CARA'S TIPSPractical 2: farm tools, implements, breeds, feeds, parasites, diseases and fish farming
WAECNECO
What the syllabus asks
WAEC: farm tools (identification, description, uses, maintenance), tractor and animal-drawn implements, irrigation/processing/storage equipment, livestock breeds, feeds, livestock parasites and diseases, livestock equipment and structures, fish farming.
NECO: farm tools (identification, description, uses, maintenance), tractor and animal-drawn implements, irrigation/processing/storage equipment, livestock breeds, feeds, livestock parasites and diseases, livestock equipment and structures, fish farming.
What you will learn
- Identify farm tools and state their uses and maintenance.
- Identify implements and tractor parts.
- Identify irrigation, processing and storage equipment.
- Identify livestock breeds and state their uses.
- Identify and classify feedstuffs.
- Describe livestock parasites and diseases and their control.
- Identify livestock equipment and structures.
Key points
- Tools: identification, uses, maintenance; spade vs shovel, fork vs rake.
- Implements and tractor parts; animal traction.
- Irrigation (drip most efficient), processing and storage equipment.
- Cattle, goat, sheep, pig, rabbit and poultry breeds with uses.
- Feeds: concentrates and roughages; aflatoxin risk.
- Parasites and diseases: cause, signs, control.
- Livestock equipment and housing; fish farming.
Start here: Farm tools: identification, uses and maintenance
The syllabus states that assessment includes identification, description, uses and maintenance of tools such as the hoe, cutlass, garden trowel, hand fork, shovel, spade, rake, sickle, pruner, budding knife and emasculator. Expect a question such as “Specimens A–D are farm tools. (a) Name each. (b) State one use of each. (c) State two maintenance practices for specimen B.”
| Tool | Description | Uses |
|---|---|---|
| Hoe | flat metal blade fixed at an angle to a short wooden handle | weeding, making mounds and ridges, digging, earthing up |
| Cutlass (machete) | long flat steel blade with a wooden handle | clearing bush, slashing weeds, harvesting, pruning, cutting cassava stems |
| Spade | flat rectangular blade with a straight edge, long handle with grip | digging, turning soil, edging beds, digging trenches |
| Shovel | wide dished (scoop-shaped) blade | lifting and moving loose soil, sand, manure, gravel |
| Garden fork | four strong steel prongs (tines) | loosening soil, turning compost, lifting tubers, breaking clods |
| Rake | row of short teeth on a crossbar, long handle | levelling seedbeds, gathering trash, covering seeds |
| Sickle | curved blade with a short handle | cutting grass, harvesting rice and wheat |
| Secateurs (pruning shears) | short, scissor-like blades with a spring | pruning branches, cutting budwood, harvesting fruits |
| Budding knife | small knife with a sharp blade and a spatula end | budding and grafting (lifting bark) |
| Hand trowel | small pointed scoop with a handle | transplanting seedlings, digging small holes |
| Watering can | container with a spout and rose | watering nursery seedlings gently |
| Wheelbarrow | tray on one wheel with two handles | carrying manure, soil, produce |
| Pick-axe / mattock | heavy pointed and flat blades | digging hard ground, removing stumps |
| Axe | heavy wedge-shaped blade | felling trees, splitting wood |
Maintenance of tools (general)
- Clean off soil after use and dry before storing.
- Oil or grease metal parts to prevent rusting.
- Sharpen cutting edges (cutlass, hoe, sickle) with a file or stone.
- Replace or tighten loose or broken handles.
- Store in a dry, safe shed, hung up or in a rack, blades away from people.
- Use each tool only for its purpose (do not use a cutlass as a lever).
Describing a tool in an answer
When the question says “describe specimen B”, give its parts and materials, not only its use. Model answer for a garden fork: “It has a long wooden handle with a D-shaped grip at the top, a metal shank, and four strong, slightly curved steel prongs (tines) about 25–30 cm long at the lower end.” Then answer uses and maintenance separately if asked. Learning one such description for every tool on your list is the fastest way to secure these marks.
Solution. (a) Cutlass or grass slasher (or lawn mower). (b) Spade (or garden fork). (c) Pruning saw or secateurs for small branches. (d) Pick-axe or garden fork/rake depending on size. Always add one maintenance point: clean after use, oil metal parts, sharpen blades, store in a dry place.
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Practice questions
- spade
- shovel
- rake
- sickle
Show answer
A: spade
Shovel moves loose material.
- felling trees
- weeding deep roots
- spraying
- levelling soil and gathering debris
Show answer
D: levelling soil and gathering debris
Fine tilth.
- water for irrigation
- seeds
- pesticides and herbicides
- fertiliser granules only
Show answer
C: pesticides and herbicides
Carried on the back.
- spraying
- primary tillage
- harvesting
- threshing
Show answer
B: primary tillage
Turns the soil.
- breaking clods after ploughing
- primary tillage
- planting
- harvesting
Show answer
A: breaking clods after ploughing
Secondary tillage.
Key words
- Maintenance
- Care of tools and machines to keep them working and extend their life.
- PTO
- Power take-off shaft of a tractor.
- Trypanotolerant
- Able to survive trypanosome infection with little illness.
- Concentrate
- Low-fibre feed rich in energy or protein.
- Roughage
- Bulky, high-fibre feed.
- Silage
- Green forage preserved by anaerobic fermentation.
- Ectoparasite
- Parasite living on the outside of the host.
- Biosecurity
- Measures that keep disease out of a farm.
- Burdizzo
- Instrument for bloodless castration.
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