Agriculture AGRICULTURE. Modern Agriculture. Agriculture TERMS. At the Center of it All. What is it? Why and where did it begin?

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1 GEOG 247 Cultural Geography AGRICULTURE What is it? Prof. Anthony Grande Hunter College CUNY Why and where did it begin? AFG a.k.a. Farming: The practice of cultivating crops and the raising of animals. is the deliberate modification of Earth s surface (through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals) to obtain sustenance or economic gain. Uses methodologies developed by people in response to physical geographic stimuli (as climate, landforms, water availability) and social tenets (as customs and religious beliefs) is a learned trait, therefore it is cultural. 3 Modern Depends heavily on engineering, technology and the biological and physical sciences. Agricultural engineers determine irrigation, drainage, conservation and channeling of water. Agricultural chemistry deals with such issues as the use of fertilizers, insecticides and fungicides, soil structure, analysis of agricultural products and the nutritional needs of farm animals. Expensive equipment does the work of numerous laborers. Remote sensing and satellite technology are used to analyze crop growth and development, soil moisture, insect infestations, field contouring and planting tracts. 4 (food production) is the core of human being. It plays a pivotal role between people, the environment and economic well-being. At the Center of it All TERMS Domestication: The successful transformation of a plant or animal species from a wild state to a condition of dependency on human management usually with a distinct physical change from its wild forbears. In addition to managing crops and livestock to produce food for people, the domestication process is used to produce feed stock for animals, fiber for clothing and manufacturing, and alternative fuel supplies as ethanol and other biomasses

2 More Terms Cultivate: to care for Crop: any plant cultivated (cared for) by people. Agricultural hearth: source area for the domestication of plants and animals Subsistence agriculture: production of food for one s own or family s use Commercial agriculture: production of food for sale or barter to others. More Terms Horticulture: the science, skill, or occupation of cultivating plants, especially flowers, fruit, and vegetables, in gardens or greenhouses. Floriculture: the growing of flowers and ornamental shrubs as a crop. Aquaculture: the farming of ocean and freshwater fish, plants and animals for human consumption Diet: the combination of food products (plant and animal) consumed by people for nutritional gain. Cuisine: the style of cooking or preparing food 7 8 Economic Geog Refresher Primary economic activities: Economic activities that involve the extraction of economically valuable products from the earth, including agriculture, ranching, hunting and gathering, fishing, forestry, mining, and quarrying. Secondary economic activities: Activities (e.g., manufacturing) that take a primary product and change it into something else such processed foods, leather products and biomass. Tertiary economic activities: Those service industries that connect producers to consumers and facilitate commerce and trade or help people meet their needs, as food sellers, distributors and merchants. 9 World Hunger The world produces enough food for all its people yet economics and politics cause food shortages. It is estimated that 800 Source: million UN FAO, 2008 people are malnourished, esp. in Africa. 10 The Cultural Geography of Farming Farming varies around the world in relation to cultural and environmental factors. (Landscape) Elements of the physical environment, such as climate, soil, and topography, set broad limits on agricultural products and practices. (Ecology) Farmers make choices to modify the environment in a variety of ways. (Interaction) Climate patterns influence the crops planted in a region, and local soil conditions influence the crops planted on a farm. (Regions) Through colonization, world wars, and multi-national corporations agricultural methods have spread world-wide. (Diffusion) 11 The Cultural Geography of Farming Farmers choose from a variety of agricultural practices and products, based on their perception of the value of each alternative. These values are partly economic and partly cultural. How farmers deal with their physical environment varies according to dietary preferences, availability of technology, and other cultural traditions. At a global scale, farmers increasingly pursue the most profitable agriculture (aspects of agglomeration and comparative advantage come into play). 12 2

3 Types of Food Supply and Population Swidden/shifting cultivation Paddy rice farming Peasant grain, root, livestock farming Plantation agriculture Market gardening Livestock feeding Grain farming Dairying Nomadic herding Livestock ranching Urban agriculture Aquaculture/ mariculture Before the advent of agriculture, hunting, gathering, and fishing were the most common means of subsistence throughout the world The size of hunting and gathering clans varied according to climate and resource availability. Hunting and gathering communities in areas of abundance could support larger populations that were concentrated in smaller areas. How did hunter/gatherer peoples increase their food supplies? Tools - A Cultural Adaption Agric Practices and Production The first tools used in hunting were simple clubs - tree limbs that were thick and heavy at one end. Later the use of bone and stone and the development of spears made hunting on land more effective. Traps allowed hunters to roam a larger area and reduce the wait time for prey. The control of fire offered new opportunities. Humans also harvested shell fish, trapped fish (by cutting off small patches from the open sea), and invented tools to catch fish, including harpoons, hooks, and baskets. Using tools and fire, human communities altered their environments, which helped to establish more reliable food supplies. 15 Less than 2 percent of the US workforce is involved in agricultural production. In the US total agricultural production is at an all-time high, but the proportion of the labor force in agriculture is at an all-time low. This sharp contrast in agricultural practices constitutes one of the most fundamental differences between the more developed and less developed countries of the world. The drive toward economic efficiency has meant that the average size of farms (acres in production) in the US has been growing, regardless of the kind of agricultural good produced. The mechanized, highly productive American farm contrasts with the less productive and largly subsistence farm found in much of the world. 16 Images of Agricultural Practice 17 Hunters and Gatherers In order to survive people need food and water. Earliest humans had to search their surroundings for their daily needs: gathering, hunting and fishing Hunters and gatherers lived in small groups. The men hunted game or fished, and the women collected berries, nuts, and roots (based on evidence from archaeology and anthropology). The group traveled frequently (wanderers/nomads). They established new home bases or camps in areas where food, water and shelter was adequate. The direction and frequency of migration depended on the movement of game and the seasonal growth of plants at various locations. (This eventually lead to awareness of natural cycles and planning.) Abundance in place reduced the need to wander. 18 3

4 Contemporary Hunting and Gathering Current estimates put c.250,000 people (out of 7 billion) still surviving by hunting and gathering. Contemporary hunting and gathering societies are isolated groups living on the periphery of world settlement, but they provide insight into human customs that prevailed in prehistoric times, before the invention of agriculture. Early Agricultural Regions What accounts for this distribution? World Climates Köppen Climate Classification System groups the world s climates on the basis of temp. and precip. Climate and Climate provides an insight into the location of agricultural regions. Note areas having natural favorable conditions of average temperature, seasonality, and precipitation. To this we add landforms and soil development. People s perceptions of local conditions influenced the agricultural movement. Wladimir Köppen, an Austrian botanist, developed it as a means to categorize natural vegetation Map of World Agricultural Regions INSERT FIGURE Asia and Africa: 75% of labor force works in agriculture North America: less than 2% of labor force works in agriculture 24 4

5 Ancient Hearths and Current Production Areas Agricultural Hearths began with the domestication of plants. Plant domestication was a gradual process is Invented Vegetative Planting Hearths Geographer Carl Sauer postulated that the trials and errors necessary to establish agriculture and settle in one place would occur in lands of plenty. He suggested that Southeast and South Asia may have been where the first tropical plant domestication occurred, more than 14,000 years ago. The earliest form of plant cultivation was vegetative planting, direct cloning from existing plants, such as cutting stems and dividing roots Location of First Vegetative Planting Sauer believed that vegetative planting probably originated in SE Asia because the region s diversity of climate and topography encouraged plants suitable for dividing. Also, the people obtained food primarily by fishing, not hunting and gathering, so they may have been more sedentary and able to devote more attention to growing plants. Other early hearths of vegetative planting also may have emerged independently in West Africa and northwestern South America. The first plants domesticated in SE Asia probably included roots such as the taro and yam, and tree crops such as the banana and palm. First Agricultural Revolution The cultivation of seed crops marked the beginning of what has been called the First Agricultural Revolution. Seed crops: plants that are reproduced by collecting and cultivating seeds. The view now is that the first domestication of seed plants took place in the Fertile Crescent of SW Asia (Mesopotamia)

6 Seed Hearths Fertile Crescent Diffusion of Seed Seed agriculture diffused from SW Asia across Europe and through North Africa. Greece, Crete, and Cyprus display the earliest evidence of seed agriculture in Europe. Seed agriculture also diffused eastward from Southwest Asia to northwestern India and the Indus River plain. Various domesticated plants and animals were brought from Southwest Asia, although other plants, such as cotton and rice, arrived in India from different hearths. From the northern China hearth, millet diffused to S. Asia and SE Asia. Rice has an unknown hearth. Sauer identified a 3rd independent hearth in Ethiopia, where millet and sorghum were domesticated early (but argued that agricultural advances in Ethiopia did not diffuse widely to other locations) Diffusion of Seed in the Western Hemisphere Two independent seed agriculture hearths originated in the Western Hemisphere: southern Mexico and northern Peru. Agricultural practices diffused to other parts of the Western Hemisphere. That agriculture had multiple origins means that, from earliest times, people have produced food in distinctive ways in different regions. This diversity derives from a unique legacy of wild plants, climatic conditions, and cultural preferences in each region. Improved communications in recent centuries have encouraged the diffusion of some plants to varied locations around the world. 33 Domestication of Animals Some scholars believe that animal domestication began earlier than plant cultivation, but others argue that animal domestication began as recently as 8000 years ago well after crop agriculture. The advantages of animal domestication - their use as beasts of burden, as a source of meat, and as providers of milk - stimulated the rapid diffusion of this idea and gave the sedentary farmers of SW Asia and elsewhere a new measure of security. Only five domesticated mammals are important throughout the world: the cow, sheep, goat, pig, and horse. 34 Subsistence vs. Commercial Subsistence agriculture is the production of food primarily for consumption by the farmer s family. Commercial agriculture is the production of food primarily for sale. This distinguishes agriculture in less developed countries from more developed countries. Five principal features distinguish commercial from subsistence agriculture: purpose of farming percentage of farmers in the labor force use of machinery farm size relationship of farming to other businesses. 35 Regional and Local Change Shifts from subsistence agriculture to commercial agriculture have had dramatic impacts on rural life. Dramatic increases in the production of export crops have occurred at the expense of crop production for local consumption. Environmental, economic, and social changes have affected local rural communities. 36 6

7 Subsistence Extensive Subsistence There are two chief types of subsistence agriculture: 1. Extensive subsistence agriculture Large areas of land Minimal labor input per acre Product per land unit and population densities are low 2. Intensive subsistence agriculture Cultivation of small land holdings Great amounts of labor per acre Yields per unit area and population densities are both high 37 Shifting cultivation: farmers move from place to place in search of better land. Found primarily in tropical and subtropical zones, where traditional farmers had to abandon plots of land after the soil became infertile. Slash-and-burn agriculture: farmers use tools (machetes and knives) to slash down trees and tall vegetation, and then burn the vegetation on the ground. A layer of ash from the fire settles on the ground and contributes to the soil s fertility. Subsistence agriculture is returning in parts of the world where farmers feel production for the global market has not benefited them financially or culturally. 38 Extensive Subsistence Shifting cultivation Warm wet tropical climates Plots are cleared and burned, then cultivated until fertility is lost, after which cropping shifts to a newly prepared site Called swidden or slash-and-burn Less than 3% of world s people engaged in this type of cultivation Highly efficient cultural adaptation where land is abundant in relation to population and levels of technology and capital availability are low 39 Extensive Subsistence Nomadic herding Wandering but controlled movement of livestock solely dependent on natural forage Most extensive type of land use system (requires greatest amount of land area per person sustained) Animals provide a variety of products for food, clothing, shelter and fuel Nomadic movement is tied to sparse and seasonal rainfall or cold temperatures as well as quality and quantity of forage Transhumance: seasonal movement to exploit locally varying pasture conditions. It is on the decline. 40 Intensive Subsistence Involves about 45% of world s people. Small-plot production of grains as rice, wheat, maize, or millet The warm, moist districts of monsoon Asia are well-suited to rice production The cooler and drier portions of Asia produce wheat, millet and upland rice. Intensive use of fertilizers, mostly animal manure Promise of high yields in good years Polyculture (variety of crops) is practiced for food security and dietary custom Urban agriculture is rapidly growing activity 41 7