Food Production Flashcards
Farming
The cultivation of crops and rearing of animals for food and other products
It can be considered as a system
Physical inputs of farming
Climate
Relief
Soil and drainage
Human inputs of farming
Labour
capital
fertilizer
pesticides
seeds
energy
farm buildings
Processes of farming
The farmer as a decision maker
Growing crops/ rearing animals
Outputs of farming
Crops, animal products, animals, profit
Arable farming
Growing crops
Pastoral farming
Farming animals
Mixed farming
Both growing crops and farming animals
Monoculture farming
Growing only one type of crop
Commercial farming
Farming in order to gain a profit
Subsistence farming
Farming in order to produce food for family
Extensive farming
Farm size is large in comparison with inputs of Labour or capital
Intensive farming
Farms size is small in comparison with the number of people that work there or the capital
Shifting/ nomadic
Farmers move from one are to another
Sedentary
Farming and settlement is permanent
Factors affecting farming
Relief
Soils
Rainfall
Temperature
Government aid
How relief affects farming
The flatter the land, the larger and more efficient the farm
How soils affect farming
The deeper and richer the soil, the more intensive the farming (arable) and the higher the outputs
How rainfall affects farming
Wet areas produce good grass and are used for rearing animals while drier areas are arable (cereals)
How temperature affects farming
Warmer climate has a longer growing season and produces cereals and fruit.
Colder climate concentrate more on pastoral farming
How government aid affects farming
Grants for stock
Machinery and guaranteed fixed prices
Fertilizer, mechanization and better stock have increased yields and enabled more land to be farmed while the size of farms have increased and the number of people have decreased
Why soils decline
Overgrazing
Over cropping
Overburning
Deforestation
Heavy machinery
How soils can be conserved
Contour ploughing to stop water washing away soil
Terracing to stabilize hillsides
Strip cultivation and afforestation
Crop rotation to preserve soil fertility and structure
Reduce stock density to avoid overgrazing
Zero-tillage agriculture
Soil
Made of weathered rock (regolith), organic matter (humus), air and water
Shifting cultivation
A form of subsistence farming practiced in many rainfall areas.
Amerindians will cut one hectare of forest and burn trees to clear the land and fertilize the soil with ash
The women grow cassava, yams and beans while the men hunt monkeys and fish for protein
The soil loses fertility and within 5 years, the tribe will abandon the area and continue the cycle again
Is shifting cultivation sustainable
It is with a small population as the forest will slowly regenerate over time
The problem is that as more forest is cleared by developers, many amerindians are forced off their land to live in poverty in favelas
Causes of food shortages
Population growth leads to increasing demand
Overconsumption in some areas
Drought and floods
Disease
Pests
Poor transport
Lack of government support
How to solve food shortages
Food aid
Better land management
Introduction of high yielding variety’s (green revolution)
How have modern farming techniques caused problems for the environment
Pesticides kill wildlife as well as pests - weeds and diseases
Fertilizers run off into lakes and rivers causing eutrophication
Removal of vegetation for farmland and mechanization lead to soil erosion and loss of habitats
Irrigation can lead to salinization, causing death of plants
Effects of under nutrition
Learning difficulties and brain deficiencies
Osteoporosis
Kwashiorkor (protein deficiency)
Nutrition not present to fight infectious disease
