📘 Part 3: Agriculture and farming

This episode's vocabulary

Harm (noun) – physical or mental damage or injury. → I can't see the harm in letting children learn how to plant.

Introduction (noun) – the act of bringing something into use or practice. → It's probably a good introduction to biology.

Responsible (adjective) – having a duty to take care of something. → It's a good way to teach how to be responsible.

Proportion (noun) – a part or share of a whole. → Think about the proportion of the population doing it.

Agricultural (adjective) – related to farming or agriculture. → Most people now aren't involved in agricultural work.

Allotment (noun) – a small piece of land rented for growing plants. → Allotments of land are popular in my country.

Widespread (adjective) – found or distributed over a large area. → I'm not sure how widespread rooftop gardens are.

Surplus (noun) – an amount that is more than needed. → There would be a surplus if people bought less food.

Demand (noun) – the desire or need for something among consumers. → That could have placed a greater demand on the food supply.

Mechanised (adjective) – operated by machines. → Traditional farming uses less mechanised methods.

Variant (noun) – a version of something that is slightly different. → The modern variant focuses more on technology.

Tend (verb) – to take care of something. → You're not tending fields of crops or livestock.

Livestock (noun) – animals kept for farming purposes. → Farmers have to tend to their livestock.

Administration (noun) – the tasks involved in managing a business. → There's all the administration to deal with.

Stable (adjective) – steady and not likely to change. → How else can we have a stable food supply?

Compost (noun) – decayed organic material used to fertilize soil. → We made compost from kitchen waste to help our plants grow.

Irrigation (noun) – supplying water to land or crops. → Modern irrigation systems make farming more efficient.

Greenhouse (noun) – a glass building for growing plants. → They grow tomatoes in a greenhouse all year round.

Harvest (verb) – to gather crops. → They harvest the wheat in late summer.

Sow (verb) – to plant seeds in the ground. → Farmers usually sow seeds in early spring.

Questions and Answers

Maria: Do you think it's good to let children learn how to plant?

Rory: I can't see the harm in it. It's probably a good introduction to things like biology and similar things. Not to mention a good way to teach things like how to be responsible and look after living things. That could be useful in the future for things like pets and children, after the children learning about it grow up.

Maria: Are there many people growing their own vegetables now?

Rory: Well, in absolute numbers, probably yes, since there are more people. So that’s just very simple maths. If we think about the proportion of the population doing it, though, I'm not sure. I'm tempted to say no, since the majority of people now live in cities and aren't involved in any agricultural work these days. But I don't know much about the subject.

Maria: How do people grow plants in cities?

Rory: A good question. Apart from in pots in their houses, I have no idea. Allotments of land are popular in my country for people without gardens, but I'm not sure how common those are in other countries. I can imagine people could also have window boxes or rooftop gardens, but again, I don't know how widespread or practical those are.

Maria: What happened to the farmer's income during the pandemic?

Rory: You'd have to ask them. I'm not sure what you mean. Could you rephrase the question, please?

Maria: Like, during the pandemic, what do you think happened to the farmers?

Rory: Well, I don't know. I mean, I imagine that farmers' income would either have… Well, a couple of things could have happened. It could have stayed the same, because we still had people, and they still needed to be fed. So, I suppose the farmers would still make money selling their food. However, it could have gone down since people were earning less money, so they would be buying less food, and so there would be a surplus. Or the opposite might have happened, and the prices of food might have gone up because there were more people at home and all they were doing was eating, so that could have placed a greater demand on the food supply. So, there we are. Three possibilities, and I don't know which one is the most likely because I didn't monitor the prices of food during the pandemic.

Maria: What are the differences between traditional and modern agriculture?

Rory: Surely, that depends on where you draw the line between traditional and modern, doesn't it? Well, broadly speaking, I suppose traditional farming relies on older, less mechanised or computerised methods, just because tradition makes this connection to the past and previous methods, and those didn't involve those things, while the more modern variant focusses more on things like using machinery and technology to get things done.

Maria: What do you think of the job of a farmer?

Rory: Well, I imagine it must be quite difficult. You likely have to spend the day maintaining and repairing things when you're not tending fields of crops or livestock, and then there's all the administration and everything you probably have to deal with, like the accounting and managing deals with different companies. So, none of this is or seems particularly easy.

Maria: Is farming important?

Rory: Well, if you want to live and have food, then yes, I think it's extremely important. I don't know how else we're supposed to have a stable food supply.