World Agricultural Production

Question 1

Where regions of the world are the major arable farm lands found?

Answer 1

North America, Europe and parts of Asia and South America.

Question 2

What are the major factors responsible for the dramatic increase in world food?

Answer 2

o New better adapted and higher yielding cultivars.
o Better management of crops and pastures.
o Farm mechanism.
o Inorganic fertilizers.
o Pesticides.

Question 3

Why are the highest crop yields ($/ha) produced in Italy, France and Germany,
rather than China, USA and Brazil?

Answer 3

Because the former grow high value crops (like wine grapes) compared to the
latter.

Question 4

List 4 of the top 6 crop land countries in the world:

Answer 4

USA, China, India, Russia, Brazil, Argentina

Question 5

List the three major cereal crop worldwide:

Answer 5

Corn, rice, wheat, followed by barley, sorghum and millet.

Question 6

List the three major oilseed crops worldwide:

Answer 6

Soybean, Oil palm, Coconut oil or Canola.

Question 7

List one of the top three root crops, vegetable crops and fruit crops worldwide:

Answer 7

Potato (Cassava), Tomato (cabbage or onion), Orange (apple, grape or banana)

Question 8

What is the ‘Green Revolution’ and how has it impacted world food supply?

Answer 8

The ‘Green Revolution’ is the term used when there were large increases in world food
production mainly because of the introduction of inorganic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides

Question 9

List 2 of the world top 4 users of inorganic fertilizer:

Answer 9

China, USA, India, Brazil, France.

Question 10

Industrial agriculture

Answer 10

Relies on large heavy machinery and chemicals; Uses fossil fuels
and converts them to food and other crops; Although often considered to
highly sophisticated, many operations require large amounts of (low-paid)
labor.

Question 11

Traditional intensive agriculture

Answer 11

Produces the highest crops yields/area; Uses lots of hand labor;
Cycles soil nutrients through livestock manures and returning other organic
matter to the soil; China has maintained good soil fertility for 1000’s of years
of farming.

Question 12

Shifting agriculture

Answer 12

Farmers ‘hack’ small plots of farmland from forests; Continue to
farm that portion of land until nutrients are depleted; Often utilizes inter
cropping, legumes and grains; Land is later re-fertilized by natural process.