3.2 Food production Flashcards
Agriculture
the science or practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products.
Most basic distinctions of types of farming
- arable, pastoral and mixed farming
- subsistence and commercial farming
- extensive and intensive farming
- organic and non-organic farming
Arable farming
cultivate crops and are not involved with livestock
Pastoral farming
involves keeping livestock such as dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and pigs
Mixed farming
cultivating crops and keeping livestock together on a farm
Subsistence farming
most basic of agriculture where the produce is consumed entirely or mainly by the family who work the land or tend the livestock
Commercial farming
sell everything the farm produces
Extensive farming
a relatively small amount of agriculture produce is obtained per hectare of land, so farms tend to cover large areas of land
Intensive farming
high inputs per unit of land to achieve high yields per hectare
Organic farming
does not use manufactured chemicals
Non-organic farming
uses manufactured chemicals to aid with the process of farming
An agricultural system
Inputs:
- Physical: temperature, soils, relief, seeds, animals, precipitation
- Human: labour, animal feed, manure, pesticides, fertilisers
- Capital: farm buildings, land, machinery, subsidies
Process: ploughing, planting, grazing, milking, lambing
Outputs: cereals, vegetables, flowers, milk, wool, crop waste
What factors might affect farming?
Human: demand social trends technology tax rates the cost of growing different crops transport network markets
Physical: water type of climate quality of soil relief temperature
Food shortage
a catastrophic food shortage due to lack of food or difficulties in food distribution, affecting large numbers of people
Causes of food shortages
rapidly rising population droughts low capital investment tropical cyclones civil wars soil exhaustion pests rising food prices -> unrest disease poor distribution natural disasters
