Chapter 1.3 (Agriculture 5)

Water conservation

In Grade 4, we learnt about water. We learnt about the uses of water in farming. Do you remember conservation of water in farming practices?

Use of digital devices to search for information on water conservation in farming practices

Activity 1

Searching for information on water conservation in farming activities.

Let us Find Out

Use digital devices such as mobile phones, tablets and computers to search for information on water conservation in farming activities.

Working in groups

Search the internet and answer the following questions:

  1. How can water conservation be done in farming practises?
  2. What are the benefits of water conservation? Share your findings with the class.

Let us understand

  1. Conserving water means using our water supply carefully and responsibly.
  2. We conserve water at home, at school and in the farm.
  3. We conserve water in farming practises to make it last longer in the soil.
  4. We conserve water to save money used to buy water.

Importance of conserving water in farming practices

Sharing information acquired from digital devices on water conservation in farming practices.

Activity 2

Sharing Information on water conservation.

Working in groups

You have searched for information on water conservation.
​Share the information with other groups.

Let us find out

Look at the following pictures and answer the questions that follow.

A.

B.

C.

  1. Which practices in the pictures seen are used to conserve water?
  2. Which practices are not conserving water?
  3. How does each method help to conserve water?
    ​Share with the other members of the class.

Let us understand

  1. Applying mulch helps to conserve water for the crops.
  2. Building a shade over the nursery reduces evaporation.
  3. Cover cropping also reduces evaporation.

Importance of conserving water

What are the reasons for conserving water?

Activity 3

Sharing experiences on the importance of conserving water in farming activities.

In groups discuss the importance of:

  1. Constructing a shade over a nursery bed.
  2. Spreading mulch around the base of some crops.
  3. Cover cropping.

Share your findings with the other groups

Let us understand

  1. Water is a natural resource used in all the farming activities.
  2. Conserving water in the farm helps us to conserve the environment
  3. Crops and animals die when they don't get enough water.

Ways of conserving water in farming activities

Activity 4

Sharing experiences on how to conserve water in farming activities.

Let us Find Out

Working in groups

Look at the following pictures and identify the farming activities shown.

A.

B.

C.

Let us understand

We conserve water for farming by:

  1. Applying mulching materials around the base of the plant.
  2. Making a shade over the plants.
  3. Growing a crop that spreads on the ground.

Various water conservation practices in farming

Activity 5

Lets find out

Study magazine cuttings on mulching, shading and cover cropping.

  • Search for magazines with photographs on mulching, shading and cover cropping and make cutting of these pictures.
  • Share in your groups what you have learned from the pictures.

Watch video clip on various water conservation practices in farming.

  1. Discuss with your friends the water conservation practices you have seen in the video that are also in the magazine cuttings.
  2. Identify practices you saw in the video clip which are not in the pictures of the magazine cuttings.

Let us understand

We conserve water for farming using mulching, providing shade to the crops and growing of cover crops.

How to carry out various water conservation practices in farming

Activity 6

Carry out the method of water conservation shown in the picture below.

Practising various water conservation practices in farming.
​How can we practice water conservation in farming?

Let us understand

A shade is build by:

  • Placing dry sticks on each corner of the nursery bed.
  • Then a top frame is placed over the four sticks
  • Dry leaves are finally placed on the frame to form a shade.

Activity 7

Carry out the method of water conservation shown in the picture below.

Activity 8

Carry out the method of water conservation shown in the picture below.

Let us understand

While mulching, spread dry mulch material around the base of the plant to cover the soil.

Mulching in crops

Activity 9

Carrying out an experiment to compare moisture conservation in mulched and unmulched crops.

Does mulching conserve water in farming?

Let us practice

Look at the following photographs.

A.

B.

C.

Which crops show signs of withering when the sun is hot?

Let us understand

  1. Mulching conserves moisture for crops.
  2. Crops that are unmulched wither easily.
  3. Crops need moisture to grow healthy.

How to conserve water during farming practices

Activity 10

Observing how water is conserved in the farm during farming activities.

How can we conserve water during farming activities?

Let us Observe

Look at the following pictures and answer the questions that follow.

  1. How is water conserved in the farming activities shown in the picture?
  2. Which of the methods of water conservation are shown in the picture?

In pairs, share your observation.

Storing photos on water conservation from digital resources and magazines

Acitivity 11

Compiling and storing photographs on methods of water conservation using digital devices or print.

How can we compile and store photos on methods of water conservation in digital or print form?

Let us practice

  1. Collect photographs on water conservation from magazines. Cut the photographs and paste the cuttings on an exercise book.

A.

Cutting images of water conservation

B.

Pasting cut images

C.

Sticking cut images

D.

Presenting the made album
  1. You can also compile and store photographs on practices of water conservation in digital devices such as flash disk, memory cards or DVDs. Use the instructions below:
    • Use a digital device to search for photographs of methods of water conservation.
    • Create a folder and name it “Water conservation methods”. 
    • Store the photographs in the folder, which becomes part of your portfolio.
    • Print the photographs with the help of your teacher.

Let us understand

  1. We can get pictures on methods of water conservation from magazine cuttings.We can also take photographs when we visit a farm and then print them.
  2. We can store the cut pictures in photo albums made from our exercise books.
  3. We can store the photographs in a folder that we name “Practices of water conservation”.

Presentation of photographs

Activity 12

Making presentation of the stored photographs.

How can we make presentation of the stored photographs?
​In the previous activities, you did activities on conserving water in farming.

Let us present

  1. Use the album you made on practices of water conservation.
  2. Label each photograph clearly.
  3. Write short notes about water conservation below the photographs.
  4. Present the photos page by page to the rest of the class.
  5. Answer any questions that may arise from other learners.
  6. You can also present photographs stored in digital device with the help of the teacher. Use the following instructions:
    • Open a folder you created and named “Practices of water conservation”.
    • Show the photographs one by one as you explain the activity to other learners.
    • Answer any questions from the learners.

Let us understand

  1. A photograph album created from an exercise book help us to keep record of practices of water conservation.
  2. We can also use digital devices to present the stored photographs to other learners.
  3. The photographs need to be well arranged for easy presentation.

Practice at home

  • Work together with parents or guardians to do the following activities in your home garden:
    1. Construct a shade on a tomato nursery bed.
    2. Apply mulch in a cabbage garden.
    3. Plant a cover crop in a garden where maize is growing.
  • Ask your parents or guardians to tell you the importance of conserving water when growing crops.

Let us understand

  1. All crops need water to grow healthy.
  2. A lot of water is available during the rains.
  3. Rain water can be conserved to grow crops during dry seasons.
  1. Three ways of conserving water in farming are:
    1. .
    2. .
    3. .
  2. Shade prevents water from .
  3. Mulching  water in the soil for crops.
  4. When crops lack water, they .