© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 5.4What are the agricultural agricultural characteristics of characteristics of irrigation farming in irrigation farming in southern California? southern California? Part B

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? What are the farming constraints in southern California? Farming constraints in southern California Water shortages Alkaline and infertile soil Lack of good quality farmland Inadequate farm labour Lack of young farmers Not enough farm workers for farming during peak season Pests and diseases Spending a large sum of money in controlling exotic pests and diseases of agricultural plants and animals

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? How can farmers overcome the farming constraints in southern California? Farming technologies Overcoming physical constraints Overcoming cultural constraints Environmental improvement Biological innovation Use of chemicals Hiring workers Improvements in mechanization

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Do areas with similar natural environments have similar agricultural characteristics? Nomadic herding in the Sahel Irrigation farming in southern California Farming constraints RainfallLow and unreliable_______ and ___________ SoilDry and infertile_________ and _________ DrainageNo major rivers running through a large part of the Sahel A major river running through southern California Low unreliable Alkalineinfertile

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Do areas with similar natural environments have similar agricultural characteristics? Nomadic herding in the Sahel Irrigation farming in southern California Characteristics of the farming system Pastoral farming (subsistence farming) Low inputs of capital, chemicals, technology and little government help _______ farming (commercial farming) ( Low / High ) inputs of capital, chemicals, technology and much government help Arable

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Do areas with similar natural environments have similar agricultural characteristics? Nomadic herding in the Sahel Irrigation farming in southern California Characteristics of the farming system ( Little / Heavy ) reliance on irrigation ( Low / High ) farm yield Main outputs: milk, meat, hides (mainly for self-consumption) Heavy reliance on irrigation High farm yield Main outputs: fruits, vegetables (sold in local and overseas markets)

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Do areas with similar natural environments have similar agricultural characteristics? Nomadic herding in the Sahel Irrigation farming in southern California Man-land relationship Adapts to the environment by practising transhumance Uses ________ inputs to modify the physical environment cultural

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Do areas with similar natural environments have similar agricultural characteristics? Nomadic herding in the Sahel Irrigation farming in southern California Outcome ( Low / High ) living standard May have food ___________ during droughts High living standard World’s leading agricultural exporter Pollution Negative impact on the ecosystem shortages We can notice that there is a big difference in the levels of cultural inputs between the two farming systems. Are cultural factors becoming increasingly dominant over physical factors in influencing agriculture?

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Are cultural factors becoming increasingly dominant over physical factors in influencing agriculture? Let’s take the farming system in the Zhujiang Delta Region as an example. Agricultural information Area of cultivated land (km 2 )9,6775,421 Agricultural population (million) Total value of agricultural production (billion RMB) Information about agriculture in the Zhujiang Delta How do the above figures change? Why does the total value of agricultural production still increase?

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Are cultural factors becoming increasingly dominant over physical factors in influencing agriculture? Let’s look at the photos taken in a large, modernized farm in Shunde, Guangdong. Do higher levels of cultural inputs help increase the total value of agricultural production? (Credit: Yeung Kam Chuen)

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Are cultural factors becoming increasingly dominant over physical factors in influencing agriculture? Cultural inputsLess developed regionsMore developed regions LabourMuch, labour-intensiveLittle, capital-intensive Farming skillsSimple and traditionalModernized and advanced CapitalSmallLarge Level of mechanization LowHigh Knowledge to use machines InadequateAvailable TransportBy cart or truckBy train, lorry (refrigerated if necessary) or even air MarketLocalNational and overseas If the cultural inputs are high, the importance of the physical factors will be ( raised / lowered ). More developed regions use capital and technologies to modify the natural environment which is not favourable for farming. It helps improve yields. In contrast, the levels of capital input in less developed regions are ( low / high ). These regions do not have enough capital to modify the unfavourable physical environment. Therefore, their agricultural production is constrained by physical factors.

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? How can these constraints be overcome? Are cultural factors becoming increasingly dominant over physical factors in influencing agriculture? Inputs to agriculture Constraints Temperature Low temperature Rainfall Drought; unreliable rainfall Relief Undulating Water supply Insufficient water supply SoilInfertile soil SeedsPoor seed PestSpread of pest Methods to overcome environmental constraints Temperature controlled _____________ Irrigation and sprinkler systems Ploughing machine; land levelling machine __________ system ___________ ___________-modified seeds ___________ Irrigation Fertilizers Genetically Pesticides greenhouse

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Are cultural factors becoming increasingly dominant over physical factors in influencing agriculture? Profit on the sale of farm produce Cost of applying advanced technologies If the profit on the sale of farm produce is less than the cost of applying advanced technologies, commercial farmers will adopt ( less / more ) technologies.

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 1Water shortages Physical constraints The annual rainfall is low and unreliable. Most rain falls in ( summer / winter ). Rainfall ( decreases / increases ) inland. The Central Valley is in the _____________ which receives little rainfall. rain shadow At the southern tip of California, a desert-like climate is found.

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 2Alkaline and infertile soil Physical constraints Low rainfall makes it difficult for rocks to decompose into soils and release nutrients Poor soils result in low yields High evaporation rates bring salts to the surface Soils become alkaline and unfavourable for growing crops

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 3Lack of good quality farmland Physical constraints (Credit: NASA) Pacific Ocean Central Valley Imperial Valley Mojave Desert The relief is ( gentle / hilly ) as a whole. There is a lack of arable land. The only major lowland can be found in the Central Valley and the Imperial Valley. The deserts in the south hinders extensive agricultural activities.

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 1Environmental improvement Overcoming physical constraints In order to overcome dry conditions and unreliable rainfall, irrigation is applied. California Aqueduct Large dams have been built to store water. Water is then transported to farms by canals and aqueducts. (Credit: Peter Essick/Getty Images)

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 1Environmental improvement Overcoming physical constraints There are three major irrigation methods: Irrigation water is drained into the furrows and the water flows downslope due to gravity Gravity flow system

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 1Environmental improvement Overcoming physical constraints There are three major irrigation methods: Sprinkler system Sprinklers are used to distribute water, usually in a circular way

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 1Environmental improvement Overcoming physical constraints There are three major irrigation methods: Drip irrigation system The hot sun evaporates the surface water rapidly Small tubes are put near the roots of a crop Water dripping out from the holes of the small tubes. Less water evaporates Plant roots can absorb water more efficiently Water infiltrates into the soil Small tubes with pinholes are used to water the root zone of a crop. Chemical fertilizers and pesticides can be applied to the irrigation water through the system.

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 2Biological innovation Overcoming physical constraints Biotechnology such as genetic engineering has been used to produce crops and livestock. Locate the correct genes in the “gene pool” and drag them onto the appropriate box. Crops and livestock which will be more productive and adaptive to their surroundings are selected for genetic engineering. If the game cannot work properly, click here to download the latest Adobe Flash Player.click here

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? 3Use of chemicals Overcoming physical constraints Farmers use chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides heavily in producing crops. What are the benefits of using chemicals? Using chemicals can help reduce crop failure, improve crop quality, ensure a high yield per unit of land and lower production costs. Spraying pesticides by a small plane (Credit: Ed Darack/Getty Images)

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Overcoming cultural constraints 1Hiring workers Number of farm operators in southern California Source: Census of Agriculture (1997 and 2002), US Department of Agriculture Why was there a decrease in farm operators within the age group 25–44 years? Most non-farmers earn ( less / more ) money than most farmers. Thus few young people choose to be farmers.

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Overcoming cultural constraints 1Hiring workers Number of farm operators in southern California Source: Census of Agriculture (1997 and 2002), US Department of Agriculture How to solve the problem of lacking farm workers? Farmers in southern California hire workers from _________ to do the farm work in order to solve the problem of farm labour shortage. Mexico

© Oxford University Press 2009 Part 5 Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages? Harvester (Credit: Ed Young/Corbis) Overcoming cultural constraints 2Improvements in mechanization The widespread use of mechanical planting and harvesting equipment has improved productivity. Computers have been increasingly used in farming operations, e.g. computers help farmers to decide when to irrigate and how much water to use. Tractor