PRIMARY SIX AGRIC SCIENCE FIRST TERM

SCHEME OF WORK

Week 1: Review of Last Year Work

Review of Last Year Work

Week 2 And 3: Meaning Of Agriculture

Meaning of Agriculture

Week 4 And 5:
Importance of Agriculture

Week 6 And 7: Problems of Agriculture

Problems of Agriculture

Week 8 And 9: People in Agriculture

People in Agriculture

Week 10 And 11: Origin of Farming

Origin of Farming

Week 12 And 13: Revision and Examination

Revision and Examination

Week 2 and 3:
TOPIC: Meaning Of Agriculture
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF THE LESSON, PUPILS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
1 .State the meaning of agriculture
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A chart showing the various tools for
planting crops and rearing animals.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Scheme of work
All relevant materials
9- Years Basic Education
Curriculum Online information
BUILDING BACKGROUND/CONNECTION TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Pupils are familiar with the topic in their previous classes.
CONTENT OF THE LESSON
MEANING OF AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE

Agriculture is the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the

soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool,
and other products. Agriculture is one of the oldest and most important
occupations of mankind. It is the practice of growing crops and rearing
animals for food and raw materials for man’s use. It also includes many other
aspects of production, such as processing of harvested crops into food and raw
materials; processing of animals into food and raw materials and marketing
of processed crops and animals. The meaning of agriculture as cultivation of
land is derived from two Latin words: ager – meaning land and cultura –
meaning land cultivation.
Agriculture involves different types of farming practices, such as land
preparation, nursery making, establishment of plantations, control of pests
and diseases, plant breeding, control of weeds and harvesting. Animal
husbandry practices include breeding, housing, feeding, health care, egg
collection, culling, meat processing and sales of animal products. Agriculture
supplies the three main basic human needs: food, clothing and shelter.

It involves:
1. Growing of crops,
2. Rearing of animals.
 3. Processing, and selling of agricultural products for the benefits of man
Assessment & Evaluation:
1 .State the meaning of agriculture
(WRAP-UP CONCLUSION)
Teacher goes over the topic once again to enhance better understanding

WEEK 4-5
TOPIC: IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF THE LESSON, PUPILS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
1. List the areas of importance of agriculture to man.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A chart showing the various tools for

planting crops and rearing animals.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Scheme of work
All relevant materials
9- Years Basic Education
Curriculum Online information
BUILDING BACKGROUND/CONNECTION TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Pupils are familiar with the topic in their previous classes.
CONTENT OF THE LESSON

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is important to man in many ways. It provides man with food,
shelter, clothing, money or income, employment or job, raw materials,
medicine, foreign exchange and recreation. Agriculture ensures a constant
food supply.
It therefore helps in the following ways:
1. Provision of food,
2. Provision of shelter,
3. Provision of income (money),
4. Provision of employment /job opportunities,
5. Provision of raw materials for industries,
6. Provision of clothing,
7. Provision of medical herbs,
8. Provision of foreign exchange,
9. Provision of transportation i.e. the use of horses, donkeys and camels.
10. Provision of recreational and sport i.e. the use of animals like rabbits,
dogs, cock, etc.
Food
Agriculture provides food for people. Food can be obtained from crops and
animals Food gives man the energy required to perform his daily activities.
Examples of food materials from crops and their by-products are yam, rice
and maize. Food materials from animals include meat, eggs and milk.
Shelter Agriculture provides materials for building houses. Such materials
include forest wood from timber, bamboo, thatch from grass and palm fronds,
and leaves.

Clothing
The material used for making the clothes we wear, i.e. cotton comes from
plants. Hides and skins, which are used to make our shoes and bags, come
from animals. Wool, also from animals, is used to make winter suits and
wears. All these are products of agriculture
.
Money
Sales of agricultural products are a source of money and income to farmers
for meeting their daily needs and expenses.
Employment
Agriculture provides many people with work or employment through which
they earn money for a living. Apart from the farmers, many people do works
that have to do with agriculture. A good example is your agriculture teacher.
Raw materials
Agriculture provides agro-based industries with the raw materials that they
process into goods for consumers, e.g. cocoa for the beverage industries.
Medicine
Many parts of plants, e.g. roots, leaves and barks are medicinal herbs which
people use to treat many diseases, e.g. by boiling, crushing or rubbing them.
Materials from plants are also used to make modern drugs, e.g. tablets.
Foreign exchange Agriculture is a source of foreign exchange through crops
that are sold to other countries as exports, e.g. timber and cocoa.
Recreation
Agriculture is a source of amusement, pleasure and relaxation for people
through game reserves; tourist centers botanical gardens, zoological gardens
and horse racing. Huge revenues can also be generated from some of these
centers, especially from foreigners who visit.
Assessment & Evaluation:
1. List the areas of importance of agriculture to man.
(WRAP-UP CONCLUSION)
Teacher goes over the topic once again to enhance better understanding

WEEK 6&7
TOPIC: PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURE IN NIGERIA
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF THE LESSON, PUPILS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
1. List the problems of agriculture in Nigeria.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A chart showing the various tools for

planting crops and rearing animals.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Scheme of work
All relevant materials
9- Years Basic Education
Curriculum Online information
BUILDING BACKGROUND/CONNECTION TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Pupils are familiar with the topic in their previous classes.
CONTENT OF THE LESSON

PROBLEMS OF AGRICULTURE IN NIGERIA.

Agriculture in Nigeria faces many problems. These are:

 1. Use of crude implements (hoes and cutlasses),unstable government
policies
2. Bad roads
3. Lack of storage facilities
4. Lack of improved seed
5. Land tenure system
6. Transportation problem
7. Lack medical facilities in the farm setting
Assessment & Evaluation:
1. List the problems of agriculture in Nigeria.
(WRAP-UP CONCLUSION)
Teacher goes over the topic once again to enhance better understanding

Week 8 And 9:
TOPIC: People in Agriculture
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF THE LESSON, PUPILS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
1. List the people in agriculture.

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A chart showing the various tools for

planting crops and rearing animals.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Scheme of work
All relevant materials
9- Years Basic Education
Curriculum Online information
BUILDING BACKGROUND/CONNECTION TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Pupils are familiar with the topic in their previous classes
Content
Lots of people are involved in agricultural development. Some of them are
listed below:
1. Crop farmers
2. Animals rearers and livestock farmers
3. Soil scientists
4. Fishermen
 5. Veterinary doctors
6. Horticulturists (gardeners)
7. Agricultural engineers
8. Agricultural economists
9. Market people
10. Agricultural teachers

People in agriculture
Many people are engaged in the many different aspects of agriculture. These
people are recognized by the type of work they do. They may be producers,
processors, and marketers, teachers of agriculture, extension agents,
researchers, journalists and veterinary doctors.
Producers
There are three main categories of producers: crop farmers, animal rearers
and fishermen. Crop farmers are the farmers who grow crops such as yam,
rice, maize, cowpea Teachers of agriculture These are people who have been
trained to train producers, processors and marketers to enable them to make
progress in agriculture. Teaching of agriculture begins at the primary level
and continues at the secondary level. Some people end up studying
agricultural science at the tertiary level of education.

Extension agents
These are individuals who have been trained to help farmers to solve their
farming problems. They also teach farmers new methods of farming.

Researchers
These are people who have been trained to investigate problems of agriculture
and find solutions to them through scientific processes.

Journalists
These are the people who carry information about development in agriculture
and those involved in industrial production to the general public through the
media, e.g. newspapers, radio and television.
Veterinary doctors
These are people who are trained to cater for animal health. They treat
animals that are sick.
Assessment & Evaluation:
1. List the people in agriculture.
(WRAP-UP CONCLUSION)
Teacher goes over the topic once again to enhance better understanding
Answer these questions
1. What is agriculture?
2. List any four areas of importance of agriculture to man.
3. Name six groups of people engaged in agriculture.
4. One of the groups of people listed below is not engaged in agriculture.
Tick ( ) the correct answer in one of the boxes provided.
a) Producers
b) Marketer

Week 10 And 11:

TOPIC: Origin Of Farming
BEHAVIOURAL OBJECTIVES: AT THE END OF THE LESSON, PUPILS
SHOULD BE ABLE TO:
1. State the origin of farming
2. Name the main occupation of the early man.
3. List the main activities of the early woman.
4. Name two tools used by the early man

INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS: A chart showing the various tools for

planting crops and rearing animals.
REFERENCE MATERIALS
Scheme of work
All relevant materials
9-Years Basic Education Curriculum
Online information
BUILDING BACKGROUND/CONNECTION TO PRIOR KNOWLEDGE:
Pupils are familiar with the topic in their previous classes
Content
Sometime around 12,000 years ago, our hunter-gatherer ancestors began
trying their hand at farming.

First, they grew wild varieties of crops like peas, lentils and barley and herded
wild animals like goats and wild oxen. Centuries later, they switched to
farming full time, breeding both animals and plants, creating new varieties
and breeds. Eventually, they migrated outward, spreading farming to parts of
Europe and Asia
The origin of
farming The early
people
The history of agriculture is as old as man. Agricultural activities were started
by the early people. The early people were wanderers and gatherers of fruits,
nuts and roots. They lived in caves and under tree covers in the forest. The
early people fed on vegetables, fruits and meat of animals which they gathered
from their environment. The early man hunted animals for food and
domestication. He made his own tools for hunting and planting crops.

The early man as a gatherer

The early man wandered around in his environment in search of food. He
collected and ate fruits, nuts and vegetables. The seeds of the fruits eaten were
thrown carelessly around the surroundings of the cave. These germinated and
grew to fruit trees which later became useful to man as food. This is how the
early people began to practise farming.

The early man as a hunter

The early man hunted and ran after animals and birds to kill them for food.
He killed some, caught some alive and carried everything to his cave. He and
his family ate the ones he killed. The early woman tried to rear the young
animals captured alive by way of domestication. The early man also removed
the skins of some of the big animals he killed and used them as clothes

The early man as a toolmaker

The early man was able to gather vegetables, fruits and kill animals with the
tools he made himself. The tools were made of wood, stone or metal.
The early man and farming activities
Crop farming
As the early people harvested and ate the fruits of the crops that grew around
them, they scattered their seeds which later germinated and increased the
population of the crop plants there. In this way, the gathering activities
reduced as the early woman settled to try and raise new crops from these
seeds and fruits. This was the beginning of settled farming activities by the
early man.

Livestock farming
The young animals and birds which the early man brought home alive from
his hunting activities were kept for rearing by his wife, the early woman. The
woman fed the animals with the fruits, nuts and vegetable matter harvested
from their surroundings. The animals grew to adult age and gave birth to
young ones. The mature animals were later to be killed and the young ones
left to grow to maturity. They too grew, gave birth to young ones and
multiplication continued.
Some of the birds (fowls) did not escape back to the bush. They were well fed
and they began to lay eggs which later hatched to young birds. While some of
the now old birds were killed for food, others were left to produce more eggs
and young ones. This was the beginning of settled livestock farming.
Tool making
The early man, who had by now become a crop and animal farmer, needed
better tools for his crop and livestock farming activities. He also needed tools
for processing his crops to improve the quality of his food. He discovered
stone grinders for grinding grains, and for sharpening stones and wood.
He discovered fire by rubbing hard stones against one another to create
sparks that could produce flame and dry materials. The fire enabled him to:
a) Cook his food,
b) Warm and protect himself and his family, and
c) Melt pieces of metal objects for making better and stronger tools, such as
spears, axes and hoes.
This was the beginning of primitive technology.
Uses of tools by the early man
1. The early man used the hoe to till the soil for planting more crops.
2. He used the spear for killing wild animals, including big fishes in rivers and
lakes.
3. He used the axe to cut tree trunks to build boats and make utensils for
placing hot food.
4. He used knives to make baskets for goods and animals.
5. He used the hoe to dig up clay for making pots used for cooking and storing
water.
Assessment & Evaluation:
1. State the origin of farming
2. Name the main occupation of the early man.
3. List the main activities of the early woman.
4. Name two tools used by the early man

(WRAP-UP CONCLUSION)
Teacher goes over the topic once again to enhance better understanding
Answer these questions
1. Name the main occupation of the early man.
2. List the main activities of the early woman.
3. Name two tools used by the early man