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: Commercial:
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. In the U.S. and Canada only 2%
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: MDC’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: MDC’s: Very small 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
Intensive implies 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 Dominant Steps 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