The traditional Irish potato farming system in Papua New Guinea involved low-yield planting without fertilizers for personal consumption. Potatoes were grown as a mixed crop and management was minimal. Yields were low. The modern system uses fertilizers, monocropping, and other techniques, increasing yields and making potatoes a cash crop. However, it requires more costs, labor, and chemicals that harm soil nutrients and potato nutrition. Social demography impacts crop production as larger populations provide more workers and consumers. Climate change threatens crops through changing weather patterns, but organic practices like composting and mulching can support production while reducing greenhouse gases.

1. The Irish Potato
Salanum tuberosum
QUESTION
1. In this essay you are ask to critically analyse the traditional farming system of annual crop
production in your local area using one crop(named) as an example. Look at the modern farming
practices of the annual crop what advantage and disadvantaged can be said to the two crop production
systems (traditional and modern farming system) in Papua New guinea.
The Irish Potatoes is the root tubers which the tubers are edible. Sometimes known as English or
Solanum potato to distinguish it from sweet potatoes it is a root crop. At the high altitude it has a high
yielding potential than other crops. A potato is a swollen underground stem the axil on its surface sprout
to grow after a period of dormancy which is about two to three months. Is one of the annual crop
planted by people in the villages for food purpose to feed their appetite and hunger. The styles of
planting and harvesting various varieties are rare in the different potato growing area but also changed
over time as the technology improved and therefore the traditional way of planting potatoes are slowly
coming into extinction. However, this essay will analyze the traditional farming system that has being
used to grow potatoes. How it was planted in the past and now in the present time or in the traditional
farming system and now the modern farming system.
During the past it was planted without any form of fertilizers, that type in the past was also said that it is
just a wild type that just grows anywhere in the garden. They were grown like mixed crop with any other
crops like sweet potato maize and other vegetables crop. There is no proper management of it back
then in the local village and so the production was low and was only for personal consumption. The
smaller ones that cannot be eaten are just thrown into the ploughed land or plot so when it emerged
out the mothers just go and apply the management practices like weeding and others to make them
grow strong and healthy. But as time goes by after harvesting them they gathered them all and kept
them for next field planting. It has been grown for only personal consumption but the taste and the
energy content of the potato tubers has been maintained and nutritive. The yielding is very low only
small ones has been produced the big ones are rare during that time.

2. There is no certain time for planting but its depending on the time that was harvested and the period of
dormancy until the axil sprout to grow. During that time, when the local people come to realized its
important they try to cultivate it into crop production. The fertilizers used during that time are the
animal manures and the burned soil from the garden with the remains of the dead materials (plants
residues). Traditional system of farming the Irish Potato was very easy and cost less, no inorganic
fertilizers, no herbicides needed and the pesticide are required less as the grand people plant them with
their traditional believes, no pest attacks on them and so the production or yielding is increasing slowly.
Until the modern way of farming comes in and people move into modern farming system.
However modern farming system comes in with its own advantages and disadvantages to the specific
crop Irish potato. Now the potato is sold at the markets to the restaurants and other places like mining
areas, super markets schools and so on where the demand of eating potato is high. Now it has become
cash crop with modern farming system that brings cash to the family. The yielding becomes higher the
demands also increased. But on the other hand lots of labour, more cost, loss of soil nutrients as more
chemicals are used, loss of nutrition content of the tubers or potatoes.
Figure; 001. These are some of the pictures taken from somewhere in the highlands part of Papua New
guinea (PNG). With the use of modern farming system. (use of fertilizers, chemicals, selective planting,
monocroping and so on..).
Therefore, to conclude it is good that modern farming system should be maintained and keep going into
the advanced technology to become more productive in potatoes production. Even though it is costlier
and labour intensive it has to be maintained because it is also stated in the bible in genesis "work and
you shall have meal on the table". Because it is now becoming a cash crop people work hard for it to
earn their income for their personal needs and wants. High yielding, different varieties feed the hunger
for the urban people, provide income to support lives. That's what modern farming system in potatoes
brings so the farmers need to comply and catch up with the modern technology for more production.

3. QUESTION
2. What is social demography? How is social demography helping and affecting the crop
production in Papua New guinea? What is your personal view on the biblical principles on the crop
production and the traditional system used in the farming practices.
a.
Is a field of study concerning with the analysis of how social and cultural factors are related to
population characteristics. It deals with questioning of population composition and change and also how
they interact with sociological variables at the individual and contractual levels. Also uses demographic
approaches and methods to make sense of the social, economic, political and agricultural phenomena.
b.
In terms of helping and affecting the annual crop production in Papua New guinea by the social
demography is really effective. In Agriculture the the number of consumers and the number of workers
are the factors that greatly the production. Population growth, the growth of nuclear family system,
price and product on question, the number of producers and the technology changed. The more
population the more work is done, labour is shared, work done with in short period of time. The more
work the more production and so it helps the crop to be continuously rotating to feed the increase
population.
c.
I personally think that this population is increasing at the alarming rate is really fulfilling the biblical
prophecies that are being prophecy by someone else in the beginning. This increasingnumber of
population will really affecting the crop production systems is really what is wanted in the biblical view
in the very beginning " and there were no people to cultivate the soil", (Gen 3:5). That means there
should be a people to cultivate the soil, " so the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and
he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made", ( Gen 3:25). That is why I'm
really sure that crop production system may go well with the increased population so the cultivation of
the soil will be a good work to work and have food on the table. Traditionally work is done by human
which is you sweets and at the end you have something to satisfy but now with this modern technology
machines do the work and people become lazyand weak.

4. QUESTION
3. Discuss the climate change and it impact on annual crop production in Papua New guinea. It
is said that a major contributors to the greenhouse gas are the synthetic fertilizers and the animal dungs
etc.. Devise some simple possible ways in which we could do to improve crop production without
contributing to the greenhouse gas emissions.
Sometimes extreme weather is causing crop to fail. Climate change can disrupt food availability, reduce
access to food and affects food quality. For example projects increase in temperature, change in
precipitation patterns, change in extreme weather events and reduction in water availability may all
results in reducing the agricultural productivity.
Agriculture is very sensitive to weather and climate. It is also relies heavily on land, water and other
natural resources that climate affects. While climate change (such as temperature, precipitation and
frost timing) could lengthen the growing season or allow different crops to be grown in some regions it
will make agricultural practices more difficult in other parts on the other hand. The effect of climate
change on the agriculture may also depends on the rate and severity of the change as well as the
degrees to which farmers and ranchers can adapt. It has been said that the use of inorganic fertilizers
and animal dungs are mostly affecting the greenhouse gases. That would give a stop to the farmers who
are using those as a source of fertilizers to stop affecting the greenhouse gases.
Some of the ways in which the agricultural practices will continue without any harm to the greenhouse
gases.
 Use of organic fertilizers (residues of dead plants and animals)
 Household wastes (use as a compost)
 Practice of mulching (to retain soil moisture and nutrients from escape)
 Planting of legume plants (to add some important elements to the soil)
 Practice of bush following system (which the used land may left unused for some period of time
until the soil recovered)
 Limiting the use of inorganic fertilizers and other chemicals.
These could be some ways in which soil may still have the ability to remain fertilie for the next crop and
to be productive to feed the appetite of the increasing population. This could be some better ways to be
practiced in the farming system without causing any harm to the greenhouse gases.

5. REFERENCE
Fangmeier, D. D., Elliot, J. W., Workman, S. R., Huffman, R. L., Schwab, G. O. (2006). Soil and
Water Engineering. (5th ed) New Delhi, India; Cengage Learning India private limited.
Gaugadhar, B. (2007). Agribusiness Management. New Delhi, India; mettal publishing company.
Kumar, P. K., (2016). Environment and Agriculture. Ansari road Darya GANJ, New Delhi;
APH publishing corporation.