State two climatic conditions that are ideal for cotton farming

KCSE Geography Paper 2 2000 Section B Question 9 with Answers.

(a) (i) Apart from cotton, name two other fibre crops

1. Sisal
   
2. Coconut
3. Jute
   
4. Palm (raffia)
5. Flax
   
6. Sunn
7. Kapok
   
8. China grass

Cotton

​(ii) State two climatic conditions that are ideal for cotton farming

1. Warm / High/ Hot temperatures 15 – 30⁰C

2. Plenty of sunshine during the growing period

3. Moderate/ light rainfall / 510 – 1115mm

4. A long growing period with  at least 200 frost free days

5. Dry sunny period for harvesting

                    Any 2 x 1 = 2 marks)

(b) State three differences between cotton growing in Kenya and U.S.A

Kenya

1. ​​Growing on small scale
2. ​Manual/ hand labour
3. ​Mainly rain fed
4. Grown on varied terrain
5. ​​Inter cropped

USA

1. ​​Growing on large scale
2. ​Mechanized labour
3. ​Mainly irrigated
4. ​Grown on gently sloping land
5. ​Monoculture

Complete comparison 2 marks each

(c) Explain three ways in which the government of Kenya encourages cotton farming

1. The government organizes shows/ demonstrations for  cotton farmers to learn the latest development on cotton growing
2. The government finances research for high yielding cotton varieties/ pests/ diseases control/ extension of cotton growing areas ( ecological regions)
3. It facilitates setting up  of co-operatives/ cotton lint and seed marketing board to enable cotton farmers acquire farm inputs/  marketing
4. It provides extension services to offer  advice on  cotton farming

​(d) (i) apart from making textiles, state three other  uses of cotton wool

1. It is used for  making thread
2. It is used for surgical purposes/ laboratory use
3. It is used for packaging
4. It is used for sanitary purposes
5. It is used for making furnishing / dolls
6. It is used for insulator
7. It is used for making floor rags/ carpets
8. It is  used for decorating Christmas trees

​(ii) Explain three problems faced by the textile industry in Kenya

1. Competition from imported second hand clothes has reduced  market for locally produced textiles
2. The decline  in the production of  cotton  has undermined the textile industry
3. Industries rely on expensive imported fibres which  leads to the production of expensive products that cannot complete / importation of cheaper/ new  clothes or textiles
4. Mismanagement of textiles factories low  profit  margin/ has  led to closures of  some factories
5. The decline in the economy has led to flight of investments capital to other countries leading to the declined of the industry.

Agriculture, Form 3

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