Agriculture in LDCs Ch. 11 Quiz on Friday!

Origins of Agriculture Agriculture: deliberate modification of Earth’s surface thru the cultivation of plants and rearing animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain – Crop: any plant cultivated by ppl No documentation of origin point, only logical sequencing

Origins of Agriculture Hunters & Gatherers – Characteristics? – Still 250,000 H&Gs today Arctic, Africa, Australia, South America 1 st Agric. Revolution – Combo of accident and deliberate experimentation – Animals used 1 st for non-econ purposes

Origin of Agriculture Vegetative planting: – Cut plants, divided roots (direct cloning) – Carl Saur believes started in SE Asia Already sedentary b/c of fishing Prob started w/ root vegetables Dog, pig, & chicken

Origin of Agriculture Seed Planting: – the reproduction of plants thru annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization Still most common – Sauer identified 3 hearths: W India, N China, & Ethiopia* Began w/ wheat & barley Cattle, sheep, & goats – Also S Mexico & N Peru w/ squash, maize, beans, cotton Llamas, alpacas, & turkey

Agricultural Regions Dependent on 2 things: culture & environment – No hogs in Muslim countries; little wine in Africa & Asia – Climate; soil type Further differences lie in level of development…

Agricultural Regions Subsistence vs. Commercial Agric. – Purpose of farming – % of farmers in labor force – Use of machinery/technology – Farm size – Relationship of farming to other businesses

Crete & Iran

Agricultural Regions Whittlesey (1936) – 11 Regions (5 LDC, 6 MDC) – Climate is key factor  what crop or animal instead of crop – Explain trend of pastoral nomadism – Explain trend of slash-and-burn (shifting cultivation)

Compare to a Climate Map

Agriculture in LDCs Shifting cultivation Pastoral nomadism Intensive subsistence agriculture Plantation farming

Shifting Cultivation Mostly in tropics; 250 mil ppl No major tools, no sophisticated modification Two major characteristics: – Slash-and-burn, cleared land = swidden – Stay a few years, then leave it fallow to recover (return 6-20 yrs later) Variety of crops work…let’s read in book!

Shifting Cultivation Being replaced by logging, ranching, cash crops  more economical Critics: inefficient way to get food; should be replaced w/ higher yielding method Proponents: environmentally sound; nothing artificial; cultural diversity

Pastoral Nomadism Mostly in dry climates; 15 mil ppl Planting crops impossible  herding – Milk, skins/hair, only consume dead – Size of herd reps power/prestige – Some alternate w/ farming depending on rainfall; some prac. transhumance Bedouins (Saudi, N Africa), Masai (E Africa) Territories do exist for grps

Pastoral Nomadism Declining w/ technology – No longer needed as messengers Govn’ts want to resettle nomads – China, Kazakhstan, ME – Put in cooperatives so can modernize dry land (irrigation, mining, oil, etc) – Try to encourage sedentary agric.

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture Mostly in E, S, and SE Asia; ¾ of world’s pop. Fragmented plots (generational) – High agricultural density (wk more to produce enough on sm plots) Abundant labor, no funds for machines Cannot waste ANY arable land Double cropping: alt b/w wet rice and dry crops

Subsistence farmers in Ubud, Bali, Indonesia experimented with industrial agriculture, but have recently returned to subsistence methods by abandoning expensive tractors, mechanical harvesters, and artificial fertilizers.

1.Plow & animal preps field 2.Dikes & canals repaired (for #3) 3.Land is flooded (delicate balance)= sawah…not paddy 4.Seedling grown on dry land 5.Transplant seedlings to sawah 6.Harvested by hand 7.Threshed, winnowed, polished Wet Rice Production

Farming in China Communist Rev – Gov’t org. land into communes (sev. hundred ppl) Hoped for efficiency w/ equipment & animals, & improvement projects would be easier Instead ppl worked less… No more communes, but no legal ownership (except for contracts) Hard to separate now b/c of shared infrastructure Production greatly improved

Plantation Farming Found in tropics, subtropics (LA, Africa, and Asia)  in LDCs but owned by Euro/NA for sell in MDCs Specializes in 1 or 2 crops Located in sparse areas  import workers (manage time efficiently) Can be plantation =cheaper shipping