Agriculture

1. Agriculture Chapter 10

2. Origins Of Agriculture • Agriculture- deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain • Cultivate-to care for • Crop-any plant cultivated by people • Agriculture began when humans first domesticated plants and animals for their use

3. Hunters and Gatherers • Small familial groups of 50 or less who survived by gathering plants and hunting wild animals • Most of time used to search for food • Lived nomadic lifestyle with few possessions • Approx. 250million people sill live this way • Isolated areas of the Arctic, the interior of Africa, Australia, and South America

4. Invention of Agriculture • Plant cultivation most likely evolved from a combination of accidental and deliberate experiments • Carl Sauer theorizes there are 2 types of cultivation • Vegetative agriculture- reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots (earliest form) • Seed agriculture- reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization

5. Location of Agricultural Hearths • Agriculture has multiple, independent points of origin • Sauer believes vegetative planting originated in SE Asia • Climate and topography encouraged wide variety of plants suitable for dividing and transplanting • People relied on fishing which made them more sedentary—more time to devote to plants

6. continued • Crops probably included roots such as taro and yam, and tree crops such as the banana and palm • Animals probably included the dog, pig, and chicken • Other early vegetative planting hearths were in West Africa and northwestern South America

8. Location of First Seed Agriculture • Sauer identified 3 seed agricultural hearths in the Eastern hemisphere (western India, northern China, and Ethiopia) and 2 in the Western hemisphere (southern Mexico and northern Peru) • The western India hearth diffused quickly into southwest Asia– where wheat and barley were first domesticated • Also first to integrate domestication of herd animals such as sheep, cattle and goats

9. continued • Mexico was the point of origin for squash and maize • Beans and cotton may have originated in Peru • Diffusion occurred from these two hearths, but agriculture was not widespread until the arrival of the Europeans • The only domesticated animals were the llama, alpaca, and turkey before the arrival of the Europeans

11. Classifying Agricultural Regions • The most fundamental differences in agricultural practices are between those in LDCs and MDCs • LDCs practice subsistence agriculture • Production of food primarily for consumption by the farmer’s family • MDCs practice commercial agriculture • Production of food for sale

12. Differences Between Subsistence and Commercial Agriculture • Five principal features distinguish commercial agriculture from subsistence agriculture • Purpose of farming • % of farmers in the labor force • Use of machinery • Farm size • Relationship of farming to other businesses

13. For own consumption Little surplus might be sold Might not be any surplus because of growing conditions Products grown for sale Sold to food-processing companies such as General Mills or Kraft Purpose of Farming

14. More than 50% involved in agriculture Less than 10% employed in farming Only 2% in US and Canada, yet still produce a large surplus to sell internationally # of farmers declined drastically during 20th century % of Farmers in the Labor Force

16. Most work is done with hand tools and animals Use of machinery allows a small # of farmers to feed many people Transportation improvements such as railroads and highways get fresh products out quickly Scientific advances also used to increase productivity– fertilizers, herbicides, hybrid plants, and animal breeding Use of Machinery

19. Farm Size • Farm size is relatively large esp. in US and Canada– avg. 444 acres • 98% are still family owned in US • The biggest 1.4% of US farms account for 48% of all agricultural sells they average 3000 acres • About half of all US farms generate less than $5000 a year in sales (about 100 acres on average)

20. continued • Large size is a consequence of mechanization • Machines work more efficiently on large plots of land and they are also too expensive to justify on small farms

21. continued • US is losing about 1.2 million acres of farmland per year of its 1 billion acres of farmland • Prime agricultural land- most productive farmland—alarming problem • Decreasing in US because of urban sprawl

22. Relationship of Farming to Other Businesses • Commercial farming is closely tied to other businesses • Agribusiness-commercial agriculture char. by integration of different steps in the food-processing industry, usually through ownership by large corporations • farmers are less than 2% of US workforce, but 20% of labor force works in food production and other services related to agribusiness such as fertilizer production, tractor manufacturing, etc.

23. Mapping Agricultural Regions • Derwent Whittlesey (1936)identified 11 main agricultural regions plus an area of nonexistent agriculture • Subdivided between 5 regions that are important in LDCs and six that are important in MDCs • Used climate to sort agricultural practices • Influences crops that are grown and if animals are raised instead of growing crops

25. continued • The correlation b/w agriculture and climate is not perfect, but it definitely exists • Geographers warn not to put too much emphasis on climate because of environmental determinism • Cultural preferences explain some agricultural differences in areas of similar climate • Ex. No hogs in Muslim areas

26. Agricultural Characteristics of LDCs • There are 4 agricultural types characteristic of LDCs • Shifting Cultivation • Pastoral Nomadism • Intensive Subsistence Agriculture • Plantation Farming

27. Shifting Cultivation • Practiced in much of the world’s Humid Low-Latitude, or A, climate regions, which have relatively high temperatures and abundant rainfall • Prevalent in the Amazon are of SA, Central and West Africa, and SE Asia • Def- a form of subsistence agriculture in which people shift activity from one field to another; each field is used for crops for a relatively few years and left fallow for a relatively long time

28. Characteristics of Shifting Agriculture • Slash-and-burn agriculture • Fields are used until the nutrients are depleted then they are left fallow for many years so the soil can recover • People who practice usually live in small villages and grow food on surrounding land, which the village controls

29. The Process of Shifting Cultivation • Trees removed, undergrowth cleared and burned, ashes soak into the soil with rain to provide nutrients • Cleared land called by many names such as: • Swidden • Ladang • Milpa • Chena • kaingin

30. continued • Fields are prepared by hand with simple tools such as hoes—plows and animals are rarely used • Land is usually only good for three years before all the nutrients are used • The second year after burning usually brings the best harvest • When the swidden is no longer fertile, a new area is prepared • The old field will be left to nature for a period of 6 to 20 years before it is used again

31. Crops of Shifting Cultivation • Predominately upland rice in SE Asia, maize and manioc (cassava) in South America, and millet and sorghum in Africa • Yams, sugarcane, plantain, and vegetables are also grown in some regions

32. Ownership and Use of Land In Shifting Cultivation • Land usually owned by the village and the chief or ruling council assigns individual patches to families • Private individuals do own the land in some places, especially in Latin America • About ¼ of World’s land area is used for shifting cultivation

33. continued

34. Future of Shifting Agriculture • Land used for shifting cultivation is declining by about 30,000 sq. miles per year • Being replaced by logging, cattle ranching, and cultivation of cash crops • Leads to a lot of deforestation in the tropics

35. Pastoral Nomadism • Def.- a form of subsistence agriculture based on the herding of domesticated animals • Adapted to dry climates where planting crops is impossible • Primarily done in North Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia • Only 15 million in the World, but sparsely occupy 20% of land area

36. Characteristics of Pastoral Nomadism • Depend on animals for survival • Provide milk, skins and hair are used for clothing and shelter • Usually don’t slaughter for food, but those that die may be eaten • Grain still the main source of food • May trade for it, or plant a small amount if the land will support it

38. Choice of Animals • Type and # chosen based on local customs and physical characteristics of land • Camels the animal of choice in North Africa and the Middle East, followed by sheep and goats

39. Movements of Pastoral Nomads • Have a strong sense of territoriality • Groups try to control enough territory to contain the forage and water needed for survival • Routes are based off of best chances to find water during the various seasons of the year

40. continued • Some nomads practice transhumance • Seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas • Pasture- grass or other plants grown for feeding grazing animals, as well as land used for grazing

41. The Future of Pastoral Nomadism • Declining form of agriculture • Governments try to resettle them to gain land that can be irrigated for crops or for the mining and petroleum industries

42. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture • Shifting cultivation and pastoral nomadism are found only in areas of low density in LDCs—they don’t produce enough to support higher densities • In those areas intensive subsistence agriculture is used • Form of subsistence agriculture in which farmers must expend a relatively large amount of effort to produce the maximum feasible yield from a parcel of land

43. continued • Done in densely populated areas of Asia • Because of the high agricultural density in East and South Asia, families must produce enough food for survival off a very small piece of land • Most work done by hand or with the help of animals • Virtually no land is wasted

44. Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice • Wet rice- the practice of planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then moving the seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth • Occupies small part of Asia’s agricultural land but is the most important source of food • Common in SE China, East India, and much of SE Asia

45. continued • Growing of rice has many steps • Field plowed with help of oxen or water buffalo • Land is then flooded with water (not too much, not too little, but just right) • Flooded land called a sawahnot apaddy, which actually means wet rice

46. continued • Plant seedlings on dry land then transplant them into the sawah • Plants are harvested by hand using knives • The husks (chaff) are separated from the seeds by beating them (threshing) on the ground • Threshed rice is put in a tray and the lighter chaff is winnowed—blown away by the wind

47. continued • Wet rice more easily grown on flat land • Most takes place in river valleys and deltas • Hillsides are often terraced t provide more land for cultivation

49. continued • Double cropping, harvesting two crops in one year from the same field, is used in places with warm winters to increase food production • Involves alternating between wet rice in the wetter summer months with wheat or barley in the winter

50. Intensive Subsistence with Wet Rice Not Dominant • The climate in some parts of Asia is not conducive to growing wet rice (interior of India and NE China) • The crop is different but the characteristics are much the same • Land used to its fullest, and hand tools and animals are used • Wheat and Barley are the most important crops grown for food • Cotton, flax, hemp, and tobacco are grown for sale