Food Production Flashcards
System
a situation in which there are recognisable inputs, processes and outputs.
Inputs
a farm requires a range of inputs such as labour and energy before anything
else can happen.
Processes
the operations that take place on a farm, such as ploughing and har vesting.
Outputs
what a farm produces, such as milk, eggs, meat and crops.
Arable farms
involves cultivating crops; there is no involvement with livestock.
Pastoral Farming
involves keeping livestock such as dairy cattle, beef cattle, sheep and pigs.
Mixed farming
involves cultivating crops and keeping livestock together on a farm.
Subsistence farming
the most basic form of agriculture where the produce is consumed entirely or mainly by the family who work the land or tend the livestock. If a small surplus is produced it may be sold or traded.
Commercial farming
farming for pro t, where food is produced for sale in the market.
Extensive farming
where a relatively small amount of agricultural produce is obtained per hectare of land, so such farms tend to cover large areas of land. Inputs per unit of land are low.
Intensive farming
characterised by high inputs per unit of land to achieve high yields per hectare.
Organic farming
does not use manufactured chemicals and thus occurs without chemical fertilisers, pesticides, insecticides and herbicides.
Irrigation
supplying dry land with water by systems of ditches and also by more advanced means.
Economics of scale
the reduction in unit cost as the scale of an operation increases.
Agricultural Technology
the application of techniques to control the growth and
harvesting of animal and vegetable products.
Land tenure
the ways in which land is or can be owned.
Terrace
a levelled section of a hilly cultivated area.
Padi-fields
flooded parcels of land used for growing rice.
Monsoon rains
the rainy phase of a seasonally changing pattern of rainfall.
Relief food aid
food that is delivered directly to people in times of crisis.
Programme food aid
food that is provided directly to the government of a country for sale in local markets. This usually comes with conditions from the donor country.
Project food aid
food that is targeted at specific groups of people as part of longer- term development work.
