UNIT 5 REVIEW AGRICULTURE

Agriculture = deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain

Origins of Agriculture

Vegetative Planting Seed Agriculture reproduction of plants by direct cloning Definition reproduction of plants through annual from existing plants, such as cutting planting of seeds that result from sexual stems and dividing roots fertilization

• Southeast Asia (taro, yam, banana) Origin • Western India (wheat, barley) • West Africa (oil palm tree, yam) • Northern China (millet, rice) • NW South America (sweet potato, • Ethiopia (millet, sorghum) arrow root) • Southern Mexico (squash, maize) • Northern Peru (squash, beans, cotton)

Carl Sauer, a cultural geographer, believed that the earliest form of plant cultivation was vegetative planting.

Subsistence Farming Commercial Farming Definition production of food primarily for consumption the production of food primarily for sale off the by the farmer’s family farm

Purpose of Farming produce food for their own consumption farmers grow crops and raise animals primarily for sale off the farm rather than for their own consumption. Agricultural products are not sold directly to consumers but to food- processing companies

Percentage of Farmers in Labor Force More than half of the workers are engaged in less than one-tenth of the workers are engaged farming directly in farming. The percentage of farmers is even lower in the US and Canada, at only 2%

Use of Machinery Rely on people or animals, do much of the Rely on machinery to perform work. Use work with hand tools and animal power scientific advances to increase productivity

Farm Size Small farms Large farms. US farms average 444 acres Increasingly dominated by a handful of large farms

Relationship to other businesses Isolated business, occasional surplus sold Closely tied to other businesses Agribusiness: integrated into a large food- production industry

Events in the History of Agriculture

Event Description/Impact First Agricultural Revolution ! When man first went from hunting and gathering to the Neolithic Revolution domestication of plants and animals.

Second Agricultural Revolution ! the unprecedented increase in agricultural production in Britain between the mid-17th and late 19th centuries ! linked to such new agricultural practices as crop rotation, selective breeding, and a more productive use of arable land. ! Agricultural output grew faster than the population over the century to 1770 and thereafter productivity remained among the highest in the world. ! cause of the industrial Revolution

Columbian Exchange ! the widespread transfer of plants, animals, culture, human populations, technology, diseases, and ideas between the Americas, West Africa, and the Old World in the 15th and 16th centuries.

Third Agricultural Revolution ! a set of research technology transfer initiatives occurring Green Revolution between 1950 and the late 1960s, that increased agricultural production worldwide, particularly in the developing world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s. ! The initiatives resulted in the adoption of new technologies, including high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of cereals, especially dwarf wheats and rices, in association with chemical fertilizers and agro-chemicals, and with controlled water-supply (usually involving irrigation) and new methods of cultivation, including mechanization. ! Leader Norman Borlaug

Fourth Agricultural Revolution ! New trends in engineering, digital agriculture with a greater focus on protecting the environment ! A movement in which food is both grown and sold locally, and fertilizers and pesticides are minimized or eliminated in favor of pure organic farming. ! Organic Farming, Sustainable farming !

Agriculture Types in LDCs

Type Characteristics Climate Other Info o Humid, low-latitude o Occupies ¼ of o Farmers clear land for planting by o High temps, world’s land area slashing vegetation and burning the abundant rainfall o Less than 5% of Shifting debris (slash and burn) world’s people Cultivation o Farmers grow crops on a cleared engaged field for only a few years until soil o Declining – not Region/Countries nutrients are depleted then leave it efficient fallow (nothing planted) for many o Amazon area of o Environmentally years so the soil can recover South America, sound o Cleared area = swidden Central and West Africa, and Southeast Asia Type Characteristics Climate Other Info o Based on herding of domesticated o Arid, semi-arid o Transhumance: animals where planting crops seasonal migration of o Rely on animals rather than crops is impossible livestock Pastoral o Camel, sheet, goats, horse o Declining because of Nomadism Region/Countries technology and conflict with o North Africa, Middle governments East, parts of Central Asia o Example: Bedouins of Saudi Arabia

Type Characteristics Region/Countries Other Info o Farmers expend large effort to o Wet-rice dominant = o Sawah = a flooded product the maximum yield from a SE China, East India, field for growing rice parcel of land SE Asia o Double cropping = Intensive o In areas of high density o Wet-rice not harvesting twice a Subsistence o Waste virtually no land dominant = interior year from same field India, NE China o Crop rotation = rotate crops to avoid exhausting soil

Type Characteristics Climate Other Info o large farm that specializes in one to o Tropics and o Sparely populated two crops subtropics areas o Cotton, sugar, rubber, tobacco o Was popular in US Plantation o Cocoa, coffee, jute, bananas, tea, o Demand for cotton coconuts, palm oil Region/Countries o Latin America, Africa, Asia

Agricultural Types in MDCs

Type Description Location Other Info Mixed ! Integration of crops and ! Corn Belt = most important • Permits farmers to Crop & livestock mixed crop and livestock distribute the Livestock ! Most of the crops are fed to farming region in the US workload evenly animals rather that ! Extends from Ohio to the throughout year consumed directly by Dakotas, with its center in • In US, corn is chosen humans Iowa most frequently ! Typical farm = devotes o Some nearly all land area to consumed growing crops but derives directly more than ¾ of its income o Most used to from the sale of animal feed pigs and products (beef, milk, eggs) cattle • Soybeans second Dairy ! Dairying is the most • farms near the large urban ! Choice of product Farming important type of areas of the Northeast US, varies within the US commercial agriculture in Southeast Canada, and dairy region the first ring outside large Northwest Europe ! Dairy farming requires cities because of ! Improvements in constant attention transportation factors. transportation have throughout the year permitted dairying to be ! Expense of feeding undertaken farther from the cows in winter market ! Largest milk producers = (1) India (2) United States. Pakistan and China are set to pass Russia as third and fourth largest Grain ! Grain = seed from various ! North American prairies ! Ability to provide Farming grasses, like wheat, corn, labeled the world’s food for many people oats, barley, rice, millet, and “breadbasket.” in the world is a others. ! Ability to provide food for source of economic ! Crops on a grain farm are many people in the world and political strength grown primarily for is a source of economic for US and Canada consumption by humans and political strength for rather than by livestock US and Canada ! Commercial grain farms sell ! US by far largest their output to commercial producer of manufacturers of food grain products, such as breakfast ! Winter wheat belt = cereals and snack-food Kansas, Colorado, makers Oklahoma ! Most important crop grown ! Spring-wheat belt= is wheat: used to make Dakotas, Montana, bread flour southern Saskatchewan in Canada Livestock ! Ranching: commercial ! Semi-arid or arid land Farming grazing of livestock over an where vegetation too extensive area. sparse ! Latin America

Mediterran ! Most crops grown in the ! Lands that border the ! Most of the world’s ean Mediterranean lands are Mediterranean Sea in olives, grapes, fruits Agriculture grown for human Southern Europe, North and vegetables are consumption rather than for Africa, Western Asia. grown in animal feed ! Farmers in California, Mediterranean ! Horticulture – growing of central Chile, SW part of agriculture areas fruits, vegetables, and South Africa, and SW flowers – and tree crops Australia form the commercial base ! Sea winds provide of Mediterranean farming moisture and moderate the winter temperatures. ! Summers and are hot and dry but sea breezes provide some relief

Commercia ! Truck farming = bartering ! Predominant in the US ! Highly efficient large- l Gardening or the exchange of Southeast scale operations & Fruit commodities ! Long growing season and ! Migrant workers and Farming ! Truck farms grow many of humid climate and is experimentation with the fruits and vegetables accessible to the large techniques keep prices that consumers demand in markets of NY, low the more developed Philadelphia, Washington societies. and other US urban areas.

VON THUNEN MODEL

Describe the Von Thunen Model. What happens at each ring?

Generally, farms located close to the market select crops with higher transportation costs, whereas distant markets are more likely to select crops that can be transported less expensively

! Model shows that a commercial farmer must combine two sets of monetary values to determine the most profitable crop: o The value of the yield per hectare o The cost of transporting the yield per hectare

! First Ring – garden and dairy products, must reach market quickly because they are perishable

! Second Ring- wood lots, closeness important because of its weight

! Third Ring- grains, field crops

! Outside Ring – animal grazing, which required a lot of space

Assumption of the model:

! Isolation. There is one isolated market in an isolated state having no interactions (trade) with the outside. The assumption is that the output is for the local market.

! Site Factors/Ubiquitous land characteristics. The land surrounding the market is entirely flat and its fertility uniform.

! Transportation. It is assumed there are no significant transport infrastructures such as major roads or rivers and that farmers are transporting their production to the market using horses and carts.

Did not consider:

! Human factors: social customs and government policies influence the attractiveness of plants and animals for a commercial farmer

! Improved transportation

! Technology: refrigerated trucks and food preservation

! Regional markets, corporations Will there be a food crisis?

Ester Boserup’s Theory:

! that population change drives the intensity of agricultural production. ! countered the Malthusian theory that agricultural methods determine population via limits on food supply ! "necessity is the mother of invention" ! food production will increase in conjunction to population growth because of innovation. ! Growth forces a conversion of agriculture

Climate Change: describe the relationship between agriculture and climate change

How climate affects agriculture How agriculture affects climate Extreme weather events: Destructive Our food systems are a major cause of climate breakdown hurricanes, towering storm surges, deadly heat waves, flash floods, and wildfires " Agriculture and other land uses are responsible for about 13 disrupt land, crops, growing seasons percent of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions

Deforestation, as a way to clear land for agriculture, is one of the most significant ways that human land use contributes to global warming because trees naturally absorb and store carbon dioxide from the atmosphere

MODERN AGRICULTURE

INDUSTRIAL AGRICULTURE: the industrialized production of livestock, poultry, fish, and crops.

They include innovation in agricultural machinery and farming methods, genetic technology, techniques for achieving economies of scale in production, the creation of new markets for consumption, the application of patent protection to genetic information, and global trade.

BENEFITS: DRAWBACKS: ! Environmental and social costs ! Cheap and plentiful food ! Damage to fisheries ! Convenience for the consumer ! Cleanup of surface and groundwater ! The contribution to our economy on many levels, polluted with animal waste from growers to harvesters to processors to sellers ! Increased health risks from pesticides ! Increased ozone pollution and global warming from heavy use of fossil fuels

Agribusiness: Commercial agriculture characterized by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations.

Sustainable agriculture: farming in sustainable ways, which means meeting society's food and textile present needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.

Organic farming: Farming that uses natural processes and seeds that are not genetically altered. To be certified as organic in the United States, farmers must demonstrate organic methods on a number of different measures.

Organic farming practices reduce pollution, conserve water, reduce soil erosion, increase soil fertility, and use less energy.

Challenges for Farmers

Challenges for Subsistence Farmers:

! Rapidly increasing population in LDCs that practice subsistence farming, need new methods of farming to increase food supply ! Subsistence farmers must grow food for export instead of for direct consumption due to the adoption of the international trade approach to development. ! Consumers in developed countries are willing to pay high prices for fruits and vegetables that would otherwise be out of season locally.

Challenges for Commercial Farmers:

! Produce much more food than is demanded ! Consolidation of family farms and company mergers has resulted in considerable market power for corporations

Challenges for Farmers in LDCs and MDCs:

! Both subsistence and commercial farmers face a complex challenge: to produce more food for a growing world while preserving Earth’s agricultural resources for the future.

! Losing Agricultural Land = Expansion of urban areas has contributed to reducing agricultural land

! Desertification = Human actions that cause land to deteriorate into desert-like conditions

FAMINE & MALNUTRITION

According to the UN Hunger Report, hunger is the term used to define periods when populations are experiencing severe food insecurity—meaning that they go for entire days without eating due to lack of money, lack of access to food, or other resources.

Malnutrition: lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat, not eating enough of the right things, or being unable to use the food that one does eat.

Food desert: an area that has limited access to affordable and nutritious food

Food oasis: an area with higher access to supermarkets or vegetable shops with fresh foods

Strategies to increase food supply: 1. Expand land area used for agriculture 2. Methods of higher production 3. Identify new food sources 4. Increasing exports from other countries Women in Agriculture

Discuss the relationship between women and agriculture, especially in LDCs. How does empowering women impact food security?

! Empowering women to ensure better family health Worldwide, women play a critical role in agriculture, in income generation and in food security and nutrition.

! In some countries, women are the predominant workers in agriculture, and the sector is becoming feminised because men are leaving rural areas to work in urban areas.

! However, in cases where men and women are still living together in rural households, there are complex relations that determine who has control, who has power, and how resources are allocated within these households.

! The empowerment of women in agriculture is absolutely critical to ensure health and nutrition outcomes within households.

! A study conducted in Nepal found that the greater the access that women in agriculture in that country had to resources, inputs and decision-making, the better their diet and that of their children.