Agriculture
Most important question of the day: What’s for lunch?
Agriculture: deliberate land modification through plant
cultivation and raising animals for food or profit.
• Percentage of labor force MDC:
5% (avg.), LDC: 55%
Source URL: http://www.faculty.de.gcsu.edu/~dvess/gissues/agrlabor.jpg
Subsistence Agriculture:
food production primary for farm family consumption
Example: slash and burn
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6b/Bakweri_cocoyam_farmer_from_Cameroon.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subsistence_farming
Commercial Agriculture:
• food production primarily for sale off the farm
• Can Start as subsistence farming, excess sold
• Can transition to pure commercial agriculture
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http://www.internationalspecialreports.com/theamericas/00/bahamas/17-2.gif
http://www.georgetowncranberry.com/images/skipper.jpg
Agribusiness
integration of commercial agriculture into food processing,
usually by corporations
Image: http://www.agribusinessmgmt.wsu.edu/Templates/index_images/Landscape-Green_r2_c24_.jpg
Source: http://www.agribusiness-mgmt.wsu.edu/
Wet Rice Agriculture
Subsistence
Cash Crop
Flooding, pests, (Same)
drought, wind,
disease,
population
Lower yield
No / low debt
Higher yield
Need inputs
Higher debt
Low profit
Profits 
machinery,
inputs, savings
for lean years
• Generally expands to hillsides as population increases
• In earthquake zones, mudslide risks increase… Also, storms.
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Image: http://geographyfieldwork.com/riceterrace_small.jpg
Information: http://geographyfieldwork.com/RiceFarm.htm
Swidden Agriculture / slash and burn / shifting cultivation
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Slash vegetation.
Burn the slashed veg.
Plant in nutrient ashes.
Yields drop off.
Change sites. Repeat.
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Requires much land
recovering from past
slash and burn
activities.
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/rainforest/26.JPG
Slash: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/rainforest/22.JPG
Burn:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/rainforest/26.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/ra
inforest/&h=512&w=768&sz=140&tbnid=TO1EkMcffXOxEM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=141&hl=en&start=5&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dshifting%2Bcultivation%26svnum%3
D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26safe%3Doff%26client%3Dfirefox-a%26rls%3Dorg.mozilla:en-US:official_s%26sa%3DG
Growth: http://www.taa.org.uk/Courses/Week4/Swidden2.jpg
Tree: http://www.sln.org.uk/geography/images/SLN@Malaysia2005/Richard%20and%20Bob/Shifting%20cultivation%20266.jpg
Story: http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/rainforest/
Shifting cultivation (observations)
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SOUND: Done wisely, it is
ecologically sound in
otherwise uncultivable soils.
POPULATION: Increasing
population density eventually
makes this practice
unsustainable.
TITLE: In some countries,
land tenure (ownership) is
established by cutting the
land, not leaving it “idle”
(letting it recover).
COMPETITION: In some
places, shifting cultivation is
being replaced by a pattern
of logging, cattle ranching,
and more intensive cash crop
cultivation.
LOSS: This can be a first
step in forest conversion to
grassland.
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/rainforest/26.JPG
http://www.artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/images/rainforest/27.JPG
Issues for subsistence agriculture:
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Population growth
– Forest fallow  bush fallow  short fallow  annual  multi-cropping
• Intensification may not be sustainable. (Site dependent)
– New farming methods require cash.
• more inputs: fertilizer, manure, new tools, more labor intensive
• new seeds and new crops
• Needs to have enough income to fertilize, buy equipment, buy seed.
International trade pressure:
– conversion of food crops to cash crops for more profit…
– drug crops (can be involuntary)
Intensive subsistence agriculture:
Examples: wet rice cultivation, dry farming
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maximize yield per acre, minimize unused land, some
double cropping
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low machinery inputs, high animal and human inputs
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dry farming  crop rotation
Pastoral nomadism works on marginal lands…
If you avoid overgrazing!
Story: http://www.geographie.uni-freiburg.de/ipg/forschung/ap1/current_projects/chad/nomads_project%20area.html
Image: http://www.geographie.unifreiburg.de/ipg/forschung/ap1/current_projects/chad/harmattan%20vaches%20en%20transhumance%20big.jpg
MDC farming:
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Mixed crop and livestock farming: crops  animals  humans (e.g.
beef, milk, eggs)
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crop rotation, nitrogen fixing crop intermixed with primary crop(s)
Dairy farming: within range of market (avoid spoiling), refrigeration
extends this range
Grain farming: e.g. wheat belt
Livestock ranching: often on marginal lands in the West, also
Amazonia, Pampas, Outback
Mediterranean agriculture: Horticulture: growing of fruits and
vegetables, and flowers
Commercial gardening and fruit gardening: horticulture, large
scale, migrant workers
Plantation farming: specialize in 1-2 crops, once slavery, now import
workers
How Do you figure out what to grow where?
Von Thunen Model: Important
Influences:
• Market Price
• Distance
• Transportation Cost
– Perishability, (actually covered under transportation cost)
• Likely on the quiz, test, and final exam.
Von Thunen Model
• Distance is a function of land rent and transportation costs.
• Basically, what produces the most profit at each location?
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http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch6en/conc6en/img/vonthunen.gif
Info: http://people.hofstra.edu/geotrans/eng/ch6en/conc6en/vonthunen.html
Issues for commercial farmers:
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Access to market: Von Thunen model (ring and transport)
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Land rent and distance driven… too far  no profit, lose $
Overproduction
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encourage growth of crops with global demand
price subsidies
buy surplus yield, often donate to foreign governments
Unsustainable agriculture
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move to more sustainable practices
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sensitive land management
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Ridge contour tillage
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limited use of chemicals
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(organic farming)
Issues for subsistence farmers:
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Population growth
– Forest fallow  bush fallow  short fallow  annual
cropping  multi-cropping
• Conversion from slash and burn to multi-crop farming
may not be sustainable
Profit motives impact farmers.
– Lure of money
– Land loss (legal, and illegal) to for-profit activity
International trade pressure:
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conversion of food crops to cash crops
– may make the economy dependent on foreign
foods
– if so, cash crop shortfalls or price drops 
avoidable food shortages
drug crops
– forced or voluntary growth of drug crops
Strategies for increasing food supply:
Increase agricultural land
– marginal lands
• require careful management for long-term yields
• must worry about soil salinization, selenium, etc.
• desertification: human action causes land deterioration
to a desert-like state.
• Increase land productivity
– green revolution
• often requires nutrient inputs (external, cost)
• often relies on machines (external, cost, needs gas)
• seed stocks are foreign owned, possibly not self
propagating
Strategies for increasing food supply: (part 2)
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Identify new sources:
– Cultivate the oceans
• We are already over-fishing now.
– (Stock recovery, or risk extinction.)
– Develop higher protein cereals (decrease meat demand)
– Promote the consumption of under-used foods, e.g.
soybeans (soy burgers, etc.)
increase trade
– Reduces local famines
– Works until you run out globally.
• Who starves first?
Food supply crises
Example: Africa
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Population increases faster than local food supply.
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Over-planting removes soil nutrients.
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Trees harvested for firewood.
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Overgrazing removes grasses and herbs.
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Desertification is a major problem.
– The desert has been marching south towards the sea.
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Warfare, ethnic cleansing, cash crops, and global warming
exacerbate the problem.
Questions?
• Review notes.