Shifting Cultivation and Plantations Deaton APHG Shifting Cultivation

Shifting Cultivation and Plantations Deaton APHG

Shifting Cultivation Used the most in tropical landscapes: lots of rainfall, high temperatures, low latitude. 2 distinct characteristics Slash and burn agriculture- cut the vegetation and burn the debris = fertilizes the soil. Only use the field for a few years until the nutrients are gone. Will not return for many years until it recovers = slash and burn again.

Shifting Cultivation • The crops • This varies according to the region and the custom of taste. • Southeast Asia: rice • South America: corn/maize • Africa: millet and sorghum • All/multiple regions: Yams, sugarcane, and veggies • Mainly due to diffusion

Shifting Cultivation • Land ownership • Owned by the village • Chief or elders allocates land to families • Less than 5% of the world’s population engages in shifting cultivation. • Why?

Shifting Cultivation • Future • Being replaced by logging, cattle ranching, and cash crops. • LDC’s see it as an inefficient way to grow food. • More places/regions are being converted towards more modern means.

Shifting Cultivation • Critics of it: • Too old and not enough production. • Not a good use of space. • Should be used for development after cleared. Not left barren. • Can lead to deforestation and global warming.

Shifting Cultivation • Defenders of it: • Consider it the most environmentally sound approach in the tropics. • Prevents the use of pesticides and fertilizers. • Changing it can upset the local diversity of cultures in the tropics. It is connected to social, religious, and political customs.

Pastoral Nomadism • A type of subsistence agriculture that relies upon the herding of domesticated animals. • Unlike subsistence farmers, they depend primarily upon the animals rather than their crops for survival. • They will still eat primarily grains rather than meat, but they use the animals for other things. • Often trade animal goods with other subsistence farmers.

Pastoral Nomadism • Choice of Animals • Depends on local cultural and physical characteristics. • Camel: • Goat: • Sheep: • The # of animals depends on the size of the group.

Pastoral Nomadism • Transhumance: seasonal migration of livestock between mountains and lowland pasture areas. • Pasture: grass or other plants grown for feeding grazing animals.

Pastoral Nomadism • It’s future: • Declining form of agriculture due to modern technology. • Governments like China, Kazakhstan, Egypt, Isreal, and Syria have tried to force nomads into cooperatives so that their land can be used for other purposes • Mining • Commercial farming

Plantation Farming • Plantation: • A large farm that specializes in one or two crops • It is a form of intensive subsistence farming: implies that the farmer must work harder to subsist on a parcel of land. • Usually requires the use of outside workers due to the labor levels. • Most have been replaced with machine labor • Sod, tobacco, cotton, coffee, sugar, etc.

Plantation Farming • The first form and widely used is still, wet rice. • Planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then moving the seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth. • Dominant type of agriculture in SE China, East India, and SE Asia.