Introduction to Agriculture

1. Introduction to Agriculture

2. Economic Activity • The Primary Sector- (agriculture) is the part of the economy that draws raw materials from the natural environment. Ex. Agriculture, raising animals, fishing, forestry • This sector is largest in low-income, pre-industrial societies

3. The Secondary Sector- (industry) the part of the economy that transforms raw materials into manufactured goods. • This sector grows quickly as societies industrialize, and includes such operations as refining petroleum into gasoline and turning metals into tools or automobiles

4. The Tertiary Sector- (services) the part of the economy that involves services rather than goods • Grows with industrialization and comes to dominate post-industrial societies • Ex. Construction, trade, finance, real estate

5. The Quaternary Sector- often seen as a subset of the tertiary sector; includes service jobs concerned with research and development , management and administration • Ex. Doctors, lawyers

6. Agriculture • Agriculture- the deliberate tending of crops & livestock in order to produce food & fiber • Many countries today have relatively small percentages of their populations in agriculture • Yet agricultural production is at an all-time high

7. United Kingdom 0.5% • Russia 5.4% • China 12.5% • Mexico 3.8% • Nigeria 26.9% • Iran 11.6%

8. How?? • The nature of farming has changed with mechanization and farm consolidation, particularly in industrial and post-industrial countries • The way the land is distributed to individuals and is used for food production is determined by culture

9. Concepts: Intensive vs. Extensive • Intensive: requires lots of labor inputs or is focused on a small plot of land or both • Extensive: requires limited labor inputs or is spread across large areas of land or both

10. Hunters & Gathers • For thousands of years humans sustained themselves as hunters and gatherers • Lived in small groups of usually fewer than 50, because a large number would quickly exhaust the resources within walking distance • Men hunted game or fished & women gathered berries, nuts, and roots • Groups traveled frequently, setting up new home bases or camps

11. When, How, Why? • When, How, Why did people give up their wandering and settle to live in permanent places? • Happened in different parts of the world at different times • Settled communities developed in many places by 8000 BC • The ability to settle was based entirely on successful cultivation of plants and domestication of animals

12. Neolithic Revolution • Its the 1st Agriculture Revolution • The transformation from hunting & gathering to agriculture & settlement • It was one of the most significant markers in human history, it occurred gradually and probably by trail and error

13. Changes that resulted: • Increase in reliable food supplies • Rapid increase in total human population • Job specialization • Widening of gender differences • Development of distinction between settled people and nomads

14. Carl Sauer • According to Carl Sauer, the earliest form of plant cultivation was vegetable planting • He believed this originated in the diverse climates and topography of Southeast Asia

15. Seed agriculture • Seed agriculture is the production of plants through annual planting of seeds • This came after vegetable planting & is how most agriculture is practiced today • Sauer identified 3 hearths for seed agriculture: western India, northern China, and Ethiopia • Two independent seed agriculture hearths originated in the Western Hemisphere: Southern Mexico & northern Peru

16. Over the years innovations increased the chances of success for seed agricultural practices • Early innovations included irrigation, plowing to loosen and turn the soil, fencing to keep the animals off the fields, building terraces to provide level fields on hillsides

17. Columbian Exchange • Food in the Western & Eastern Hemispheres were almost completely different until the late 15th & 16th centuries • Products were carried both ways across the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans • For the first time in history trade routes encircled the globe

18. Crops grown in one area, like the potato that originated in the Andes Mountains, became a mainstay in another area (Ireland) • What type of diffusion? Relocation Diffusion

19. New World to Old World • Maize • Cayenne pepper • Bell peppers • Potato • Tomato • Tobacco • Rubber • Peanuts • Turkeys

20. Old World to New World • Wheat • Rice • Coffee • Apples • Citrus • Horses • Cattle • Hogs • Chicken

21. 2nd Agricultural Revolution • Began in Western Europe in the late 1600s • Intensified agriculture by higher yields per acre and per farmer • Agricultural revolution preceded the Industrial Revolution, making it possible to feed the rapidly growing population • Once the Industrial Revolution began, farming methods became much more efficient

22. Subsistence v. Commerical • Subsistence agriculture- productions of only enough food to feed the farmer’s family, with little or no surplus • Commercial agriculture- production of food surplus, with most crops destined for sale to people outside the farmer’s family

23. Shifting Cultivation • Also known as “slash & burn” or swidden agriculture • Primarily found in rain forests zones of Central & South America, West Africa, eastern & central China and Southeast Asia

24. Commercial Farming • Agribusiness- the system of commercial farming found in more developed countries • Big companies (food processing companies)sign contracts with commercial farmers to buy their grain, cattle, pigs, chicken & other products that they in turn package to sell through food outlets