Agriculture, Fishing, and Industry: A Comprehensive Overview
Extensive Agriculture
Not all arable land is cultivated each year; some land is left fallow to rest. Extensive agriculture is characterized by low productivity and the inability to cultivate the entire area every year, resulting in low yields and work concentrated in part of the year. High-productivity extensive agriculture requires cultivating all the land to produce sufficient yields.
Intensive Agriculture
Intensive agriculture aims for the highest possible yields but requires significant effort. Low-productivity intensive farming involves many farmers trying to cultivate as much land as possible, but with limited results (e.g., Asian rice growing). High-productivity intensive agriculture involves fewer farmers achieving large harvests with maximum output (e.g., Murcia).
Sharecropping
A contract where a landowner gives usufruct rights to a farmer (sharecropper) who cultivates the land, providing labor and sharing production according to a predetermined proportion.
Fallow
A traditional cultivation system where fields are left to rest to allow for natural soil reconstitution.
Dehesa
Enclosed land with cleared trees for livestock use, common in the western Iberian Peninsula, characterized by large dimensions and areas of low agricultural value.
Livestock Farming
Livestock farming is practiced over large areas, with animals consuming only natural pastures and migrating seasonally to different grasslands.
Habitat Focused
Rural population groups live in one place and commute to work on farms.
Habitat Dispersed
Family homes are located within the farms, resulting in a rural landscape dotted with isolated houses.
Latifundio
Large-scale land exploitation characterized by extensive production, hired labor, low capitalization, and an absentee owner who delegates management to a foreman.
Smallholder
Small-scale farms characterized by extremely low capitalization, elementary agricultural implements, subsistence farming, and intensive cultivation.
Monoculture
All cultivated land is devoted to a single crop.
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP)
The European Union’s agricultural policy, aiming to subsidize agricultural products to maintain farmers’ purchasing power and control production to avoid surpluses.
Crop Rotation
A farming system where different crops are grown in succession on the same field, along with periods of inactivity, to avoid soil exhaustion and reduce fertilization needs. Classical types include two-year rotation with fallow, three-year rotation with fallow, and three-course rotation without fallow.
Transhumance
The seasonal movement of people and livestock (especially sheep) to access natural pastures, following established routes.
Fishing
Jurisdictional Waters
Waters bathing a state’s coasts, subject to its authority. The 1982 UN Law of the Sea established: a) Exclusive Sovereignty: 12 miles; b) Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ): 200 miles.
Deep Sea Fishing
Fishing conducted by offshore fleets, using ships over 100 tons that spend much of the year at sea.
Inshore Fishing
Fishing conducted by fleets within 60 miles of the coast, using vessels under 100 tons.
Industry
Central Thermal or Thermoelectric Power Plant
An installation using heat energy from fuel for power generation, typically using coal, oil, or gas.
Sustainable Development
Meeting current economic growth needs without harming the natural environment.
Power Source
Natural resources providing the energy for work. Main sources include oil, coal, gas, water, and uranium fission, with developing alternatives like solar and wind power.
Industry Base
Industries performing initial processing of raw materials into semi-finished products for other processing industries.
Industrial Equipment
Machinery and tools used in factories, agriculture, land development, and infrastructure construction, including maritime infrastructure.
Petrochemical Industry
A sub-sector of the chemical industry using oil and natural gas to produce chemical products (diesel, gasoline, plastics, varnishes, etc.).
Raw Materials
Mineral products, plants, and animals providing the means of production for various goods.
Technological Park
Industrial facilities, often publicly supported, aiming to modernize traditional industries, improve workforce skills and productivity, utilize university research, and develop new technologies. Examples include Tres Cantos (Madrid), Málaga, and Zamudio.
Industrial Development Pole
Areas planned for industrialization to address uneven economic growth, creating or enhancing poles in disadvantaged areas. These were established in development plans of the 1960s and 1970s.
Industrial Restructuring
Modernization of a company or industry. The 1984 Restructuring Act in Spain aimed to reindustrialize, leading to reduced production and employment in unprofitable companies while promoting profitable ones. This resulted in the decline of industries such as steel, shipbuilding, and textiles.