Rice Cultivation

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Rice Cultivation

• 6A Christy Lee (14)
• 2001-2002
• Tak Oi Secondary School

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World Distribution
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Characteristics

• Intensive Subsistence Farming
• e.g. SE China, E India (Bay of Bengal), SE
  Asian lowlands
• Farms are small, often 1 hectare, or even less.
• Labour is intensive. It takes 2000 hours per year
  to farm each 1 hectare plot.
• There is little use of machinery. Most tasks are
  done by hand or with the help of water buffalo.
  Their manure is used as fuel rather than
  fertilizer.

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• Many farmers now use new hybrid rice varieties
  which give high yields.
• Fertilizers are used in areas where Green
  Revolution crops are grown.
• Some capital input is required for new seed types
  and fertilizer.
• Farmers are often tenants. They pay their rent in
  crops (sharecroppers).

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Case Study Wet Rice Cultivation in China

• In the more remote parts of China, e.g. Hunan,
  Jiangxi, Anhui, inland parts of Fujian and
  Zhejiang, inland/ mountain parts of Guangdong,
  Guangxi, Guizhou
• Monsoon climate
• Double-cropping is common.

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Case Study Wet Rice Cultivation in China

• Farmers terrace the hillsides of river valleys to
  produce more flat land.
• The same fields are planted every year.
• Livestock are usually not allowed to graze on the
  land that can be used for crops.
• Little grain is planted for animal feed.

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Rice Cultivation An Economic System

• Physical Inputs
• Monsoon Climate
• - Warm dry winters, hot wet summers
• - Annual Rainfall exceed 2000 mm
• - Temperature Range over 25C
• Soil Oxisols
• Relief Flat land, from lowland paddy fields to
  high altitude terraces
• Natural Vegetation Grassland

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Rice Cultivation An Economic System

• Cultural Inputs
• Demand Large, for self consumption
• Labour Tenants
• Managerial Staff No
• Technological Level Low
• Mechanization Level Low

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• Government Influence Under the Responsibility
  System of 1979, individual farmers were given
  rent-free land in their own village or district.
  They had to take out contracts with the
  government to deliver a fixed amount of produce.
  Once they had fulfilled their quotas, they could
  sell the remainder on the open market for profit.
• Personal Preference Land is passed down from
  father to son, resulting in fragmented plots.

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Rice Cultivation An Economic System
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Rice Cultivation An Ecological System

• Biotic Components
• Producer Rice
• Primary Consumer Man, Grasshoppers, Insects

• Abiotic Components
• Solar Energy, Rainfall, Soil
• Small dose of fertilizers pesticides

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Rice Cultivation An Ecological System
Energy flow Solar energy ? rice ? man
Nutrient cycle
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Farming Efficiency

• a. Ecologically Speaking
• As compared with mixed agriculture,
  rice cultivation is more ecologically efficient
  as the energy goes through one less trophic
  level.
• In addition, it is more ecologically
  efficient compared with commercial agriculture,
  as it involves little additional energy input.

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Farming Efficiency

• b. Economically Speaking
• Economically speaking, rice cultivation
  is not very efficient. Farming produce is
  basically for self consumption, with little taken
  out for market.

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Selection of Crop

• a. Ecological Considerations
•   This kind of tropical grass-plant needs
  lots of moisture as it grows in standing water.
  Monsoon climate brings about heavy rainfall which
  favours the growth of rice.
• b. Economic Considerations
• More than 50 of Chinas population
  eat rice as its staple food. In other words, it
  has to support a large population.

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Selection of Production Method

• Ecological Considerations
• Double-cropping is common where winters
  are warm, e.g. South China, Taiwan, but not in
  India.
• The second crop is often a drier crop,
  such as wheat or barley.

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Selection of Production Method

• b. Economic Considerations
• In the tropics, 2 or 3 crops of rice
  can be grown per year, bringing the possible
  maximum yield from the land.

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Revision

• Name two countries where wet rice cultivation is
  carried out.
• What are the climatic requirements for its
  growth?
• In the tropics, how many crops of rice can be
  grown per year?

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Reference Material

• David Waugh, Geography an Integrated Approach
  (Chapter 16)
• Websites
• - Rice Straw Management
• - Rice Intensification
• - Is there a future for subsistence agriculture?
• - Farming Systems - Intensive Subsistence