Primary Sector Activities: Farming, Livestock, Forestry & Fishing
1. Factors Influencing Agriculture: People farm almost everywhere. Physical factors determine farming ease or difficulty. Historically crucial, now humans create technical solutions.
Climate: Extreme weather hinders farming. Greenhouses offer controlled environments.
Terrain: Altitude and flatness impact farming. Plains and valleys are common; terraces are used on slopes.
Soil: Texture and composition dictate crop suitability. Humans can adjust conditions or use artificial soil.
2. Agrarian Landscapes: Feeding the population has led to industrial monoculture, focusing on single-crop, large-scale production.
Four crops (rice, wheat, maize, potatoes) provide 60% of our calories, causing biodiversity decline.
Organization of Farmland
Size and Shape: Land is divided into large estates (latifundio), farms, or smallholdings. Flat areas have uniform fields; mountainous areas have irregular ones.
Boundaries: Plots are separated by fences, walls, or hedges (enclosed fields) or are unmarked (open fields).
Use: Land is used for farming, livestock, or forestry, sometimes combined.
How is Land Farmed?
Variety of Species: Monoculture is single-crop farming; polyculture involves multiple crops.
Type of Crop: Crops are herbaceous (cereals) or woody (shrubs like grapes, trees like olives or fruit).
Type of Production: Intensive agriculture aims for high profits with technology and labor. Extensive agriculture uses less technology and capital, sometimes leaving land fallow.
Water Resources: Dryland farming relies on rain; irrigation uses wells, canals, and sprinklers.
Methods: Self-consumption (minifundio) uses traditional methods. Commercial farming uses technology for higher yields (ganancias).
Where Do Farm Workers Live?
Concentrated Areas: Homes are grouped in villages or towns; the rest of the land is for agriculture.
Scattered Areas: Homes are distributed near family farmland.
3. Livestock Farming: Raising animals for meat, milk, eggs, leather, wool, labor, or breeding.
Livestock includes bovine (cows), ovine (sheep), porcine (pigs), caprine (goats), equine (horses), aviculture (birds), cuniculture (rabbits), and apiculture (bees).
How is Livestock Farming Organized?
Extensive: Large farms with free-grazing livestock. Sedentary farming keeps livestock in one place; nomadic farming (trashumancia) involves seasonal movement.
Intensive: High investment in facilities and feed for high production. Animals are confined, impacting their well-being. Semi-confined animals eat grain and grass.
How Has Livestock Farming Changed? Traditionally complementary to agriculture, it’s now market-focused. Small herds provided various products; now, specialized farms use technology for higher production.
4. Different Types of Forests: Forests are vital economic resources, covering one-third of the Earth’s land. Types vary by climate.
Boreal Forests: Dense, with conifers and softwoods, easily exploited.
Temperate Forests: Shorter, slow-growing trees. Native trees are replaced by profitable species like pine and eucalyptus.
Tropical Forests: Tall hardwood trees with high diversity. Exploitation requires deforestation.
Resources Forests Provide: Wood is the main resource (construction, furniture, paper, energy). Forests also provide:
Food: Berries, fruits, mushrooms, and wild game.
Rubber: From tropical tree sap, used for tires, shoes, and insulation.
Resins: From conifers, used in cosmetics and chemicals.
Cork: From cork oak bark, used for stoppers and insulation.
Impact of Forest Exploitation: Overexploitation endangers forests. Monoculture creates ‘green deserts’ and reduces biodiversity. Silviculture promotes sustainable forest cultivation and reforestation.
5. How Fishing Has Changed: Fishing production has increased, but labor efficiency has decreased.
Different Types of Fishing: Traditional methods use basic equipment for self-consumption or high-value items. Commercial fishing is large-scale and industrialized.
Coastal Fishing: Small ships fish near the coast, selling daily. It’s declining due to overfishing (Almadraba).
Deep-Sea Fishing: Larger ships use technology for extended trips, refrigerating catches.
Factory Ships: Huge ships support smaller boats, processing fish onboard.
World’s Fishing Areas: Fishing occurs in specific grounds, regulated by Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ), extending 370 nautical kilometers from the coast.
Continental Shelves: Shallow, nutrient-rich waters.
Confluence of Currents: Areas with diverse species.
Coastal Areas near Cold Currents: Rich in phytoplankton.
Problems Facing Fishing:
Pollution: Toxic waste and oil slicks affect coastal fishing.
Overexploitation: Technology and demand deplete fishing grounds. Solutions include catch limits, net bans, closed seasons, and fleet limits.
Resumen Economia 4
1. How Has the Primary Sector Changed? The 1800s saw an agricultural revolution in Europe with new techniques and mechanization, leading to increased production and rural exodus. Some areas still rely on traditional agriculture.
2. Characteristics of Traditional Agriculture:
Rudimentary Techniques: Manual labor with traditional tools.
Subsistence Farming: Small plots with low profits, surplus sold locally.
Weather Dependence: Good weather means abundant harvests; poor weather leads to famine.
Predominance of Polyculture: Multiple crops for food security.
Types of Traditional Agriculture:
Extensive Dryland: Found in savannas and the Americas, combining polyculture and livestock with communal land, manure, and crop rotation.
Shifting Cultivation: In equatorial regions, slash-and-burn methods fertilize infertile soil temporarily.
Intensive Irrigated: In monsoon Asia, rice fields are flooded for multiple harvests, using terraces on slopes.
3. Characteristics of Commercial Agriculture: Industrialization shifted agriculture to a market model with increased production and resource consumption.
Technology: Fertilizers, greenhouses, irrigation, artificial soil, and GMOs increase productivity.
Specialization: Monoculture allows for specialized machinery and higher yields.
Mechanization: Machines reduce labor and time.
Models of Commercial Agriculture:
Cereal Monoculture: Extensive dryland farming with mechanization and low labor, controlled by large agri-food companies.
Intensive Greenhouse: Controlled environments for high yields and year-round harvests.
Plantation: Tropical monoculture for export, using modern technology and labor, often with low wages.
Changes in the Future:
Water Consumption: Climate change, overexploitation, and pollution pose challenges.
Population Growth and Arable Land: Growing populations and shrinking arable land may limit food supply.
Agricultural Subsidies: Rich countries’ subsidies hinder poor countries’ farmers.
How Can These Problems Be Solved? Technology and sustainable practices are crucial for global food security, supporting small farmers and agricultural economies.
Technification: Technology improves resource efficiency, productivity, and access to products.
Sustainability: Meeting food needs without harming the environment through efficient resource use, rural development, and responsible consumption.