Rural Homework 2 Intensive Peasant Farming

1. Rural Homework 2Intensive Peasant Farming • The following points could be made; • Steep terraced hillside- to increase cropped area in mountain environment. • Soil bunds-help to retain water in paddy fields. • Flooded fields needed for the growth of young rice plants. • Water buffalo- lack of finance for machines/landscape unsuited to the use of machines. • Many working used due to lack of machinery, most jobs like transplanting seedling very slow labour intensive work. • Rice is grown, two to three crops can be grown every year, and this supports a massive population density. • Farming settlement on edge of cultivated area, people live in small villages and from the village head to the fields every day. • Coconut and palm trees left growing to supplement diet.

2. Rural Homework 2Intensive Peasant Farming Answer should include a description of the graph, quoting crops, years and output Your explanation could include; • Introduction of HYVs (High Yielding Varieties) of seed • Increased use of fertilisers and pesticides • Improvements to irrigation • Increased mechanisation • Improvements infrastructure/buildings/roads/electricity etc..

3. Rural Homework 2Intensive Peasant Farming • Impact can be negative or positive • Increased yields produced by HYV(s), has lead to surpluses making countries like Thailand self sufficient in food supplies. Also allows Thailand to export surplus for foreign earnings. However HYVs are expensive to buy and not self propagating so peasant farmers have high reliance on foreign imports. • Use of chemicals in farming, HYVs don’t perform with the use of chemicals, often making it too expensive for poor farmers. Also with high illiteracy rates many farmers don’t use chemicals properly, often polluting water supplies. Also these chemicals are toxic and dangerous. • Increased use of mechanisation has lead to high unemployment rates and increased rural to urban migration. • There may be some hostility to new types of rice due to poor taste. • Mainly large rich farmers who benefit, poor farmers become poorer. • Less deforestation due to rural to urban migration • Many areas of Africa are still not self-sufficient • Irrigation channels can encourage the spread of water borne diseases. • Land reform has lead to the amalgamation of farms to create larger more efficient farm units. • New roads, has meant that the tourists industry can develop allowing farmers to diversify and increase their income.