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Food Production Systems

Food Production Systems. Darlene Oehlke. Types of Food Production Systems. Extensive Commercial Farming Intensive Commercial Farming Subsistence farming Shifting Cultivation (Tavy) (Slash and burn in the tropics) Fisheries. Extensive Commercial Farming.

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Food Production Systems

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  1. Food Production Systems Darlene Oehlke

  2. Types of Food Production Systems • Extensive Commercial Farming • Intensive Commercial Farming • Subsistence farming • Shifting Cultivation (Tavy) (Slash and burn in the tropics) • Fisheries

  3. Extensive Commercial Farming • Large areas of land produce a lot of food per farmer, but the output per acre is lower than with intensive methods.

  4. Extensive Commercial Farming • Crop Yields are maximized for profit

  5. Extensive Commercial Farming • High fossil fuel input • High Mechanization • Modern Technology • Water from irrigation • Commercial fertilizers • Chemical pesticides to kill insects • Chemical herbicides to kill weeds • Low human labor input • High capital input • GM crops or selectively breed seeds

  6. Outputs from Extensive Commercial farming • Large amounts of food per farm • Grassland diversity lost • Habitat for animals lost • Soil degradation in many cases • Pollution from fertilizer runoff • Pollution from pesticides and herbicides • Water waste from irrigation • Pollution from fossil fuels • Soil Compaction from heavy machinery use

  7. Intensive Commercial Farming • High labor input • High technology • High capital input • High energy input • High fertilizer input • Chemical pesticides and fertilizer • Mechanization

  8. Intensive Commercial Farming Outputs: High crop yields from intense land use High Energy Efficiency Example: Western Netherlands greenhouses and dairy

  9. Subsistence Farming • Subsistence farming - only feeds one family in LEDC’s • Small plots of land • Wide range of animals and plants • Polycultures – a mix of crops • High human labor input • Low capital input • Vulnerable to food shortages

  10. Subsistence Farming • www.untotheleast.com • home.jeffandsue.org • bamboovillagepress.blogspot.com High human labor input

  11. Subsistence Farming: Crops are grown to feed a family • Intense labor input: The whole family helps • Sometimes marginally productive land is used • Polycultures are common: many different plants and a variety of animals • If the crop fails, food shortages result.

  12. Extensive Subsistence Farming • Slash and burn • High Land input • Soil degradation • Low capital input (axes) • Low labor input • Fragile soil degrades if it cannot rest

  13. Slash and burn in Brazil • Low output - feeds the family - www.pbs.org

  14. Slash and burn • If done on a small scale, the forest grows back in 20 years. Increasing human population causes more pressure on the land.

  15. Environmental concern: Soil degradation.

  16. Intensive Subsistence Farming • High yield per acre • High efficiency • Low environmental impact • Intensive human labor • High quality seeds and fertilizers

  17. Intensive Subsistence farming

  18. Nomadic Herding in LECD’s • High land input • Animals graze a large area • Low labor input - herding • Low capital input • This is an example of Extensive Subsistence Food Production

  19. Nomadic HerderWater BuffaloIndia

  20. Masai herdsmenKenya, Africa

  21. More about the Masai:Kenyan drought adds to woes… Shrinking land, growing population -BBC news • Subsistence farming is subject to food shortages

  22. Overfishing: The stock cannot breed fast enough

  23. Aquaculture: Commercial Fish farming

  24. Aquaculture • Inputs: Fish, food, antibiotics, chemicals to treat fish disease • Output: Fish! • Concerns: High populations of fish in a small area • Pollution from fish waste, antibiotics fed to fish • Escaping fish

  25. Rice fish farming

  26. Rice fish farming • China has been doing this for 1700 years • Deep water rice and Oujiang red carp are raised together • Low input (less fertilizer and pesticide use) • Low cost technology • Fish fertilize the rice • The fish also offer biological control of pests, including an invasive snail • FAO

  27. Rice Fish farming in Vietnam • The fish eat small snail pests - FAO

  28. Polyculture of a traditional rice fish farm

  29. Towards sustainable agriculture • Human labor and simple tools do not use fossil fuels • Crop yields are higher when the farming is intensive

  30. Soil Conservation Measures • Add lime to increase pH • Add organic materials like compost • Reduce the wind: wind breaks, strip cultivation and shelter belts • Terrace to avoid erosion • Contour plowing • Avoidance of plowing marginal lands

  31. Alternatives to chemical fertilizers • Growing of highly productive, nitrogen and biomass crop • aerobic compost piles • re-introducing micro-nutrients by importing locally generated food waste

  32. Alternatives to chemical herbicide and pesticides • Biological control - Using natural predators • Crop rotation • Polyculture

  33. Bibliography • www.energyfarms.net • www.fao.org

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