Part 5
5.4
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
What are the
agricultural
characteristics of
irrigation farming in
southern California?
Part B
Part 5
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
What are the farming constraints in
southern California?
Inadequate farm
labour
Water shortages
Alkaline and
infertile soil
Lack of good
quality farmland
© Oxford University Press 2009
Farming
constraints in
southern
California
• Lack of young
farmers
• Not enough farm
workers for farming
during peak season
Pests and
diseases
• Spending a large
sum of money in
controlling exotic
pests and diseases of
agricultural plants and
animals
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
How can farmers overcome the farming
constraints in southern California?
Farming technologies
Overcoming physical
constraints
Environmental
improvement
Biological
innovation
© Oxford University Press 2009
Overcoming cultural
constraints
Hiring workers
Use of
chemicals
Improvements in
mechanization
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Do areas with similar natural environments
have similar agricultural characteristics?
Nomadic herding in
Irrigation farming in
the Sahel
southern California
Farming constraints
Rainfall
Low and unreliable
_______
unreliable
Low and ___________
Soil
Dry and infertile
_________
Alkaline and _________
infertile
Drainage No major rivers
A major river running through
running through a large southern California
part of the Sahel
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Do areas with similar natural environments
have similar agricultural characteristics?
Nomadic herding in
Irrigation farming in
the Sahel
southern California
Characteristics of the farming system
Pastoral farming (subsistence
farming)
• Low inputs of capital, chemicals,
technology and little government
help
© Oxford University Press 2009
_______
Arable farming (commercial
farming)
• ( Low / High ) inputs of capital,
chemicals, technology and much
government help
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Do areas with similar natural environments
have similar agricultural characteristics?
Nomadic herding in
Irrigation farming in
the Sahel
southern California
Characteristics of the farming system
• ( Little / Heavy ) reliance on
irrigation
• ( Low / High ) farm yield
• Main outputs: milk, meat, hides
(mainly for self-consumption)
© Oxford University Press 2009
• Heavy reliance on irrigation
• High farm yield
• Main outputs: fruits, vegetables
(sold in local and overseas
markets)
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Do areas with similar natural environments
have similar agricultural characteristics?
Nomadic herding in
the Sahel
Irrigation farming in
southern California
Man-land relationship
• Adapts to the environment by • Uses ________
cultural inputs to
practising transhumance
© Oxford University Press 2009
modify the physical
environment
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Do areas with similar natural environments
have similar agricultural characteristics?
We can notice that there is a
big difference in the levels of
cultural inputs between the
two
farming
systems.
Nomadic
herding
in
the Sahel
Irrigation farming in
southern California
Outcome
Are cultural factors becoming
• ( Low / High ) living standard
• High living standard
increasingly
dominant over
shortages
• May have food ___________
• World’s leading agricultural
physical
factors
in influencing
during droughts
exporter
agriculture?
• Pollution
• Negative impact on the
ecosystem
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Are cultural factors becoming increasingly
dominant over physical factors in
influencing agriculture?
Information about agriculture in the Zhujiang Delta
Agricultural information
1980
2005
Total value of agricultural production
(billion RMB)
3.9
89.1
Let’s take the farming system
2)
Area of cultivated in
land
(kmZhujiang
9,677 Region
5,421
the
Delta
as
Agricultural population (million) an example.
11.7
6.1
How
dovalue
the above
Why does the
total
of
figures
change?
agricultural production
still
increase?
© Oxford University Press 2009
Part 5
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Are cultural factors becoming increasingly
dominant over physical factors in
influencing agriculture?
(Credit: Yeung Kam Chuen)
Let’s look at the photos
taken in a large,
modernized farm in
Shunde, Guangdong.
Do higher levels of cultural
inputs help increase the total
value of agricultural production?
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Are cultural factors becoming increasingly
dominant over physical factors in
influencing agriculture?
Cultural
If the inputs
cultural
Less developed
regions
More developed
regions
inputs
are high,
the importance
of the
physical factors
willlabour-intensive
be ( raised / lowered
).
Labour
Much,
Little, capital-intensive
Farming
Simple
and traditional
and advanced
More skills
developed
regions
use capitalModernized
and technologies
to
Capital
modify
Smallenvironment which
Large
the natural
is not favourable
for of
farming. It helps
Level
Low improve yields.High
mechanization
In contrast, the levels of capital input in less developed
Inadequate
Available
low
/ high ). These regions
do not have
enough capital to modify the unfavourable physical
Transport
By cart or truck
By train, lorry (refrigerated
environment. Therefore,
their agricultural
production is
if necessary) or even air
constrained by physical factors.
Knowledge to use
regions are (
machines
Market
© Oxford University Press 2009
Local
National and overseas
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Are cultural factors becoming increasingly
dominant over physical factors in
influencing agriculture?
Inputs to
agriculture
Temperature
Rainfall
Relief
Constraints
Methods to overcome
environmental constraints
Low temperature
Temperature controlled
greenhouse
_____________
How
can
Drought; unreliable
rainfall
Irrigation and
sprinkler systems
these
Undulating
constraints be
Ploughing machine; land
overcome?
levelling machine
Water supply
Insufficient water
supply
Irrigation system
__________
Soil
Infertile soil
Fertilizers
___________
Seeds
Poor seed
Genetically
___________-modified
seeds
Pest
Spread of pest
Pesticides
___________
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Are cultural factors becoming increasingly
dominant over physical factors in
influencing agriculture?
Profit on
the sale of
farm
produce
© Oxford University Press 2009
Cost of
applying
advanced
technologies
If the profit on the
sale of farm produce
is less than the cost
of applying advanced
technologies,
commercial farmers
will adopt ( less /
more ) technologies.
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Physical constraints
1
Water shortages
The annual rainfall is low and
unreliable.
Most rain falls in ( summer /
winter ).
Rainfall ( decreases /
increases ) inland.
The Central Valley is in the
_____________
rain shadow which receives
little rainfall.
At the southern tip of
California, a desert-like
climate is found.
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Physical constraints
2
Alkaline and infertile soil
Low rainfall
makes it difficult
for rocks to
decompose into
soils and release
nutrients
High evaporation
rates bring salts
to the surface
Poor soils result
in low yields
Soils become
alkaline and
unfavourable for
growing crops
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Physical constraints
3
Lack of good quality farmland
The relief is ( gentle /
hilly ) as a whole.
Central Valley
There is a lack of arable
land. The only major
lowland can be found in
the Central Valley and the
Imperial Valley.
The deserts in the south
hinders extensive
agricultural activities.
Mojave
Desert
Pacific
Ocean
(Credit: NASA)
© Oxford University Press 2009
Imperial
Valley
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming physical constraints
1
Environmental improvement
In order to overcome dry conditions and unreliable
rainfall, irrigation is applied.
Large dams
have been built
to store water.
Water is then
transported to
farms by canals
and aqueducts.
California Aqueduct
(Credit: Peter Essick/Getty Images)
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming physical constraints
1
Environmental improvement
There are three major irrigation methods:
Gravity flow system
Irrigation water
is drained into
the furrows and
the water flows
downslope due
to gravity
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming physical constraints
1
Environmental improvement
There are three major irrigation methods:
Sprinkler system
Sprinklers are
used to
distribute water,
usually in a
circular way
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming physical constraints
1
Environmental improvement
There are three major irrigation methods:
Drip irrigation system
The hot sun evaporates
the surface water rapidly
Small tubes are put near
the roots of a crop
Water dripping out
from the holes of
the small tubes.
Less water
evaporates
Water infiltrates
into the soil
© Oxford University Press 2009
Plant roots can absorb
water more efficiently
Small tubes with
pinholes are used to
water the root zone of
a crop.
Chemical fertilizers
and pesticides can be
applied to the
irrigation water
through the system.
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming physical constraints
2
Biological innovation
If the game cannot work
properly, click here to
download the latest
Adobe Flash Player.
Biotechnology such as genetic engineering has been
Crops and
used to produce crops and livestock.
livestock which
will be more
productive and
adaptive to their
surroundings
are selected for
genetic
engineering.
Locate the
correct genes in
the “gene pool”
and drag them
onto the
appropriate box.
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming physical constraints
3
Use of chemicals
Farmers use chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides
heavily in producing crops.
What are the
benefits of using
chemicals?
Using chemicals
can help reduce
crop failure,
improve crop
quality, ensure a
high yield per unit
of land and lower
production costs.
Spraying pesticides by a small plane (Credit: Ed Darack/Getty Images)
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming cultural constraints
1
Hiring workers
Why was there a
decrease in farm
operators within the age
group 25–44 years?
Most non-farmers
earn ( less / more )
money than most
farmers. Thus few
young people
choose to be
farmers.
Number of farm operators in southern California
Source: Census of Agriculture (1997 and 2002), US Department of Agriculture
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming cultural constraints
1
Hiring workers
How to solve the
problem of lacking
farm workers?
Farmers in
southern California
hire workers from
_________
Mexico to do
the farm work in
order to solve the
problem of farm
labour shortage.
Number of farm operators in southern California
Source: Census of Agriculture (1997 and 2002), US Department of Agriculture
© Oxford University Press 2009
Combating famine―Is technology a panacea for food shortages?
Part 5
Overcoming cultural constraints
2
Improvements in mechanization
The widespread use of mechanical planting and
harvesting equipment has improved productivity.
Computers have been increasingly used in farming
operations, e.g. computers help farmers to decide when
to irrigate and how much water to use.
Tractor
Harvester
(Credit: Ed Young/Corbis)
© Oxford University Press 2009