
[1 mark]
On a recent visit to Timothy's Hillside Farm in a hilly area in your country, Farmer Timothy told your class that topography is a key factor affecting soil fertility in the area.
[5 marks]
On a recent visit to Timothy's Hillside Farm in a hilly area in your country, Farmer Timothy told your class that topography is a key factor affecting soil fertility in the area.
Define the term 'soil fertility'.
[2 marks]
Describe TWO effects of topography on the fertility of the soil on Timothy's Hillside Farm.
[2 marks]
Other than topography, state ONE factor that affects soil fertility.
[1 mark]
Farmer Timothy is a progressive farmer and wants to ensure that he uses the correct cropping systems to improve and/or maintain the soil fertility on his farm.
Describe TWO possible cropping systems that Farmer Timothy can use to maintain soil fertility on his farm.
Cropping system Description
Cropping system Description
[4 marks]
Other than using cropping systems, identify ONE additional method that Farmer Timothy can adopt to improve and/or maintain the soil fertility on his farm.
[1 mark]
Figure 1 shows the diagram of a typical plant cell.
State the name of the part labelled X in Figure 1.
[1 mark]
State ONE main function of the part labelled X.
[1 mark]
State the type of cell division that occurs in the reproductive organs in plants.
[1 mark]
Many thin-skin tropical crops cannot be easily exported because they are damaged during handling and shipping. As a result, the Regional Agricultural Research and Development Institute has been working with farmers to develop a new variety of hot pepper for export.
The plant breeder crossed a pure-bred, thick-skin hot pepper with a pure-bred, thin-skin pepper, where represents the allele for thick-skin and represents the allele for thin-skin.
State the genotypes of the parents.
[2 marks]
State the genotypes of the offspring of this cross. Show all working.
[2 marks]
Determine how many of the offspring will have a thin-skin phenotype and how many will have a thick-skin phenotype.
[2 marks]
Some vegetable seeds that are sold in agricultural shops have been produced by commercial seed-producing companies using genetic engineering.
Suggest ONE benefit farmers may get from growing genetically engineered crops.
[1 mark]
At a workshop on broiler production, an extension officer showed the information in Table 3 for broiler birds produced by two broiler farmers. He stated that the broiler birds are first slaughtered and dressed before they are sold to the consumer. He further explained that the dressing percentages of the broiler flocks are of economic importance to the two farmers.
TABLE 3: INFORMATION ON BROILER BIRDS PRODUCED BY TWO FARMERS
| Live Weight | Dressed Weight | |
|---|---|---|
| Farmer A | 2 kg | 1.5 kg |
| Farmer B | 2 kg | 1.6 kg |
[10 marks]
State the three MAIN steps to be followed when dressing a broiler bird.
[3 marks]
Suggest ONE way in which dressing percentage is of economic importance to the farmers.
[1 mark]
Calculate the dressing percentage for the broiler flock of
[4 marks]
Farmer A
[2 marks]
Farmer B.
[2 marks]
Using your calculations for Farmer A and Farmer B in part (c), identify the farmer who would have earned more money from the sale of his broilers. Give ONE reason for your answer.
[2 marks]
Farmer Ben inherited five hectares of land in the countryside and wants to set up an apiary to produce honey for sale.
[10 marks]
Suggest THREE factors Farmer Ben must consider when siting an apiary for his bees if he wants to maximize honey production.
[3 marks]
Farmer Ben wants to increase his honey production. He was informed that worker bees are a critical part of the honey production process.
Describe TWO ways in which the social activities of the worker bees would contribute to increased honey production in Farmer Ben's hives.
[4 marks]
Farmer Ben sells his honey to a large supermarket chain but there are complaints about the poor quality of the honey.
[3 marks]
Suggest ONE cause for the poor quality of the honey produced by Farmer Ben.
[1 mark]
Suggest TWO management practices Farmer Ben can implement to prevent the production of poor quality honey.
[2 marks]