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agricultural systems
Agriculture can be regarded as a system with inputs that have physical, cultural, economic and behavioural elements. In areas where farming is less developed, physical factors are usually more important, but as human inputs increase, these physical controls become less significant. This system model can be applied to all types of farming, regardless of scale or location. It is the variations in the inputs which are responsible for the different types and patterns of agriculture around the world (Figure 1). The leads to classifications of agriculture in which contrasts between the different types of farming are clear.
Figure 1: The Agricultural System
SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE
> Subsistence agriculture occurs when a plot of land produces only enough food to feed the family working it or the local community (group, tribe etc.), pay taxes and sometimes leave a little surplus for barter or to sell in better years.
> The main priority is self-sufficiency, which is achieved by growing a wide range of crops wherever possible.
> Improvements to the system are held back by a lack of capital to provide fertilisers, pesticides and other farming technology.
> Animals are kept, although where land is limited it is generally too valuable to allow grazing or growth of fodder crops.
> Where the climate is too extreme to support permanent settled agriculture, farmers become pastoral nomads, moving in search of food for their animals.
> Depending on their location, animals provide milk, meat and blood for consumption; wool and skins for shelter and clothing; dung for fuel; bones for utensils and weapons; and mounts for transport.
> Other examples of subsistence farming are shifting cultivation, which is practised in parts of the Amazon basin and in south east Asia, and wet rice agriculture, also in south east Asia and the Indian sub-continent.
> The main priority is self-sufficiency, which is achieved by growing a wide range of crops wherever possible.
> Improvements to the system are held back by a lack of capital to provide fertilisers, pesticides and other farming technology.
> Animals are kept, although where land is limited it is generally too valuable to allow grazing or growth of fodder crops.
> Where the climate is too extreme to support permanent settled agriculture, farmers become pastoral nomads, moving in search of food for their animals.
> Depending on their location, animals provide milk, meat and blood for consumption; wool and skins for shelter and clothing; dung for fuel; bones for utensils and weapons; and mounts for transport.
> Other examples of subsistence farming are shifting cultivation, which is practised in parts of the Amazon basin and in south east Asia, and wet rice agriculture, also in south east Asia and the Indian sub-continent.
COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE
> Commercial agriculture usually takes place on a large, profit-making scale. It may be carried out by individual farmers or by companies, with both groups trying to maximise the return on inputs and seeking maximum yields per unit of land.
> This is often achieved by growing a single crop or by raising one type of animal.
> Commercial agriculture develops in places where there are good communications and markets are large, often both domestically and on a global scale.
> Europeans have developed large-scale plantations in the tropics to supply the markets of Europe and North America with crops that include rubber, sugar cane, coffee, tea, palm oil, bananas, pineapples and tobacco.
> Other types of commercial agriculture include cattle ranching, commercial grain farming and the intensive cultivation of fruits, flowers and vegetables (sometimes referred to as market gardening).
> A growing number of farmers throughout the world are now abandoning the growth of staple food crops in order to produce for the emerging biofuels market.
> This is often achieved by growing a single crop or by raising one type of animal.
> Commercial agriculture develops in places where there are good communications and markets are large, often both domestically and on a global scale.
> Europeans have developed large-scale plantations in the tropics to supply the markets of Europe and North America with crops that include rubber, sugar cane, coffee, tea, palm oil, bananas, pineapples and tobacco.
> Other types of commercial agriculture include cattle ranching, commercial grain farming and the intensive cultivation of fruits, flowers and vegetables (sometimes referred to as market gardening).
> A growing number of farmers throughout the world are now abandoning the growth of staple food crops in order to produce for the emerging biofuels market.
EXTENSIVE AND INTENSIVE AGRICULTURE
Extensive and intensive refer to the relationship of inputs to each other, particularly labour, capital and land [figure below]. Extensive agriculture is carried out on a large scale, whereas intensive agriculture is usually relatively small scale.
> Extensive agriculture occurs when: 1) The amounts of capital and labour are small in relation to the amounts of land being farmed. Shifting cultivation is an example of farming in which labour and capital are both low but large areas are covered. 2) Labour is limited and capital higher. For example, cattle ranching and extensive grain cultivation in the USA, Canada and Australia.
> Intensive agriculture occurs when: 1) The amount of labour is high, even if the amount of capital is low in relation to the area being farmed. An example is intensive wet rice cultivation. 2) Labour input can be low but capital input high, allowing high levels of mechanisation and technology input. This occurs in intensive fruit, flower and vegetable production in the Netherlands.
> Extensive agriculture occurs when: 1) The amounts of capital and labour are small in relation to the amounts of land being farmed. Shifting cultivation is an example of farming in which labour and capital are both low but large areas are covered. 2) Labour is limited and capital higher. For example, cattle ranching and extensive grain cultivation in the USA, Canada and Australia.
> Intensive agriculture occurs when: 1) The amount of labour is high, even if the amount of capital is low in relation to the area being farmed. An example is intensive wet rice cultivation. 2) Labour input can be low but capital input high, allowing high levels of mechanisation and technology input. This occurs in intensive fruit, flower and vegetable production in the Netherlands.
ARABLE, PASTORAL AND MIXED FARMING
> Arable refers to growing crops, whether on an intensive scale (e.g. rice and market gardening) or on an extensive scale (e.g. grain farming on the Canadian prairies). Arable farming usually takes place on the more favoured land which is flatter and has high quality soil.
> Pastoral farming involves animals and usually takes place in areas less favourable to arable farming (wetter, steeper, colder, higher). This can be at an extensive scale (e.g. pastoral nomadism and cattle ranching) or intensive (e.g. dairy farming).
> Mixed farming occurs when farmers grow crops and rear animals on the same farm. It tends to take place in more developed countries where it reduces the commercial risk of relying on one type of farming. It is typical of farming in many parts of the British Isles. In subsistence areas it reduces the risk of food shortages.
> Pastoral farming involves animals and usually takes place in areas less favourable to arable farming (wetter, steeper, colder, higher). This can be at an extensive scale (e.g. pastoral nomadism and cattle ranching) or intensive (e.g. dairy farming).
> Mixed farming occurs when farmers grow crops and rear animals on the same farm. It tends to take place in more developed countries where it reduces the commercial risk of relying on one type of farming. It is typical of farming in many parts of the British Isles. In subsistence areas it reduces the risk of food shortages.
GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION OF FARMING TYPES
Figure 2 shows the general global distribution of certain types of farming based on those described above. It should be remembered that:
> there is no widely accepted consensus on how the major types of farming should be recognised and classified.
> boundaries between farming types, as drawn on a map, are usually very arbitrary.
> one type of farming merges gradually with a neighbouring type: there are few rigid boundaries
> several types of farming may occur within each broad area - as in West Africa, where sedentary cultivators live alongside nomadic herdsmen.
> a specialised crop may be grown locally - e.g. a plantation crop in an area otherwise used by subsistence farmers.
> types of farming alter over a period of time with changes in economics, rainfall, soil characteristics, behavioural patterns and politics.
> there is no widely accepted consensus on how the major types of farming should be recognised and classified.
> boundaries between farming types, as drawn on a map, are usually very arbitrary.
> one type of farming merges gradually with a neighbouring type: there are few rigid boundaries
> several types of farming may occur within each broad area - as in West Africa, where sedentary cultivators live alongside nomadic herdsmen.
> a specialised crop may be grown locally - e.g. a plantation crop in an area otherwise used by subsistence farmers.
> types of farming alter over a period of time with changes in economics, rainfall, soil characteristics, behavioural patterns and politics.
Figure 2: Global distribution of agricultural types
Figure 3 indicates the highest value agricultural production by commodity group for each country, as recognised by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations.
ACTIVITY - FARMING AS A SYSTEM
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