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land colonisation
Areas that were not previously developed for agriculture have been exploited, sometimes on a massive scale. The purpose of this expansion has been to provide new land for subsistence farmers or to grow commercial crops for domestic consumption or exports to bring in foreign earnings.
Apart from the examples described below, land colonisation can involve draining marshes, reclaiming land from the sea and extending cultivation into dry areas through the provision of irrigation.
BRAZIL
In the 1970s the government opened up vast tracts of the Amazon basin to provide farmland for the landless people of Brazil, particularly those in the impoverished north east. This caused considerable damage to the rainforest and such migration programmes have now ended. In recent times, however, large areas have been deforested in order to provide pasture and land for soya bean farming. Pasture is the most inexpensive agricultural use as it requires a relatively small and unskilled workforce. Cleaning forest for soya beans, particularly in the south of the region, is considered by the government to be an effective use of the land. Brazil has become a leading producer of grains, accounting for more than one third of the country's GNP. Increasing the cultivated area has been a way of increasing agricultural production to meet the demand of a rapidly growing population - but at what cost to the environment?
Apart from the examples described below, land colonisation can involve draining marshes, reclaiming land from the sea and extending cultivation into dry areas through the provision of irrigation.
BRAZIL
In the 1970s the government opened up vast tracts of the Amazon basin to provide farmland for the landless people of Brazil, particularly those in the impoverished north east. This caused considerable damage to the rainforest and such migration programmes have now ended. In recent times, however, large areas have been deforested in order to provide pasture and land for soya bean farming. Pasture is the most inexpensive agricultural use as it requires a relatively small and unskilled workforce. Cleaning forest for soya beans, particularly in the south of the region, is considered by the government to be an effective use of the land. Brazil has become a leading producer of grains, accounting for more than one third of the country's GNP. Increasing the cultivated area has been a way of increasing agricultural production to meet the demand of a rapidly growing population - but at what cost to the environment?
INDONESIA
Transmigration schemes were developed in Indonesia to move people from the highly populated islands of Java, Bali and Madura to less populated islands. Migrants were provided with a house and a plot to farm. The scheme was begun under Dutch colonialism, but the Indonesian government developed it in the 1970s and 80s, moving millions to the less densely populated outer islands (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi). The provision of farming plots, as in Brazil, led to the destruction of tropical forests and the scheme has now been dropped by the government.
Transmigration schemes were developed in Indonesia to move people from the highly populated islands of Java, Bali and Madura to less populated islands. Migrants were provided with a house and a plot to farm. The scheme was begun under Dutch colonialism, but the Indonesian government developed it in the 1970s and 80s, moving millions to the less densely populated outer islands (Kalimantan, Sumatra, Sulawesi). The provision of farming plots, as in Brazil, led to the destruction of tropical forests and the scheme has now been dropped by the government.