CSEC Agricultural Science Paper 3 May/June 2019 - Free CXC Past Paper with Answers

A group of farmers approach their extension officer seeking advice on the formation of a farmers’ cooperative. The extension officer explains that in forming a cooperative, the farmers must adhere to the guiding principles of a cooperative. He also indicates that there are many benefits to the farmers in forming such a business venture.

State TWO guiding principles of a farmers’ cooperative.

Outline TWO benefits to be derived by the farmers from being members of the cooperative.

Describe THREE problems that the farmers are likely to encounter in managing the farmers’ cooperative.

(i) State the name of the instrument used to measure the amount of rainfall over the period. (ii) In which month was the lowest amount of rainfall recorded? (iii) How much rainfall was recorded in the month of June?

Farmer Greg wants to plant his tomato crop during the period July to September. (i) Based on the graph on page 10, identify the season that occurs during this period. (ii) Explain TWO problems Farmer Greg may encounter in producing tomatoes in the field during this period. (iii) Suggest TWO ways Farmer Greg can overcome the problems identified in (b) (ii).

The sweet potato weevil (Cylas formicarius) is a major pest of sweet potatoes in the Caribbean. An experiment was conducted on the use of traps and insecticide on the control of sweet potato weevil. Table 1 shows the results of the experiment.

TABLE 1: CONTROL OF SWEET POTATO WEEVIL USING DIFFERENT METHODS

State ONE conclusion that can be drawn from the results of the experiment on the control of the sweet potato weevil presented in Table 1.

State the TWO types of pest control methods used in the experiment.

Explain TWO other methods that farmers can use to control sweet potato weevils in the field.

Farmer Noel produces okra for the export market. He wants to use a pesticide to treat his okra crop to guard against pest damage. Figure 2 shows the label of the pesticide bottle.

NIFTY BUG KILLER

Active Ingredient: Carbaryl — 50%

For use in turf, trees, ornamentals, fruit, vegetable crops

Provides control of over 130 ornamental and turf pests including caterpillars grasshoppers and leaf cutting ants

Application Rate: For vegetable crops, apply 100 ml per hectare

KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN

Figure 2. Pesticide bottle label

Based on the information on the label,

state the type of pesticide contained in the bottle

calculate the amount of pesticide that should be applied to a plot of okra measuring 20 m by 10 m.

Suggest TWO likely causes of this observation and outline ONE management practice that the farmer can use to address each of these causes.

Farmer Pooran wants to expand his farm to include pigs. He attends a pig production training programme hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture. He is advised that when sows are due to give birth they must be housed properly in order to ensure optimal piglet survival.

Figure 3 shows the specialized equipment Farmer Pooran would need to install to house a sow that is due to give birth.

Figure 3. Specialized equipment used to house a sow

State the name of the piece of equipment shown in Figure 3.

Identify the part labelled X.

In which area, X, Y or Z, would the sow be located? Suggest ONE benefit of placing the sow in this area.

Farmer Avril visits Farmer Pooran’s farm and observes that there are no heat lamps installed. She advises him to install heat lamps before the piglets are born.

Explain ONE reason for providing heat lamps to the newborn piglets.

Identify the parts (cuts) labelled A, B and C.

A B C

Josh sells mutton to a popular local restaurant. Customers have been complaining about the quality of mutton served in the restaurant. Josh has been asked to improve the quality of mutton he supplies to the restaurant.

Describe THREE characteristics that the mutton provided to the restaurant must possess in order for it to be classified as high quality meat.

On a field trip to a local slaughterhouse, the veterinary public health inspector indicated that HACCP plays an important role in ensuring the provision of safe meat for human consumption.

Identify TWO potential food safety hazards in the slaughterhouse, which could result in an adverse health impact on consumers.

Suggest ONE way of controlling each hazard identified in (c) (i).