1. Agriculture
Ch. 10

2. Origins of Agriculture
Agriculture: deliberate modification of Earth’s surface thru the cultivation of plants and rearing animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain
Crop: any plant cultivated by ppl
No documentation of origin point, only logical sequencing

3. Origins of Agriculture
Hunters & Gatherers
Still 250,000 H&Gs today
Arctic, Africa, Australia, South America
1st Agric. Revolution
Combo of accident and deliberate experimentation
Animals used 1st for non-econ purposes

5. Origin of Agriculture Vegetative planting:
Cut plants, divided roots (direct cloning)
Carl Sauer believes started in SE Asia
Already sedentary b/c of fishing
Prob started w/ root vegetables
Dog, pig, & chicken

7. Origin of Agriculture Seed Planting:
the reproduction of plants thru annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization
Still most common
Sauer identified 3 hearths: W India, N China, & Ethiopia*
Began w/ wheat & barley
Cattle, sheep, & goats
Also S Mexico & N Peru
w/ squash, maize, beans, cotton
Llamas, alpacas, & turkey

10. Agricultural Regions Dependent on 2 things: culture & environment
No hogs in Muslim countries; little wine in Africa & Asia
Climate; soil type
Further differences lie in level of development…

11. *First categorization to apply*
Agricultural Regions
Subsistence vs. Commercial Agric.
Purpose of farming
% of farmers in labor force
Use of machinery/technology
Farm size
Relationship of farming to other businesses
*First categorization to apply*

14. Crete & Iran

15. Agricultural Regions Whittlesey (1936) 11 Regions (5 LDC, 6 MDC)
Climate is key factor what crop, or animal instead of crop
Explains trend of pastoral nomadism
Explains trend of slash-and-burn (shifting cultivation)

16. Compare to a Climate Map

17. Agriculture in LDCs Shifting cultivation Pastoral nomadism
Intensive subsistence agriculture
Plantation farming*
(Ch 10.2)

18. Shifting Cultivation Mostly in tropics; 250 mil ppl
No major tools, no sophisticated modification
Two major characteristics:
Slash-and-burn, cleared land = swidden
Stay a few years, then leave it fallow to recover (return 6-20 yrs later)
Variety of crops work…let’s read in book!
(p 342)

20. Shifting Cultivation
Being replaced by logging, ranching, cash crops more economical
Critics: inefficient way to get food; should be replaced w/ higher yielding method
Proponents: environmentally sound; nothing artificial; cultural diversity

21. Pastoral Nomadism Mostly in dry climates; 15 mil ppl
Planting crops impossible herding
Milk, skins/hair, only consume dead
Size of herd reps power/prestige
Some alternate w/ farming depending on rainfall; some prac. transhumance
Bedouins (Saudi, N Africa), Masai (E Africa)
Territories do exist for grps

23. Pastoral Nomadism Declining w/ technology
No longer needed as messengers
Govn’ts want to resettle nomads
China, Kazakhstan, ME
Put in cooperatives so can modernize dry land (irrigation, mining, oil, etc)
Try to encourage sedentary agric.

24. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture
Mostly in E, S, and SE Asia; ¾ of world’s pop.
Fragmented plots (generational)
High agricultural density (wk more to produce enough on sm plots)
Abundant labor, no funds for machines
Cannot waste ANY arable land
Double cropping: alt b/w wet rice and dry crops

25. Wet Rice Production Plow & animal preps field
Dikes & canals repaired (for #3)
Land is flooded (delicate balance)= sawah…not paddy
Seedling grown on dry land
Transplant seedlings to sawah
Harvested by hand
Threshed, winnowed, polished

27. Farming in China Communist Rev. 1949
Gov’t org. land into communes (sev. hundred ppl)
Hoped for efficiency w/ equipment & animals, & improvement projects would be easier
Instead ppl worked less…
No more communes, but no legal ownership (except for contracts)
Hard to separate now b/c of shared infrastructure
Production greatly improved

28. Plantation Farming
Found in tropics, subtropics (LA, Africa, and Asia) in LDCs but owned by Euro/NA for sell in MDCs
Specializes in 1 or 2 crops
Located in sparse areas import workers (manage time efficiently)
Can be plantation =cheaper shipping