Farming Unit #2

Farming systems and types

Farming is an industry and operates like other industries.

It is a system with inputs into the farm, processes which take place on the farm and outputs from the farm (Figure 7.1).

INPUTS

PROCESSES

Physical environment (natural) inputs and human/economic (artificial) inputs

Patters and methods of farming

2 types

physica

Expenditure and

Human

type of farmung

Storage

PHYSICAL (NATURAL) INPUTS

Climate:

amount of rain, and season temperatures

length of growing season

Relief

Soils and drainage

PROCESSES

the farmer as a decision maker

HUMAN AND ECONOMIC INPUTS

Labour (workforce)

Accessibility to market

Rent

Government control

Transport costs

Seeds - livestock

Machinery/technology

Farm buildings

Fertiliser and pesticides

Market demand

+ callery

+ seeds

Expenditure

Growing crops

Rearing animals

Storage

MEDC

In more economically developed countries (Figure 7.3a), outputs usually exceed inputs, allowing the farmer to make a profit which may then be re-invested.

INPUTS

PROCESSES

Skilled labour

Electricity

Seeds

Rain all year

Growing season

8 months

Machines

Fertiliser

Cattle feed

Barns for storage

Low, undulating relief and deep soils

Land

Animals

Crops

240 hectares

40 calves

160 cows

40 pigs

Grass Barley

Potatoes

LEDC

In less economically developed countries (Figure 7.3b) the output is often consumed by the family with little surplus left for sale

INPUTS

Plenty of rain

Growing season all year

Flat land

Rich soils

Much labour

Hand tools

2 oxen

Rice seed

PROCESSES

2 hectares of land

10 chickens

2 cows

2 oxen

Rice and wheat cultivation

3* CASE Studies

• LAke DiStrict

• EASt Angia

0 ...

> inportant to know. (will be on the exam)

Figure 7.1

Simplified farming system

OUTPUTS

Products for sale

Sales

Income

Figure 7.2

Factors affecting the farmer's decision about what crops to grow or what animals to rear

OUTPUTS

POSSIBLE CHANGES

TO THE SYSTEM

in developed countries usually a profit

Crops

Animal products

Animals

in developing countries rarely a profit

Income

Floods

Drought Disease

Pests

Change in demand Change in market price

Change in subsidy

Improved technology (beyond the farmer's control)

value of outputs

Profit = 60 val Eigure 7.3

castofinputs

Farming systems in MEDCs and LEDCS

OUTPUTS

Milk Pigs

Cattle Barley

Hay

Manure Potatoes

(a) Farming system in the Netherlands

= Profit

(b) Farming system in India

OUTPUTS

Rice Some wheat

Eggs

Chickens

= No profit

The farmer as a decision maker

Each individual farmer's decision on what crops to grow or animals to rear, and which methods to use to maximise outputs, depends on an understanding of the most favourable physical and economic conditions for the farm (Figure 7.2). Sometimes the farmer may have several choices and so the decision may depend on individual likes and expertise. On other occasions the choice may be limited by extreme physical conditions or economic and political pressures. mpontint.

Classification of types of farming

The classification shown in Figure 7.4 is based on the following criteria:

Specialisation This includes arable the growing of crops), pastoral.(the rearing of animals)

GivesToCK

Cos and animals) farming. A = cropand mixed both

mixed= ct

P = Animals

Economic status Commercial farming is the growing of crops or rearing of animals for sale (i.e. outputs exceed inputs). Subsistence farming is when just sufficient food is provided for the farmer's own family (i.e. outputs may be the same or less than the inputs and so the family may

struggle for survival). C = Profit

= Survival

Intensity of land use This depends on the ratio between land, labour and capital (money). Extensive farming is where the farm size is very large in comparison with either the amount of money spent on it (Amazon Basin) or the numbers working there (American Prairies). Intensive farming is when the farm size is small in comparison with either the numbers working there (Ganges Delta) or the amount of money spent on it (Denmark).

Land tenure Shifting (and nomadic) cultivation is where farmers move from one area to another. Sedentary is where farming and settlement is permanent.

Remember that the map in Figure 7.4 is simplified. It only shows the generalised world location of the main types of farming. It does not show local variations, transitions between the main farming types nor it several types occur within the same area.

Not up to Date:

Type of farming

Named example

Nomadic hunting and collecting

Australian aborigines

Nomadic herding

Maasai in Kenya, Sahel countries

Shifting cultivation

Amerindians of Amazon Basin

Intensive subsistence agriculture

Rice in the Ganges Delta

Plantation agriculture

Oil palm in Malaysia

Livestock ranching (commercial pastoral)

Beef on the Pampas

Cereal cultivation (commercial grain)

Canadian Prairies, Russian Steppes

Mixed farming

Netherlands, Denmark

Mediterranean' agriculture

Southern Italy, southern Spain

Irrigation

Nile Valley, California

Farming in the UK -

Factors affecting farming

The location of different types of farming at all scales depends on the interaction of three factors: physical (environmental); human (social) and economic; and o political (Figure 7.5).

Ideally, individual farmers should have a knowledge and

They can then make decisions as to which crops to grow and/or which animals to rear in order to give them the greatest profit. Sometimes the farmer may have several choices and so the decision may depend on individual® preferences, traditions and expertise - the so-called behavioural factor.

understanding of each of these factors in their local area.

*iportant!!

Physical (environmental) factors

Figure 7,5

Factors affecting the location and distribution of farming types in the UK

Relief and altitude

Usually the flatter and the more low-lying the land, the more efficient and commercial is the farm (arable in East Anglia. Output tends to decrease as the land gets steeper and higher and farming becomes less commercial and more extensive (pastoral in the Lake District).

Soils

The deeper and richer the soil, the more intensive and commercial the farming (alluvium of the Fens, Ideally soils should be well drained yet capable of retaining water.

Temperature/sunshine (pages 201 and 207)

Rainfall/water supply (pages 202 and 207)

In Scotland, summers are cool and the growing season is too short for most cereals. Moving south, temperatures, the amount of sunshine and the length of the growing season all increase, Aspect is an important local factor (maximum sunlight, protection against frost and wind).

Areas with adequate and reliable rainfall throughout the year tend to produce good grass for rearing animals (western Britain), Drier areas to the east grow cereals (East Anglia) and fruit (Kent).

Human (social) and economic inputs

Land ownership/tenure

Many British farmers own their own farms but some are tenant farmers (the former are usually more commercial). A small, but increasing, number are run by processing companies (frozen foods in East Anglia).

Size of farms/fields (page 106)

Farms increase in size as larger, more efficient farmers buy up smaller, less successful farms. Field size has also increased, especially where hedgerows have been removed (eastern England). The EU encourages larger farms and larger fields.

Competition for land (page 62)

Transport and markets

Many traditional farming areas, especially near the rural-urban fringe, are under threat from urban sprawl and the demand for new roads, industry, housing and recreation.

Perishable goods need to be produced near to markets for freshness and bulky goods near to markets due to their weight. Fruit and vegetables (market gardening) are grown near most large urban areas.

Capital (money)

By world standards the UK is well-off, so farmers can find money to improve their farm buildings and machinery and to buy fertiliser and good-quality seed and animals.

Mechanisation/technology

Processors/retailers

The increased use of labour-saving machinery and computers increases outputs but reduces the need for farm workers. Farms in the south and east tend to be more mechanised than those in the north and west.

Demands on standards and prices set by food processors and supermarket chains.

Political factors

Government/EU policies (pages 106 and 107)

Governments have provided grants for new stock and machinery and subsidies to guarantee a fixed income. This now comes from the EU's Common Agricultural Policy (CAP).

Variable inputs

Farmers are vulnerable to changes in government/EU policies, market prices and market demand. They are also affected by changes in the weather (floods, drought and frost) and by disease (foot and mouth, potato blight).

Need to know

Distribution of the main farming types in the UK

It is essential, if British farmers are to make a profit and earn a living, that they are as efficient as possible. When looking at the different physical conditions of the British Isles (i.e. climate, soils and relief) and then taking into consideration various human and economic factors (mainly transport, markets and capital), it can be seen that different parts of the UK favour different types of farming Figures 7.6 and 7.7 show that there are five main types of farming in the UK. However, the map has been simplified to make interpretation easier. It suggests that all farmers within a certain location specialise in just one type of farming, e.g. sheep, cattle or cereals. The map hides local variations and fails to show that most farmers will keep some animals and grow some crops.

Arable farms are found in the east where summers are sunny and warm, there is less rain, the land is low-lying and flatter, soils are deep and fertile, transport systems are good, and where there are large urban markets nearby.

Cattle farms are important where summers are cool and winters are mild, there is plenty of rain throughout the year, the land is low-lying and relatively flat, transport is good and urban markets are within easy reach.

Hill sheep farms predominate in those parts of Scotland, Wales and northern England where the land is high and steep, soils are poor, temperatures are lower, rainfall is heavy, transport systems are poorly developed and urban markets are not within easy reach.

100 km

Market gardening

Arable

Mixed

Cattle

Hill sheep

Only predominant types are shown - urban areas not taken into account

Figure 7.6

Farming types in the UK

Mixed farming tends to be found in a transition zone between the crop-growing areas in the east and the animal-rearing areas in the west.

Market gardening is important near large urban areas and where transport links are good. As some market garden produce can be grown under cover in artificial conditions (flowers, tomatoes), human factors tend to be more important than physical factors.

CASe Study!!!

Arable farming in East Anglia

The main type of farming in East Anglia is the commercial growing of cereals, mainly wheat and barley, together with root crops (potatoes and sugar beet) and vegetables (peas and beans).

climate

Physical inputs Rainfall is the lowestlin the UK (under 650 mm a year) but fortunately most comes during the summer growing season. The warm, sunny summers are

relef

ideal for ripening crops, while frosts during the cold

- с

winters help break up the soil. The land is gently undulating and low-lying. The soils, which are deep, fertile and well drained, are mainly either alluvium deposited by rivers, or boulder clay deposited on chalk during the Ice Age.

Human inputs The flatness of the land has allowed a good transport system to develop (road and rail) linking the region with large, nearby markets in south-east England (saves time and costs, easier to transport both bulky and perishable goods - Figure 7.11). The land is ideal for large-scale machinery (combine harvesters, sprayers) and the region has access to considerable capital.

Variable inputs These include possible droughts during summer; changes in government (mainly EU) policies; and disease affecting cereals or other crops.

Processes These include ploughing, harrowing, weeding, applying fertiliser and pesticides, weeding, harvesting and maintaining field boundaries and machinery.

Outputs Wheat, barley, sugar beet, potatoes, peas and beans.

climate

Farm boundary

SubSistance

PLACES

WINTER WHEAT

BARLEY

lain road

GRASS (fallow)

ARABLE 1990

SET-ASIDE 2000

River

BARLEY

SUGAR BEET

WINTER WHEAT

POTATOES

GRASS

PEAS

Grain store

POTATOES

1 cFarm

POTATOES

Machinery

GRASS

BEANS

PEAS ANDI OR BEANS

GRASS WITH

STORE CATTLE (on damper ground next to river)

POTATOES

GRASS (fallow)

ARABLE 1990

•SET-ASIDE 2000

NEW NATURE RESERVE

CAMPING SITE

NEXT TO RIVER

BARLEY 2000

(may become set-aside in next year or two

WINTER :WHEAT

Figure 7.10 IN the UK

Extensive cereal growing in East Anglia

Recent changes These include:

• larger farms - encouraged by the EU

• larger fields (for larger machinery) due to removal of hedgerows (page 108)

•increased use of fertiliser (page 108)

• reduced subsidies (to reduce overproduction in the EU) (page 106)

• the ending of subsidies for set-aside land/ (page 106).

Figure 7.11

Land use on a cereal farm

• Peas and beans near to farm as they need attention and picking

• Potatoes and sugar beet near to farm and main road as they are bulky to transport

• Cereals furthest from farm as they need less attention

• Grass either

- on damper ground near to river, or

- used in crop rotation

• Increase in set-aside land, and alternative types of land use

100 metres

- - Former hedgerow (now removed)

Field boundary

Case Study!!!

bseleh

Pastoral farming in the Lake District

The main type of farming in the Lake District is the

PLACES

rearing of hill sheep of which there are an estimated 15 million. Valley floors towards the edges of the area are suitable for cattle.

input

Physical inputs Rainfall is heavy throughout the year, especially on the higher fells. Summers are cool and cloudy while winters may be mild in the valleys but much colder at higher levels. The steep valley sides, with their thin, poor soils and exposed rock, and the high fells, have poor-quality grass suitable only for sheep (Figure 7.9). The low-lying, flatter valley floors, with their deeper, alluvial soil, have good-quality grass and are ideal for cattle rearing.

Human inputs The Lake District has relatively poor communications both within it (narrow roads) and with large markets which are often a considerable distance away (this increases transport costs and time). The land is unsuited to large-scale mechanisation and the area has limited capital.

Variable inputs These include occasional heavy snowfalls at lambing time; changes in government (mainly EU) policies; and outbreaks of disease (sheep affected by radioactive fallout after Chernobyl in 1986); and restrictions on the movement of animals (cattle due to BSE in 1996, sheep due to Foot and mouth in 2001).

Processes: On the hill farm, these include lambing, dipping, shearing, collecting hay and maintaining dry-stone walls.

Outputs Young lambs, lamb (meat), wool and hay.

Figure 7.8

A Lake District farm

Recent changes These include:

IN ThE VK

• a fall in the price of lambs, lamb and wool

• marginal land being taken out of production

• a decrease in the number of farms

• more farms turning to other sources of income, mainly tourism, e.g. B&B, camping and caravan sites, craft shops (page 106).

Sheeps

cost

notồng as He

Height

600

graze (metres

- 600

High fell

Figure 7.9

Land use on a hill sheep farm

450

Exposed - colder,

2000 mm rain per year

300

River behind levées

Road

300

Allotment

450

Inbye

Allotment

a Farm

Inbye

300

Inbye

•00

Sheltered - warmer by 5°C,

1000 mm rain per year

Lake

150 -

- 150

High fell - unenclosed commonland consisting of peat moors and crags, rough pasture and poor summer grazing Allotment (or intake) - enclosed rough winter grazing on the lower fell

Inbye + low-lying land near to farmhouse, grazing, grass conservation (hay and silage) and sheep in lambing season

Tropical agriculture

Subsistence farming is the traditional type of agriculture in many of the less economically developed countries and isolated regions that lie within the tropics. It is a farming system with relatively few inputs - such as fertiliser,' machinery or capital (Figure 7.1) - and simple processes

*only feed thenself/ commonity and low outputs, perhaps only sufficient to satisfy the immediate needs of the family or local community.

The most extreme form of subsistence farming is shifting cultivation which is still practised in parts of the tropical rainforests (Figure 7.4).

Shifting cultivation in the Amazon rainforest - Not Case Study (JuSt Exauple)

Amerindian tribes use machetes to clear small areas of rainforest. The felled trees and undergrowth are then burnt - hence the alternative name of 'slash and burn' (Figure 7.12). Houses, built from tree trunks and thatched with palm leaves, are built in a circle with the meeting house in the centre (Figure 7.13). Crops are grown in small plots, known as chagras. Manioc, the main crop, together with yams, peppers, pumpkins and beans, are planted into what is initially a very rich soil (Figure 7.14). The fertility of the rainforest soil depends on the rapid and unbroken recycling of nutrients (Figure

14.10). However, without the protective tree cover and the addition of tallen leaves, the main source of N nutrients, the heavy afternoon rains (page 212) soo

physica

Figure 7.12

Slash and burn - a shifting cultivator clearing the rainforest

wash the nutrients out of the soil leaving it infertile.

Within four or five years the land has to be abandoned, forcing the tribe to shift to a different area of forest where they have to clear new areas for their crops and build new houses for themselves. Although this method of farming may appear to be a wasteful use of the land. in practice it is the reverse as the rainforest quickly re-establishes itself allowing, within a few years,° nutrients to build up sufficiently so as to make the soil: fertile once again.

It is the women of the tribe who look after the crops while the men, after clearing the area to be farmed, seek to supplement the diet by hunting, mainly for tapirs and world that still lives in harmony with its environment and which provides a true example of sustainable development.

Recent changes continue to see the traditional Amerindian way of life threatened by the destruction of the rainforest (page 236). As land is cleared by giant logging companies or for new highways, beef cattle ranches, hydro-electric schemes and mineral exploitation, the Amerindians are either pushed further into the rainforest or forced to live on reservations. Where the land has been cleared for ranching, farms have soon been abandoned as their soils, not given the chance to recover as with shifting cultivation, have become infertile and eroded.

monkeys, fishing and collecting fruit and nuts. It is claimed that the various tribes that inhabit the Amazon rainforest are now probably the only society across the

Figure 7.14

Hoeing the chagra

102

Figure 7.13

Commercial farming is the growing of crops or the rearing of animals for sale at a profit. This means that in this farming system the income earned from outputs must exceed the money spent on inputs. Commercial farming was introduced into developing countries located within the tropics when they were colonies of a richer, more developed country (Figure 74). Crops such as sugar cane, rubber, bananas, tea, coffee, cotton and tobacco were grown on large estates, known as plantations, which relied on the use of cheap local labour.

Plantation agriculture in Malaysia - Example Plantations in what was then Malaya were first developed by British settlers in the early nineteenth century. As in many other tropical areas, large areas of forest were cleared and a single crop, in this case rubber, was planted in rows (Figure 7.15). Rubber, a typical plantation crop in that it is grown for export, thrives in a hot, wet climate, growing best on foothills of mountains where there is good drainage. As on all plantations, rubber needs a high capital input to clear the land, provide the trees and construct roads. It also requires much manual and cheap labour as the mature trees have to be 'tapped' daily in order to obtain the sap, or latex, needed to process rubber.

The labourers, who are also needed to clear the forest, work in the nurseries and plant new trees, were provided by poorer Malays and by immigrants, mainly from India.

The Malaysian government took control of all the country's rubber plantations in the early 1970s, a time that happened to coincide with the rapidly falling world demand for the product, mainly caused by increased competition from synthetic rubber. Today, there are relatively few rubber plantations still operating in Malaysia and many of the remaining workers are forced to live below the poverty line (page 326).

Fortunately for Malaysia, this was also a time when the global demand for oil palm was growing. Oil palm, which now covers over 80 per cent of the country's plantations (Figure 7.16), has many advantages over rubber. These include higher yields and prices as well as lower production costs as labour is less intensive (Figure 7.17).

This is partly due to being able to spray pesticides and apply fertiliser mechanically. Oil palm is also more versatile than rubber because, apart from providing an edible oil and being used in a wide range of foodstuffs, it can be used in the manufacture of soap, cosmetics and paint. It has also, in the last few years, become an important source for biofuel, mainly by countries in the EU (page 125). However, this has meant that more land, previously used for growing food for Malaysia's own domestic consumption, is increasingly being converted into oil palm plantations.

PLACES

Figure 7.15

A rubber plantation

Figure 7.16

An oil palm plantation

Tonnes per hectare

Years for trees to mature

Labour intensive

Prices (income)

% world trade

1950

2007

Rubber

6 to 7

High

Low

Limited

Oil palm

4 to 5

Lower

High and rising

Numerous

Uses

Figure 7.17

Difference between rubber and oil palm

EXACOMPT"

PARIO

The effects of the global market on subsistence farming

Subsistence farming has always been the mainstay of agriculture in developing countries, especially those that lie within the tropics (Figure 74). It is a system that allows farmers to grow sufficient food for their family and local community in places that often lack capital and technology and where transport may be underdeveloped.

But subsistence farming is under threat, not from within these countries themselves, but from a growing global market, the demands of supermarkets in richer countries, the introduction of new forms of technology that might not be appropriate, and improvements in world transport.

While these changes may benefit people in developed countries, they can lead to food shortages, in places like Kenya, and to environmental problems, as in Egypt.

Figure 7.18

Kenyan shambas

PLACES

Kenya - Example

Where rainfall is more reliable, crops are grown in small plots of land known as shambas (Figure 7.18). The most important crop is maize which may be grown under the shade of small banana trees. Beans, yams and millet are also grown, as are vegetables and tropical fruits. The land is farmed intensively and none is wasted.

But this part of Kenya can produce fruit, vegetables and flowers at a time when it is winter in northern Europe and where demand for fresh produce now remains high throughout the year. This has resulted in large transnational corporations and supermarkets from the EU replacing the former shambas with large estates that grow specialised crops. One example is an estate on the shores of Lake Naivasha that grows over 25 million carnations in a six-month period (Figures 7.19 and 7.20).

• The estate, which is well managed, employs 15 000 people but it is debatable whether the change from subsistence farming to the growing of flowers for export has improved the standard of living of local people.

• This estate, like many others, provides free accommodation, education and medical care for its employees but the work is extremely hard and poorly paid and it is uncertain whether the former small-scale farmer now has a better way of life or not.

• The increase in exports brings valuable currency to Kenya but, as more farmland is turned over to cash (export) crops, less land is available to provide food for the country's own people and so shortages are becoming more frequent.

• Supermarkets, including those in the UK, are desperate to obtain reliable sources of fresh produce but they aim to pay the lowest possible price (not always a case of fair trade - page 330).

• New technology means that the flowers can be dried, graded and cooled to 4°C, enabling them to arrive fresh at their destination such as Covent Garden in London.

Water is also extracted for irrigation from Lake Naivasha but some is lost through evapotranspiration, which has caused the lake to shrink in size, while the water that is returned is polluted with fertiliser and pesticides.

• Improvements in transport mean that flowers picked one afternoon can be sent along improved roads and in cooled lorries to Nairobi airport ready for an overnight flight to the EU where they can be sold the next day, but there has been little improvement in transport for local people.

Figure 7.19

Estate near Lake Naivasha growing carnations

Figure 7.20

Extent of the carnation estate

104

Egypt - EXumple

Egypt became one of the world's earliest civilisations, mainly due to the annual flooding of the Nile and the silt that the river then deposited across its floodplain. Present-day satellite images of Egypt show a narrow, continuous strip of land extending on either side of the Nile until it widens to form the triangular shape of the river's delta (Figure 7.21). To either side of this strip of land is desert.

Throughout the 2000 years of the Pharaohs, Egyptians were more than self-supporting. Painted reliefs and hieroglyphics found in tombs along the valley give an accurate account of farming and the way of life in Ancient Egypt. From these it is known that the Ancient Egyptians grew wheat, millet, maize, flax, cotton and sugar cane as well as a wide range of fruit and vegetables. Peasants used farm tools and irrigated their fields using a technology appropriate for that time and which is still used along parts of the valley.

Without the Nile, Egypt would not exist but while its water brought life to the country, the river also posed problems. If the annual flood was too high, lives and property were lost, and if it was too low then not enough crops could be grown to feed the people. Once the flood subsided, farmers built irrigation channels and planted their crops. As the river level continued to fall, water had to be raised onto the fields

- a task done by either the saquia wheel (Figure 7.22a), the shaduf (Figure 7.22b) or the Archimedes screw. This way of life changed with the building of the Aswan Dam and now floodwater is held back to be released more evenly. This means that the flooding is controlled and water for crops is available throughout the year (Figure 7.23).

However, the dam has also created problems. Silt is no longer spread naturally over the fields and so, with the

added burden of an extra crop now grown each year, the soil becomes less fertile. To maintain its fertility, farmers have to buy fertiliser which they can ill afford and which is later washed back to pollute the river.

Irrigation means that water is on the earth's surface for longer than during a flood. As the water evaporates under the hot sun, it leaves behind a concentration of salt, a process known as salinisation, which is harmful to the roots of crops. Also, as in Kenya, more crops are being grown for export, leaving fewer for domestic use.

PLACES

Figure 7.21

The Nile delta: satellite view

Figure 7.22

(a) Saquia wheel

(b) Shaduf

Figure 7.23

Intensive farming in the Nile delta

EX/.COMPT"

•AHO

Changes in farming in the EU

Farming, like other industries, is dynamic and always changing. These changes may result from political decisions made by the EU, economic changes in regional or global economies, social pressures in farming communities, and environmental factors resulting from climatic change. Sometimes these changes may have advantages while at others they may be detrimental to either the farmer and the farming community, the people who need feeding, or the local environment.

All the present 28 members of the EU are meant to implement the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) which was set up in 1962. The basic aims of the CAP were to:

• create a single market in which agricultural goods could easily be transferred

• make the EU self-sufficient by giving preference to produce grown within member countries

• give financial support to EU farmers, mainly through guaranteed prices (subsidies) and markets

• help to maintain jobs and improve the standard of living in farming areas, especially in marginal areas such as hill farms in the UK

• keep consumer prices stable.

The Dudmaston Estate

The National Trust

Figure 7.24

Farmland converted into a wetland wildlife site

106

Although most of these aims were fulfilled by the 1990s, there was increasing concern over both the running and the effects of the CAP. These included:

• the 70 per cent of the total EU's budget being spent on agriculture

• overproduction of certain products due to the payment of subsidies and improvements in technology

• a decrease in the number of farms, as those that were larger and more profitable took over those that were smaller and less efficient

• a decrease in the number of farm workers, due to improvements in technology (improved machinery and the introduction of computers)

• the protection of EU produce which restricted imports from less economically developed countries and the development of fair trade (page 330)

• insufficient care of the environment, for example the draining of wetland habitats and the removal of hedgerows when enlarging field sizes in places such as eastern England.

Figure 7.25 lists some of the benefits and some of the problems still facing EU countries over the CAP. It should also be pointed out that there is often conflict between member states, for example between those, including the UK, that believe too much money is spent on the CAP and those, such as France, that wish to maintain existing levels.

Achievements

Achieved a larger measure of self-sufficiency. This reduces the costs and unreliability of imports.

Created higher yields due to input of capital for machinery and fertiliser.

In NW Europe the average farm size has increased almost to the recommended level.

Amalgamation of fields - in parts of France the number of fields has been reduced to one-eighth of the 1950 total.

Production has changed according to demands, e.g. less wheat and potatoes and more sugar beet and animal products.

Subsidies to hill farmers have reduced rural depopulation.

Poorer farmers gain

opportunity to receive a second income by working in nearby factories ('5 o'clock farmers) or from tourism.

Higher income for farmers.

Subsidies have reduced the risk of even higher unemployment in rural areas.

Reduced reliance on crops imported from developing countries which themselves have food shortage.

A surplus one year can offset a possible crop failure in another year.

Problems

An increase in food prices, especially in the net importing EU countries of Germany and the UK.

A tendency to overproduce which created food surpluses.

Dumping unwanted produce on less developed countries.

Increased gap between the favoured

'core agriculture regions and the periphery.

Peripheral farm units still very small and often uneconomic.

High costs of subsidies.

'Industrial' countries such as the UK object to 70% of the EU budget being spent on agriculture.

'Five o'clock farmers' spend insufficient time on their farms. In France 15% and in Germany 30% of farmers have a second income.

Destruction of hedges to create larger fields destroys wildlife and increases the risk of soil erosion.

By reducing imports from developing countries the latter's main source of income is lost thus increasing the trade gap between the two areas.

Figure 7.25

A balance sheet showing some of the achievements and some of the problems still to be faced by the EU's Common Agricultural

Changes since 2000

• Subsidies were introduced in the early days of the EU to guarantee farmers a minimum price and an assured market for their produce.

Farmers tended, as a result, to overproduce and the payment of subsidies became an increasing drain on EU finances. Since 1992 there has been a progressive reduction in the level of subsidies paid until, in 2006, it was announced that future payments for farm produce would gradually be phased out.

Farmers are now only receiving payments if they meet environmental and animal standards and keep their land in good condition - the so-called 'health check'. The EU is, in other words, encouraging farmers to . become the 'guardians of the countryside'

• Quotas were introduced in 1984 to reduce milk output and farmers who, at present, produce too much milk are fined. Quotas are also to be phased out but, to reduce the impact on dairy farmers, not until 2015 and after five years of annual quota increases.

• Set-aside was initially introduced on a voluntary basis, but later enforced, to try to reduce overproduction, especially of cereal crops. Farmers who took 15 per cent of their land out of cultivation were given £20 a hectare. Instead of growing crops, farmers had either to leave their land fallow (pasture), turn it into woodland (under the Farm Woodland Management Scheme) or diversify into other non-agricultural land uses (Figure 7.28). By the turn of this century, an increasing number of British farmers other than cereal growers were also forced into diversification due to such factors as the high value of the pound, rising costs of animal feed and fertiliser, the reduction in subsidies and a loss of overseas markets. Diversification included, for example, creating trout farms (Figure 7.26), caravan parks (Figure

7.27), wildlife habitats (Figure 7.24), golf courses and nature trails.

• When economic conditions changed in 2007-08 and the global price of food products rapidly increased, the EU reduced the set-aside rate to zero, allowing British farmers, for example, to bring up to 5 million hectares back into production.

Figure 7.26

Kilnsey Park Trout Farm, Yorkshire

Figure 7.27

Caravan park

Figure 7.28

Diversification of farm use

Recreation

• Creation of new golf courses (possible conflict as a development on greenbelt land).

• Mountain-bike access and motorcycle scrambling (conflict with other countryside users).

• Riding stables; trout farms (Figure 7.26).

Accommodation

• Campsites and caravan parks (conflict over visual appearance - Figure 7.27).

• Holiday villages for families to stay in, surrounded by activity opportunities (conflict with local people)

Environment and wildlife

• Restoration of wetland ecosystems/re-creation of ponds (Figure 7.24).

• Planting trees/creating new areas of woodland.

• Creation of nature trails, complete with information boards.

107

Farming and the environment

The use of chemicals

• Pesticide is defined as all chemicals applied to crops to control pests, diseases and weeds. The United Nations claimed in the 1960s that one-third of the world's crops were lost each year due to these three factors. Scientists have estimated that without pesticides, yields of cereal crops could be reduced by up to 45 per cent within two years. Unfortunately, pesticides can also affect non-harmful wildlife such as bees.

•Fertiliser is a mineral compound containing one or more of the six main nutrients needed for successful plant growth. The average soil rarely contains sufficient nutrients, especially nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, to provide either a healthy crop or a high yield. Although it is expensive to use, chemical fertiliser replaces nutrients that have been removed from the soil. There is, however, considerable concern when nitrate is washed (leached) through the soil into:

- rivers where, being a fertiliser, it causes a rapid growth of algae and other plants which use up oxygen leaving insufficient for fish life - the process of eutrophication (the effects of eutrophication can be seen in Figure 7.29)

- underground domestic water supplies where it can be harmful to human health.

• Phosphate, released from farm slurry (animal manure) and untreated human sewage, can also pollute water supplies. Slurry can be 100 times more polluting than household waste (e.g. the Norfolk Broads).

The loss of wildlife habitats

The intensification of farmland during the second half of the twentieth century led to loss of important wildlife habitats, e.g. wetlands, moorlands and hedgerows.

Figure 7.29

Algal growth caused by excess nitrate in the water

The removal of hedgerows

Although most of Britain's hedgerows were only planted by farming communities in the eighteenth century, they are now often perceived to be part of our natural environment. Modern farming, especially in arable areas, uses large machines that are easier to work if the fields are large. This meant that between 1945 and 1990 over 25 per cent of Britain's hedges were cleared (in parts of East Anglia the figure was over 60 per cent) in order to create larger fields (Figure 7.30). Hedges were cleared because:

• they are costly and time-consuming to maintain

• they take up space that could be used to grow crops, and so cost the farmer money

• they limit the size of field machinery

• trees get in the way of mechanised hedge-trimmers.

In contrast, Figure 7.31 shows some of the advantages of well-maintained hedgerows.

Trees provide shade and a habitat for wildlife

Bushes are cut and laid horizontally.

Initially unsightly,

these soon produce a thick cover

Hedges reduce wind speed and their roots bind the soil, reducing erosion

Wider base adds to attraction and also provides a habitat for wildlife

Figure 7.30

A hedgeless landscape in eastern England

Figure 7.31

The advantages of hedgerows

108

Organic farming

Since the mid-1980s a small, but increasing, number of British farmers have turned to organic farming.

Compared with conventional farming, organic farming is self-sustaining in that it does not misuse soil and water resources. Instead of using chemical (artificial) fertiliser and pesticides, it favours natural fertiliser such as animal and green manure, and mineral fertiliser such as fish and bonemeal. These natural fertilisers put organic matter back into the soil, enabling it to retain moisture during dry periods, allowing better drainage and aeration during wetter spells, and reducing the risk of soil erosion and exhaustion (page 254). Organic farming involves the intensive use of both land and labour and the use of fallow land. It is less likely to harm the environment as

there are no nitrates to run off into rivers and no® pesticides to harm wildlife.

Organic farming has its problems:

• using no chemical fertiliser means that, initially, yields® are lower'

• using no pesticide means more weeding has to be done

• farmers have to wait several years before they can market their goods as 'organic'»

• the extra work means organic produce is more expensive for the shopper to buy.

Genetically modified (GM) crops

GM crops were first developed for commercial production in 1996 (Figure 7.32). Two-thirds of GM crops are produced in the USA, and 99 per cent by the USA, Argentina, Canada and China. GM crops include corn (maize), oilseed rape, sugar beet and soya beans. Although seen by scientists as a solution to food shortages in developing countries, especially in Africa, and a means of reducing food bills in developed countries, their production in the UK is being strongly opposed by conservation groups.

Genetic modification

Genetic modification involves taking genes from one species and inserting them into another to give it new qualities, such as improved resistance to pests, heat or cold.

Advocates say the technique is sound, safe and can help to increase crop yields or improve animal breeds. Detractors argue that there is a risk that genes engineered in plants and animals will be transferred to species in the wild, irreversibly altering the world's ecosystems.

Figure 7.32

From Geographical

Magazine, March 2002

Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS)—

Figure 7.33 shows the location of 22 Environmentally Sensitive Areas (ESAs) chosen because of 'their high landscape, wildlife or historic value and where it was felt that the land was under threat from changing farming practices. Farmers living in these areas were invited to join a scheme by which they received payment based on two levels of environmental commitment (replacing the payments previously paid in the form of subsidies). The lower level was paid on condition that farmers maintained the existing landscape, the higher level if they made environmental improvements such as replanting hedges or restoring ponds and traditional farm buildings. This, in 2005, became the Environmental Stewardship Scheme (ESS).

The ESS is a joint farming-environmental initiative whose main objectives are to:

• conserve wildlife

• maintain and enhance landscape quality and character

• protect the historic environment and natural resources

• promote public access and understanding of the countryside.

Within these objectives are two secondary aims: genetic conservation and flood management.

Environmentally Sensitive

Areas (22) cover about 10% of agricultural land

Pennine Dales

Lake District

North Peak

South West Peak

Shropshire Hills

Breckland

Clun

Broads

Suffolk

River Valleys

Cotswold Hills

Upper Thames

Tributaries

Test Valley

Essex Coast

North Kent Marshes

Somerset Levels & Moors

Exmoor

Blackdown Hills

¿Partmoor

Southa

Avon e

Wessex

Valley

سلحن

Downs

West enwith

South Downs

50 km

Figure 7.33

Environmentally Sensitive Areas

109

Food supply and malnutrition

The steady increase in global food production since the 1960s has led (with the exception of Africa where there has been a 10 per cent decrease) to a fall in the proportion of underfed people. At the same time, however, increases in world population and world poverty have meant a sharp increase in the number of people suffering from malnutrition. Malnutrition is caused by deficiencies in diet, either in amount (quantity) or type (quality). Until the 1970s, it was believed that malnutrition resulted from the population growing more rapidly than food supplies. Today it is attributed to poverty, as large numbers of the world's population are unable to afford to buy an adequate diet.

While malnutrition results in starvation only under extreme conditions, it does reduce people's capacity to work and their resistance to disease. In children, it can retard mental and physical development, and cause illness.

Dietary energy supply (DES)

DES is the number of calories per capita (i.e. per person) available each day in a country. Like GDP (page 180) it does not take into account differences between individuals or between areas within a country. Between 1970 and 2006 there was an increase in available food supplies per capita in every developing region except sub-Saharan Africa (Figure 7.34). It has been estimated that in most developing countries, especially those within the tropics, a person consuming less than 2350 calories per day is likely to experience chronic malnutrition (Figure 7.35). In 2006, 17 per cent of people living in these countries were suffering from this condition. Their numbers have increased from 435 million in 1975 to 630 million in 2006.

This increase is mainly due to human factors (e.g. civil wars, political instability and international debt) rather than to physical causes (e.g. natural disaster such as drought).

Figure 7.35 shows that people living in developed countries need more calories per day than those in developing countries. This is partly because there is a greater proportion of adults in developed countries (children have smaller needs) and partly because most developed countries are in cooler latitudes (where more energy is needed for body heating).

All developing regions

Figure 7.34

Percentage of chronically underfed, 1970-2006

Kilocalories consumed per person per day

Over 3500

3000-3499

2600-2999

2200-2599

Under 2200

Region

1970

1980

1990

2000

2006

Sub-Saharan Africa

Near East and North Africa

Central America and Caribbean

South America

South Asia

East Asia

China

Tropic of Cancer

Equator

Tropic of Capricorn

4000

3500

calories per person

Average daily food intake,

3000

2600

2200

1500

- 3770 USA

3670 Italy

• 3440 UK

3300 average intake for MEDCs

- 3010 Japan

- 2870 Malaysia

- 2760 Brazil

2600 average world intake

2440 India

- 2370 Bangladesh

2200 average intake for LEDCs

2150 Kenya

1930 Sierra Leone

1610 DR Congo

No data

2600

2350

Minimum requirement for a temperate climate (most MEDCs)

Minimum requirement for a tropical climate (most LEDCs)

Figure 7.35

World dietary energy supply

110

Tropic of Cancer

Equator

Tropic of Capricom

Source: World Bank, 1996

Figure 7.36

Incidence of child malnutrition

Highest:

Bangladesh 67%

India

53%

Nepal, Vietnam, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Laos Over 40%

Hair may be normal

Old man's face

Anxious look -

Like a skeleton covered in skin (very emaciated)

Thin muscles;

little fat

Very underweight

% children aged under 5 and significantly underweight

40 or more

30-39

20-29

10-19

Less than 10

No data

Hair changes to ginger

Moon face

Miserable expression

Thin muscles, fat present (puffy limbs)

Swollen extended belly

Skin change

Usually underweight

Malnutrition in children

Low birthweight babies are children born weighing less than 2500 g, their low weight being attributed to maternal malnutrition. Low birthweight children are often prone to a shortened lifetime full of health problems, including retarded development and susceptibility to disease.

Children under the age of 5 are particularly susceptible to malnutrition. In 2006, 28 per cent of children in this age-group in the developing world were considered to be underweight (Figure 7.36). The percentage is, surprisingly, highest in southern and South-east Asia where, despite improvements in food supply per capita since 1970 (Figure

7.34), 46 per cent of children in this region are underweight in contrast with 26 per cent in sub-Saharan Africa (and under 2 per cent in developed countries).

Children fall ill either because their diet contains too few proteins, which are particularly important during early stages of growth, or too few calories. The two major protein deficiency diseases are marasmus and kwashiorkor (Figure 7.37). Marasmus is most common in children in their first year of life. Kwashiorkor results from a predominance of cereals (e.g. rice) and a deficiency of protein (e.g. milk, eggs and meat). Two of several diseases resulting from a lack of vitamins are beri-beri and rickets.

Beri-beri, due to a lack of vitamin B, can lead to a wasting and paralysis of limbs. Rickets, caused by a deficiency in vitamin D, causes deformities in bones, legs and the spine.

Marasmus

(especially in first year)

Kwashiorkor

(especially years 1-5)

Figure 7.37

The effects of marasmus and kwashiorkor

Why do some people in sub-Saharan Africa suffer from malnutrition?

• The high birth rate and falling death rate means there are many more people to be fed.

• Few farmers have the money to buy high-yielding seeds, fertiliser, pesticides or machinery, or to implement irrigation schemes.

• When food is scarce, neither governments nor people can afford to buy high-priced surplus from overseas.

• During colonial times, European companies established commercial crops for their own profit instead of encouraging subsistence crops for local use. Although now independent, some governments still give tax concessions to overseas transnationals, allowing them to continue to grow these crops.

• The soil has been overused in the past and few nutrients remain. In places soil erosion has led to desertification (page 256).

• Many areas receive small and unreliable amounts of rainfall (pages 224 and 256).

• Pests and diseases destroy crops and stored grain.

• Often there is not enough protein in the diet.

• In many countries there is political instability.

111

EXACOMPT.

CASE STUDY

Subsistence rice farming

in the Lower Ganges Valley

The River Ganges flows south-eastwards from the Himalayas (Figure 7.38). The alluvium (silt) which it carries from the mountains has been deposited over many centuries to form, east of New Delhi, a flat plain and, where it enters the Bay of Bengal, a large delta (page

285). The plain and delta is one of the most densely populated parts of the world (Figure 1.1). Many of the people who live here are subsistence farmers, growing mainly rice on an intensive scale. Despite their exceptionally hard work, many farmers can only produce enough food for their own family and, perhaps, village. Rice, with a high nutritional value, can form over three-quarters of the total local diet and is a sustainable form of farming.

Physical inputs

Wet padi, a variety of rice, needs a rich soil. It is grown in silt which is deposited annually by the Ganges and its tributaries during the monsoon floods. This part of India and Bangladesh has high

Temp °C

Monsoon rains begin. Rice planted in padi-fields

20 -

Second crop harvested

Sull warm enough for crops to grow

112

New Delhh

Ganges,

Yamuna

INDIA

200 km

Major rice-growing areas

Highland

temperatures, over 21°C, throughout the year (Figure 7.39), and the continuous growing season allows two crops to be grown annually on the same piece of land. Rice, initially grown in nurseries, is transplanted as soon as the monsoon rains flood the padi-fields. During the dry season, when there is often insufficient water for rice, either vegetables or a cereal crop is grown.

Human inputs

Rice growing is labour-intensive.

Much manual effort is needed to construct the bunds (embankments) around the padi-fields, to build (where needed) irrigation canals, to prepare the fields, and to plant, weed and harvest the crop. Many farms, especially nearer the delta, are very

Rainfall mm

- 400

- 350

Rice harvested in drier weather

Second crop planted

300

- 250

- 200

150

- 100

- 50

- 0

Figure 7.39

Climate graph for Kolkata

Figure 7.38

Rice-growing areas in the Lower Ganges Valley

٦٤٣٧٦

NEPAL

Brahmapútra

Patna

BANGLADESH

Dhaka

Kolkata

Mouths of the Gange

Bay of Bengal

small. They may only measure

1 hectare (the size of a football pitch) and be divided into 12 or 15 plots.

The smallness of the farms and the poverty of the people means that hand-labour has to be used rather than machines (Figure 7.40). Water buffalo (oxen) provide manure and are used in preparing the padi-fields.

Processes

Planting rice in nursery; ploughing and transplanting rice into padi-field; harvesting rice, planting winter wheat, harvesting wheat; growing vegetables; looking after chickens.

Outputs

Rice and some wheat, vegetables, chickens (eggs/meat).

Figure 7.40

Rice cultivation on the floodplain of the River Ganges

Recent changes

Land reform Many farms in the Ganges Basin are very small and broken up into tiny plots that are spread over a wide area. This makes efficient farming difficult. Many of the poorest farm workers have no land at all and live in poverty. In contrast, a few wealthy people own much of the farmland. Three aims of land reform are to increase farm size for those with little land, to give any surplus land to landless farm labourers, and to set an upper limit to the amount of land that a wealthy family can own.

Figure 7.41

Successes and failures of the Green Revolution

Green Revolution and HYVs The Green Revolution refers to the application of modern, Western-type farming techniques to LEDCs. It began with the development of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of cereals - new varieties of maize and wheat in Mexico and rice in the Philippines (the latter increased yields by 6 per cent in the first year). Although the new seeds were faster growing and disease resistant, they needed large amounts of fertiliser and pesticides, making farming less sustainable. The successes and failures of the Green Revolution are given in Figure 7.41.

Appropriate technology This is technology suited to the needs, skills, knowledge and wealth of local people (pages 127 and 150). In the Ganges Basin this includes the building of simple, easy-to-maintain water pumps, projects that use human labour rather than machines such as tractors, low-cost irrigation schemes instead of building large dams, and the use of animal manure rather than chemical fertiliser. Such schemes are said to be sustainable (page 184) because they are affordable and help to improve people's standard of living and quality of life without damaging the environment.

Successes

• HYs have increased food production. For example, India, which used to experience food shortages until the 1960s, became self-sufficient in cereals.

• The increase in yields led to a fall in food prices.

• Faster-growing varieties allow an extra crop to be grown each year.

• Yields are more reliable as many new varieties are more disease-resistant.

• Higher yields allow other crops, notably vegetables, to be grown, adding variety to the local diet.

• HYVs allow the production of some commercial crops.

• HYVs are not so tall as traditional varieties, enabling them to withstand wind and rain.

• Many of the more well-off farmers who could afford seed, fertiliser and tractors, have become richer.

Failures

• HYVs need large amounts of fertiliser and pesticides which increase costs, encourage the growth of weeds and can harm water supplies (page 108).

• HYVs need a more reliable and controlled supply of water. They are more vulnerable to drought and to waterlogging. Irrigation, where used, increases costs and can cause salinisation (page 105).

HYVs are more susceptible to attacks by pests and diseases.

• Many of the poorer farmers who do not own the land they farm and cannot afford to buy seed, fertiliser and tractors, have become much poorer.

• Mechanisation has increased rural unemployment and migration to the towns.

• Farming has become less sustainable.