describe the social life of the people of Republic states in terms of activities carried out crop grown on utensils used
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Answer:
farmers and their families are members of the society in which they live. in any society there are strong pressures on its members to behave in certain ways. for the farmers, some of these pressures will come from within. in all societies there are accepted ways of doing things and these ways are directly related to the culture of the society. farmers' attitudes and desires are influenced by their society's culture. if it is customary in a certain community for farmers to scatter seed and plough it into the soil, people will grow up to believe that that is the only correct way of planting. even if the benefits of other methods are explained to them, their strongly held attitudes may make it difficult for to them change.
yet not all of these pressures will come from the farmers' own attitudes and beliefs; some will come from other people. any society expects its members to behave in certain ways. no one is seen by others as an isolated individual. each person is seen as occupying a position in society, and each position carries expectations with it. in some communities, an unmarried man is expected to work on his father's farm; only when he marries will people expect him to start farming his own plot. a successful farmer may be expected to give food, money and shelter to relatives who have not been so successful, or to pay for his relatives' children to go to school. if a person resists these expectations, those around him will show their disapproval. because most people like to feel acceptance and approval from those around them, they tend to behave in accordance with such expectations.
an extension agent will be more effective if he understands the social and cultural background of the farmers with whom he works. he will then be better able to offer advice that fits in with the culture of the society, and he can use the structure and culture of the society to the benefit of his work. it is useful, therefore, to examine the main features of societies and cultures that are relevant to extension work.
social structure
the structure of a society is the way it is organized into families, tribes, communities and other groupings or divisions. a person's attitudes, and people's expectations of that person, are influenced by the groups to which he or she belongs; so too is the individual's access to opportunities, jobs and land.
social divisions
divisions within a society can be based on several different factors, including age, sex, religion, residence, kinship and common economic interest.
age
people of the same age usually have similar interests and attitudes. young people tend to have different values, attitudes and aims in life from those of older people. in many societies, elderly people are treated with great respect, and their advice is listened to carefully. an extension agent needs to learn the particular aims, expectations and restrictions of different age groups in the society in which he works.
sex
traditionally, in rural areas, specific tasks are done either by men or women. usually women are responsible for household jobs, such as cooking, collecting water and firewood or looking after children. however, in many countries, women also do a lot of farm work. in a number of african countries, over 60 percent of all agricultural work is usually done by women. often, women have their own fields in which they grow food crops, while the men are responsible for commercial cash crops such as tobacco or oil-palm.
elsewhere, men and women work the same fields, but carry out different tasks. in botswana, for example, ploughing and all work connected with cattle are traditionally a man's job, while weeding, bird-scaring and threshing are done by the women. agricultural extension often concentrates on men, with male extension agents visiting male farmers. but any change in the way people farm will also affect the women, and thus may well fail unless extension agents involve women in their programmes.
religion
members of religious groups have common beliefs and attitudes, and these may influence their willingness to work closely with people of other religions. religious differences can create tensions in a rural community: the extension agent should be aware of these. some religions impose patterns of behaviour which may affect extension. certain times of day, particular days of the week or seasons of the year may be devoted to religious ceremonies, which means that farmers are not available for farm work or for extension activities.