Geography of Agriculture Unit 5

1. Geography of AgricultureUnit 5

2. About 45% of the world's population makes their living through agriculture. The proportion of the population involved in agriculture ranges from about 2% in the United States to about 80% in some parts of Asia and Africa. There are two types of agriculture, subsistence and commercial. There are millions of subsistence farmers in the world, those who produce only enough crops to feed their families.

3. Around 10,000 – 12,000 years ago, humans began to domesticate plants and animals for food. Before this first agricultural revolution, people relied on hunting and gathering to obtain food supplies. While there are still groups of hunters and gatherers in the world, most societies have switched to agriculture.

4. The beginnings of agriculture did not just occur in one place but appeared almost simultaneously around the world, possibly through trail and error with different plants and animals or by long term experimentation. • Between the first agricultural revolution thousands of years ago and the 17th century, • agriculture remained pretty much the same.

5. In the seventeenth century, a second agricultural revolution took place which increased efficiency of production as well as distribution which allowed more people to move to the cities as the industrial revolution got under way. The eighteenth century's European colonies became sources of raw agricultural and mineral products for the industrializing nations

6. Now, many of the countries which were once colonies of Europe, especially those in Central America, are still heavily involved in the same types of agricultural production as they were hundreds of years ago. Farming in the twentieth century has become highly technological in more developed nations with geographical technologies like GIS, GPS, and remote sensing while less developed nations continue with practices which are similar to those developed after the first agricultural revolution, thousands of years ago.

7. Many subsistence farmers use the slash and burn or swidden agricultural method. Swidden is a technique used by about 150 to 200 million people, and is especially prevalent in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. A portion of land is cleared and burned to provide at least one and up to three years of good crops for that portion of land. Once the land can no longer be utilized, a new patch of ground is slashed and burnt for another round of crops. Swidden is not a neat or well-organized method of agricultural production by it is effective for farmers who don't know much about irrigation, soil, and fertilization.

8. The second type of agriculture is commercial agriculture, where the primary purpose is to sell one's product at market. This takes place throughout the world and includes major fruit plantations in Centra America as well as huge agribusiness wheat farms in the Midwestern United States.

9. H. Von Thunen developed a model in 1826 (which wasn't translated into English until 1966) for the agricultural use of land. It has been utilized by geographers since that time. His theory stated that the more perishable and heavier products would be grown closer to urban areas. By looking at the crops grown within metropolitan areas in the U.S., we can see that his theory still holds true. It is very common for perishable vegetables and fruits to be grown within metropolitan areas while less-perishable grain is predominantly produced in non-metropolitan counties.

10. Agriculture uses about a third of the land on the planet and occupies the lives of about two and a half billion people. It's important to understand where our food comes from.

11. Geographers commonly identify two major "belts" of crops in the U.S. The wheat belt is identified as crossing the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Corn, which is primarily grown to feed livestock, reaches from southern Minnesota, across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.

12. Green Revolution

13. The term Green Revolution refers to the renovation of agricultural practices beginning in Mexico in the 1940s. Because of its success in producing more agricultural products there, Green Revolution technologies spread worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s, significantly increasing the amount of calories produced per acre of agriculture. 1

14. The beginnings of the Green Revolution are often attributed to Norman Borlaug, an American scientist interested in agriculture. In the 1940s, he began conducting research in Mexico and developed new disease resistance high-yield varieties of wheat. By combining Borlaug's wheat varieties with new mechanized agricultural technologies, Mexico was able to produce more wheat than was needed by its own citizens, leading to its becoming an exporter of wheat by the 1960s. Prior to the use of these varieties, the country was importing almost half of its wheat supply. 2

15. Countries all over the world in turn benefited from the Green Revolution work conducted by Borlaug and this research institution. India for example was on the brink of mass famine in the early 1960s because of its rapidly growing population. Borlaug and the Ford Foundation then implemented research there and they developed a new variety of rice, IR8, that produced more grain per plant when grown with irrigation and fertilizers. Today, India is one of the world's leading rice producers and IR8 rice usage spread throughout Asia in the decades following the rice's development in India. 4

16. Due to the success of the Green Revolution in Mexico, its technologies spread worldwide in the 1950s and 1960s. The United States for instance, imported about half of its wheat in the 1940s but after using Green Revolution technologies, it became self-sufficient in the 1950s and became an exporter by the 1960s. 5

17. The crops developed during the Green Revolution were high yield varieties - meaning they were domesticated plants bred specifically to respond to fertilizers and produce an increased amount of grain per acre planted. 6

18. Since fertilizers are largely what made the Green Revolution possible, they forever changed agricultural practices because the high yield varieties developed during this time cannot grow successfully without the help of fertilizers. Irrigation also played a large role in the Green Revolution and this forever changed the areas where various crops can be grown. For instance before the Green Revolution, agriculture was severely limited to areas with a significant amount of rainfall, but by using irrigation, water can be stored and sent to drier areas, putting more land into agricultural production - thus increasing nationwide crop yields. 7

19. Irrigation also played a large role in the Green Revolution and this forever changed the areas where various crops can be grown. For instance before the Green Revolution, agriculture was severely limited to areas with a significant amount of rainfall, but by using irrigation, water can be stored and sent to drier areas, putting more land into agricultural production - thus increasing nationwide crop yields. 8

20. Finally, the use of Green Revolution technologies exponentially increased the amount of food production worldwide. Places like India and China that once feared famine have not experienced It since implementing the use of IR8 rice and other food varieties. Along with the benefits gained from the Green Revolution, there have been several criticisms. The first is that the increased amount of food production has led to overpopulation worldwide. The second major criticism is that places like Africa have not significantly benefited from the Green Revolution. The major problems surrounding the use of these technologies here though are a lack of infrastructure, governmental corruption, and insecurity in nations. 9

22. Germany: The Sturm Family of Hamburg. Food Expenditure for One Week: € 253.29 ($325.81 USD). Favorite foods: salads, shrimp, buttered vegetables, sweet rice with cinnamon and sugar, pasta

23. Hungry Planet: What The World Eats What's on family dinner tables around the globe? Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio traveled the world documenting that most basic of human behaviors — what we eat. Their project, “Hungry Planet,” depicts everything that an average family consumes in a given week–and what it costs — laid out in thought-provoking detail.

24. Norway: The Ottersland Dahl Family of Gjettum. Food expenditure for one week: 2211.97 Norwegian Kroner; $379.41 USD. Favorite foods: fresh baked bread with butter and sugar, pancakes, tomato soup with macaroni and cold milk, yoghurt

25. Japan: The Ukita family of Kodaira City. Food expenditure for one week: 37,699 Yen or $317.25. Favorite foods: sashimi, fruit, cake, potato chips.

26. Italy: The Manzo family of Sicily. Food expenditure for one week: 214.36 Euros or $260.11. Favorite foods: fish, pasta with ragu, hot dogs, frozen fish sticks.

27. Chad: The Aboubakar family of Breidjing Camp. Food expenditure for one week: 685 CFA Francs or $1.23. Favorite foods: soup with fresh sheep meat.

28. United States: The Revis family of North Carolina. Food expenditure for one week: $341.98. Favorite foods: spaghetti, potatoes, sesame chicken.

29. Mexico: The Casales family of Cuernavaca. Food expenditure for one week: 1,862.78 Mexican Pesos or $189.09. Favorite foods: pizza, crab, pasta, chicken.

30. China: The Dong family of Beijing. Food expenditure for one week: 1,233.76 Yuan or $155.06. Favorite foods: fried shredded pork with sweet and sour sauce.

31. Ecuador: The Ayme family of Tingo. Food expenditure for one week: $31.55. Family recipe: Potato soup with cabbage.

32. United States: The Caven family of California. Food expenditure for one week: $159.18. Favorite foods: beef stew, berry yogurt sundae, clam chowder, ice cream.

33. Bhutan: The Namgay family of Shingkhey Village. Food expenditure for one week: 224.93 ngultrum or $5.03. Family recipe: Mushroom, cheese and pork.

34. Australia: The Browns of River View - Food expenditure for one week: 481.14 Australian dollars or US$376.45. Family Recipe: Marge Brown's Quandong (an Australian peach) Pie, Yogurt.

35. United States: The Fernandezes of Texas - Food expenditure for one week: $242.48. Favorite Foods: Shrimp with Alfredo sauce, chicken mole, barbecue ribs, pizza.