Agriculture and Rural Land Use Unit V

Introduction Nomads HUNTERS AND GATHERERS AGRICULTURE – The process of growing plants or raising of animals to produce food for sustenance or sale at the marketplace Farming practices differ in MDCs vs. LDCs In Asia, most people are SUBSISTANCE FARMERS – Growing only enough food to feed their family In MDCs, COMMERCIAL FARMING dominates – Farms produce food to be sold in groceries and markets, not just for the farmers themselves

Classifying Agricultural Regions LDCs = subsistence agriculture MDCs = commercial agriculture Subsistence vs. commercial agriculture – Subsistence agriculture is the production of food primarily for consumption by the farmer’s family – Commercial agriculture is the production of food primarily for sale off the farm PracticePurposeLabor forceMachineryFarm sizeOff farm contact Subsistence agriculture LDCs Personal consumption On average 55% of workforce engaged in farming Human and animal powered tools Very smallOccasional surplus sold Commercial agriculture MDCs Grow crops and raise animals primarily for sale off the farm for profit On average 5% of workforce engaged in farming Mechanized farm machines, computer technology and science Large [US average in 2008 = 418 acres] agribusiness – farms one part of a large food production industry including food processing, packaging, sorting, distributing, and retailing

Key Questions Where did agriculture originate? How and where did it spread? What are the characteristics of the world’s agriculture regions? How do these regions function? How has agricultural change affected the environment and peoples quality of life? How does diet, energy use, and varying agrarian technology relate to agriculture’s origination? What are different types of extensive and intensive agricultural practices? What are settlement patterns and landscapes related to each agriculture type?

Cont… What are land survey systems, environmental conditions, and cultural values linked to each agriculture type? Why do different agricultural practices exist where they do? What is the von Thunen model? What is the status of food supplies throughout the world? Can humans increase the food supply and reduce starvation and malnourishment?

Origin of Agriculture An evolution of knowledge over thousands of years As humans constantly touched and handled plants while gathering food, innovations occurred and diffused from multiple hearths (places of origin) According to CARL SAUER: humans first learned how to grow plants through VEGETATIVE PLANTING – Cutting off a stem of another plant or by dividing up roots of a plant

Cont… It is believed women were responsible for discovering vegetative planting because of their sociological position as gatherers and medicinal healers Later humans make the leap to… SEED AGRICULTURE – Farming is through planting seeds rather than simply planting part of the parent plant – Leads to higher crop YIELDS because there are so many seeds

Agricultural Hearths Carl Sauer’s theory of a vegetative hearth argues that vegetative farming knowledge first originated in SE ASIA – Climate and terrain there would have supported the growth of root plant that are easily divided, such as taro, yam, banana, and palm – From the hearth, it diffused north and east to China and to Japan, and then west toward SW Asia, Africa, and the Mediterranean

Other vegetative hearths Others emerged through INDEPENDENT INNOVATION – NW South America – West Africa

First Agricultural Revolution Sometimes called the NEOLITHIC REVOLUTION Brings SEED AGRICULTURE and the use of animals/DOMESTICATION in the farming process About years ago Replaced nomadic hunting Human groups able to stay in one place – Leads to… population growth Build communities Produce more food Increased CARRYING CAPACITY Development of civilization/culture

SEED AGRICULTURAL HEARTHS Western India – Diffusion to: SW Asia – Crop innovation: Wheat and Barley SW Asia (Tigris/Euphrates rivers) – Diffusion to: Europe; N. Africa; NW India/Indus river area – Crop innovation: Integrated seed agriculture with domestication of herd animals such as sheep, cattle, and goats

Cont… N. China – Diffusion to: S. Asia and SE Asia – Crop innovation: Millet Ethiopia – Diffusion to: NONE – Crop innovation: Millet S. Mexico – Diffusion to: Western Hemisphere – Crop innovation: Squash and Corn N. Peru – Diffusion to: Western Hemisphere – Crop innovation: Squash, cotton, beans

Second Agricultural Revolution After fall of Rome around 500 CE, farming grew into a feudal village structure During Middle ages most farmers use SUSTENANCE FARMING in an… – OPEN LOT SYSTEM One in which there was one large plot of community farmland that all villagers worked to produce a crop to eat – As capitalism grew, feudalism diminished and villages enclosed their farmland

Enclosure Movement Gave individual farmers their own land… marks a shift in agriculture from CLUSTERED RURAL SETTLEMENTS to DISPERSED RURAL SETTLEMENTS Most influential during the 17 th and 18 th centuries during England’s Industrial Revolution Growing industry and decline of Feudalism leads to URBAN MIGRATION – Former farmers moving to the cities for work – Caused a jump in food demand from farms into cities – With demand comes innovation

2 nd agricultural revolution innovation Better collar for oxen Use of horses instead of oxen New fertilizers Field drainage Irrigation systems Storage systems ALL INCREASED YIELD and ENCOURAGE POPULATION BOOM

Major Agricultural Production Regions

Subsistence Agriculture Practiced in LDCs 3 Types – Shifting cultivation – Intensive subsistence – Pastoralism

1. Shifting Cultivation EXTENSIVE AGRICULTURE – Large amts. Of land… not as much food Farmers rotate the fields they cultivate to allow the soil to replenish Different than CROP ROTATION Found often in the TROPICAL ZONES (rain forest regions in Africa, Amazon river basin in S. America, and SE Asia) – Topsoil is thin in these areas… means less nutrients – Mainly due to heavy rains that wash it away

Cont… SLASH AND BURN SWIDDEN – Cleared land Not dependent on technology May utilize INTERTILLAGE – Mixing various seeds on one plot of land – Each plot will last 2-3 years then they move on FALLOW – The land not being used

Cont… Use A LOT of land – 25% of earth’s land – Cannot produce large amounts of food – Because of this many have tried to switch to commercial forms of farming instead May have criticisms from local culture

2. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE – Small amts. Of land… large amount of food – Make the most use of land But still SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE Usually found in highly populated areas – China, India, SE Asia

Cont… Rice is the dominant intensive susbsistence agriculture crop in S. China, India, SE Asia, and Bangladesh – Summer rainfall is abundant Where winters are too cold for rice… grains are grown Some places may engage in DOUBLE CROPPING

Pastoralism The breeding and herding of animals to produce food, shelter, and clothing for survival Usually practiced in places with little arable land Can be sedentary or nomadic N. Africa, Central and Southern Africa, Middle East, Central Asia

Cont… Transhumanence – The movement of animal herds to cooler highland areas in the summer to warmer, lowland areas in the winter Pastoral farmers usually trade with local farmers for food/supplies Depend on Trade for survival Overall it is declining since the land they use is being used for other things

Mediterranean Agriculture Primarily associated with the mediterranean sea area and places with hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. – California, Chile, S. South Africa, South Australia Wheat, barley, vine and tree crops, grazing – Olives, grapes, and figs are staple crops – Can be Intensive or Extensive depending on crop – Can be Subsistence or Commercial

COMMERCIAL FARMING Mixed crop and Livestock farming Ranching Dairy Large scale grain Plantation (mainly practiced in LDCs)

Mixed Crop and Livestock Farming Involves growing crops AND raising animals Most crops used to feed the animals This produces manure fertilizer for sale and goods such as eggs Most income comes from animal products Reduce dependence on seasonal harvests Europe and E. North America – Near Urban areas mainly – May engage in crop rotation

Ranching Commercial grazing, or the raising of animals on a plot of land on which they graze Usually extensive Cattle and Sheep in demand for wool and meat Usually practiced in areas too dry to support crops – USA, Argentina, S. Brazil, Uruguay Declining in practiced

Cont… Many US ranches are being converted to “fattening” ranches on which fixed lot cattle are fattened then slaughtered Also found in Tropical areas of Latin America and N. Mexico – Too wet to grow crops there Decline in ranching due to cost vs. crops

Dairying Growth of milk based products for the marketplace Usually close to the marketplace Usually small and labor intensive CAPITAL INTENSIVE FARMS vs. LABOR INTENSIVE FARMS MILKSHED – Has expanded with technology

Large Scale grain farms Grains most often grown to be exported to other places for consumption Canada, US, Argentina, Australia, France, England, and Ukraine US world’s largest producer Wheat is leading export crop Saw expansion during the industrial revolution Usually highly mechanized and thus Capital Intensive

Plantation Farming Large farms specializing in one or two crops Tropical and subtropical zones in colonized areas – Coffee, tea, pineapples, palms, coconuts, rubber, tobacco, sugarcane, and cotton – Usually in LDCs