Introduction to Agriculture

Economic Factors influence on Agriculture

• Subsistence Agriculture: farming system that grows crops mainly for consumption by farmers & their families

  • Mostly in less-develop regions

  • small farms

  • basic machinery

  • large percentage of people farm

  • diverse agricultural activity

• Shifting cultivation: or slash & burn, it uses fire to create fields for crops but only plants there a short time

  • Tropical Climate (Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa, S.E. Asia)

• Pastoral nomadism: grazing animals on wide spaces

  • Arid regions or dry Climate (N. Africa, S.W., Central & E. Asia)

• Wet Rice Farming: rice cultivation in a flooded field

  • Warm Mid-latitude Climate (S., S.E. & E. Asia)

• Commercial Agriculture: farming system that grows crops primarily for sale rather than for consumption on the farm

  • Common in more develop region, becoming increase common in semi-periphery countries

    • China, Mexico & Brazil

  • large farms

  • complex machinery

  • small percentage of people farm

  • Specialized agriculture

• Plantations: Usually done in the tropics to grow cash crops

  • Tropical climate (Latin America, Sub-Saharan Africa & S.E. Asia

• Mediterranean Agriculture: Growing fruits & orchard crops

  • Warm Mid-latitude Climate (S. Coast of Europe, N. coast of Africa & West coast of U.S.)

• Commercial Gardening: tropical fruits & vegetable grown in the U.S.

  • Warm Mid-latitude Climate (S.E. U.S. & S.E. Australia)

• Grain Farming: Often too dry for mix crops, farmers often raise wheat (Spring & Winter Wheat)

  • Cold Mid-Latitude Climate (N. Central U.S., S. Central Canada & E. Europe)

• Mix Crop & Livestock Ranching: Crops are grown to feed the livestock, in turn the livestock manure is used a fertilizer

  • Cold & Warm Mid-latitude climate (Mid-West U.S. & Canada, Central Europe)

• Livestock Ranching: tends to have animals confined to a specific area

  • Arid or Dry climate (Western U.S., S.E. S. America, Central Asia & S. Africa)

• Dairy farms: Large-scale milk production

  • Cold & Warm Mid-Latitude Climate (N.E. U.S., S.E. Canada & N.W. Europe)

Special note: Most grain (corn) produced in the U.S. primarily used as livestock feed.

Divided into two farming practices:

• Intensive agriculture: form of agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land

• Extensive agriculture: consists of any agricultural economy in which the crops &/or animals are found on large areas of land with minimal labor input per acre

There are commercial & subsistence forms of both intensive & extensive agriculture

• Intensive Commercial

  • Global Location: Core, semi-periphery & periphery

  • Regional Location: Near urban centers & transportation hub

  • Input: Large amount of labor & machinery

  • Example: Dairy farming & plantation

• Intensive Subsistent

  • Global Location: Primarily periphery & semi-periphery

  • Regional Location: Near urban centers & transportation hub

  • Input: Labor intensive production on small plots of land

  • Example: Farmers with wide crop variety

• Extensive Commercial

  • Global Location: Core, semi-periphery & periphery

  • Regional Location: Near transportation centers with access to processing centers

  • Input: Small amount of labor & machinery on a vast stretch of land

  • Example: Grain farming & livestock ranching

• Extensive Subsistent

  • Global Location: Primarily periphery & semi-periphery

  • Regional Location: Near sparsely populated areas w/ access to local markets

  • Input: Minimal machinery, large amount of land with high labor

  • Example: Pastoral Nomadism & Shifting cultivation

Agricultural Production Regions

Bid-Rent Theory

• Model that explain the varying price & demand for land relative to the CBD (Central Business District)

  • Land closer to the CBD will have more competition for it, businesses will want to maximize profit

• Commerce will situate in the inner core of the city

  • Will pay higher rent for the “prime spot”

  • Greater accessibility = more opportunity to attract a large population to their businesses

• Industry will locate further away from the CBD

  • Needing more land for a lower price/rent

  • Want low price without being too far from the marketplace

Von Thünen Model

Attempts to separate between land use patterns based on the different scales of agricultural production

• Relating transportation costs to distance from the market in an attempt to further explain rural land use

Like any model, it has (unrealistic) assumptions

It predicts:

• More intensive rural land-uses closer to the marketplace

  • Commercial farming of milk (dairying)

• Farms locate closer to urban areas to minimize distance & lower transportation costs

  • Milk will spoil

• Not needing much space, can afford the higher price of land in regions closer to the market

• More extensive rural land-uses further from the marketplace

  • Ranching

• Livestock need plenty of land to graze

  • Farmers occupied land further out

    • Land is relatively low price

  • When the Model was developed, the livestock were not slaughtered until they reached the city market

    • No refrigeration/keeping the meat fresh wasn’t an issue

Note: Rural land-use zones are represented by concentric rings in the model

4 zones or concentric rings represented the von Thunen Model

• Start with the solid center core (not included as a ring) being the central city or urban center or marker

• Zone 1: Intensive agriculture and dairying

  • Fresh milk, dairy products, certain fruits & vegetables

  • Products spoil quickly & are high in demand

    • Need to be closest to the marketplace

  • High in demand farmland (because of its accessibility) & very expensive

• Zone 2: Forest

  • Firewood & fuel production

  • Carrying heavy loads would be difficult being located far away

  • When Model was created, forest material was high in demand for building & fuel

    • Needing to get to the market quickly!

• Zone 3: Extensive field crops

  • Grains for bread

    • Require larger chunks of land for growing/harvesting

  • Grains last a time, lightweight & stored easily

  • Situated further away because cheap to transport

• Zone 4: Ranching

  • Cheap pasture range is furthest from the center

  • Livestock were driven “on the hoof” to the city market

    • Reducing the cost of transporting them such a long distance

Main assumptions for this model

• Region doesn’t have any outside influences that could disturb the internal economy

  • Isolated region

• Soil & climate are uniform throughout the area

• Completely flat region -> no river valleys or mountains that would affect travel

• Only one centrally located city in the region surrounded by unoccupied land

• Farmers would transport their own goods to the market

  • By oxcart, straight to the city, etc.

Women in Agriculture

Over time, women have played a larger role in the production of and increased consumption of food

• Scope of their roles vary based on where they are located geographically & type of production being used

Women make up about 40% of the labor force in agriculture

Close to 70% in countries still practicing subsistence agriculture.

• Men often move to the city, while women stay behind with the children and run the farm

Women are taking a leading role in food production today

There are factors that still limit their presence:

• Crop being produced

• Production cycle

• Age of female

• Ethnic group

• Generally, activities, weeding & harvesting are primarily for females

Obstacles that Limit Gender Equality in Agriculture (particularly in LDCs)

• Economic - women have to take care of their children, the household & partake in farming at the same time

• Cultural - many parts of the world, gender roles & social norms prevent women from acquiring or owning their own land

• Political - laws & government policies are set in place to prevent women from owning land

Empowering Women in Agriculture

In developing countries, empowering women to play a greater role in agriculture will result in drastic, positive, demographic changes

• Causing lower birth rates, lower total fertility rates, & decrease in population

  • Help the economy in these regions

• Increased life expectancies