Pitlochry Primary School Online Programme

Pitlochry Primary School Online

Programme

Created by: Miss A. Maharajh – Pilochry Primary School

Lesson 14

Topic:Crop farming in South Africa

Grade: 4

Presented By:

Miss A. MaharajhPitlochry Primary School Educator

Created by: Miss A. Maharajh – Pitlochry Primary School

Crop farming in South AfricaSome plants are grown to produce food. The produce is

called crops. Three important crops grown in South Africa

are maize, wheat and sugar cane.

Created by: Miss A. Maharajh – Pitlochry

Different kinds of fruit grow in different parts of

the country:

⦿ Tropical fruit grows in hot, wet places. Mangoes, bananas,

pineapples and avocado pears are tropical fruits.

⦿ Deciduous fruit grows well in places where there are cold winters

and dry summers. Deciduous trees lose their leaves in winter.

Grapes, apples, peaches and pears are examples of deciduous

fruits.

⦿ Citrus fruit becomes ripe in the cold, winter months. Oranges,

lemons and naartjies are citrus fruits.


Maize and Wheat

Maize and wheat are called cereal crops. We use the seeds

or grain from the plants. Wheat grain is made into flour,

which is used to make bread. Maize seed is used to make

mealie meal. Most people in South Africa eat bread and

mealie meal. cereal crops: plants grown for their seeds or grain

Maize grows best in places with hot, wet summers and

cold, dry winters. It is grown in the eastern half of South

Africa where the climate is like this. Wheat grows best in

Western Cape, where there are hot, dry summers and

cool, wet winters. Wheat is harvested in the summer.


Sugar Cane

Sugar cane is used to make sugar. The stalks (or canes)

of the plant are cut off and trucks take it to sugar mills.

At the mills the canes are crushed and the syrup inside is

made into sugar. Sugar cane will only grow in a hot, wet

climate. The best areas in South Africa are the eastern

parts of KwaZulu-Natal and Mpumalanga.


Activity: Summarise important crops in

South Africa.


Fruit farming in South Africa

South Africa has many climates, which means farmers grow various types of fruit in

different parts of South Africa. On commercial farms fruits, such as apples, pears,

plums, pineapples, oranges and bananas, are grown.

⦿ Different crops are grown in different parts of South Africa depending on the

climatic conditions. Each crop is suited to grow in specific climates. Some crops

grow best where it is hot and there is a lot of rain. Other crops grow well where

there is less rain or where the winters are cold.

⦿ Maize (mealies) is grown in many parts of South Africa. Many people eat mealie

meal every day. Sugar cane grows well where it is warm, and it rains in summer.

The Free State has fields of sunflowers. The seeds from the flower are used to make

cooking oil. Created by: Miss A. Maharajh – Pitlochry Primary School

A grape and wine farm in Western Cape ( Case Study 1)

Read about a commercial grape farm in the case study below:

The Du Toit family own a grape farm near the town of Paarl in Western Cape.

Mr Du Toit has two hectares of land for table grapes and 20 hectares for

wine grapes. (One hectare is the same size as a soccer field). The table

grapes are large, juicy grapes that people eat fresh. The wine grapes are

crushed and made into wine. Mr Du Toit sells the wine grapes to a wine co-

operative in Paarl. He exports his table grapes to other countries. Grapes grow on plants

called vines. To make sure the vines get enough water Mr Du Toit waters each one. Water

drips out of the tiny pipes directly on to each vine. Mr Du Toit spends a lot of money on

fertilisers so that his grapes are always good quality.

Mr Du Toit employs 20 full time workers. He employs extra workers to pick

grapes at harvest time. Mr Du Toit has two tractors on the farm. He has bought a spraying

machine to spray the vines against disease. He also has a large truck to

transport grapes to Paarl.Created by: Miss A. Maharajh- Pitlochry Primary School

Find information from a case study

1. Is this a commercial or subsistence farm?

_______________________________________________________

2. Give a reason for your answer.

_______________________________________________________

3. Identify the crop grown on this farm.

_______________________________________________________

4. List six expenses that Mr Du Toit has.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________

Created by: Miss A. Maharajh- Pitlochry Primary School

5. How does he make money out of his farm?

_______________________________________________________

6. How many people work there all year round?

_______________________________________________________

7. Why does Mr Du Toit need extra workers?

_______________________________________________________

8. Explain the difference between table and wine grapes.

_______________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________


Story of a mango farmer : Case Study 2

Makgoro Mannya grew up in a village north of Polokwane, in Limpopo Province. To

make a little money, she cooked and sold mango chutney, which is also called atchar.

Makgoro Mannya’s atchar was good and people wanted to buy more of it. Makgoro

could not get enough mangoes. Makgoro found a farm for sale. The soil was good

and there was enough water. She could grow tropical fruit on the farm. She went to

the bank and got a loan to buy the farm.

Now Makgoro is a farmer. Over 100 farm workers work on her farm. They grow

mangoes, as well as avocado pears, guavas and litchis. There is a factory on the farm

that makes mango atchar for all the shops. Makgoro sells the other fruit. The avocado

pears are even sold in Europe!(Adapted from Finance Weekly, 17 January 2008)


Use the information from the above case study

and complete the sentences. (Case Study 2)

1. Makgoro makes atchar from .

2. Makgoro decided to get a farm because

.

3. Before Makgoro bought this farm, she had made sure that it had good

and enough .

4. Litchis, mangoes and guavas are examples of fruits.

5. Avocado pears are sold to the continent of .

6. Makgoro is a (subsistence/commercial) farmer. I know this because

.


ANSWERS:


Find information from a case study

1.Is this a commercial or subsistence farm?

A commercial farm

2. Give a reason for your answer.

The produce is grown to sell for export and for wine production.

3. Identify the crop grown on this farm.

Grapes

4. List six expenses that Mr Du Toit has.

Irrigation, fertilisers, pesticides, salaries for workers, truck,

spraying machine, vines (Any 6)


5. How does he make money out of his farm?

He exports table grapes and sells his wine grapes to a co-operative in

Paarl.

6. How many people work here all year round?

Twenty (20)

7. Why does Mr Du Toit need extra workers?

He needs extra workers to pick the grapes at harvest time.

8. Explain the difference between table and wine grapes.

A table grape is a large, juicy grape for eating fresh and a Wine grape

is crushed to make wine.


Use the information from the above case study

and complete the sentences. (Case Study 2)

1. Makgoro makes atchar from mangoes.

2. Makgoro decided to get a farm because she could not get enough mangoes to make

her atchar as the demand was very high, she found a farm that was on sale and

bought it so that she could plant her own mangoes.

3. Before Makgoro bought this farm, she had made sure that it had good soil and

enough water.

4. Litchis, mangoes and guavas are examples of fruits tropical fruits.

5. Avocado pears are sold to the continent of Europe .

6. Makgoro is a (subsistence/commercial) farmer. I know this because she employes

100 workers.


Thank you!

https://www.pitlochryps.co.za/Created by: Miss A. Maharajh – Pitlochry Primary School

Pitlochry Primary School Online Programme

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