Subsistence vs. Commercial Farming (LDC ‘s) vs. (MDC’s)

1. Subsistence vs. Commercial Farming (LDC ‘s) vs. (MDC’s) • Differ in five ways: • Purpose • Percentage of farmers • Machinery • Farm size • Farms and other industries

2. Purpose • Subsistence: • People produce food for their own consumption • Some surplus may be sold, but not the primary purpose • Commercial: • Grow crops and raise animals for sale off the farm • Agricultural products are sold to food processing companies

3. Percentage of Farmers • LDC’s: • More than one half of the workers are engaged directly in farming • MDC’s: • Less than one tenth of the workers are engaged directly in farming In the U.S. and Canada only 2%

4. Labor Force in Agriculture, 2005 Fig. 10-3: A large proportion of workers in most LDCs are in agriculture, while only a small percentage of workers in MDCs are engaged in agriculture.

5. Machinery • LDC’s: • Mostly rely on hand tools and animal power • Lack effective transportation systems • Lack technology • MDC’s: • Tractors, combines, pickers, and planters have replaced most manual labor • Railroads, highways, and trucks get crops to markets without spoiling • Biological research produce higher crop yields and healthier animals • Electronics provide precise data

6. Combines on Wheat in Kansas Combines can reap, thresh, and clean crops like wheat in a single operation.

7. Farm Size • LDC’s: • Very small • MDC’s: • Very large (444acre avg. in U.S.) • Most are family owned and operated

8. Tractors, per cropland Fig. 10-4: Tractors per 1000 hectares of cropland. Use of machinery is extensive in most MDC agriculture, but it is much less common in LDCs.

9. Farms and other industries • LDC’s: • Very isolated • MDC’s: • Tied closely to other businesses • Not isolated they are integrated into a large food-production industry • 20% of U.S. labor work in food production and agribusiness services

10. 11 Main Agricultural Regions • 5 Regions important in LDC’s • 6 Regions important in MDC’s • Derwent Whittlesey points out a correlation between agriculture and climate • Cultural preferences can explain some agricultural differences in areas of similar climate

11. World Agriculture Regions Fig. 10-5b: Locations of the major types of subsistence and commercial agriculture.

12. Agriculture in Less Developed Countries Characteristics of subsistence regions • Produce for own consumption • Large percentage of workforce engaged in agriculture • Few mechanical aids • Very small parcels of land • Isolated from economy

13. Rice Harvesting, Indonesia Wet rice is often harvested by hand in Asia.

14. Agriculture in Less Developed Countries Most people in the world are subsistence farmers. *Less developed=More farmers* Types of subsistence agriculture: • Shifting cultivation • Pastoral nomadism • Intensive subsistence agriculture • Plantation farming

15. Labor Force in Agriculture, 2005 Fig. 10-3: A large proportion of workers in most LDCs are in agriculture, while only a small percentage of workers in MDCs are engaged in agriculture.

16. Shifting Cultivation • NOT Shifting “Agriculture” • Two distinguishing characteristics *Slash-and-burn agriculture *Only grow on cleared land for 2-3 years

17. Shifting Cultivation in Guatemala Dense vegetation has been cut and is being burned to open land for farming.

18. Shifting Cultivation Cycle Cut down big trees As they fall they take Undergrowth is leaving economically down the smaller cleared by machete useful ones trees or long knife Debris is burned Rain washes ashes Fields are prepared under carefully into the soil by hand controlled conditions Crops grown for Field is left fallow New patch of land 3yrs or less for many years is selected

19. World Agriculture Regions What are some consequences of Shifting Cultivation? Hint: think of the geography in the three major areas it is prevalent.

20. Shifting Cultivation Northeast India

22. Types of Crops • S.E. Asia: Upland Rice • South America: Maize and Manioc • Africa: Millet and Sorghum

23. What do their fields look like? For the Kayopo tribe of Brazil they are arranged in concentric circles. Why? One swidden will have a variety of intermingled crops

24. Who owns the land? • The village as a whole • Each family is allocated a patch of land • One quarter of the worlds land area is occupied by shifting cultivation • But only 5% of the worlds people engage in it

25. The Future of Shifting Cultivation • Half of the earth’s tropical rain forests have been destroyed. • Being replaced by logging, cattle ranching, and cultivation of cash crops. • Its critics view it as a preliminary step in economic development • Its defenders consider it the most environmentally sound approach • If eliminated it could upset the traditional diversity of cultures in the tropics • This type is shrinking but will not disappear quickly

26. Pastoral Nomadism • Based on the herding of domesticated animals • Dependent on animals rather than crops for survival. • The animals provide: • Milk • Clothing • Tents

27. Pastoral Nomadic Diet • What was noticeably missing from the list of things the animals provide? • They rarely slaughter the animals. • Their diet is still primarily grains.

28. What? • If they depend on animals rather than crops for survival…but don’t eat the animals… • What gives??? • They get their grains in different ways: • Some trade animal products for grain • Some have part of their group stay put • Some hire workers to grow it • Some plant, wander around, then return to harvest • Some stay in one place long enough to grow and then move on

29. Animals, Animals, Animals • The animals are chosen because of cultural or physical characteristics • Middle East: Dromedary Camel, Sheep, Goats • Central Asia: Bactrian Camels, Horses • A typical nomadic family would need: • 25-60 Sheep/Goats • 10-25 Camels

30. Pastoral Nomads in Iran Qashqai nomads using paved roads to move their animals near Shiraz, Iran.

31. Nomads DO NOT wander aimlessly • They have a strong sense of territory • They have precise migration patterns based on knowledge: • The areas physical characteristics • Cultural characteristics • Most likely water sources • Political stability • Some practice transhumance

32. The Future of Pastoral Nomadism • Declining form of agriculture • No longer play an important role in transportation and communications • In the future it will be increasingly confined to areas that cannot be irrigated or lack raw materials

33. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture • Intensiveimplies that farmers must work harder to subsist on a parcel of land • Found in densely populated E.,S., and S.E. Asia • Two types: • Intensive Subsistence, Wet Rice Dominant • Intensive Subsistence, Wet Rice Not Dominant

34. Characteristics • Agricultural Density • Fragmented Plots • Waste virtually no land

35. Intensive, Wet Rice Dominant • Most dominant type of agriculture in S.E. China, E. India, and S.E. Asia • Labor intensive and elaborate process • All family members contribute to the effort • Double Cropping

36. World Rice Production,2005 Asian farmers grow over 90% of the world’s rice. India and China alone account for over half of world rice production.

37. Intensive, Wet Rice DominantSteps to Growing • Rice seed is planted in a nursery • Fields are prepared and plowed • Field is flooded • Seedlings are transferred and planted in the flooded field • Each plant is cared for individually until harvest

38. Intensive, Wet Rice Not Dominant • This is an ancient form of agriculture, think of places like Medieval Europe • Dominant in interior India, and N.E. China • Wheat is the most important crop • Other grains and legumes are also grown • Cash crops include; cotton, flax, hemp, and tobacco • In milder areas two harvests possible

39. Land Ownership in China • Communist Government Owns • Organized agricultural producer communes in 1949 • Communes dismantled • Villagers now sign contracts to farm portions as private individuals • Transition has been difficult

40. Plantation Farming • Form of commercial agriculture found in LDC’s • Generally owned or operated by Europeans and North Americans • Crops grown for sale primarily in MDC’s

41. Plantations • Large farm specializing in one or two crops • Latin America- Grow coffee, sugar cane, bananas • Asia- Grow rubber and palm oil • Workers must be brought in • Crops processed at the plantation