Understanding Agriculture: Types, Factors, and Landscapes
1. Agriculture is the cultivation of land to obtain food and raw materials for industry. It emerged 10,000 years ago (Neolithic period), and until recently, most of the population was involved in it. Currently, there are significant differences between regions. In developed countries, agriculture employs about 5% of the active population, while in developing countries, it engages around 80% of the workforce.
Factors Influencing Agriculture
Physical Factors:
- Weather: Each plant requires specific temperature and moisture conditions to grow.
- Relief: Altitude and slope affect farming conditions.
- Ground: Grain size and soil porosity condition the soil and its ability to retain water.
Human Factors:
- Population Size: Population growth has led to the extension of cultivated areas and the use of devices to improve land performance.
- Farming Techniques: Developed countries have increased production through advanced techniques, while underdeveloped countries still use traditional methods.
- Final Destination of Production:
- Subsistence Agriculture: Production intended for family consumption.
- Market Agriculture: Specializes in a product for sale.
- Agrarian Policies: Governments can influence agriculture through measures such as land laws.
Elements of the Agricultural Landscape
- Plots: Individual sections of the agricultural area, which may or may not be defined or fenced.
- Degree of Use: Agriculture can be intensive or extensive. Developed countries often practice high-productivity intensive agriculture. Extensive agriculture involves not fully exploiting plots, allowing fallow periods to restore soil fertility. It is found in developed countries with large land areas (e.g., the U.S., Argentina, and Australia) and in underdeveloped villages where agricultural work is primarily manual.
- Irrigation: The presence or absence of canals and ditches indicates whether agriculture is rainfed (relying solely on rainfall) or irrigated (using artificial irrigation systems).
- Cultivated Species: A variety of crops exist, including cereals (rice, wheat, corn, barley), industrial plants (sugar cane, sugar beet), fruits, and vegetables.
- Habitat and Road Network: Human settlements can be scattered (houses distributed throughout the territory) or concentrated (population nuclei in small, medium, or large villages).
Developed Countries: Market Agriculture
The agricultural revolution of the late eighteenth century in developed countries marked the transition from subsistence to market-oriented agriculture, characterized by:
- Mechanization of Fields: Saving labor.
- Specialization of Agricultural Production: Saving labor.
- Application of Modern Cultivation Techniques: Using manure and fertilizers to allow multiple crops per year.
- Early Commercialization of Agricultural Products: Speeding up marketing and requiring specialized trades.
Underdeveloped Countries
- Plantation Agriculture: Farms in tropical or subtropical regions, primarily for export, often located in coastal areas for easy sea access.
- Traditional Agriculture: Not commercially oriented, featuring:
- Subsistence farming on small plots.
- Predominant polyculture.
- Primitive techniques and tools.
- Low productivity.
Based on physical factors, several types exist:
- Cremation Itinerant Agriculture: Fields obtained by burning forests.
- Extensive Rainfed Agriculture in Savannah: Combining animal husbandry with agriculture.
- Irrigated Monsoon Agriculture: In areas with abundant rainfall.
Livestock
Livestock husbandry involves the utilization of animals. Livestock practices have changed dramatically in the last century.