(a) List four farming operations requiring electric power. (b) State three advantages and three disadvantage each of the following farm power (i) electricity; (ii) animal.
Explanation
2(a) Farm operations requiring electric power are: (i) Refrigeration. (ii) Incubation. (iii) Milking ( machines) (iv) Drying of produce or material. (v) Shelling of fruits/ seeds. (vi) Feed making / grinding / mixing. (vii) Any processing operation e.g parboilling, threshing, winnowing e.t.c. (viii) Defeathering / plucking. (ix) Debeaking. (x) Candling. (xi) egg or grading.
(b) Advantages and disadvantages of (i) electricity: Advantages: (1) Neat (2) Fast operation increased production. (3) Very dependable (4) Easy to operate. (5) Versatile. (6) Efficient and saves energy and reduces cost of production too.
Disadvantages: (1) Very expensive (2) Dangerous to life (3) Supply may be irregular – (4) It Can cause fire hazard. (5) Cannot be widely used in field operations.
(ii) Animals: Advantages: (1) Cheap to maintain (2) Cheap to purchase. (3) Easy to operate. (4) Can operate in rugged terrains. (5) Can be used in evacuation of produce from inaccessible areas. (6) They are more efficient than man. (7) Removes drudgery and makes work easier.
Disadvantages: (1) They require human guidance. (2) Power output is very low. (3) Capacity is limited and may refuse to work. (4) Prone to infection by disease. (5) Limited to some types of operations.