Environment

1. A G R I C U L T U R A L S Y S T E M S
Agricultural Systems and Food
Production

2. Farming as a system
 Individual farms and general types of farming can be
seen to operate as a system.
 A farm requires a range of inputs, such as labour and
energy, seeds and fertilisers so that the processes
(throughputs) that take place on the farm can be
carried out.
 The aim is to produce the best possible outputs, such
as milk, eggs, meat and crops.
 A profit will only be made if the income from selling
the outputs is greater than expenditure on the inputs
and processes.

3. Types of farming systems
 Different types of agricultural system can be found
within individual countries and around the world.
 The most basic distinctions are between:
 arable, pastoral and mixed farming
 subsistence and commercial farming
 extensive and intensive farming
 organic and non-organic farming.

4. Arable, Pastoral and Mixed farming

5. Arable farming
 Arable farms cultivate
crops and are not
involved with livestock.
 Such a farm may
concentrate on one crop
(monoculture), such as
wheat, or may grow a
range of crops.
 The crops grown on an
arable farm may change
over time
 e.g. if the market price of
potatoes increases,
farmers may be attracted
to grow this crop.

6. Pastoral farming Pastoral farming
 This involves the
keeping of livestock /
animals such as dairy
cattle, beef cattle,
sheep and pigs –
usually on land which
is less favourable to
arable farming (i.e.
colder , wetter, steeper
and higher land).
Pastoral farming

7. Mixed farming Mixed farming
 This involves the
cultivating of crops and
keeping livestock
together on a farm.
 Usually , on a mixed
farm, at least part of
the crop production
will be used to feed the
livestock
 This system is practiced on
a commercial scale in
developed countries, where
it reduces the financial risk
of relying upon a single
crop or animal.
 In developing countries it
is practiced on a
subsistence level, where it
reduces the risk of food
shortage.
Mixed farming

8. Mixed farming

9. Subsistence and Commercial Farming

10. Subsistence Farming
 This is the most basic form
of agriculture.
 The produce is consumed
entirely or mainly by the
family who work the land
or tend the livestock.
 The main priority is self-
survival. If a small surplus
is produced, it may be sold
or traded.
 Subsistence farming
supports about 25% of the
world's population.
 It comprises smallholdings,
with cultivation taking
place in difficult / marginal
environments where the
risk of crop failure is high.
 Most families are,
therefore, poor.
 Most subsistence farming
takes place in LEDCs

11. Subsistence Farming
 Output is high with intensive
use being made of family
labour and little or no
technological input.
 Subsistence farmers are very
knowledgeable about local
conditions and the crops that
will thrive in those conditions.
 A range of crops are grown /
animals reared to ensure that
if one fails the harvest is not
completely lost, and which
also provides for a varied diet,
ensuring the maintenance of
the soil’s fertility.
 Where the climate becomes
too extreme for sedentary
farming, nomadic systems
may become more prevalent.
 Nomadic systems are found in
countries like Niger and Mali.
 The fact that subsistence
farmers are rarely able to
improve their output is due to
lack of capital, land and
technology, and not to a lack
of effort or ability.
 They are the most vulnerable
to food shortages.
 Examples include shifting
cultivation and nomadic
pastoralism.

12.  Shifting
Cultivation
 Also called
Slash-and-
burn - land
for farming is
cleared by
cutting down
trees and
burning –
which
fertilises the
ground with
ashes
 Also called
swidden

13. Shifting Cultivation
Traditional farmers move around
forested areas. Vegetation is cleared by
cutting and burning (which is why it is
also called slash and burn agriculture)
and short-term crops are planted.

14.  Characterised by:
 High temperature and
rainfall
 low latitude
 Fields are tended by hand
 Low integration of
technology

15. Shifting cultivation by the Trio tribe in the rainforest of
Southern Suriname

17. Pastoral Nomadism
 Based on the herding of domesticated animals
 Located in dry climates where arable farming cannot
be practiced and conditions are too extreme for
permanent pasture.
 Common in North Africa, the Middle East and
Central Asia
 15 million pastoral nomads sparsely occupy 20% of
Earth’s land area.

18. Masai - Kenya

19. Bedouins in North Africa

20. Commercial Farming
 In contrast, the objective of
commercial farming is to sell
everything that the farm
produces.
 The aim is to maximise yields
in order to achieve the highest
profits possible.
 This is often achieved,
especially within the tropics,
by growing a single crop or
rearing one type of animal.
 Commercial farming can vary
from small-scale to very large-
scale (the largest commercial
beef cattle ranch in the world
is 24,000km²).
 The very largest ones are
often owned by TNCs.

21. Commercial Farming
 This is the dominant type of
farming in HICs / MEDCs as well
as in some developing countries /
MICs.
 In these countries it tends to be
large-scale and makes the best use
of the technological advantages
available to the farmer.
 The farms tend towards
specialisation (monoculture) as
this allows economies of scale to
operate, often on a global scale.
 Thus, such cash-cropping operates
successfully where:
 Transport is well-developed
 Domestics markets are large and
expanding, and
 There are opportunities for
international trade.
 In order to supply these
specialist markets, American
and European companies
(TNCs) have established
plantations to supply tea,
coffee, and fruit such as
bananas and pineapples.
 Commercial farming includes
mixed crop and livestock
farming, ranching, dairying and
large scale grain production as
well as market gardening to
produce flowers, fruit and
vegetables.

22. Commercial farming
Whilst most commercial farming usually
takes place in MEDCs, it also takes place
in some LEDCs where cash crops are
mainly grown for export. This is also
called plantation farming.

23. Extensive and Intensive Farming

24. Extensive and Intensive Farming
 Whether farming is extensive or intensive depends
on the relationship between three factors of
production:
 Land
 Labour
 Capital

25. Extensive Farming
land
labour
capital
output
land
labour
capital
output
Amounts of labour and capital are small in
relation to the area being farmed.
E.g. In the Amazon Basin yields per
hectare and output per farmer are
both low.
The amount of labour is still limited but
the amount of capital may be high.
E.g. In the Canadian Prairies, the
yields per hectare are often low but the
output per farmer is high.

26. Intensive Farming
land
labour
capital
output
land
labour
capital
output
The amount of labour is high, even if the
input of capital is low in relation to the
area farmed.
E.g. In the Ganges Valley, the yields
per hectare may be high although the
output per farmer is often low.
The amount of capital is high, but the
input of labour is low.
E.g. In the Netherlands, both yields
per hectare and output per farmer
are high.

27. Extensive farming
 This is where a relatively
small amount of
agricultural produce is
obtained per hectare of
land, so such farms tend to
cover large areas of land.
 It involves a low input of
capital, , material and
labour with large amounts
of land.
 It produces a low yield of
product from a large area
of land.
 Inputs per unit of land are
low.
 It can be both arable and
pastoral in nature.
 Examples are sheep
farming in Australia and
wheat cultivation on the
Canadian Prairies and
Russian Steppes as well as
the shifting cultivation of
the forests of Central
Africa.

29. Intensive farming
 This is characterised by
high inputs per unit of land
to achieve high yields per
hectare.
 High inputs of capital,
fertilisers and labour, and
labour-saving technologies
such as pesticides or
machinery.
 The object is to get as high
a yield of product as
possible from a small area
of land.
 Intensive farms tend to be
relatively small in terms of
land area.
 Examples of intensive
farming include market
gardening (intensive
production of flowers and
vegetables under glass in
southeast England and
Almeria in southern Spain)
dairy farming,
horticulture and wet
rice cultivation in
Southeast Asia

32. Organic and Non-organic Farming

33. Organic farming
 This type of farming does not
use manufactured chemicals
– production is without
chemical fertilisers,
pesticides, insecticides and
herbicides.
 Animal and green manures
are used along with mineral
fertilisers such as fish and
bone meal.
 Organic farming has become
increasingly popular in recent
decades as people seek a
healthier lifestyle. In 2010, 37
million hectares of land were
organically farmed worldwide
– three times more than in
1999.
 Requires a higher input of
labour than a regular farm,
with weeding being a major
task.
 This is less likely to result in
soil erosion and is generally
less harmful to the
environment e.g. no nitrate
runoff into streams and less
damage to wildlife.
 It does not produce the
‘perfect’ vegetable or fruit, but
its popularity means that it
commands a much higher
price than mainstream farm
produce.

36. Non-organic Farming
 This is also known as
conventional agriculture
or industrial agriculture.
 It refers to farming systems
which include the use of one
or more of the following:
 Synthetic chemical fertilisers
pesticides, herbicides and
other continual inputs;
 Genetically modified
organisms;
 concentrated animal feeding
operations;
 heavy irrigation;
 intensive tillage; and
 concentrated monoculture
production.
 It is typically highly resource
and energy intensive, but also
highly productive.
 Despite its name,
conventional agricultural
methods have only been in
development since the late
19th century, and did not
become widespread until after
World War 2