1. Chapter 10
Agriculture

2. Where Did Agriculture Originate?
Key Issue #1
Where Did Agriculture Originate?

3. Where Did Agriculture Originate?
Origins of agriculture
Agriculture = deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals
Cultivate = “to care for”
Crop = any plant cultivated by people

4. Where Did Agriculture Originate?
Origins of agriculture
Hunter-gatherers
Perhaps 250,000 remaining today
Invention of agriculture
When it began = unclear
Diffused from many hearths

5. Crop Hearths
Figure 10-2

6. Animal Hearths
Figure 10-3

7. Where Did Agriculture Originate?
Commercial and subsistence agriculture
Subsistence = produced mainly for the farm family’s survival
Most common in LDCs
Commercial = produced mainly for sale off the farm
Most common in MDCs

8. Agriculture and Climate
Figure 10-4

9. Where Did Agriculture Originate?
Commercial and subsistence agriculture
Five characteristics distinguish commercial from subsistence agriculture
Purpose of farming
Percentage of farmers in the labor force
Use of machinery
Farm size
Relationship of farming to other businesses

10. Agricultural Workers
Figure 10-5

11. Area of Farmland Per Tractor
Figure 10-6

12. Where Are Agricultural Regions in Less Developed Countries?
Key Issue #2
Where Are Agricultural Regions
in Less Developed Countries?

13. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
Shifting cultivation
Most prevalent in low-latitude, A-type climates
Two features:
Land is cleared by slashing and burning debris
Slash-and-burn agriculture
Land is tended for only a few years at a time
Types of crops grown vary regionally
Traditionally, land is not owned individually
soil erosion a problem
most often occurs in tropical rainforest regions-SE Asia, Central Africa, Brazil

14. The slash-and-burn process creates ashes that provide nutrients to the soil.
The cleared area is known by many names, such as swidden, ladang, milpa, chena, and kaingin.
This process supports crops 3 yrs or less.
Crops include maize (corn), manioc (cassava/tapioca), millet, sorghum, yams, sugarcane, plantain, sweet potatoes, rice, papaya, pineapple, mango, cotton, beans, etc.

15. Subsistence farmers Kayapo Mali extensive subsistence, shifting ag
Intensive subsistence
sorghum, pearl millet, and maize
Subsistence farmers

17. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
Pastoral nomadism (herding domesticated animals)
Found primarily in arid and semiarid B-type climates
Animals are seldom eaten
The size of the herd indicates power and prestige
Type of animal depends on the region
For example, camels are favored in North Africa and Southwest Asia. Sheep and goats are next.
Transhumance practiced by some pastoral nomads

19. Where are Agricultural Regions in LDCs?
Intensive subsistence
Found in areas with high population and agricultural densities
Especially in East, South, and Southeast Asia
To maximize production, little to no land is wasted
Intensive with wet rice dominant
The flooded field is called a sawah or a paddy (which actually means “wet rice”).
Intensive with wet rice not dominant
Crops like wheat or barley, millet, oats, soybeans, or cash crops like cotton or flax.

21. Rice Production
Figure 10-12

22. Corn (Maize) Production
Figure 10-15

23. Where Are Agricultural Regions in More Developed Countries?
Key Issue #3
Where Are Agricultural Regions
in More Developed Countries?

24. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
Mixed crop and livestock farming
Livestock fed with crops grown on same farm, ¾ of the income is from sale of animal products
Involves crop rotation which helps maintain fertility of land, common products are corn & soybeans

25. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
Dairy farming
Primarily in NE US, SE Canada, NW Europe
60% of the world’s milk comes from these areas
Must be close to their market area because it is highly perishable

26. Milk Production
Figure 10-17

27. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
Grain farming
The largest commercial producer of grain is the United States (KS, CO, OK, MT, WA, Dakotas)
Livestock ranching
Practiced in marginal environments (US, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Australia)

28. Wheat Production
Figure 10-19

30. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
Mediterranean agriculture
Based on horticulture-fruits, veggies, flowers
Commercial gardening and fruit farming
Truck farms (“truck” literally means barter or exchange)-fruits and veggies sold to consumers or processors

32. Where are Agricultural Regions in MDCs?
Plantation farming
growing crops in subsistence areas for sale in more developed countries
**often occurs in less developed countries
usually involves the production of one crop
common in many tropical areas , like Latin America, Africa, & Asia.
Examples: bananas, sugarcane, coffee, tea, cocoa, cotton, rubber, palm oil, etc.

33. coffee

34. tea

35. sugarcane 3 2 1
sugarcane

36. cacao

37. Palm oil
oil palm

38. bananas
banana

39. rubber
rubber

40. coconut

41. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
Key Issue #4
Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?

42. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
Challenges for commercial farmers
Access to markets is important
The von Thünen model (1826)
The choice of crop to grow is related to the proximity to the market
Figure 10-24

43. Von Thünen Model
Fig : Von Thünen’s model shows how distance from a city or market affects the choice of agricultural activity in (a) a uniform landscape and (b) one with a river.

44. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
Challenges for commercial farmers
Overproduction
Agricultural efficiencies have resulted in overproduction
Demand has remained relatively constant
As a consequence, incomes for farmers are low
Sustainable agriculture
Sensitive land management
Integrated crop and livestock

45. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
Challenges for subsistence farmers
Population growth
Boserup thesis-pop growth compels subsistence farmers to consider new farming approaches that produce enough food to take care of additional people.
Increase food supply by leaving land fallow for shorter time periods and adopting new methods
International trade
To be successful, LDCs need to grow crops people in MDCs want (coffee, tea, cocoa)
Drug crops
South America-cocaine, marijuana
Afghanistan, Myanmar, Laos-opium/heroin

48. Drug Trade
Figure 10-27

49. Why Do Farmers Face Economic Difficulties?
Strategies to increase food supply
Expanding agricultural land
Desertification-the Sahel
Increasing productivity
The green revolution (1970s-80s)
Introduction of higher-yield seeds and use of fertilizers
Identifying new food sources
Cultivating oceans, developing higher-protein cereals, and improving palatability of foods
Increasing trade

51. Agricultural Land and Population
Figure 10-28

52. Grain Imports and Exports
Figure 10-32