Study Notes on Agriculture Origins and Practices

Introduction to Agriculture, Food Production and Rural Land Use

  • Overview of agriculture as a critical aspect of human life and economic activity.

I. Definitions

  • Agriculture: Deliberate modification of the Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain.

  • Crop: Any plant cultivated by people.

  • Statistics: 97% of the world's farmers reside in Less Developed Countries (LDCs), with about 50% engaged in farming; the majority of these are subsistence farmers. In comparison, only about 5% of farmers are in More Developed Countries (MDCs). For instance, in the U.S., approximately 2% are farmers, with a decline from 6 million farms in 1940 to 2 million today. Despite this, the U.S. remains one of the world’s leading exporters of crops.

II. Origins of Agriculture

  • Hunting and Gathering: For over a million years, early humans lived in clans averaging fifty individuals, leading a nomadic existence following food sources. Men primarily hunted and fished while women gathered fruits, nuts, and roots. This lifestyle required only a few hours of daily work; an estimated 250,000 hunter-gatherers exist today, such as the Sentinelese of the Andaman Islands and the San (Bushmen) of Southern Africa.

  • The First Agricultural Revolution: Beginning around 8000 BCE, characterized by a gradual warming of the climate, this marked a shift from sporadic agriculture to permanent settlements. Key features include:

    • The Fertile Crescent as an early, significant hearth for the domestication of plants and animals.

    • Through seed selection, plant sizes increased over time; notable crops included barley, wheat, and oats. This period represents the initial integration of plant growing and animal rearing, leading to diffusion into Europe and Central Asia.

  • Worldwide Agricultural Hearths: Multiple hearths for crop domestication include:

    • Southwest Asia: Wheat, barley, oats, lentils, olives.

    • Southeast Asia: Mango, taro, coconut.

    • East Asia: Rice, millet.

    • Central Africa: Sorghum, yams, rice.

    • Mexico: Beans, cotton, maize.

    • Peru: Potatoes, maize.

    • Southeast of present-day U.S.: Squash.

  • Carl Sauer's Contribution: Identified eleven agricultural hearths for plant domestication, including two main types of agriculture:

    1. Seed Agriculture: Involves replanting seeds from previous crops.

    2. Vegetative Planting: Reproducing plants through cutting stems and dividing roots.

  • Animal Domestication: Critical for livestock and labor; key milestones include:

    • Southwest Asia (12,000 years ago): Domestication of dogs.

    • Southwest Asia (9,000 years ago): Domestication of cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep.

    • Central Asia (6,000 years ago): Domestication of horses.

    • Historical note: Only about forty animals have ever been domesticated successfully.

III. Subsistence vs. Commercial Agriculture

  • Subsistence Agriculture: Mainly focuses on producing food chiefly for consumption by the farmer's family, prevalent in LDCs.

  • Commercial Agriculture: The primary aim is food production for sale off the farm, mostly found in MDCs.

  • Derwent Whittlesey's Typology: Identification of eleven main agricultural regions, noting the connection between climate and agriculture types:

    • Types of Subsistence Agriculture (LDCs):

    • Shifting cultivation.

    • Intensive subsistence (wet rice dominant).

    • Intensive subsistence (wet rice not dominant).

    • Pastoral nomadism.

    • Types of Commercial Agriculture (MDCs):

    • Mixed crop and livestock.

    • Dairy.

    • Grain.

    • Livestock ranching.

    • Mediterranean.

    • Commercial gardening/plants.

    • Plantation farming found in LDCs.

IV. Agricultural Practices and Economics

  • Commercial Farming Context: Average U.S. farm size is 449 acres; 98% family-owned but heavily dominated by a few large operations:

    • 5% of farms produce 75% of U.S. agriculture due to efficient mechanization and significant loans. This system proves practical only on larger farms.

  • Integration and Impacts: Despite a reduction in the number of farms and farmers, land usage has increased by 13% due to irrigation and land reclamation, driven by heavy agribusiness reliance on communications and information technologies.

    • This includes tractor manufacturing and fertilizer production, encompassing long supply chains from farm to retailer. Farmers make up 2% of the labor force, yet 20% contribute to food production processes like processing and distribution.

  • The Second Agricultural Revolution (1780-1850): Originating in England, spreading to Western Europe and the U.S., marked by urbanization, mechanization, and improved transportation:

    • Mechanization with innovations like the all-iron plow and equipment such as the McCormick Reaper, tractors, and seed drills; increased transportation access via trains and refrigerated boxcars.

    • The British Enclosure Movement facilitated consolidation of small landholdings into larger farms, laying the foundation for commercial agriculture.