Agriculture
What is Agriculture and Where did Agriculture Begin?
Agriculture – the purposeful tending of crops and raising of livestock in order to produce food and fiber.
Economic Activities
Primary economic activities
products closest to the ground
Secondary economic activities
Manufacturing of primary products into new products
Tertiary economic activities
service industry – connecting producers to consumers to facilitate trade
Quaternary economic activities
Information or the exchange of goods
Quinary economic activities
tied into research or higher education
Primary activities
Production right from the earth
Agriculture
Mining
Fishing
Secondary activities
Manufacturing
Primary products become new products
Value-added
Tertiary activities
Services
Country development and economic activity
Less developed countries tend to have
Higher percentage of people in primary activities
Very few in tertiary activities
More developed countries tend to have
Low percentage of people in primary activities
High percent in tertiary activities
The First Agricultural Revolution
Where did plant domestication begin?
South and Southeast Asia
early domestication of root crops, up to 14,000 years ago.
Southwest Asia (the Fertile Crescent)
early domestication of seed crops, about 10,000 years ago.
World Areas of Agricultural Innovations
Example of selection- Corn
The First Agricultural Revolution
Where did animal domestication begin?
Fertile Crescent
began about 8,000 years ago
Subsistence Agriculture –
Agriculture in which people grow only enough food to survive.
- farmers often hold land in common
- some are sedentary, and some practice shifting cultivation
* slash-and-burn
Shifting cultivation/slash and burn/swidden agriculture
How did Agriculture Change with Industrialization?
Levels of production
Intensive agriculture
Smaller plots
More production per area unit of crop
Labor intensive
Dairy
Organic farming
vegetables
Extensive agriculture
Larger areas
Less production per area unit of crop
Less labor
Cattle ranching
Corn, soy
Second Agriculture Revolution
A series of innovations, improvements, and techniques used to improve the output of agricultural
surpluses (started before the industrial revolution).
eg. seed drill
advances in livestock breeding
new fertilizers
Von Thunen Model
What farmers produce varies by distance from the town, with livestock raising farthest from town.
Cost of transportation governs use of land.
First effort to analyze the spatial character of economic activity.
Third Agriculture Revolution
(Green Revolution)
invention of high-yield grains, especially rice, with goal of reducing hunger.
- increased production of rice
- new varieties in wheat and corn
- reduced famines due to crop failure,
now most famines are due to
political problems
- impact (in terms of hunger) is greatest
where rice is produced
Average Daily Calorie
Consumption per Capita
Opposition to Green Revolution
Opposition argues Green Revolution
has led to:
vulnerability to pests
Soil erosion
Water shortages
Micronutrient deficiencies
Dependency on chemicals for production
Loss of control over seeds
Year Round Rice Production –
- lands that used to be used for family subsistence are now
used for commercialized farming with revenues going to the men.
- women do the work of rice production and see little of the benefit because of the power relations in
Gambia
What Imprint does Agriculture make on the Cultural Landscape?
Cadastral Systems
Township and Range System
(rectangular survey system) is based on a grid system that creates 1 square mile sections.
Metes and Bounds Survey
uses natural features to demarcate irregular parcels of land.
Longlot Survey System
divides land into narrow parcels stretching back from rivers, roads, or canals.
Agricultural Villages
Linear Village
Cluster Village (nucleated)
Round Village (rundling)
Walled Village
Grid Village
Functional Differentiation within Villages
Cultural landscape of a village reflects:
Social stratification (How is material well being reflected in the spaces of a village?)
Differentiation of buildings (What are they used for? How large are they?)
Agricultural Villages
In USA we have dispersed rural settlements
How does the rest of the world’s rural settlement patterns differ?
What is the Global Pattern of Agriculture and Agribusiness?
Commercial Agriculture
Term used to describe large scale farming and ranching operations that employ vast land bases,
large mechanized equipment, factory-type labor forces, and the latest technology.
- roots are in colonial agriculture
- today, global production made possible by advances
storage
Agriculture and Climate
in transportation and food
Climate Regions (based on temperature and precipitation) help determine agriculture production.
Agriculture Regions – drier lands usually have livestock ranching and moister climates usually have
grain production.
World Map of Agriculture
Cash Crop and Plantation Agriculture
Cotton and Rubber
Luxury Crops
Commercial Livestock, Fruit, and Grain Agriculture
Subsistence Agriculture
Mediterranean Agriculture
Illegal Drugs

World Map of Climates
Mediterranean Climates- what are they known for?
Agribusiness and the Changing Geography of Agriculture
Commercialization of Crop Production
With the development of new agricultural technologies, the production of agriculture has
changed.
- eg. Poultry industry in the US
production is now concentrated
farming is turning into manufacturing
Organic Agriculture
Organic Agriculture –
The production of crops without the use of synthetic or industrially produced pesticides and
fertilizers or the raising of livestock without hormones, antibiotics, and synthetic feeds.
- sales of organic foods on the rise
- grown everywhere
- demand in wealthier countries
Fair Trade Agriculture
Fair Trade Coffee –
shade grown coffee produced by certified fair trade farmers, who then sell the coffee directly to
coffee importers.
- guarantees a “fair trade price”
- over 500,000 farmers
- produced in more than 20 countries
- often organically produced
Human Environment
How has the Earth Environment Changed over Time?
Earth’s Environment
Pangaea – the super-continent that broke apart into fragments we know as continents.
Plate Tectonics –
the earth is divided into plates, which are in motion. Earthquakes and volcanoes often occur along plate
boundaries.
Pacific Ring of Fire
Indian Ocean Tsunami, 2004
As population grows and more development occurs on coastlines, more people are vulnerable to
environmental hazards.
Natural disasters
Natural disasters only exist where people liveAs population grows, so do the scope of the disasters
Wisconsin Glaciation – the most recent glaciation of the Pleistocene.
Up until now, changes in climate were “natural”
Holocene –
interglaciation, which began 18,000 years ago.
Little Ice Age –
a minor glaciation that began in the early 1300s. Glaciers began to grow, and affected agriculture
production.
Tambora Volcano erupted in 1815, changing climate again and putting an end to the Little Ice Age.
How have Humans Impacted the Earth Environment?
Humans impact Environment by:
Altering ecosystems
All humans (over time) alter their environments.
With growth in population, impact is greater.
Environmental Stress
Cutting forests, emitting pollutants, spilling oil
Burying toxic waste, dumping garbage in oceans
Humans impact Environment by:
Water Shortages
Water is a renewable resource, but we are depleting water in aquifers (porous, water
holding rocks) at a fast rate.
What causes the shortages?
Growing population
Large population concentrations near small supplies
Agricultural and industrial use
Hydrological Cycle –
carries moisture from the oceans and other water bodies over the land, where precipitation, runoff, and
evapotranspiration sustain the system.
In arid landscapes, such as the American Southwest,
dams and narrow ribbons of water bring water to the people.
Humans impact Environment by:
Atmosphere
A thin layer of air lying directly above the lands and oceans.
What is breaking down the atmosphere?
Human pollution
Volcanic action (dust into atmosphere)
Impacts
Global Warming
Acid Rain
Humans impact Environment by:
The Land
Humans causing deforestation, soil erosion, and desertification.
What are the impacts?
Deforestation: affect oxygen cycle
Soil Erosion: soil not having enough time to rebound
Waste Disposal: solid waste is filling landfills
and toxic and radioactive wastes are difficult to dispose of and keep confined.
Soil Erosion Overuse of land in Guangxi-Zhuang, China has led to the collapse of formerly-sound terracing systems.
Humans impact Environment by:
Biodiversity
Loss of biodiversity because species are threatened or quite concentrated.
What species are most affected?
The species with a small range
Why?
Destruction of a relatively small habitat area can cause extinction of a species with a small
range.
What are the Major Factors Contributing to Environmental Change Today?
Political Ecology –
An approach to studying nature-society relations that is concerned with the ways in which
environmental issues both reflect, and are the result of, the political and socioeconomic contexts in which
they are situated.
eg. Use scale to see how attempts to “solve”
environmental problems varies by scale.
Major Factors Contributing to Environmental Change
Population
Where is population growing?
What places are most vulnerable
to hazards?
Natural Disaster Hot Spots
Top map shows potential for mortality risks if major natural disasters occur.
Bottom map shows the potential economic risks if major natural disasters occur.
Major Factors Contributing to Environmental Change
Technology
Resource extraction to fuel technologies
Transportation
Significant pollution
Energy Demands
OIL!
Locations of Visible Oil Slicks
Oil dependency and transportation creates more opportunities for oil slicks.
Global warming
Alternative Energy Sources
Wind energy parks, such as this one in Lake Benton, Minnesota, are filled with hundreds of enormous
turbines to generate energy.
Wind is a clean, renewable energy.
How are Humans Responding to Environmental Change?
Issues with Solving Environmental Problems
Environmental problems are not confined to states, but states pass the laws that affect change.
eg. Air pollution drifts across borders
Lack of fit between State and Environmental Issue
The Major Forest Regions of Africa do not follow state boundaries, but the World Bank’s planning
regions are drawn along state boundaries.
Issues with Solving Environmental Problems
Global Conventions on Environmental Problems
eg. Convention on Biological Diversity
Vienna Convention for the
Protection of the Ozone Layer
Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change