Agriculture Ix Ci

AGRICULTURE
OUTLINE
1. Agriculture as a system: inputs, processes and output
2. Types of inputs: Natural, human
3. Farming types
a. Subsistence Slash and burn[Shifting agriculture]
Intensive subsistence
b. Commercial Extensive agriculture
Mixed farming
Plantation
Animal rearing nomadic/ commercial
Sedentary/ shifting
4. Food shortage causes natural and human
Negative effect
Methods to increase food production
Food Aid Impact

You need to know….
Physical inputs – the things nature provides to allow farming to happen successfully in this
particular region
Human inputs- the things people provide to allow farming to begin successfully here
Processes – anything that farmers or machines DO to farm/create the produce
Outputs- anything which is created/produced by the farm

Inputs are things which are put into the farming system such as labour, capital (money), seeds
and livestock. These can be split into physical and human inputs.
Processes are the things which are done on the farm such as planting, milking, harvesting
Outputs are the things which come out of the farm at the end of the system such as milk, eggs,
meat, crops and capital profit (money made)
There are many possible inputs, processes and outputs in a farming system. Look at the diagram
below to see some examples of some.
Feedback is an output which is then put back into the system. Such as a profit used to then
purchase more inputs such as seed for the next year.
TYPES OF AGRICULTURE
1. Sedentary (farm settled in 1 location) vs. nomadic (farmer moves from
place to place)
Nowadays, most farms a sedentary, but there are exceptions such as
shifting cultivators in the Amazonas tribes (slash and burn agriculture).
2. Arable (crops) or pastoral (livestock)

Farms can either cultivate crops only, livestock only, or they can be mixed.
Arable farms are often comparatively smaller than pastoral farms.
3. Subsistence (to provide for the family) or commercial (to sell for profit)
Subsistence farming generally uses a small area of land, family labour and
basic tools. It is common in poorer areas, where lack of capital prevents
increase in output. Commercial farming uses a large area of land, high
capital input, skilled labour, developed machinery, improved seed varieties.
Generally, pesticides and fertilisers are used and production is geared
towards demand and possible profit (market prices). Commercial farming
includes plantations (cultivating cash crops) and factory farming (rearing
animals at high density in small units.
4. Intensive (high input) or extensive (low input)

Intensive farming uses a small area of land and few large machines, but
lots of labour and fertiliser per hectare. Extensive farming uses a larger
area of land and many machines, but little labour and fertiliser per hectare.
Extensive farms often have a lower yield per hectare.
Sustainable farming methods

Contour ploughing: Sloping land is ploughed across the slope, following the
contour lines of the land. This allows rainwater runoff to collect in the
furrows and contributes to soil and water conservation.
Furrowing: Creating long, narrow trenches in the ground for planting seeds
or irrigation. This practise is common in row crops.
Terrace farming: Was developed by the Inca’s at Macchu Pichu to create

small patches of flat land in hilly areas. This is achieved by building small
steps into the side of a mountain to prevent mudflows, and reduce soil
erosion, while conserving nutrients.
Crop rotation: Alternating crops that require lots of nutrients from the soil
with those that add nutrients into the soil (legumes).
Intensive Farming:
It is a farming practice which gives emphasis on maximizing yield from the given piece of
land through various means like heavy use of pesticides, capital, labor, high-yielding
varieties (HYVs) of crops etc. Its main objective is to increase the productivity of the
given land as much as possible. In this type of farming, the input is comparatively higher
relative to the area of the cropland.
It is commonly practiced in densely populated areas in order to fulfill the food-related

needs of a large population from a comparatively small piece of land. In intensive
farming, the farmers have to spend a lot of money in labor, machinery and high-yielding
seeds in order to produce more crops, vegetables etc., per hectare of the cropland.
Extensive Farming:
It is a farming technique or agricultural production system in which low inputs of labor,
capital, fertilizers etc., are used relative to the area of the cropland. The crop yield in
extensive agriculture mainly depends on the natural fertility of soil, climate and
availability of water; farmers don't put in extra efforts to produce more from the given
cropland. It is practiced by the farmers of an area where the population density is low
and land is plentiful and inexpensive so farmers make use of relatively low inputs of
capital, labor, and fertilizers and depend on the natural fertility of soil and availability of
water.
Types of subsistence farming are 1. Primitive or Simple Subsistence
Farming 2. Intensive Subsistence Farming!
1. Primitive or Simple Subsistence Farming:

Primitive farming is the oldest form of agriculture and still
prevalent in some areas of the world. From primitive gathering,
some people have taken a step ‘upward’ on the economic ladder by
learning the art of domesticating plants and their economy has
moved into primitive cultivation.
This type of farming is done on self-sufficient basis and farmers

grow food only for themselves and their families. Some small
surpluses may be either exchanged by barter or sold for cash.
The resultant economy is thus static with little chance for

improvement, but there is a high degree of rural independence
because farmers are not tied to landlords or to trading centres.
Location:
This form of agriculture is widely practised by many tribes of the
tropics, especially in Africa, in tropical South and Central America,
and in South-East Asia. It is better known as shifting cultivation
(Figure 4.2).
ADVERTISEMENTS:
Shifting cultivation is practised in the tropics by many different

peoples and thus has many different names, e.g., milpa in Central
America and parts of Africa, conuco in Venezuela, roca in Brazil,
masole in Zaiire, ladang in Malaysia, humah in Indonesia, caingin
in the Phillippines, tauhgya in Burma, tamrai in Thailand, bewar or
poda in India and chena in Sri Lanka.
2. Intensive Subsistence Farming:

The term, ‘intensive subsistence agriculture’ is used to describe a
type of agriculture characterised by high output per unit of land and
relatively low output per worker. Although the nature of this
agriculture has changed and in many areas now it is no more
subsistence.
But despite changes the term ‘intensive subsistence’ is still used

today to describe those agricultural systems which are clearly more
sophisticated than the primitive agriculture. Sometimes it is also
known as ‘monsoon type of agriculture’.
Location:
This form of agriculture is best developed in and practically
confined to the monsoon lands of Asia. It is found in China, Japan,
Korea, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, the greater part of continental
South-East Asia and parts of insular South-East Asia (Java, Luzon,
Visayan Inlands, coastal Sumatra and Malaysia) (Figure 4.3).
Farming in both the wet lowlands and the terraced uplands has to
be very intensive to support a dense population. Population
densities in some agricultural areas in Asia are higher than those of
industrial areas in the West. Many of the regions of intensive
subsistence farming have a highly developed form of society and
government and some such as China and India have a continuous
history of civilisation going back more than 4,000 years.
The fast-growing population, almost unchecked for centuries,

necessitates an ever greater intensity in the tillage of the lands. A
small plot of land has to support 5 or 10 times the number of people
that a similar plot on an extensive corn farm in the USA could feed.
1. PRIMITIVE SUBSISITENCE AGRICULTURE/ SHIFTING AGRICULTURE/ SLASH
AND BURN AGRICULTURE.
Consider the following questions.

1)Why is shifting cultivation a good name for this type of agriculture?
2) Why do you think tribes in the Amazon use shifting cultivation instead of large-scale
agriculture?
3) Why do many people think this type of farming is sustainable?
Answers
1) Shifting cultivation essentially means the following
SHIFTING = moving from plot to plot
CULTIVATION = farming
2) The tribes are only trying to grow enough food for their individual families, so small farms are
enough for their needs. They also do not have the money for large scale farming, as much
machinery is needed.
3) It allows the land to rejuvenate after the soil has been exhausted so it can be used again by
future generations.
For an example of small-scale subsistence farming at a named
location which you have studied, describe the farming processes.
Shifting cultivation in the Amazon Rainforest, Brazil
● Shifting cultivation is practised by tribes such as Yanomami,who live in
rural areas in Northern Brazil, eg. in the state of Roraima
● These tribes clear the land by slash and burn methods (using hand tools
such as machetes to cut down the rainforest vegetation, which is then
burnt to add fertiliser to the soil.
● The soil is turned over by hand (simple ploughing ) and the seeds are
planted.
● The areas are watered and weeded daily by hand until the crops are
ready to be harvested using a sickle.
● Outputs include root vegetables such as cassava, which are used to
feed the family/tribe and are not sold.
● As the plot of land loses its fertility, the area is abandoned and left to
nature, allowing the original vegetation to occur, while the tribe moves to
another plot of land for 3-5 years.
Wet rice farming - inputs, processes, outputs

Inputs Processes Outputs
Five month growing
season
Temperatures over 21°C
Monsoon rainfall over
2000mm
Flat land flooded
Dry time for harvesting Ploughing
Rice
Heavy alluvial or clay Planting
Manure from buffaloes for
soils to provide an Harvesting
fertilising
impermeable layer Threshing
Rice seeds
Large labour force Weeding
Water buffaloes for
ploughing
Rice seeds
annual floods deposit
rich layers of alluvium
(silt)
source : geographyfieldwork
A case study of large scale commercial farming/ Extensive
Agriculture
For a farm in a named area which you have studied, describe and explain
the land use.
You should refer to physical and human factors.
Wheat farming in the Canadian Prairies
● Around 2 million km² are available in the states of Alberta, Manitoba and
Saskatchewan to grow a wide variety of cereals, including wheat.
● The deep, fertile Chernozem soils are ideal for these crops, and the
sub-zero temperatures (cold climate) in winter break up the soil to ease
ploughing.
● Little labour is required as large machinery such as tractors and a
combine harvester can be used for harvesting.
● Cereal crops are exported for bread making through the Great Lakes.
Canadian Wheat Farming

Wheat farming in Canada is large scale and commercial
What does this mean?
Large scale- means it happens over a large area
Commercial– means the farmer sells their output to make a profit

A case study of large scale commercial farming
Canadian Wheat Farming
Wheat farming in Canada is large scale and commercial
What does this mean?
Large scale- means it happens over a large area
Commercial– means the farmer sells their output to make a profit
You need to know….
Physical inputs – the things nature provides to allow farming to happen successfully in this
particular region
Human inputs- the things people provide to allow farming to begin successfully here
Processes – anything that farmers or machines DO to farm/create the produce
Outputs- anything which is created/produced by the farm
Look at the table below to remind yourself of these
FOOD SHORTAGE IN SAHEL

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AGRICULTURE

1. Agriculture as a system: inputs, processes and output

2. Types of inputs: Natural, human

a. Subsistence Slash and burn[Shifting agriculture]

b. Commercial Extensive agriculture

Animal rearing nomadic/ commercial

4. Food shortage causes natural and human

Methods to increase food production

Food Aid Impact

Processes – anything that farmers or machines DO to farm/create the produce

Outputs- anything which is created/produced by the farm

2. Arable (crops) or pastoral (livestock)

4. Intensive (high input) or extensive (low input)

Sustainable farming methods

Terrace farming: Was developed by the Inca’s at Macchu Pichu to create

It is commonly practiced in densely populated areas in order to fulfill the food-related

1. Primitive or Simple Subsistence Farming:

This type of farming is done on self-sufficient basis and farmers

The resultant economy is thus static with little chance for

Shifting cultivation is practised in the tropics by many different

2. Intensive Subsistence Farming:

But despite changes the term ‘intensive subsistence’ is still used

The fast-growing population, almost unchecked for centuries,

Consider the following questions.

Wet rice farming - inputs, processes, outputs

Canadian Wheat Farming

What does this mean?

Large scale- means it happens over a large area

Commercial– means the farmer sells their output to make a profit

Canadian Wheat Farming

Wheat farming in Canada is large scale and commercial

What does this mean?

Large scale- means it happens over a large area

Commercial– means the farmer sells their output to make a profit

You need to know….

Outputs- anything which is created/produced by the farm

Look at the table below to remind yourself of these

FOOD SHORTAGE IN SAHEL

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