Agriculture Flashcards
CONTRIBUTION OF AGRICULTURE TO ECONOMY
• Contributes 3.1% to GDP
• Produces food
• Develops infrastructure
• Employer of labour
• Supplies raw material to industries
• Exports earn foreign exchange
Role of small and large scale farmers
Small - scale farmers:
• Can be subsistence and commercial
• Low farming production
• Part of the informal sector
• Will contribute to food security in future
Large - scale farmers:
• Predominantly commercial
• High farming production
• Contributes the most to the GDP
Factors Favouring Farming
• High demand for products (market)
• Fertile flood prints
• High summer temperatures help crops grow
• Availability of labour
• Research
Factors Hindering Farming
• Low rainfall
• Soil erosion
• Natural disasters - droughts
• Subsistence farming
• Pests decrease production
Main Agricultural Products
• Fruit: Deciduous, Subtropical, Citrus
• Grains and seeds: Maize, Wheat, Oats, Sunflowers , Canola
• Livestocks: Beef, Mutton, Pork , Ostrich
• Sugar
• Dairy
What is food security?
When all people have enough food to sustain a healthy lifestyle
What is food Insecurity
When not all the people have enough food to sustain a healthy lifestyle.
Agriculture?
The growing of crops and the rearing of livestock
Arable Farming?
Cultivating the soil to grow crops
Pastoral Farming?
rearing livestock (raising animals)
Orchards and Vineyards?
Growing fruit trees and grapes
Plantation Farming
growing trees
Horticulture
Flower Farming
Subsistence Farming
• Farming to provide food for the family, using basic techniques and primitive farming implements
• These farmers do not produce high yields
Commercial Farming
Farming using the most modern farming methods and producing high-quality goods that are sold not only to the domestic market but also to the export market
Monoculture
Growing of only one crop on a farm
Cash crops
crops that are produced to be sold
Extensive Farming
Large commercial farms with less input (capital and labour) in relation to land area and low yields per unit area
Eg: Maize, cattle and sheep farms
Intensive Farming
small farms with high input (capital and labour) in relation to area of land and high yields per unit area
Dual Agriculture
• South Africa has a dual agricultural economy
• It consists of two types of agriculture: subsistence farming and commercial farming
• Subsistence farming is found in the poor rural areas of the farmer homelands
• Commercial farming in the old ‘white’ farming areas of South Africa
Dual Agriculture
• Result of colonialism and the apartheid era; infrastructure, such as water supply, power and transport in the poorer, subsistence farming areas is lacking
• This has had and continues to have negative impacts on agricultural production
• Commercial farmers have piped water and pivot irrigation, but many South African women and children spend hours walking to fetch water from a nearby stream and carrying home heavy bucket
Contribution of Agriculture to the economy: Importance?
• Agricultural is vital to the South African economy as it provides food, raw materials for industries, employment, and valuable foreign exchange through exports. it also supports tertiary services, stimulates the growth pf small towns, and the quaternary sector through agricultural research
