Agriculture

1
Agriculture

• Most important question of the day Whats for
  lunch?

2
Agriculture deliberate land modification through
plant cultivation and raising animals for food or
profit.

• Percentage of labor force MDC 5 (avg.), LDC
  55
• Source URL http//www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/dvess/
  gissues/agrlabor.jpg

3
Subsistence Agriculture

• food production primary for farm family
  consumption
• Example slash and burn
• http//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b
  /Bakweri_cocoyam_farmer_from_Cameroon.jpg
• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence_farming

4
Commercial Agriculture

• food production primarily for sale off the farm
• Can Start as subsistence farming, excess sold
• Can transition to pure commercial agriculture
• http//www.internationalspecialreports.com/theamer
  icas/00/bahamas/17-2.gifhttp//www.georgetowncran
  berry.com/images/skipper.jpg

5
Agribusiness

• integration of commercial agriculture into food
  processing,
• usually by corporations
• Image http//www.agribusiness-mgmt.wsu.edu/Templa
  tes/index_images/Landscape-Green_r2_c24_.jpg
• Source http//www.agribusiness-mgmt.wsu.edu/

6
Wet Rice Agriculture

• Generally expands to hillsides as population
  increases
• In earthquake zones, mudslide risks increase
  Also, storms.
• Image http//geographyfieldwork.com/riceterrace_s
  mall.jpg
• Information http//geographyfieldwork.com/RiceFar
  m.htm

7
Swidden Agriculture / slash and burn / shifting
cultivation

• Slash vegetation.
• Burn the slashed veg.
• Plant in nutrient ashes.
• Yields drop off.
• Change sites. Repeat.
• Requires much land recovering from past slash and
  burn activities.

http//www.artsci.wustl.edu/anthro/images/rainfor
est/26.JPG Slash http//www.artsci.wustl.edu/ant
hro/images/rainforest/22.JPG Burn
http//images.google.com/imgres?imgurlhttp//www.
artsci.wustl.edu/anthro/images/rainforest/26.JPG
imgrefurlhttp//www.artsci.wustl.edu/anthro/imag
es/rainforest/h512w768sz140tbnidTO1EkMcffX
OxEMtbnh94tbnw141hlenstart5prev/images
3Fq3Dshifting2Bcultivation26svnum3D1026hl3De
n26lr3D26safe3Doff26client3Dfirefox-a26rls
3Dorg.mozillaen-USofficial_s26sa3DG Growth
http//www.taa.org.uk/Courses/Week4/Swidden2.jpg T
ree http//www.sln.org.uk/geography/images/SLN_at_Ma
laysia2005/Richard20and20Bob/Shifting20cultivat
ion20266.jpg Story http//www.artsci.wustl.edu/
anthro/images/rainforest/
8
Shifting cultivation (observations)

• SOUND Done wisely, it is ecologically sound in
  otherwise uncultivable soils.
• POPULATION Increasing population density
  eventually makes this practice unsustainable.
• TITLE In some countries, land tenure (ownership)
  is established by cutting the land, not leaving
  it idle (letting it recover).
• COMPETITION In some places, shifting cultivation
  is being replaced by a pattern of logging, cattle
  ranching, and more intensive cash crop
  cultivation.
• LOSS This can be a first step in forest
  conversion to grassland.

http//www.artsci.wustl.edu/anthro/images/rainfor
est/26.JPG http//www.artsci.wustl.edu/anthro/ima
ges/rainforest/27.JPG
9
Issues for subsistence agriculture

• Population growth
• Forest fallow ? bush fallow ? short fallow ?
  annual ? multi-cropping
• Intensification may not be sustainable. (Site
  dependent)
• New farming methods require cash.
• more inputs fertilizer, manure, new tools, more
  labor intensive
• new seeds and new crops
• Needs to have enough income to fertilize, buy
  equipment, buy seed.
• International trade pressure
• conversion of food crops to cash crops for more
  profit
• drug crops (can be involuntary)

10
Intensive subsistence agriculture

• Examples wet rice cultivation, dry farming
• maximize yield per acre, minimize unused land,
  some double cropping
• low machinery inputs, high animal and human
  inputs
• dry farming ? crop rotation

11
Pastoral nomadism works on marginal lands

• If you avoid overgrazing!
• Story http//www.geographie.uni-freiburg.de/ipg/f
  orschung/ap1/current_projects/chad/nomads_project
  20area.html
• Image http//www.geographie.uni-freiburg.de/ipg/f
  orschung/ap1/current_projects/chad/harmattan20vac
  hes20en20transhumance20big.jpg

12
MDC farming

• Mixed crop and livestock farming crops ? animals
  ? humans (e.g. beef, milk, eggs)
• crop rotation, nitrogen fixing crop intermixed
  with primary crop(s)
• Dairy farming within range of market (avoid
  spoiling), refrigeration extends this range
• Grain farming e.g. wheat belt
• Livestock ranching often on marginal lands in
  the West, also Amazonia, Pampas, Outback
• Mediterranean agriculture Horticulture growing
  of fruits and vegetables, and flowers
• Commercial gardening and fruit gardening
  horticulture, large scale, migrant workers
• Plantation farming specialize in 1-2 crops, once
  slavery, now import workers

13
How Do you figure out what to grow where?

• Von Thunen Model Important
• Influences
• Market Price
• Distance
• Transportation Cost
• Perishability, (actually covered under
  transportation cost)
• Likely on the quiz, test, and final exam.

14
Von Thunen Model

• Distance is a function of land rent and
  transportation costs.
• Basically, what produces the most profit at each
  location?
• http//people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch6en/conc6
  en/img/vonthunen.gif
• Info http//people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch6en
  /conc6en/vonthunen.html

15
Issues for commercial farmers

• Access to market Von Thunen model (ring and
  transport)
• Land rent and distance driven too far ? no
  profit, lose
• Overproduction
• encourage growth of crops with global demand
• price subsidies
• buy surplus yield, often donate to foreign
  governments
• Unsustainable agriculture
• move to more sustainable practices
• sensitive land management
• Ridge contour tillage
• limited use of chemicals
• (organic farming)

16
Issues for subsistence farmers

• Population growth
• Forest fallow ? bush fallow ? short fallow ?
  annual cropping ? multi-cropping
• Conversion from slash and burn to multi-crop
  farming may not be sustainable
• Profit motives impact farmers.
• Lure of money
• Land loss (legal, and illegal) to for-profit
  activity

17
International trade pressure

• conversion of food crops to cash crops
• may make the economy dependent on foreign foods
• if so, cash crop shortfalls or price drops ?
  avoidable food shortages
• drug crops
• forced or voluntary growth of drug crops

18
Strategies for increasing food supply

• Increase agricultural land
• marginal lands
• require careful management for long-term yields
• must worry about soil salinization, selenium,
  etc.
• desertification human action causes land
  deterioration to a desert-like state.
• Increase land productivity
• green revolution
• often requires nutrient inputs (external, cost)
• often relies on machines (external, cost, needs
  gas)
• seed stocks are foreign owned, possibly not self
  propagating

19
Strategies for increasing food supply (part 2)

• Identify new sources
• Cultivate the oceans
• We are already over-fishing now.
• (Stock recovery, or risk extinction.)
• Develop higher protein cereals (decrease meat
  demand)
• Promote the consumption of under-used foods, e.g.
  soybeans (soy burgers, etc.)
• increase trade
• Reduces local famines
• Works until you run out globally.
• Who starves first?

20
Food supply crises

• Example Africa
• Population increases faster than local food
  supply.
• Over-planting removes soil nutrients.
• Trees harvested for firewood.
• Overgrazing removes grasses and herbs.
• Desertification is a major problem.
• The desert has been marching south towards the
  sea.
• Warfare, ethnic cleansing, cash crops, and global
  warming exacerbate the problem.

21
Questions?

• Review notes.