AGRICULTURE

Origins of Agriculture When humans domesticated plants and animals for their use AgricultureAgriculture - deliberate modification of the earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain CultivateCultivate - “to care for” CropCrop - any plant cultivated by people

Hunter Gatherers Today 250,000 people still survive this way.005% of human population Small groups in isolated locations Arctic, interior of Africa, Australia, and South America

Earliest Plant Cultivation According to cultural geographer Carl Sauer –Vegetative planting –Vegetative planting - reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots –Seed agriculture –Seed agriculture - (later) - reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization. Practiced today by most farmers.

Agricultural Hearths Agricultural Hearths (vegetative planting) Southeast AsiaSoutheast Asia –Diverse climate & topography encouraged growth of variety of plants –More sedentary population because relied on fishing more than hunting –Taro, yam, banana, palm –Diffused north and east to China and Japan and west to India, southwest Asia, Africa, and Mediterranean –Dog, pig, & chicken first domesticated animals West AfricaWest Africa - oil palm and yam Northwest South AmericaNorthwest South America - manioc, sweet potato, arrowroot

First Seed Agriculture (Eastern Hemisphere) Western IndiaWestern India - –diffused to Southwest Asia where wheat and barley were domesticated & where animals were first intergrated with plant agriculture. Cattle, sheep & goats plowed the land & were fed crops. –Diffused to Mediterranean & Europe Northern ChinaNorthern China –Millet diffused to Southeast Asia EthiopiaEthiopia –Millet and sorghum, did not diffuse widely

First Seed Agriculture Western Hemisphere Southern MexicoSouthern Mexico –Extended into Guatemala and Honduras –Squash and maize (corn) Northern PeruNorthern Peru –Squash, beans, cotton –Llama, alpaca, turkey Multiple origins of agriculture means that people have always produced food in distinctive ways. Based on climate & cultural preferences

Forms of Agriculture SubsistenceSubsistence –produced for consumption –work by hand –most people work (more than 1/2 of workers are farmers) shifting cultivation nomadic herding intensive subsistence (rice dominant or not rice dominant) plantation agriculture CommercialCommercial –produced for market (mainly food processors - agribusiness - part of the food production industry) –Machines & scientific advances (fertilizer, etc) –few laborers (less than 1/10 of workers in MDCs are engaged in farming) livestock & ranching horticulture dairy farming mixed crop grain Mediterranean

World Agricultural Regions Whittlesey’s map from 1936 –Most widely used –11 main agricultural regions & 1 where it’s nonexistent (5 regions in LDCs, 6 regions in MDCs) –Sorted practices by climate (2 maps, one of climate regions & Whittlesey’s are similar) –Strong correlation between climate & agriculture (Much of the West is dry and also home to ranching)

Agriculture in LDCs Shifting cultivationShifting cultivation Pastoral nomadismPastoral nomadism Intensive subsistence agricultureIntensive subsistence agriculture Plantation farmingPlantation farming

Shifting Cultivation Tropics (high temp, high rainfall) Amazon, Central & West Africa, Southeast Asia 250 million people Usually small villages that grow food on surrounding, communal land Two Hallmarks of Shifting CultivationTwo Hallmarks of Shifting Cultivation –Slash and burn agriculture –Farmers grow crops on a cleared field for only a few years until soil is depleted, then leave fallow so soil can recover

Process of Shifting Cultivation Cut down trees & brush Remainder is burned & ashes add nutrients to soil Swidden (cleared area) Land is hoed and planted crops grow for 3 years, then nutrients are depleted and fields are left fallow for 6-20 years.

Shifting Cultivation Main CropsMain Crops –SE Asia - rice –S America - maize, manioc –Africa - millet, sorghum –Also: yams, sugarcane, plantains –Families grow for their own needs, so one swidden may contain many crops & look chaotic Land OwnershipLand Ownership –Traditionally, village owns land & allocates parts to families, but changing –1/4 world’s land area, but less than 5% of people

Future of Shifting Cultivation Declining in the tropics at 30K sq. mi/yr –Replaced by logging, ranching & cash crops –Critics: “inefficient way to feed many” –Defenders: “most environmental kind of agriculture” No fertilizer or pesticides Allow native plants to grow back in fallow years Protects against erosion, soil damage & unbalanced ecosystems –Loss of shifting cultivation could harm diversity of cultures (agriculture connected to social, religious, and political customs

Pastoral Nomadism Subsistence ag. based on herding animals –Depend on herds for life, but eat mostly grain Dry climates, crops impossible N. Africa, Middle East, central Asia –(Bedouins of Saudi Arabia, Masai of East Africa) 15m people, on 20% of world’s land area Declining - gov’ts forcing Nomads to settle because want access to lands for irrigation, mining, oil

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture Most of Ag in LDCs (needed in densely populated areas) Small farms, fragmented Ag density is high (lots of farmers per unit of land) - land must be very productive Most done by hand Waste no land (roads kept narrow to maximize farmland) Asia divided: wet rice dom. & not dom.

Intensive Subsistence Ag. Wet Rice Dominant “wet rice” - practice of planting rice on dry land in nursery & then moving to flooded field to promote growth Small % of Asia’s agricultural land, but largest source of food for region Southeast China, East India, Southeast Asia “sawah” - flooded rice field Rice harvested by hand. To separate husks (“chaff”) from seeds, the heads are “threshed”- beaten or stomped on. Lighter chaff is “winnowed” - allowed to be blown away by wind. To be eaten, outer “hull” must be removed with mortar and pestle. Grown on flat land: river valleys and deltas Population pressure has forced up hillsides: terracing Double cropping - 2 harvests per year (only in warm climates & alternate with a crop that can be grown in drier months, like wheat.)

Intensive Subsistence Not Rice Same characteristics as wet rice dom., just different crops (human power, work land intensively, no land wasted) Low precipitation & harsh winters (can’t grow rice) Interior India, NE China Wheat, barley, millet, oats, corn, soy & cash crops like cotton, tobacco, flax Crop rotation - can get more than one harvest per year by putting different crops in fields

Plantation Farming Commercial Agriculture (MDCs) found in LDCs, tropics of Africa, Asia, Latin Am. Large farm specializing in 1 or 2 crops –Cotton, sugarcane, tobacco, bananas, tea Remote locations –Workers imported & provided with housing, food, social services –Try to spread out work throughout year to make use of labor force. –Many goods processed on plantation (tobacco) - easier to ship