Agricultural Geography Key Issue #2: Where are Agricultural Regions in Less Developed Countries (PINGs)?

Shifting Cultivation Where??? –Humid Low latitudes climate regions –Amazon area, Central and West Africa, and SE Asia –It is practiced by about 250 million people

Shifting Cultivation Hallmarks –Slash-and-burn agriculture –Farmers grow crops on a cleared field for only a few years until soil nutrients are depleted and then leave it fallow (nothing planted) for many years so the soil can recover.

Shifting Cultivation The process: –Clear the dense vegetation –Burn the debris –Prepare the fields by hand –Leave after about 3 years –Return in 6-20 years

Shifting Cultivation Crops of Shifting cultivation –Vary according to local custom and taste –SE Asia – rice –South America – maize –Africa – millet and sorghum milletsorghum

Shifting Cultivation Ownership and Use of Land –People who use shifting cultivation tend to live in small villages and use the surrounding land for agriculture. –The land is owned by the village as a whole, not an individual. –The chief or ruling council allocates the land to the people.

The Future of Shifting Cultivation The use of shifting cultivation is decreasing by about.2% each year. Logging, cattle ranching, and cultivation of cash crops are replacing it. Effect on the rainforest?

Pastoral Nomadism Pastoral nomadism is a form of subsistence agriculture based on the herding of domesticated animals. Adapted to dry climates such as North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia There are only about 15 million pastoral nomads, but they occupy about 20% of Earth’s land area.

Characteristics of Pastoral Nomadism Depend on animals rather than crops for survival Animals provide milk and skins for clothes and tents The people primarily eat grain Women and children plant crops Size of the herd – source of power and protection during adverse conditions

Choice of Animals The type of animal and size of the herd is selected based upon the local culture and physical characteristics The Middle East – camel followed by goats and sheep Central Asia – the horse

Movement of Pastoral Nomads Pastoral nomads do not wander randomly; they have a sense of territoriality Every group controls a territory Transhumance – seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowlands pasture areas Pasture – grass or other plants grown for feeding grazing animals

The Future of Pastoral Nomadism Today, pastoral nomadism is declining, partially due to modern technology In the future, pastoral nomadism will be confined to areas that cannot be irrigated or that lack valuable raw materials

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture Shifting cultivation and pastoral nomadism exist in areas of low population density Intensive subsistence agriculture – in more dense areas; the people work more intensely to sustain on a parcel of land

Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Dominance The term wet rice refers to the practice of planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then moving the seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth. The most important food source in: –Southeast China –East India –Much of SE Asia

The process of “wet rice” First, a farmer prepares a field for planting, using a plow drawn by buffalo or oxen Then, the plowed field is flooded with water. The flooded field is called a “sawah.” Rice plants are harvested by hand, usually with a knife

Double Cropping Double cropping – the process of getting two harvests on a field each year Common in places with warm winters Usually involves wet rice in the summer and wheat, barley, or another dry crop in the winter

Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice not Dominant Interior India and Northeast China Wheat is the most important crop, followed by barley Crop rotation – the practice of rotating use of different fields from crop to crop each year to avoid exhausting the soil

Plantation Farming Plantation – a large farm that specializes in one or two crops; a form of commercial agriculture found in the tropics Generally found in PINGs, they are often operated by Europeans or North Americans The crops are often for sale PEDs

Crops of Plantation Farming Cotton, sugarcane, coffee, rubber, and tobacco Before the Civil War, plantations were important in the U.S. South After the war, the plantations were subdivided and sold to individual farmers or worked by tenant farmers

Rubber Trees