Agriculture

Agriculture• deliberate modification of Earth’s surface

through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals– Cultivate = “to care for”– Crop = any plant cultivated by people

Agriculture (terms to know)• Subsistence:

– production of food primarily for the family (in LDCs).• Commercial:

– production of food primarily for sale off of the farm (MDCs and growing in LDCs).

• Intensive– requires lots of labor or is focused on a small plot of

land or both. High agricultural density.• Extensive

– requires limited input of labor or is spread across a large area of land or both. Low agricultural density

• The use of certain methods (chemicals, monocultures) could represent an intensification of what would be otherwise extensive farming.

Commercial Farming

• ALL farming in MDCs– Increasing in LDCs

• began w/2nd Agricultural Rev. and Industrial Rev. (1700s → )

• Aided by (see guided reading)– mechanization– transportation– scientific advances – electronics

• Consolidation– largest 5% = 75% of output– fewer farms and farmers

• 60% less farms, 85% less farmers

• Integration with “agribusiness”– Current business model of farming where

the farm is no longer isolated but part of a larger food-processing industry.

MDC Farmers Face Economic Difficulties• Overproduction

– Green Revolution, machines, tech. science, etc. – leads to lower prices– demand remains relatively constant in MDCs, why?– Most MDCs are in stage 4/5

• consequence: incomes for farmers are low• susceptible to acquisition (Industrial farms)

» ECONOMIES OF SCALE• govt policies (subsidies) to support agriculture

• suburbanization– “Urban sprawl” vs. prime agricultural land

• Both want land that is flat and well-drained (near markets)

danger of being “suburbanized” as cities expandLoss of Productive Farmland

Subsistence Farming Difficulties• Is agricultural land in LDCs maxed out?

• recent decrease/stagnation in the amount of arable land• desertification

– change land from arable to non-arable (“make into a desert”) – caused by overgrazing, soil erosion, excessive farming, etc.

Effect of desertification and suburbanization

Subsistence Farming Difficulties• Is agricultural land in LDCs maxed out?

• Excess water usage for irrigation can lead to – Aquifer depletion/declining water table

Subsistence Farming Difficulties• Have we reached a point where food production is

unable to match population growth? Why?– LDC dilemma?

• Goal = achieve development with w/switch to cash crops – International trade model of development

• Less land for food crops for local consumption– food must be the purchased which leaves less investment for

development• most lucrative cash crop?

– drugs

Flow of Drug Crops

Subsistence Farming Difficulties• Have we reached a point where food production is

unable to match population growth? Why?– LDC dilemma?

• Goal = achieve development with w/switch to cash crops – International trade model of development

• Less land for food crops for local consumption– food must be the purchased which leaves less investment for

development• most lucrative cash crop?

– drugs– environmental impact

• deforestation– from switch to ranching, logging etc.

» MDCs want meat and lumber, LDCs want the cash– Also from subsistence farming “slash and burn” farming

Deforestation

Strategies to increase food supply– Expanding agricultural land

• better irrigation to reduce stress on water supplies– drip irrigation (Israel)

– Identifying new food sources• cultivating oceans

– But 3/4ths of fish stocks are overfished or already fully utilized • developing higher-protein cereals

– Ineffective in areas that don’t rely on processed foods • improving palatability of foods

– Krill is now abundant due to whale overfishing and the collapse of the USSR, but nasty tasting!

– Increasing trade• Ship global overproduction to areas in need• Where most food is produced is not where it is most

needed (unbalanced production/consumption)

Origins of agriculture• Origins

– Hunter-gatherers• Perhaps 250,000 remaining today

– San in Southern Africa, Aborigine in Australia

– Invention of agriculture• When it began = unclear, diffused from many hearths

The First Agricultural Revolution• Southeast Asia: Root crops, up to 14,000

years ago (Sauer) • Southwest Asia (the Fertile Crescent): Seed

crops, about 10,000 years ago → Neolithic Revolution = “1st Agricultural Revolution”

The Fertile Crescent

The Fertile Crescent• 1st cultivation of seed crops

– Enlargement of plants from seed selection• Generated a surplus of wheat and barley• Leads to?

– CIVILIZATION!!!!• Animal domestication

– Began in Fertile Crescent (c. 8000 years ago)• pigs, sheep, goats, dogs, cattle• Relatively few domesticated animals• Continuing efforts not very successful

– 1st integration of plant growing and animal raising • Crops used to feed livestock

– Use fallow fields to graze• Livestock to help crops

– Dung is fertilizer, clear stalks etc.• Used for milk, hides,

– beasts of burden

Animal Hearths

Second Agricultural Revolution• series of innovations, improvements, and techniques

used to improve the output of agricultural surpluses– 17th and 18th centuries (linked to Scientific Rev.)

• Enclosure Act = larger farms– Allows experimentation

• New tools (seed drill, water wheel, etc.)• Advances in livestock breeding (selective)• New fertilizers (non-chemical)• More efficient crop rotation

• Closely connected to the Industrial Revolution– displaced farmers/pop. growth → factory workers

• Urbanization (so also connected to the 2nd Urban Rev.)– increased food supply

• Feeds urban factory workers, • lowers CDR • Helps to move UK into stage 2

Agricultural density

• Calculated as:– # of farmers/arable land– High density = ?

• LDCs, Why?• Low farming efficiency

– Farming done by hand

High Agricultural Density

Agricultural density

– Low density = ?• MDCs, Why?• Advanced technology and finance• Corporate or large scale farming

– Farms are getting bigger!

Low Agricultural Density

Green Revolution (3rd Agriculture Rev.)• Innovations developed in U.S. Midwest (1930s → )

– Norman Borlaug “the man who saved a billion lives”– diffusion to LDCs (1960s → )

• shift from subsistence to commercial methods in LDCs• adoption of a western farming model

– methods include:• use of chemical fertilizers/pesticides • machinery • better irrigation methods• invention of high-yield grains (hybridization, crossbreeding)

– increased production of rice» impact on hunger greatest where rice is produced

– new varieties of wheat and corn» GMOs = genetically modified organisms (4th Rev.?)» “biotechnology”

• Result– Famines reduced!

• Most famines today are due to political problems

Average Daily Calorie Consumption per Capita

Has the Green Revolution run its course?

Opposition to Green Revolution

• Environmental concerns (overuse)– soil erosion and water shortages– dependency on chemicals for production

• pollution, dangerous to ingest, bee colony collapse• growth of “monocultures” lessens biodiversity

• “superpests” could develop resistance • are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) safe?

– probably, but????• health problems???? (antibiotics, allergens)

– EU strictly regulates (has approved only 48 organisms)• labelling required, why labelling resistance in the US?

• Economic dependence on transnational corps• $$$$$$ → Western agribusiness (Monsanto)• life becomes “intellectual property” = “terminator seeds”• loss of control over seeds → wind → → contamination

• Produce only what’s profitable• Products vary by distance from

the market (town). Factors:– Cost of land (bid-rent theory)– Use of land governed by

cost/ease of transport to market• Perishability and weight

• First effort to analyze the spatial character of economic activity– Modified for physical features

Von Thünen’s Model

Bid-rent

Theory

• $ rent (land cost) someone is

willing to pay is based on their

business realities

– For example, per von Thunen’s dairy

farmers/vegetable growers (X) would

be willing to pay more for land in

order to be close to market, Why?

• Transportation costs are high

• perishability.

– per von Thunen, lumber (Y) would

then outbid grains etc. Why?

• Trans. costs are high due to weight.

– Pattern continues outward forming

concentric rings. Until you get to

extensive activities like grazing.

Why?

• Need to pay less for land because their

activity is extensive (uses a lot of land)

Application of Von Thünen Model• Wealthy countries

– Underlying principles on larger scale (NYC/Megalopolis =

center)

• dairy farming, vegetables located close to population

centers/markets

– Market gardening in SE

– milkshed in NE

– Wisconsin cheese b/c it is further away

• Extensive activities (grain, ranching) located farther west.

von Thunen and the USA

Application of Von Thünen Model• Wealthy countries

– Underlying principles on larger scale (NYC/Megalopolis =

center)

• dairy farming, vegetables located close to population

centers/markets

– Market gardening in SE

– milkshed in NE

– Wisconsin cheese b/c it is further away

• Extensive activities (grain, ranching) located farther west.

– But modernity breaks model down

• multiple markets, expanded trade

– Not a single market in a small region

• Use of faster higher capacity transportation

• Use of preservatives, refrigeration

– Both allow distance from market to be increased/altered