Ag in developing countries/trad ag Flashcards
What are the three main world farming systems?
3 main farming systems are…
- Settled ag
- Shifting cultivation
- Pastoral nomadism
What are the characteristics of settled agriculture?
Settled agriculture describes land being used continuously with occasional fallow years.
- accounts for 80% of ag land area
- Variable productivity
- Large range of crops
What are the characteristics of shifting cultivation?
- Common in tropical Africa, parts of Asia and the Americas
- Land use follows the pattern of an area being cleared, cultivated for a few years, then abandoned for a new patch until fertility returns, then re-used.
What are the characteristics of pastoral nomadism?
- Families travel with livestock
- 20 million people
- May cultivate crops opportunistically during the rainy season.
- Arid + semi-arid regions
- Sub-Saharan africa, middle east, central asia
What are the three major animal production systems?
- Industrial
- Mixed
- Grazing
What is an industrial animal production system?
Industrial animal systems are those in which animals are detached from the land base of feed supply.
What is a mixed animal production system?
Mixed animal production systems; where livestock rearing and crop cultivation are to a greater or lesser extent integrated components of one farming system
What is a grazing animal prod syst.?
Systems utilizing native grasslands with little or no integration with cropping systems.
World trends in livestock production systems?
Productivity of industrial livestock systems
growing:
– Twice as fast as mixed cropping systems
– Six times as fast as grazing systems
• Production and consumption of livestock
products are shifting away from ruminants
and towards monogastric animals
• Two thirds of the meat consumed in
developing countries is pork and poultry
• Shift implies more demand for grain and more
manure to find a place for
Characteristics of developing country agriculture?
Large numbers of poor tenant farmers working for a
small number of wealthy landlords
Farmers cultivating small areas of land that they
privately own
Large plantations growing crops for export
1/3 of all holdings in developing countries are less than one hectare
• The average size of agricultural holdings is 6.6 ha
- many farmers cultivating small areas of private land
• Small farmers use ~2/3 of the world’s arable land
• ~60% of the developing world’s population participates in agricultural work for sustenance
- Lower yields on average (not always) BUT high yields may not always lead to high profits.
How is farm production calculated?
Farm prod = farm area x yield
Characteristics of developing country agriculture? In umbered points.
- Small family farms
• Exceptions
– Government policy has dramatically interfered e.g.
former Soviet Union
– Plantation crops: bananas, tea, sugarcane, rubber
tend to be produced on large plantations
– Large livestock farms in Latin America - Limited commercialisation
• Small farms in developing countries tend to produce
subsistence crops rather than cash crops
• Limited involvement in markets
• Much less specialisation than in developed countries
• Minimal purchased inputs - Low labour efficiency
• Output per worker or hour of labour
• High yields may be attained, but this may not
translate into high incomes.
4. Constraints to production and profitability • Labour • Land • Capital How might each of these be a constraint? How can each constraint be addressed?
What are some of the features of traditional agriculture
• Minimize risk • Labor intensive • Conserve energy/high net energy yields • Low level of inputs • Maintain natural resources • High level of diversity/complexity. Resemble natural ecosystems. • Stability & resilience
What are the three key types of efficiency? How are they measured?
- Land use efficiency (yield in kg/ha)
- Energy use efficiency (energy ratio)
- Labour use efficiency (kg/hour)
How is the energy ratio determined?
Energy Ratio =
Total E output (kJ/ha) / Total E input (kJ/ha)
