Economic Development

& Use of Resources

Agricultural Systems

•Arable, pastoral and mixed farming:• Arable farms cultivate crops. (No Livestock)

• Pastoral farming: Involves livestock (Dairy, Beef Cattle, etc)

• Mixed farming: Cultivate crops and raising livestock, together.

Arable Farm

Pastoral Farm

Modern livestock farm

Mixed Farming

Mixed farm. Aquaponics.

Subsistence & Commercial Farming

• Subsistence farming: Most basic model of agriculture. Product consumed by farmer.

• Commercial farming: Sell everything that the farm produces. Profit purposes.

Extensive & intensive farming

• Extensive Farming: Cover large areas of land. Small amount of produce is obtained in relation to the size of the farm.

• Intensive Farming: High production in comparison to size of the land. Market gardening, dairy farming and horticulture.

• Organic Farming: No manufactured chemicals are used. (Fertilizers, pesticides, insecticides, etc). Higher labor requirements.

Plantation crops

• Plantation crops: Large farms producing a single cash crop. Originally developed in tropical areas. They are an example of monoculture (growing one dominant crop, tea, coffee, rubber, bananas and sugar cane).

• Water-intensive staple crop: 90% of agricultural water is used for rice production. 5000 liters of water are used to produce 1 kg of rice. Terracing is creating levels of cultivating sections of soil.

Banana plantation

Rice plantation

Food shortages

• Causes: Soil exhaustion, drought, floods, tropical cyclones, pests and disease. (Natural)

• Low investment, rising population, poor distribution/transportation, conflict.

Food aid and Green Revolution

• Relief food aid: Delivered directly during crisis.

• Programme food aid: Provided to a country’s government for sale at local markets.

• Project food aid: Targeted at specific group of people as part of a long term effort.

The Green Revolution

• Advantages:

• Yields are higher than traditional farming.

• Shorter growing season.

• Farming incomes increase.

• More variety

• Better infraestructure

The green revolution

• Disadvantages:

• Middle and higher income farmers benefit more than small farmers.

• Mechanization increased rural unemployment.

• Taste of many products have changed.

• The UN has reported diseases related to nutritional value of Green Revolution Crops.