Understanding Different Farming and Agricultural Practices
Organic Farming
Organic farming relies on natural systems for production, *without* the use of synthetic chemicals. Soils are decontaminated for two years and then fertilized using organic fertilizers. Crop rotation is employed to prevent soil erosion, and natural systems are used to control pests. Organic products are healthier but more expensive, and demand is still relatively weak. However, the area devoted to organic farming is growing.
Extensive Agriculture
Extensive agriculture requires large tracts of land and provides low yields due to low investment and the use of traditional techniques. It also requires less labor.
Intensive Agriculture
Intensive agriculture is practiced on a small surface area, providing high yields due to significant investments in labor and advanced techniques.
Part-Time Farming
Part-time farming involves combining farming or ranching with work in other sectors, such as industry, construction, or services. Owners of these farms dedicate between 20% and 50% of their working time to farming.
Agribusiness
Agribusiness encompasses the industrial transformation and preservation of agricultural products into consumer goods or intermediate goods for use in subsequent industrial processes. It can be an important driver of endogenous development for rural counties.
Autarky
Autarky was an economic policy adopted in Spain after the Civil War, starting in 1939. It was based on self-reliance and import restrictions. This policy deprived industry of energy resources, raw materials, and capital equipment necessary for development, causing a severe crisis. The policy was softened in 1953 and abandoned in 1959 with the consolidation of the Franco regime’s economic opening to the outside world and the adoption of the Stabilization Plan.
Fallow
Fallow is a traditional farming practice that involves leaving land to rest for a variable period. The field is plowed to better collect rainwater and eliminate weeds.
Bocage (Closed Fields)
Bocage, or closed fields, is a type of agricultural landscape characterized by physical boundaries between plots. It is common in areas with dispersed Atlantic habitats and livestock, traditionally linked to a well-established property system, with protection of crops and pastures from livestock.
Hydroelectric Power Plant
A hydroelectric power plant generates electricity by harnessing the power of water stored in a reservoir. The water is driven through pressure pipes, turning turbines to generate power. The plant’s power output depends on the existing slope and the volume of water displaced. These plants are usually located along rivers with significant gradients and abundant flow.
Land Consolidation
Land consolidation is an agricultural policy measure initiated in Spain in 1952. It aims to reduce smallholding dispersion by giving each owner a single parcel (or a few parcels) equivalent in land type and crop type to what they previously owned, and providing access to the parcels via roads. To achieve this, a minimum unit of land is established below which new lots cannot be created, and the division of resulting plots below this minimum unit is prohibited.
Cortijo
A Cortijo is a type of dispersed rural settlement common in Andalusia and the southern parts of Badajoz, Ciudad Real, and Albacete. These settlements are located between large rural population centers and consist of scattered buildings used as warehouses, stables, barns, and residences for permanent workers. A Cortijo may also include the owner’s mansion.
Industrial Crops
Industrial crops are intended for industrial processing. Examples include sunflowers, sugar beets, cotton, and tobacco.