Grade 6 Social Studies Resources And Economic Activities In Eastern Africa – Farming Methods Notes
Farming Methods
Subject: Social Studies — Topic: Resources and Economic Activities in Eastern Africa
Subtopic: Farming Methods (Kenya) • Age: 11 years
What is a farming method?
A farming method is the way people grow crops and keep animals. Farmers choose a method depending on land, weather, tools and money. In Kenya, many different methods are used — from family gardens to big tea farms.
Common farming methods in Kenya
Small farms where families grow food for themselves. Examples: small maize, beans and sweet potato plots. Tools: hand hoes and simple baskets.
Farmers grow crops and keep animals together. For example, Central Kenya farmers grow maize and keep dairy cows. Animal manure helps the crops.
Large farms that sell crops for money. Examples in Kenya: tea in Kericho, coffee in Nyeri, sugarcane, and flower farms in Naivasha. These use more machines and many workers.
People keep herds of cattle, goats and camels and move to find water and pasture. Common in arid and semi-arid lands (northern and eastern Kenya).
Water is brought to the farms using canals or pipes. Example: rice farming in Mwea, and vegetables grown with irrigation near rivers and lakes.
Sloping land is made into steps (terraces) to stop soil washing away. Farmers in hilly areas use this to grow crops safely.
Use of tractors and machines to plough, plant and harvest. This is common in larger farms and makes work faster but costs more money.
Farmers use crop rotation, intercropping (growing two crops together), and less ploughing to keep soil healthy. Organic farming avoids chemical fertilizers and pesticides.
How farmers choose a method
- Type of land and soil (flat, hilly, dry).
- Amount of rainfall or access to water for irrigation.
- Money to buy tools and seeds.
- Market: where they can sell crops (local markets or export).
- Tradition and family ways of farming.
Good and not-so-good points
- Get enough food (subsistence).
- Earn money (commercial farming).
- Protect soil and water (conservation methods).
- Livestock provide milk and income (pastoralism).
- Machines and chemicals can be expensive.
- Overuse of land causes erosion and poor soil.
- Droughts make pastoral and rain-fed farming hard.
- Large farms can reduce small farmers' land.
Words to remember
Subsistence, Commercial, Pastoralism, Irrigation, Terrace, Mechanization, Intercropping, Crop rotation
Class activity
- Walk around your village and list three different farming methods you see.
- Draw a small farm showing one method (e.g., terrace, irrigation, or mixed farm).
- Think: Which method would you choose if you lived near a river? Why?
Quick Kenya examples: Mwea (rice, irrigation), Kericho (tea, plantation), Naivasha (flowers), Central Kenya (mixed farming), Northern Kenya (pastoralism).