unit 5: rural development

Question 1

define rural development and traditional societies

Answer 1

rural development- process of improving the quality of life and economic well-being of people living in rural areas
traditional societies- societies that depend on hunting and gathering as well as cultivation on a small scale for family consumption

Question 2

list and explain the types of traditional societies

Answer 2

hunter gatherers- hunted wild animals and gathered wild fruits and vegetables. they move from one place to another in search of wild animals

agriculturalists- practiced mixed farming of crops and animals, they settled in one area, grew crops and reared animals and cleared land for farming

nomadic pastoralists- owned a mixture of cattle, goats, camel and sheep. nomadic as they have to search for grazing land

Question 3

describe how work was divided in these traditional societies

Answer 3

hunter gatherers- according to gender; men hunted animals and women gathered wild animals

nomadic pastoralists- specialised iron-melter and hunters, women cooked and cared for the sick and the children, men looked after cattle and took part inwars

agriculturalists- men cleared land and did the ploughing, built huts for shelter and women collected water, did weaving and pottery

Question 5

what types of tools did the traditional societies use?

Answer 5

hunter gatherers- simple technology made of bones, stones and wood and used bows and arrows

nomadic pastoralists- used tools made from metal like axes and spears

agriculturalists- did bartering to acquire some tools

Question 6

what changes took place in traditional farming in pre- colonial times?

Answer 6

• society started to develop more settled agricultural systems
• animals were domesticated for their meat, milk, hydes and work they could do.
• plants were domesticated for food, fibre and medicine
• started producing enough food for their own consumption

Question 7

what was the impact of colonialism on traditional society?

Answer 7

• african farmers were removed by force from their fertile land
• land became scarce and food production was a challenge
• africans could no longer feed themselves and poverty became in rural areas
• africans were used as cheap labour on plantations owned by whites

Question 8

describe differences between peasent farming and cash cropping (commercial farming)

Answer 8

peasant farming
- sell some crops after feeding themselves
- farms are small and labour-intensive
- work is done by the family
- use animal power and simple technology
- land is owned by the family

cash ccropping (commercial farming)
- produce to sell and make profit
- farms are large and capital- intensive
- use chemicals, fertilizers and tractors
- land is owned by a family or company

Question 9

explain monoculture, plantation farming and crop rotation as examples of cash cropping

Answer 9

monoculture- growing of a single crop inlarge quantities every year

plantation farming- large number of trees grown in one year

crop rotation- growing different crops on land in different years

Question 10

list advantages and disadvantages of monoculture

Answer 10

advs
- easy to cultivate
- easy to control diseases and pests

disadvs
- leads to loss of fertility
- low demand in that one crop leads to loss of profit
- one pest destroys entire crop