Where Are Agricultural Regions in LDC’s? Chapter 10: Agriculture Key Issue 2

Shifting Cultivation  Practiced in Humid Low-Latitude regions (high temps & lots of rain)  Especially in tropical rain forests  Two characteristics:  Slash & burn farming  Use land for several years & then move on until soil has naturally replaced nutrients  Process:  Identify area to be cleared (close to settlement)  Cut and burn (except what can help economically or providing food)  Use it for only about 3 years and then move on  Eventually rotate back and clear again

Shifting Cultivation  Crops:  Rice, corn, and grains  Kayapo (Brazil) people use circular fields  Ownership & use of land  Often owned by whole village (Latin America switching to individual ownership)  25% of farmland is used for SC, but only 5% farmers are SC farmers  Future of SC  Much of the world views SC also bad for the environment  Exploring other development options (logging, livestock, etc.)  Debt forgiveness options

Pastoral Nomadism  Characteristics:  Depend on animals primarily  May trade or hire people for farming needs  Choice of animals:  Camels  Goats  Sheep  Movements  Not random, have territories used for foraging and water supply  Patterns evolve from knowledge of landscape and cultural needs  Transhumance – seasonal migration associated with livestock  Mountains for summer and pastures in the winter

Pastoral Nomadism  Herding animals in dry climates  Mostly in Central & SW Asian and N. Africa  Ex. Bedouins (Saudi Arabia & N. Africa) and Masai (E. Africa)  Future  Declining form of agriculture  Many governments are looking to relocate nomadic groups  Other uses for the land – farming (with irrigation or mining)

Intensive Subsistence Farming  Feeds most people in LDCs  Farmers work very hard (intensive) in densely populated areas  This type of farming is typically much smaller than other farms in the world  Most work is done by hand instead of machine  Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice  Prepare fields (with animals & plow), grow seedlings, plant in flooded plain, harvest (threshing & hulling)  Start rice plants on dry land then move to wet rice paddies (sawah)  Double cropping = growing a different grain in drier summer months (e.g. wheat)  Most important crop in Asia  Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Not Dominant  Other grains grown  Wheat & barley the next biggest after rice  Grown in climates that can’t support rice (e.g. India & NE China)  Use crop rotation – different crops in different fields

Plantation Farming  Found in the tropics and subtropics  Especially in Latin Am., Africa, and Asia  Located in LDCs but owned by people/companies from MDCs  Large farm with one or two crops suited for climate