1. Agricultural Systems and Food Production

2. Farming as a system
Individual farms and general types of farming can be seen to operate as a system.
A farm requires a range of inputs, such as labour and energy, seeds and fertilisers so that the processes (throughputs) that take place on the farm can be carried out.
The aim is to produce the best possible outputs, such as milk, eggs, meat and crops.
A profit will only be made if the income from selling the outputs is greater than expenditure on the inputs and processes.

3. At the heart of the model is the decision-making process of farmers and how it is influenced by various factors.
These factors may alter in light of government policy, climatic changes and a farmer’s own experiences.
The system is therefore dynamic in nature and always fluctuating

4. Types of farming systems
Different types of agricultural system can be found within individual countries and around the world.
The most basic distinctions are between:
arable, pastoral and mixed farming
subsistence and commercial farming
extensive and intensive farming
organic and non-organic farming.

5. Types of agricultural systems

6. Arable, Pastoral and Mixed farming

7. Arable farming
Arable farms cultivate crops and are not involved with livestock.
Such a farm may concentrate on one crop (monoculture), such as wheat, or may grow a range of crops.
The crops grown on an arable farm may change over time
e.g. if the market price of potatoes increases, farmers may be attracted to grow this crop.

8. Pastoral farming
Pastoral farming
Pastoral farming
This involves the keeping of livestock / animals such as dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and pigs – usually on land which is less favourable to arable farming (i.e. colder , wetter, steeper and higher land).

9. Mixed farming
Mixed farming
Mixed farming
This involves the cultivating of crops and keeping livestock together on a farm.
Usually , on a mixed farm, at least part of the crop production will be used to feed the livestock
This system is practiced on a commercial scale in developed countries, where it reduces the financial risk of relying upon a single crop or animal.
In developing countries it is practiced on a subsistence level, where it reduces the risk of food shortage.

10. Mixed farming

11. Subsistence and Commercial Farming

12. Subsistence Farming This is the most basic form of agriculture.
The produce is consumed entirely or mainly by the family who work the land or tend the livestock.
The main priority is self-survival. If a small surplus is produced, it may be sold or traded.
Subsistence farming supports about 25% of the world's population.
It comprises smallholdings, with cultivation taking place in difficult / marginal environments where the risk of crop failure is high.
Most families are, therefore, poor.
Most subsistence farming takes place in LEDCs

13. Subsistence Farming
Output is high with intensive use being made of family labour and little or no technological input.
Subsistence farmers are very knowledgeable about local conditions and the crops that will thrive in those conditions.
A range of crops are grown / animals reared to ensure that if one fails the harvest is not completely lost, and which also provides for a varied diet, ensuring the maintenance of the soil’s fertility.
Where the climate becomes too extreme for sedentary farming, nomadic systems may become more prevalent.
Nomadic systems are found in countries like Niger and Mali.
The fact that subsistence farmers are rarely able to improve their output is due to lack of capital, land and technology, and not to a lack of effort or ability.
They are the most vulnerable to food shortages.
Examples include shifting cultivation and nomadic pastoralism.

14. Shifting Cultivation
Also called Slash-and-burn - land for farming is cleared by cutting down trees and burning – which fertilises the ground with ashes
Also called swidden

15. Shifting Cultivation
Traditional farmers move around forested areas. Vegetation is cleared by cutting and burning (which is why it is also called slash and burn agriculture) and short-term crops are planted.

16. Characterised by:
High temperature and rainfall
low latitude
Fields are tended by hand
Low integration of technology

17. Shifting cultivation by the Trio tribe in the rainforest of Southern Suriname

19. Pastoral Nomadism Based on the herding of domesticated animals
Located in dry climates where arable farming cannot be practiced and conditions are too extreme for permanent pasture.
Common in North Africa, the Middle East and Central Asia
15 million pastoral nomads sparsely occupy 20% of Earth’s land area.

20. Masai - Kenya

21. Bedouins in North Africa

22. Commercial Farming
In contrast, the objective of commercial farming is to sell everything that the farm produces.
The aim is to maximise yields in order to achieve the highest profits possible.
This is often achieved, especially within the tropics, by growing a single crop or rearing one type of animal.
Commercial farming can vary from small-scale to very large-scale (the largest commercial beef cattle ranch in the world is 24,000km²).
The very largest ones are often owned by TNCs.

23. Commercial Farming
This is the dominant type of farming in HICs / MEDCs as well as in some developing countries / MICs.
In these countries it tends to be large-scale and makes the best use of the technological advantages available to the farmer.
The farms tend towards specialisation (monoculture) as this allows economies of scale to operate, often on a global scale.
Thus, such cash-cropping operates successfully where:
Transport is well-developed
Domestics markets are large and expanding, and
There are opportunities for international trade.
In order to supply these specialist markets, American and European companies (TNCs) have established plantations to supply tea, coffee, and fruit such as bananas and pineapples.
Commercial farming includes mixed crop and livestock farming, ranching, dairying and large scale grain production as well as market gardening to produce flowers, fruit and vegetables.

24. Commercial farming
Whilst most commercial farming usually takes place in MEDCs, it also takes place in some LEDCs where cash crops are mainly grown for export. This is also called plantation farming.

25. Extensive and Intensive Farming

26. Extensive and Intensive Farming
Whether farming is extensive or intensive depends on the relationship between three factors of production:
Land
Labour
Capital

27. Extensive Farming
Amounts of labour and capital are small in relation to the area being farmed.
E.g. In the Amazon Basin yields per hectare and output per farmer are both low.
labour
land
output
capital
The amount of labour is still limited but the amount of capital may be high.
E.g. In the Canadian Prairies, the yields per hectare are often low but the output per farmer is high.
labour
land
output
capital

28. Intensive Farming
The amount of labour is high, even if the input of capital is low in relation to the area farmed.
E.g. In the Ganges Valley, the yields per hectare may be high although the output per farmer is often low.
labour
land
output
capital
labour
output
The amount of capital is high, but the input of labour is low.
E.g. In the Netherlands, both yields per hectare and output per farmer are high.
land
capital

29. Extensive farming
This is where a relatively small amount of agricultural produce is obtained per hectare of land, so such farms tend to cover large areas of land.
It involves a low input of capital, , material and labour with large amounts of land.
It produces a low yield of product from a large area of land.
Inputs per unit of land are low.
It can be both arable and pastoral in nature.
Examples are sheep farming in Australia and wheat cultivation on the Canadian Prairies and Russian Steppes as well as the shifting cultivation of the forests of Central Africa.

31. Intensive farming
This is characterised by high inputs per unit of land to achieve high yields per hectare.
High inputs of capital, fertilisers and labour, and labour-saving technologies such as pesticides or machinery.
The object is to get as high a yield of product as possible from a small area of land.
Intensive farms tend to be relatively small in terms of land area.
Examples of intensive farming include market gardening (intensive production of flowers and vegetables under glass in southeast England and Almeria in southern Spain) dairy farming, horticulture and wet rice cultivation in Southeast Asia

34. Organic and Non-organic Farming

35. Organic farming
This type of farming does not use manufactured chemicals – production is without chemical fertilisers, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides.
Animal and green manures are used along with mineral fertilisers such as fish and bone meal.
Organic farming has become increasingly popular in recent decades as people seek a healthier lifestyle. In 2010, 37 million hectares of land were organically farmed worldwide – three times more than in 1999.
Requires a higher input of labour than a regular farm, with weeding being a major task.
This is less likely to result in soil erosion and is generally less harmful to the environment e.g. no nitrate runoff into streams and less damage to wildlife.
It does not produce the ‘perfect’ vegetable or fruit, but its popularity means that it commands a much higher price than mainstream farm produce.

38. Non-organic Farming
This is also known as conventional agriculture or industrial agriculture.
It refers to farming systems which include the use of one or more of the following:
Synthetic chemical fertilisers pesticides,  herbicides and other continual inputs;
Genetically modified organisms;
concentrated animal feeding operations;
heavy irrigation;
intensive tillage; and
concentrated monoculture production.
It is typically highly resource and energy intensive, but also highly productive.
Despite its name, conventional agricultural methods have only been in development since the late 19th century, and did not become widespread until after World War 2