AGRICULTURAL SCIENCES PAPER 2
GRADE 12
NSC EXAMINATIONS
NOVEMBER 2021
MEMORANDUM

SECTION A
QUESTION 1
1.1
1.1.1 D
1.1.2 A
1.1.3 C
1.1.4 B
1.1.5 D
1.1.6 B
1.1.7 A
1.1.8 C
1.1.9 C 
1.1.10 B
(10 x 2) (20)

1.2
1.2.1 E
1.2.2 H
1.2.3 D
1.2.4 A
1.2.5  B
(5 x 2) (10)

1.3
1.3.1 Green marketing
1.3.2 Capital
1.3.3 Pedigree
1.3.4 Species crossing
1.3.5 Breeding value
(5 x 2) (10)

1.4
1.4.1 Farm gate
1.4.2 Short term
1.4.3 Lipofection
1.4.4 Co-dominance
1.4.5 Polygenes
(5 x 1) (5)

TOTAL SECTION A: 45

SECTION B
QUESTION 2: AGRICULTURAL MANAGEMENT AND MARKETING
2.1 Marketing functions
2.1.1 The marketing functions
A - Transportation 
D - Processing/value adding 
2.1.2 TWO guidelines for packaging

• Product identification 
• Recyclability/biodegradability 
• Containment 
• Protection 
• Easy handling/convenience 
• Health risks 
• Improving shelf life of the product 
• Must be appropriate to target market  (Any 2) (2)

2.1.3 THREE factors hampering the marketing of agricultural products

• Poor infrastructure 
• Lack of capital 
• Perishability of agricultural products 
• Risks/accidents/theft/spoilage 
• Ineffective control of production 
• Seasonal fluctuations in production 
• Wide distribution of the product and distance to the market 
• Low value in relation to volume
• Standardization of products 
• High marketing/intermediaries/transport costs 
• Legislation/strict marketing laws/export regulations  (Any 3) (3)

2.2 Marketing type
2.2.1 The type of marketing system
Co-operative marketing  (1)
2.2.2 TWO principles of co-operative marketing

• Voluntary and open membership 
• Democratic member control 
• Co-operation among members 
• Members provided with education, training and information 
• Autonomy and independence 
• Each member has a single vote 
• Members contribute money equally 
• Members are paid dividends 
• Products are standardized
• Take care/concern for the community 
• Risk is shared by all members 
• Only members may deliver products  (Any 2) (2)

2.2.3 Explanation of the benefits of co-operative marketing

1. Members of the co-operative save a lot of money  by marketing as a group through a pool system OR
   Members buy in bulk at cheaper prices  (Any 1)(2)
2. The co-operative negotiates better prices on behalf of its members (2)

2.3 Supply and demand of oranges at different prices
2.3.1 Line graph

CRITERIA/RUBRIC/MARKING GUIDELINES

• Correct heading 
• X-axis: Correctly calibrated and labelled (Quantity) 
• Y-axis: Correctly calibrated and labelled (Price) 
• Correct units (R and kg) 
• Line graph 
• Accuracy  (6)

2.3.2 Identification of the price

1. Highest shortage - R6 
2. Lowest surplus - R14 

2.3.3 The equilibrium price
R12 (1)
2.4 Elasticity of demand and supply
2.4.1 Identification of

1. Price elasticity of supply - Graph B 
2. Price inelasticity of demand - Graph A 

2.4.2 Reason for the answer in

1. A small change in price resulted in a huge change in the quantity supplied 
2. The huge change in price resulted in very little change in the quantity demanded 

2.4.3 TWO factors that affect demand

• Availability of substitute products 
• Price of complimentary and competing products 
• Research 
• Fashion 
• Quality of the product 
• Consumer preferences/tastes 
• Festive seasons 
• Usefulness of the product 
• Number of consumers 
• Legislation 
• Advertising of the product 
• Price of the product/price expectations 
• Income/buying power/socio-economic circumstances of the consumers  (Any 2) (2)

2.5 Scenario
2.5.1 Justification of the statement
The young farmer took an initiative to organise a farming business from the gift with its risks to make profit  (1)
2.5.2 TWO entrepreneurial success factors

• Initiative/creative/innovative 
• Confidence 
• Perseverance 
• Market driven 
• Communication/interpersonal skills/relations 
• Vision 
• Hard-working/commitment 
• Courage/motivation/positive attitude 
• Risk taking 
• Achievement 
• Knowledge/skills (Any 2) (2)

2.5.3 Identification of

1. TWO strengths for the farming business
   • Possesses a lot of success factors 
   • Owns 1 790 hectares of land 
   • Achieved 98% calving rate 
   • Permanent workers 
   • The farmer is young and energetic (Any 2)
2. ONE threat to the business
   Farming in dry arid region (2)

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QUESTION 3: PRODUCTION FACTORS
3.1 Land
3.1.1 Deduction of the

1. Economic characteristic of land
   Availability of land is limited 
2. Function of land as a production factor
   • Land provides space 
   • Land provides food  (Any 1)

3.1.2 Reason
Arable land was 70 hectares in 1970 and decreased over years to only 10 hectares in 2020 (1)
3.1.3 TWO functions of land

• Land is a source of raw materials 
• Land is a source of minerals 
• Land is an asset/serves as collateral  (Any 2) (2)

3.1.4 TWO methods to improve land productivity

• Improve soil fertility 
• Improve water management/water supply 
• Restoring land potential 
• Changing cropping practices and farming systems 
• Farming land more efficiently/precision farming 
• Consolidating small uneconomical land units (Any 2) (2)

3.2 Labour
3.2.1 TWO main types of farm labourers

• Permanent/full-time
• Temporary/part-time  (2)

3.2.2 Identification of tasks

1. Casual labourers - Fencing 
2. Seasonal labourers - Harvesting 

3.2.3 Labour problem

• Lack of skills/training 
• Scarcity of labour 
• Covid-19  (Any 1) (1)

3.2.4 Method to address lack of skills

• Training labourers/employment of skilled labour 
• Employment of additional workers/improving working conditions
• Vaccination/enforcing all Covid-19 protocols  (Any 1) (1)

3.3 Conditions of employment in FARM A and FARM B
3.3.1 Unfair conditions of employment
FARM A - Labourer (1)
3.3.2 TWO reasons to support the answer

• Low rate per day 
• Longer working hours 
• Fewer leave days/year 
• Lower overtime payment in comparison with labourer B 
  (Any 2) (2)

3.3.3 Labour Legislation Act that the employer has violated
Basic Conditions of Employment Act/BCEA (Act No.75 of 1997) (1)
3.4 Value of capital items
3.4.1 The capital item

1. Fixed capital - Capital item B 
2. Movable capital - Capital item A 

3.4.2 Example of each capital

1. Fixed capital - Land/farm/building/borehole/fence 
2. Movable capital - Tractor/truck/machinery/livestock 

3.4.3 The problem of capital reflected by capital item A
Depreciation (1)
3.5 Financial records
3.5.1 Identification of the financial record
Cash flow statement (1)
3.5.2 Reason
It reflects:

• An opening balance 
• A closing balance 
• Receipts/income 
• Payments/expenditure  (Any 1) (1)

3.5.3 The total amount available to run the enterprise at the beginning of the second quarter
R 37 972 (1)
3.5.4 Calculation of the total costs over the first quarter
Total costs = Costs in Jan, Feb and March
= 9 450 + 8 400 + 4 300 
= R 22 150 (2)
3.6 Management skills

1. Problem solving/interpersonal skill 
2. Financial management skill 
3. Organisation and coordination skill 

3.7 Risk factors
3.7.1 Risk management strategy

1. Risk sharing 
2. Diversification 

3.7.2 THREE forces beyond the direct control of the farmer

• Economic forces 
• Political forces 
• Ethical forces 
• Legal forces 
• Socio-cultural forces 
• Competitive forces 
• Technological forces 
• Environmental forces  (Any 3) (3)

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QUESTION 4: BASIC AGRICULTURAL GENETICS
4.1 Mendelian study
4.1.1 The term
Genetics (1)
4.1.2 TWO Mendelian laws

• The law of dominance 
• The law of segregation 
• The law of independent assortment/recombination  (Any 2) (2)

4.2 Feather colour in chickens
4.2.1 - White 
4.2.2 - Black 
4.2.3 - White 
4.3. Parents and offspring where (Bb) represents horns and (bb) no horns
4.3.1 The phenotype visible in the offspring
Horned/polled (no horns) (1)
4.3.2 Calculation (in %) of the homozygous recessive phenotype
1 x 100 
    4
= 25% (2)
4.4 Punnet square method
4.4.1 Punnet square determining the ratio of the genotypes in the first crossing

MARKING CRITERIA

• Correct male gametes 
• Correct female gametes 
• Correct offspring 
• Punnet-square populated with gametes and offspring 
• Genotypic ratio = 2 RR : 2 Rr OR 1 RR : 1 Rr  (5)

4.4.2 The genotype of the unknown boar used in the F2 generation rr (1)
4.5 Breeding programme with green pepper cultivars
4.5.1 The genetic term for the following

1. Heterosis/hybrid vigour 
2. Progeny selection
3. Biometrics 

4.5.2 Explanation why the two cultivars were used
Superior parents with the desired characteristics  can produce the offspring required/with the desired/superior characteristics  (2)
4.6 The values of heredity for sheep
4.6.1 Characteristic with the lowest improvement
Lean meat (1)
4.6.2 Characteristic with the most effective improvement

1. Post-weaning gain 
2. Birth weight 
3. Fleece weight 

4.6.3 ONE other factor to improve the post-weaning gain
Environmental/external factor (1)
4.7 Breeding systems and technologies
4.7.1 Identification of the breeding system in

1. Upgrading 
2. Inbreeding
3. Crossbreeding 

4.7.2 TWO disadvantages of inbreeding

• Loss of genetic variation/diversity 
• Leads to inbreeding depression/reduced production/fertility 
• Increased expression of lethal genes 
• Expensive system 
• Reduced vitality 
• Homozygosity of unwanted genes/deformities (Any 2) (2)

4.8 Technique used to genetically modify organisms
4.8.1 The technique used
Micro-injection (1)
4.8.2 Differentiation between
Conventional hybrid
DNA not altered/crossing of two lines/cultivars 
GMO
Altered DNA/genes from another organism are inserted into a cell 
4.8.3 TWO potential risks associated with genetically modified plants

• Health risks/allergies 
• Environmental risks 
• Economic/financial risks  (Any 2) (2)

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TOTAL SECTION B: 105
GRAND TOTAL:150