CSEC Agricultural Science

Past Paper Solutions

Paper 3

Answers Compiled by :
Muhamad Nabeel Uddin

Answers compiled by Muhamad Nabeel Uddin Page 1

Agricultural Science Model Answer
2022 Paper 3

Question # 1
(a) Entrepreneur: A person, who sets up a business, takes on financial risk and expects a profit.

(b) Characteristic: He is innovation

Explanation: He will design state of the art system- the only one in his country.
Characteristic 2: Risk Taker
Explanation: He does not have the start-up capital and would have to secure a large loan and put
his car as collateral.
(c) (i)Advantage: Customers will have a first-hand observation of the product and will be able to ask
questions directly.
Disadvantage: Invest of time in wrong prospects- Many a time, customers may take test and
demo of the product but they don't purchase it.

(ii) Advertisements on TV and Radio

Flyers

Question # 2

(a) Sole trader-

a. Keeps all his profit
b. They exclusively own their business

(b) Problem 1: Damage during harvesting

-Proper harvesting technique must be used to minimize loses. When they show signs of
maturity (yellowing of leaves), she need to use a fork or spade to remove it from the soil
carefully.

Problem #2: She does not know her expenditure, and cannot calculate her net profit.
Solution: Racheal should have proper record keeping. She need a profit and loss account to
show her income and expenditure on a monthly basis. In addition, she should prepare a balace
sheet to determine her farm’s net worth.

Problem #3: Low Yield

Solution: The low yield may be due to a lack of nutrients and poor land preparation. She
should ensure that the land is prepared properly, and cow manure (organic) can be added to
the land during preparation (reduce cost for inorganic fertilizer). She can also practice crop
rotation. Using a leguminous plant after harvesting sweet potatoes will add valuable nitrogen
to the soil.

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 (c) Advantage of e-mail: The message can be sent immediately to the supplier, regardless of
where he is located in the world.
Disadvantage: The e-mail may not be opened immediately but the receiver and he/she may
not see the e-mail if it is placed in spam.

Question #3
(a) (i)
Drip system: water delivered near root zone drop by drop
Sprinkler irrigation: this will cover a larger range of area
Surface irrigation: Area is flooded.

(ii)
- Size of farm: a large scale farmer would need a lot of water for his farm. The drip
system may be too expensive to set up and he would therefore prefer a sprinkler
system.
- Type of crop must be considered, e.g. surface flooding would not be suitable for
vegetable crops.
- Labour requirement: If the system of irrigation needs a lot of labour, it will increase
the overall cost of production and therefore, the farmer’s net income will be reduced.

(b) Detailed answer with explanation:

To calculate the quantity of fertilizer needed for one hectare of tomato crop, we need to
first convert the recommended amount of nitrogen (150 kg) into the amount of fertilizer
needed to supply that amount of nitrogen.
The fertilizer ratio given is 20:10:10, which means that for every 20 parts of fertilizer, 10
parts are phosphorus (P) and 10 parts are potassium (K).
Since we are only interested in the amount of nitrogen (N), we can focus on the first
number in the ratio, which is 20. This means that for every 20 parts of fertilizer, there are
20 parts of nitrogen.
To calculate the amount of fertilizer needed to supply 150 kg of nitrogen per hectare, we
can set up a proportion:
20 parts N / 20 parts fertilizer = 150 kg N / x kg fertilizer
Solving for x, we get:
x = (20 parts fertilizer * 150 kg N) / 20 parts N x = 1500 kg of fertilizer per hectare
Therefore, one hectare of tomato crop will need 1500 kg of the NPK fertilizer with a ratio
of 20:10:10 to supply 150 kg of nitrogen.

Question #4 (a) Material and Reason:

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 1.Large branches or woody material: Large branches or woody material take a long time
to break down in the compost pile and can slow down the composting process.
2. Diseased plant material: Plant material that is infected with disease, such as fungal or
bacterial diseases, should not be used in composting. The disease may spread to other
plants when the compost is used.

(b) (i)Keeping it moist: This [romotes decomposition: Microbes that break down organic
matter in the compost pile require moisture to survive and thrive.

Turning the compost :helps to aerate the pile, which brings fresh oxygen into the center of
the pile. This is important because the microbes that break down the organic matter
require oxygen to survive.

(ii) Tool A

(c) (i) Eliminates harmful pathogens: Soil can harbor a variety of harmful pathogens,
such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses, that can cause plant diseases. Sterilizing the soil
helps to kill these pathogens, reducing the risk of disease outbreaks in plants.
(ii) -Kills harmful organisms: The high temperature range of 80 to 90 degrees Celsius is
effective in killing harmful organisms, such as bacteria, fungi, viruses, and other
pathogens, that can cause plant diseases.
-Destroys weed seeds: The high temperature range is also effective in destroying weed
seeds that may be present in the soil. This helps to reduce the amount of weed growth in
the potting mix.

Question #5
(a) (i)
Floor
Material: Concrete
Advantage: easy cleaning using water and disinfectant

Roof:
Material: Galvanized Iron sheet
Advantage: Easy to install and maintain, and offer protection to the animals

(ii) Orientation: East to west

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 Reason: It allows maximum amount of light to enter while minimizing direct sunlight. It
maximize the cross ventilation and carry away moisture and odors.

(b) -Clean and sanitize milking machine after each use. This will prevent the build-up of bacteria
that cause mastitis.
-Regularly inspect and replace worn-out or damaged parts: This may cause irritation and
damage to the cow’s udder, increasing the risk of mastitis.
-Use the machine correctly: This includes that the machine is properly adjusted for each cow.
Under-milking and over-milking can increase the risk of mastitis.
-Have the milking machine serviced regularly by a qualified technician to ensure it is
functioning properly. This includes testing the machine.

6. (a) –Proper Nutrition

-Explanation: Providing the animals with proper nutrition is important for producing high
quality piglets. Sows should be fed well balanced diet that meets their nutritional
requirement including sufficient amount of proteins, vitamins and minerals.
- Disease prevention and control
-Explanation: maintaining a clean and sanitary environment is important for the
prevention and spread of diseases. The pen/housing area should be cleared regularly, and
disinfected. A vaccination program will also help to prevent the spread of diseases.

(b)(ii) Advantages
-1. Extend shelf life: the process will kill bacteria and other microorganisms that can
cause food spoilage. The food can be stored for a longer period of time.
2. Reduce the risk of food borne illnesses: Harmful bacteria that cause disease in humans
can be eliminated e.g. E. coli and Salmonella.

Disadvantage
-This process can alter the taste, texture and nutritional content of some of the foods.

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 Agricultural Science Model Answer
2021 Paper 3

1 (a) Cash flow statement: Is the movement of money in and out of a business (income and
expenditure). Ideally, a business should have a positive cash flow (more income than
expenditure)
Profit and loss account: income and gains are credited and expenses and losses are debited. It
shows the net profit over a given time.

(b) Concern: Accounts payable (Liabilities more than assets)

Solution: increase production or include value-addition to increase income and cash in hand

(c) (i)Advantages
-Employees will be more motivated to provide feedback, offer suggestions and ask questions
directly to the manager /owner
-It can help to solve problems on site, since there will be face to face interactions

Disadvantages
-Workers may need to communicate more frequently with the owner to make decisions when
issues arise in the farm
-The owner have to use up a lot of time to move from one location to another. Almost four
working days can be used up for meetings in the company.

(ii) Electronic mail: A memo can be sent to all employees via e-mail or whatsapp
Video conferencing :closest alternative to face to face meeting

2. (a) (i) Strengths

-He already have a market for his produce
- He has land space to rear his livestock
(ii) Weaknesses
-Farm is not physically secure
-Farm is located in a remote location

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 (iii) Opportunity
-Drones can now be used to monitor his livestock (using technology)
(iv) Threat
-He may not be able to have enough meat to sell because of his losses. Competitors may want to
take up his market (places he sells his livestock)
(b) (i) Urgency of message: she has to consider how important the message is and how quickly she
needs to contact the importers
Genre: written communication may be the best format. She can request video conference through
the written message

(ii) Cultural Differences: can affect how well the message is received
Language: she need to determine language of the country and avoid using local terms or
jargons.

3. (a) Sweet potato weevil

The cuttings used to propagate the plants should be free from the weevils. They should be treated
with an insecticide (system insecticide).

(b) Smaller tuber: too much moisture in the soil e.g if the plant is grown in heavy clay soil
Damaged tubers: Post-Harvest handling was not properly done e.g. poor storage and little care
taken when transporting

(c) The leaves begin to yellow and fall (growth stops).

After cutting the tuber, if any white gum remains, then they are ready to harvest.

(d) -Curing: hold roots at 85 degrees F with about 90% humidity for 4-7 days.
-Proper tools should be used while harvesting to prevent damages – use digging fork
- Proper container should be used to store and transport the sweet potatoes
-Take care not to damage produce with hand or tools used during harvest
4. (a) -Sustainable increase in productivity and income
-adaptation to climate change
-reduction of greenhouse gas emissions

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(b) Strategy: use of organic mulch
Explanation: It would add valuable nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous. At the same time,
the organic mulch can help the soil to retain suitable amount of moisture

Strategy: Practice crop rotation

Explanation: This will help to conserve soil nutrients and soil texture. Crop rotation allows
different layers of soil nutrients to be used. Crops like legumes will increase soil nitrogen content
through nitrogen fixation

(c) - Rainwater harvesting: collect water from roofs of buildings and store
-Organic mulch: Materials such as grass when used as mulch can help retain soil moisture.
-Plastic mulch: covers the bed and prevent growth of grass and maintain moisture

5. (a) (i) Rats and mice consume and contaminate feed and can spread diseases

(ii). -Use snap traps to kill rats immediately

-Glue traps
-Proofing: build structure to restrict access by rats.
(iii) A biological control will be more cost-effective e.g using cats.

(b) Management practice: Antibiotics

Explanation: Mastitis is caused by a bacterium and therefore the antibiotic will kill the pathogens

Management Practice: Quarantine

Explanation: Infected does should be removed and quarantined from the rest of the herd, and
kids should be removed for artificial rearing

Management Practice: Sanitation

Explanation: Strick sanitation procedure e.g. all equipment should be sterilized, hands should be
washed, and udder should be kept clean. Provide clean, dry environment for the goats.

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 Agricultural Science Model Answer
2018 – Paper 3

1. (a) i. Family
Commercial Bank:
Credit Union (2 marks)

ii. - Description of company: include details of the business vision and objectives
-Products and services: e.g. how and where products will be produced
-Financial Plan: includes three years of projected financial statement (2 marks)

(b) - Annual management of pests and diseases will be lower since greenhouses helps to eliminate
pests that are in open fields. Therefore cost of pest control will low much lower.
-Cash Grants: For a Greenhouse, Rajiv can collect $20 000 cash grant that will help to offset
other expenses
-Interest: The interest on loan for a Greenhouse is much lower compared to operating in an open
field. More money will be available to other operations. (6 marks)

2. (a) Sole Trader (1 mark)

Reason: He is the only owner of the business. The business was initiated because of the
expectation of earning a profit. (1 mark)

(b) Strength: Create self-employment, land availability

Weakness: Has to pay rent for 20 hectares of land
Opportunity: Recent opening of hotel nearby
Threat: Workers leave for better opportunities because he only manage to pay minimum wage
(4 marks)

(c) Television
Social Media e.g. Facebook and Instagram
Interview: with someone for a newspaper article
Radio Station (4 marks)

3. (a) (i) Assess the quality of the seeds by:

- performing germination test
-Conduct viability test (2 marks)

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 (ii) Use chemical resistant glove
Use overall
Googles with appropriate face mask (1 mark)

(b) (i) -Graded concrete floor to drain excess water and prevent disease
-Transparent polythene roof: light can enter and protect seedlings from rain
- Sarran netting on the windward side to protect against wind damage (3 marks)

(ii) -It can cause blockages in the application equipment

- Can damage crops and areas that are treated later using the same equipment (2 marks)

(iii) Plan: determine the area that has to be sprayed and calculate exact amount of chemical to use
Use any excess that is in the knapsack sprayer in another plot

4. (a) Skin colour begin to change (1 mark)

(b) The thumb and index finger should be used for nipping off the pedicel (2 marks)
(c) -Harvest early in the morning (fruit is turgid- has moisture)
-Sort: to remove damaged or overripe fruits that may release ethylene
-Lower the temperature as soon as possible during storage (3 marks)

(d) -Pepper Sauce: he could transform the product and make pepper sauce and then market
his product to local supermarkets

-Preserved peppers (pickled): he could pickle the peppers using salt and vinegar. He
would need to also place an attractive label and package his product in a durable
container (4 marks)

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