ldc agriculture
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Agriculture in Less Developed Countries
LDC Agriculture
• Five types of agriculture typify the less developed country– Shifting cultivation– Pastoral nomadism– Intensive subsistence wet rice dominant– Intensive subsistence non wet rice dominant– Plantation farming
Slash and burn or swidden agriculture
Extensive subsistence
Slash and burn- vegetation is removed and burned, releasing nutrients that fertilize
Land is cleared, followed by two or three years of cultivation until abandoned because of declining soil fertility and weeds
Land is left fallow for up to 20 years
Today, practiced in tropical regions (low latitudes)
intertillage, human labor, crop rotation, staggered sowing
Low population densities; as populations grow…
Shifting Cultivation
Shifting Cultivation: Map
IntertillageShifting Cultivation
Slash and Burn AgricultureShifting Cultivation
Shifting CultivationSouth AmericaMaizeManioc (cassava)
AfricaMillet Sorghum
yams sugarcane plantains
Cassava
Plantains
Maize
Sedentary or nomadic, small plots of crops may be planted and tended by women and children
Extensive subsistence
Practiced in arid or mountainous regions that lack of fertile soil, deserts, steppes, savannahs
Reliance on animals
Mobile and small populations
Sheep, cattle, goats, camels, yaks, horses, reindeer
transhumance: movement between cooler mountains (summer) and warmer lowlands (winter)
Pastoral Nomadism
Kyrgyz yurt made of felt; known as a ger by the Mongolians
Pastoral Nomadism
densely populated rural areas
small, fragmented plots
work done by hand or animals
no land is wasted (terracing)
crops for human consumption
Intensive Subsistence
Intensive Subsistence
refers to planting rice initially on dry land in a nursery and then moving seedlings to a flooded field
occupies a small % of Asia’s land but is region’s most important source of food
Southeast China, East India and Southeast Asia
All family members contribute to the work load
Buffalo or oxen
Found near river valleys and deltas
Terraced hillsides, some use of irrigation
Double cropping = two crops a year per field
Common in areas with warm winters
Wet rice grown in summer and another crop (barley or wheat) grown in dry winter season
Intensive Subsistence Wet Rice
Intensive Subsistence Wet Rice
Intensive Subsistence Wet Rice
Parts of Asia where summer precip levels are too low and
winter months are too cool
Interior India and northeast China
Wheat is most important crop followed by barley
Millet, oats, corn, sorghum, soybeans also grown for individual consumption
Intensive Subsistence non-Wet Rice
Pearl Millet, grown in Africa
Millet is a type of grain grown in dry and cool climates where wheat or barley can’t; can be stored for five years
Millet•Millet is a collective term for a variety of grasses that produce small, rounded seeds that are harvested for food•in developing nations, millet is used for food, animal bedding, construction materials, and forage fodder for animals •hardy annual capable of growing in conditions that would kill other crops•thrives in intense heat and poor soil, which makes it a natural choice for areas of the world that are turning into deserts •high concentrations of numerous vitamins, as well as a high volume of protein—a little over one tenth of the grain is protein•millet is gluten free•grows quickly and can be harvested as soon as three months after planting, providing an opportunity to get two or even three crops in a year
Millet
Sorghum•used for food (as grain and in sorghum syrup or "sorghum molasses"), fodder, and the production of alcoholic beverages•Most species are drought tolerant and heat tolerant and are especially important in arid regions•cereals that thrive in semi-arid regions and provide important human food in tropical Africa, central and north India, and China•Sorghum produced in the USA and Australia is used for animal feed
Sorghum
Rice
Intensive Subsistence
Cash crops may be grown in this region: cotton, flax, hemp, tobacco
Crop rotation will allow some use of double cropping
Intensive Subsistence non-Wet Rice
Different varieties of sorghum can be grown for feed or for making molasses
Flax flower and seeds
Cotton
A form of commercial agriculture
Crops grown in LDC’s but fields and plantations are owned by MDC’s and sold in MDC’s
Latin America: coffee, sugarcane, bananas
Asia: rubber, palm oil
Work spread evenly throughout the year; some double cropping
Plantation
Crops:tealumbercoffeebananarubbercacaotobaccosugarcanecottonpineapple
Plantation
Plantation
BreadfruitNative to East Indian ocean and Western Pacific Islands
Tea Plantation, Malaysia
Plantation
Cacao tree with fruit pods
Plantation
Cacao •Introduced to the South American region by the Mayas of the Yucatan•Used for chocolate and cocoa•Beans once used as currency•Currently practiced in tropical environments
Rubber tree
PlantationRubber •Native to Central and South America•Now practiced primarily in Asia
Sugarcane
PlantationSugarcane •Caribbean region•Tropics and subtropics•Industry expected to crash by 2009•In Brazil, can be used in production of fuels
Pineapple field, Hawaii
PlantationPineapple•Native to Brazil, Bolivia and Paraguay•Symbol of hospitality•Major producers: Thailand, Philippines, Brazil•Scales arranged in spirals of eight and thirteen, an example of a Fibonacci symbol existing in nature