1. Agriculture

2. 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
Origins
Hunter-gatherers
Perhaps 250,000 remaining today
San in Southern Africa, Aborigine in Australia
Invention of agriculture
When it began = unclear, diffused from many hearths

4. The First Agricultural Revolution
Southeast Asia: Root crops, up to 14,000 years ago (Sauer)
Southwest Asia (the Fertile Crescent): Seed crops, about 10,000 years ago → Neolithic Revolution = “1st Agricultural Revolution”

5. The Fertile Crescent

6. The Fertile Crescent 1st planned cultivation of seed crops
Enlargement of plants from seed selection
Generated a surplus of wheat and barley
Animal domestication
Began in Fertile Crescent (c years ago)
Relatively few domesticated animals
Continuing efforts not very successful
Eland as an example
1st integration of plant growing and animal raising
Crops to feed livestock
Livestock to help grow crops
fertilizer and beasts of burden

7. Animal Hearths

8. How Did Agriculture Change with Industrialization?
Second Agricultural Revolution: A series of innovations, improvements, and techniques used to improve the output of agricultural surpluses
17th and 18th centuries (linked to Scientific Rev.)
Enclosure movement = larger farms
Somewhat changes English landscape from clustered to dispersed
New tools (seed drill, water wheel, etc.)
Advances in livestock breeding (selective)
New fertilizers (non-chemical)
More efficient crop rotation
Pre-dated the Industrial Revolution
created surplus, displaced farmers = factory workers
increased food supply → Help move countries into stage 2

9. # of farmers/arable land High density = LDCs
Agricultural density
# of farmers/arable land
High density = LDCs
Low farming efficiency
Farming done by hand

10. High Agricultural Density

11. # of farmers/arable land High density = LDCs
Agricultural density
# of farmers/arable land
High density = LDCs
Low farming efficiency
Farming done by hand
Low density = MDCs
Advanced technology and finance
Corporate or large scale farming
Farms are getting bigger!
Frees population for other pursuits
Manufacturing, services etc.

12. Low Agricultural Density

13. Green Revolution (3rd Agriculture Rev.)
Began in U.S. Midwest (1930s → )
Norman Borlaug “the man who saved a billion lives”
diffusion to LDCs (1960s → )
Shift from subsistence to commercial methods in LDCs
Adoption of a western farming model
Use of chemical fertilizers/pesticides & machinery
invention of high-yield grains (hybridization, crossbreeding) with goal of reducing hunger
Increased production of rice
Impact on hunger greatest where rice is produced
New varieties of wheat and corn
GMOs = genetically modified organisms (4th Rev. ???)
“biotechnology”
Famines reduced!
Most famines today are due to political problems

14. Average Daily Calorie Consumption per Capita

15. Has the Green Revolution run its course?

16. Opposition to Green Revolution
Environmental concerns (overuse)
soil erosion and water shortages
dependency on chemicals for production
pollution, dangerous to ingest, bee colony collapse
Growth of “monocultures” lessens biodiversity
“superpests” could develop resistance
Are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) safe?
Probably, but????
Health problems???? (antibiotics, allergens)
EU strictly regulates (has approved only 48 organisms)
Labelling required, why labelling resistance in the US?
Economic dependence on transnational corps
$$$$$$ → Western agribusiness (Monsanto)
Life becomes “intellectual property” = “terminator seeds”
loss of control over seeds → wind → → contamination

17. MDC Farmers Face Economic Difficulties
Green Revolution, technology, science →
Overproduction leads to lower prices
Demand has remained relatively constant in MDCs (stage 4/5)
consequence: incomes for farmers are low
susceptible to acquisition (Industrial farms)
Need government policies to support agriculture
Suburbanization
“Urban sprawl” vs. prime agricultural land
Both want land that is flat and well-drained (near markets)

18. Loss of Productive Farmland
danger of being “suburbanized” as cities expand

19. MDC Farmers Face Economic Difficulties
Green Revolution, technology, science →
Overproduction leads to lower prices
Demand has remained relatively constant in MDCs (stage 4/5)
consequence: incomes for farmers are low
susceptible to acquisition (Industrial farms)
Need government policies to support agriculture
Suburbanization
“Urban sprawl” vs. prime agricultural land
Both want land that is flat and well-drained (near markets)
Demand for crops to be used as biofuels
Industrial farming uses a ton of scarce energy
Susceptible to fuel price shocks

20. Subsistence Farming Difficulties
Have we reached a point where food production is unable to match population growth? Why?
See “Opposition to Green Revolution”
Agricultural land maxed out?

21. Agricultural Land and Population

22. Subsistence Farming Difficulties
Have we reached a point where food production is unable to match population growth? Why?
See “Opposition to Green Revolution”
Agricultural land maxed out?
Desertification decreases arable land
Switch to cash crops
International trade model of development
food must be purchased
Most lucrative cash crop?
drugs
Biofuels (both MDC/LDC)
crops used for energy not food

24. STOP… Strategies to increase food supply Von Thunen’s Model
…follow this slide

25. Strategies to increase food supply
Expanding agricultural land
better irrigation to reduce stress on water supplies
drip irrigation
expansion has slowed due to less than pop. growth
Identifying new food sources
cultivating oceans
developing higher-protein cereals
improving palatability of foods
Increasing trade
Shift global overproduction to areas in need
Where most food is produced is not where it is most needed (unbalanced production/consumption)

26. Von Thünen’s Model Produce only what’s profitable
Products vary by distance from the market (town). Factors:
Cost of land (bid-rent theory)
Use of land governed by cost/ease of transport to market
Perishability and weight
First effort to analyze the spatial character of economic activity
Modified for physical features

27. FIGURE 10-24

28. $ rent (land cost) someone is willing to pay is based on their business realities
For example, per von Thunen’s dairy farmers/vegetable growers (X) would be willing to pay more for land in order to be close to market, Why?
costs are high due to perishability.
per von Thunen, lumber (Y) would then outbid grains etc. Why?
Trans. costs are high due to weight.
Pattern continues outward forming concentric rings. Until you get to extensive activities like grazing. Why?
Need to pay less for land because their activity is extensive (uses a lot of land)
Bid-rent Theory

29. Application of Von Thünen Model
Chinese village (by Lee Liu)
Land improvement (by adding organic material) close to village
Land degradation (lots of pesticides and fewer conservation tactics) farther from village
Wealthy countries
Underlying principles on larger scale
dairy farming, vegetables as example
Location close to population centers/markets.
But modernity breaks model down
Use of faster, higher capacity, refrigerated transportation