T5 (Soil) Case Studies Flashcards
Subsidies Example
- Rice subsidies for USA farmers affect farmers Asia-Pacific region (Thailand, Vietnam, India)
Cash Crops
Kenya vegetable crops to MEDCs supermarkets over local pop
Controlling Means Production (food) - LEDCs + MEDCs
- 20% world population (MEDCs) control over 80% world trade, investment + tech
- 80% world pop LEDCs control 1% world’s wealth
MDG 1 Eradicate Poverty and Hunger
- halve people suffer hunger
- halve underweight children under 5
- halve pop below min level dietary energy consumption
- malnourished = 825m 1990s to 1017m 2009
- food costs 24% higher 2008 from 2006
- poor consumes spend up to 60% income food
- over 40% children underweight in India, Yemen, Bangladesh
Dealing with food / pop growth
UK
- pop expected 71.6mn 2033
- Jan 2010 ‘Food 2030’ aims to integrate issues food including action on heavy import food dependence
- Increase uk food production
- liberalisation of agricultural markets globally
- removal of europe’s market distorting common agriculture policy
MEDC farming subsidies
Support to farmers:
- EU $151bn year (2005-7)
- US $102bn
- Japan $49bn
Food and Climate Change
Climate Change may cause:
- increase wheat production UK/Canada / reduce India 20% and Australia (drought ruined 2008)
- US agriculture profits rise 4% year
- Sub-Saharan Africa lose $2bn year (maize decline)
- S Africa 50% drop cereal production 2080
- LEDCs decline agriculture productivity 9-21%
Biofuels / buying farmland overseas
- China right grow palm oil for biofuel 2.8mn hectares land Congo + negotiating 2mn hectares Zambia
Globalised Farmers Winners / Losers
Winners:
- Market share top 20 US food manufacturers doubled since 1967
- 1970s top 4 US beef packers controlled 25% US market
- 4 processing firms control 80%+ beef processing US
- 1980s top 20 firms = 90% agrochemicals sales; 1990s 10 firms
- GB top 4 supermarkets profits £2.1bn 2000
Losers:
- India lose 50% 700,000 small farmers by 2026
- GB lost 65% farmers
Food Waste LEDCs
- India 21mn tonnes wheat perishes inadequate storage / distribution year
- Pakistan loss 16% production annually inadequate storage
- SE Asia countries losses rice 37-80% depending development (China 45%; Vietnam 80%)
Food Waste MEDCs
- 50% food brought into Europe/USA thrown away consumers
- 7mn tonnes food throw away from homes year UK
- 1.6mn tonnes waste year food not meet marketing standards supermarkets
Meat Consumption
- USA individuals consume over 4x meat annually compared to developing countries
- India past 30-40years 2 fold per capita increase meat consumption
Commercial Farming System
North American Cereal Farming
- medium efficiency
- high tech use, fertiliser
- low labour per unit area
- mechanisation
- outputs low per hectare but high per farmer
- high environmental impact - ecosystem clearance + biodiversity loss
Intensive Farming
MEDC beef production (COULD USE SMITHFIELD GEOG)
- USA = cattle pens 100,000
- energy inefficient - yield 1/10 energy invested
- restricted pen movement
- ethical implications
- high environmental impact
- high inputs/outputs
Normadic farming
Massai tribe Kenya / Tanzania
- livestock wander freely, herding
- traditional diet meat, milk, blood cattle
- high efficiency
- overgrazing + decertification
- social role / status relationship w cattle
Intensive Subsistance Farming
Wet Rice Ecosystem South East Asia
- paddy field agriculture
- high pop = high demand rice staple diet
- high rainfall helps
- fields next water source = inundate / silt deposit = natural fertility
- recently less land available + declining soil fertility + yields reaching max
Farming + EVS
- Native American Indians saw land communal commodity
- Use of tech / GM crops
- MEDCs increasing awareness = free-range / fair trade
- Agribusiness = technocentric
- Shifting Cultivators = ecocentric
Farming MEDC cultural
Grape growing + wine production, Mosel Valley Germany
- 12,000 hectares vines small vineyards / farms
- Shectare farm produces 36,000-48,000 bottles wine year
- 20oc where optimum 25-28 - soils helps warmer - loose slate rock absorbs heat day, radiates night
- live / organic fertiliser
- plant way use wind from east - vines run N to S = shelters (farmers create microclimate)
- steep slopes = well drained soils
- wine variation as geology varies (fine slate, some fine slate mixed clay)
- no machines, 5-7 workers
- Gov restrictions yield / EU sugar laws (sugar impacts alcoholic content)
Soil Erosion Mountainous
Nepal
- rapid pop growth (23mn) = use of steep, unstable land agriculture, deforestation (wood = fuel), overgrazing (herd size increase)
- heavy monsoon wash away terraces
- Community forestry introduced = education trees protection, encouraged take small amount fuel, forests fenced off to stop overgrazing
- Afforestation encouraged - local nurseries
- terraces restrict flow water downhill
- alternative fuel sources (yak dung)
- small dams
Soil Erosion LEDC
Kenya
- Rapid pop growth + use best land for plantations (cash crops) = overcultivation, overgrazing (increase herd size), nomadic herding replaced permanent agriculture marginal land use
- Deforestation (fuel), dung used fuel over fertiliser, wind + water erosion
- Green belt movement builds stone/brush dams in gullies trap soil
- contour banks used trap soil
Soil Erosion MEDC
Oklahoma, USA
- overcultivation (Europeans started), drought 1920s/30s
- wind blew topsoil away - Dust bowl
- Soil conservation areas established, trees wind breaks, stalks left ground when crops harvested (windbreak + roots bind soil), strip cropping rows tall/short break up wind