Agriculture Origins of agriculture Agriculture deliberate modification of
Agriculture
Origins of agriculture • Agriculture = deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through the cultivation of plants and/or rearing of animals • Cultivate = “to care for” • Crop = any plant cultivated by people • Origins – Hunter-gatherers • Perhaps 250, 000 remaining today – San in Southern Africa, Aborigine in Australia – Invention of agriculture • When it began = unclear, diffused from many hearths
The First Agricultural Revolution • Southeast Asia: Root crops, up to 14, 000 years ago (Sauer) • Southwest Asia (the Fertile Crescent): Seed crops, about 10, 000 years ago → Neolithic Revolution = “ 1 st Agricultural Revolution”
The Fertile Crescent
The Fertile Crescent • 1 st planned cultivation of seed crops – Enlargement of plants from seed selection – Generated a surplus of wheat and barley • Animal domestication – Began in Fertile Crescent (c. 8000 years ago) • Relatively few domesticated animals • Continuing efforts not very successful – Eland as an example – 1 st integration of plant growing and animal raising • Crops to feed livestock • Livestock to help grow crops – fertilizer and beasts of burden
Animal Hearths
How Did Agriculture Change with Industrialization? • Second Agricultural Revolution: A series of innovations, improvements, and techniques used to improve the output of agricultural surpluses – 17 th and 18 th centuries (linked to Scientific Rev. ) • Enclosure movement = larger farms – Somewhat changes English landscape from clustered to dispersed • • New tools (seed drill, water wheel, etc. ) Advances in livestock breeding (selective) New fertilizers (non-chemical) More efficient crop rotation • Pre-dated the Industrial Revolution – created surplus, displaced farmers = factory workers – increased food supply → Help move countries into stage 2
Agricultural density • # of farmers/arable land – High density = LDCs • Low farming efficiency – Farming done by hand
High Agricultural Density
Agricultural density • # of farmers/arable land – High density = LDCs • Low farming efficiency – Farming done by hand – Low density = MDCs • Advanced technology and finance • Corporate or large scale farming – Farms are getting bigger! – Frees population for other pursuits » Manufacturing, services etc.
Low Agricultural Density
Green Revolution (3 rd Agriculture Rev. ) • Began in U. S. Midwest (1930 s → ) – Norman Borlaug “the man who saved a billion lives” – diffusion to LDCs (1960 s → ) • Shift from subsistence to commercial methods in LDCs • Adoption of a western farming model – Use of chemical fertilizers/pesticides & machinery – invention of high-yield grains (hybridization, crossbreeding) with goal of reducing hunger • Increased production of rice – Impact on hunger greatest where rice is produced • New varieties of wheat and corn – GMOs = genetically modified organisms (4 th Rev. ? ? ? ) – “biotechnology” • Famines reduced! – Most famines today are due to political problems
Average Daily Calorie Consumption per Capita
Has the Green Revolution run its course?
Opposition to Green Revolution • Environmental concerns (overuse) – soil erosion and water shortages – dependency on chemicals for production • pollution, dangerous to ingest, bee colony collapse • Growth of “monocultures” lessens biodiversity • “superpests” could develop resistance • Are Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) safe? – Probably, but? ? • Health problems? ? (antibiotics, allergens) – EU strictly regulates (has approved only 48 organisms) • Labelling required, why labelling resistance in the US? • Economic dependence on transnational corps • $$$$$$ → Western agribusiness (Monsanto) • Life becomes “intellectual property” = “terminator seeds” • loss of control over seeds → wind → → contamination
MDC Farmers Face Economic Difficulties – Green Revolution, technology, science → • Overproduction leads to lower prices – Demand has remained relatively constant in MDCs (stage 4/5) » consequence: incomes for farmers are low » susceptible to acquisition (Industrial farms) – Need government policies to support agriculture – Suburbanization • “Urban sprawl” vs. prime agricultural land – Both want land that is flat and well-drained (near markets)
Loss of Productive Farmland danger of being “suburbanized” as cities expand
MDC Farmers Face Economic Difficulties – Green Revolution, technology, science → • Overproduction leads to lower prices – Demand has remained relatively constant in MDCs (stage 4/5) » consequence: incomes for farmers are low » susceptible to acquisition (Industrial farms) – Need government policies to support agriculture – Suburbanization • “Urban sprawl” vs. prime agricultural land – Both want land that is flat and well-drained (near markets) – Demand for crops to be used as biofuels – Industrial farming uses a ton of scarce energy – Susceptible to fuel price shocks
Subsistence Farming Difficulties • Have we reached a point where food production is unable to match population growth? Why? – See “Opposition to Green Revolution” – Agricultural land maxed out?
Agricultural Land Population
Subsistence Farming Difficulties • Have we reached a point where food production is unable to match population growth? Why? – See “Opposition to Green Revolution” – Agricultural land maxed out? • Desertification decreases arable land • Switch to cash crops – International trade model of development – food must be purchased – Most lucrative cash crop? » drugs • Biofuels (both MDC/LDC) – crops used for energy not food
STOP… 1) Strategies to increase food supply 2) Von Thunen’s Model …follow this slide
Strategies to increase food supply – Expanding agricultural land • better irrigation to reduce stress on water supplies – drip irrigation • expansion has slowed due to less than pop. growth – Identifying new food sources • cultivating oceans • developing higher-protein cereals • improving palatability of foods – Increasing trade • Shift global overproduction to areas in need • Where most food is produced is not where it is most needed (unbalanced production/consumption)
Von Thünen’s Model • Produce only what’s profitable • Products vary by distance from the market (town). Factors: – Cost of land (bid-rent theory) – Use of land governed by cost/ease of transport to market • Perishability and weight • First effort to analyze the spatial character of economic activity – Modified for physical features
Bid-rent Theory • $ rent (land cost) someone is willing to pay is based on their business realities – For example, per von Thunen’s dairy farmers/vegetable growers (X) would be willing to pay more for land in order to be close to market, Why? • costs are high due to perishability. – per von Thunen, lumber (Y) would then outbid grains etc. Why? • Trans. costs are high due to weight. – Pattern continues outward forming concentric rings. Until you get to extensive activities like grazing. Why? • Need to pay less for land because their activity is extensive (uses a lot of land)
Application of Von Thünen Model • Chinese village (by Lee Liu) – Land improvement (by adding organic material) close to village – Land degradation (lots of pesticides and fewer conservation tactics) farther from village • Wealthy countries – Underlying principles on larger scale • dairy farming, vegetables as example • Location close to population centers/markets. – But modernity breaks model down • Use of faster, higher capacity, refrigerated transportation
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