Specific Competence: Determine the different chemicals (radicals) in fertilizer samples and understand how they make soil fertile. Learning Activities: Students will test fertilizer samples to find chemicals like carbonate, nitrate, sulphate, calcium, ammonium, and phosphate. They will observe how plants absorb nutrients. They will also find the best mix of fertilizers to improve soil fertility. Expected Standard: The chemicals in fertilizer samples are correctly identified.
Specific Competence: Practice farming methods that help the environment and produce enough food, even with climate change. Learning Activities: Students will learn why farming methods that protect the environment are important for feeding people in the future. They will practice ways farmers can grow more food, become stronger against problems, and lessen the effects of climate change. This includes rotating crops, not tilling the soil (conservation farming), improving animal feed, managing animal waste, collecting rainwater for irrigation, and growing crops in greenhouses. They will learn to adapt by using quick-growing crops, types that resist heat and drought, changing how they water plants, planting early, and improving animal breeding. They will also learn to lessen climate change effects by using agroforestry (trees and crops together), aquaponics (fish and plants together), using less nitrogen fertilizer, and using clean energy like biogas, solar, and wind. Expected Standard: Climate-Smart Agriculture practices are correctly used.
Specific Competence: Use different power sources on the farm, correctly use bricklaying and workshop tools, and build basic farm structures. Learning Activities: Students will explore and use different farm power sources, such as human, animal, engines, biomass, solar, water, and wind. They will identify, use, care for, maintain, and store bricklaying and workshop tools. They will also identify, design, and build simple farm structures using bricklaying rules. A skilled person must supervise the building demonstrations. Expected Standard: Different farm power sources on the farm are used correctly. Bricklaying and workshop tools are used correctly. Basic farm structures are built correctly.
Specific Competence: Successfully grow fruit and tuber crops. Learning Activities: Students will describe fruit and tuber crops, explore local varieties, and investigate their food and money value. They will choose good places to grow these crops. They will carry out all the steps needed to grow them from start to harvest, including preparing seedbeds, planting, watering, weeding, adding fertilizer, controlling pests and diseases, and harvesting. They will also learn to add value to, store, and sell fruits and tubers. They will check the amount and quality of what they grow to find ways to improve. They will explore new ways to grow more. Expected Standard: Fruit crops are grown successfully. Tuber crops are grown successfully.
Specific Competence: Manage different pastures for livestock. Learning Activities: Students will describe how to manage pastures. They will explore different types of pastures like grasses, legumes, and fodder. They will perform routine care for natural and improved pastures, including ley farming (rotating crops with grass). They will learn different ways animals can graze. They will calculate how many animals a pasture can support. They will learn to save pastures by making hay and silage. They will also explore new ways to improve pasture growth and food value. Expected Standard: Different pastures for livestock are managed correctly.
Specific Competence: Successfully rear and manage ruminant animals. Learning Activities: Students will sort ruminant animals (like cattle, sheep, goats). They will learn their economic value and describe them by breed and use (for meat, milk, or farm work). They will explore different ways of raising ruminants in Zambia (intensive and extensive). They will look at the body parts of ruminants, like their digestive and reproductive systems, to understand how they work. They will build suitable houses for ruminants. They will choose ruminants for breeding and learn about different breeding methods (cross-breeding, upgrading, line breeding, inbreeding). They will investigate how ruminants are bred (natural mating and artificial insemination). They will perform daily care tasks such as feeding, providing water, handling animals, castration, checking for heat, pregnancy diagnosis, dehorning, weaning, milking, and identification (ear tagging, tattooing, branding). They will learn to spot, prevent, and control common diseases and parasites like East Coast Fever, heartwater, anaplasmosis, foot and mouth disease, anthrax, roundworms, tapeworms, liver flukes, tsetse flies, and ticks. They will investigate and suggest ways to add value to, store, and sell ruminant products. They will check the amount and quality of products to find ways to improve. They will explore new ways to increase production. Expected Standard: Ruminant animals are reared accordingly. Ruminant animals are managed successfully.
Specific Competence: Show understanding of how economics applies to farming. Learning Activities: Students will describe agricultural economics. They will apply the idea of opportunity cost (what is given up when a choice is made) in farming. They will study the law of supply and demand for farm products. They will investigate how controlling prices of farm inputs (like seeds, fertilizer) and products affects supply and demand. They will look into risks in farming (like not enough yield, market price changes, problems with rules, human errors, money problems, asset damage) and uncertainties. They will learn ways to reduce these risks, such as insurance, growing different crops, rationing inputs, combining different parts of the farm business (vertical integration), and using production and marketing contracts. They will practice using insurance policies for farm businesses. Expected Standard: Understanding of agricultural economics is shown accordingly.
