Study Fig. 7, which shows information about inputs and processes on commercial farms. Labour Seeds and pesticides Government advice Inputs Hoeing Machinery Fertilising Relief Harvesting Ploughing Fertiliser Processes Spraying Seeding pesticides Soils Spraying Harrowing insecticides Money Crop rotation Rainfall Temperatures Fig. 7

Mark scheme

Marking points from the official mark scheme (May/June 2015). The mark or mark type is shown in brackets.

1. [1] (a) (i) (A farm producing crops/animals/what they grow) to sell/earn money/markets;
2. [2] (ii) Natural input = rainfall/temperature/soil/relief/seeds
3. [2] Process = harvesting
4. [3] (iii) Ideas such as:
5. [3] • Crops or valid examples are likely to be grown on flatter/lower land;
6. [3] • tea is grown on higher ground/vines are grown on gently sloping land;
7. [3] • Higher/steeper areas may be used for grazing/pasture;
8. [3] • (Rice crops needing irrigation) can be grown on flood plains/low areas close to rivers;
9. [3] • Vines may be grown on south facing slopes; etc.
10. [3] NB: How not why.
11. [4] (iv) Ideas such as:
12. [4] • more mechanisation;
13. [4] • use of fertilizers/manure;
14. [4] • use of pesticides/herbicides/insecticides;
15. [4] • greater use of irrigation;
16. [4] • battery farming of poultry/pigs;
17. [4] • reclamation of marshland/wetland;
18. [4] • terracing;
19. [4] • HYV seeds;
20. [4] • GM crops/GMO – genetically modified organisms;
21. [4] • Aeroponics;
22. [4] • Hydroponics;
23. [4] • Crop rotation/leave fields fallow;
24. [4] • Greenhouses/plastic sheeting; etc.
25. [3] (b) (i) Ideas such as:
26. [3] • uneven distribution;
27. [3] • mainly tropical areas/between tropics/between equator and tropics;
28. [3] • (many) in Africa;
29. [3] • particularly south of Sahara/central and east Africa;
30. [3] • some/few in Asia/South/Central America;
31. [3] • many in Indian sub-continent; etc.
32. [5] (ii) Ideas such as;
33. [5] • poverty/can't afford to buy food/imports/fertilisers;
34. [5] • drought/no precipitation;
35. [5] • crops have low yields (dev);
36. [5] • war;
37. [5] • food in storage is destroyed (dev);
38. [5] • infertile soils
39. [5] • soil erosion;
40. [5] • desertification/ground too dry;
41. [5] • production of cash crops for export;
42. [5] • poor distribution;
43. [5] • poor storage;
44. [5] • food is eaten by insects/mice (dev);
45. [5] • natural disasters or examples/flooding (Max 2);
46. [5] • corrupt government doesn't distribute food equally;
47. [5] • uneven distribution of food; etc.
48. [7] (c) Levels marking
49. [7] Level 1 (1–3 marks) Statements including limited detail explaining why many farmers are subsistence farmers.
50. [7] Level 2 (4–6 marks) Uses named example More developed statements explaining why many farmers are subsistence farmers. NB: Max 5 marks if no named example
51. [7] Level 3 (7 marks) Uses named example (e.g. Ganges Valley) Comprehensive and accurate statements including correct reference to a named area.
52. [7] Candidates are likely to refer to issues such as: poverty/they can't afford to buy food • lack of land • lack of markets • technology • lack of machinery • lack of pesticides/fertilisers • traditional lifestyle e.g. Amazonian tribes etc.
53. [7] Place specific detail may include names of places, locational information and appropriate statistics.