Geography Agriculture

	Agriculture
	Inputs, processes and outputs
	Farming systems involve inputs, processes and outputs. For example in jam making :

	Farming System


	Classifying Farms 1 – By what is grown (Processes)

	Classifying Farms 2 – By How much Input there is

	Classifying Farms 3 – By Output

	Subsistence and Commercial Farming
	Subsistence Farming
	Subsistence farmers grow food for themselves and their families. Their farms are usually small and they do not have enough money to invest in chemicals or machinery. Subsistence farmers usually live in LEDCs (Less Economically Developed Countries).
	Commercial Farming
	Commercial farmers sell their produce. Their farms are usually larger, and more modern. In practice, most farmers sell or trade at least part of their produce – there are few true subsistence farmers.
	Intensive and Extensive Farming
	Intensive Farming
	Intensive farming involves getting the maximum possible yield from the land. This means putting in a lot of inputs.
	Rice production in the Ganges valley needs lots of labour and a good irrigation system. Tomato and pepper growing in the San Joaquin Valley, California uses expensive greenhouses and other equipment.
	Extensive Farming
	Extensive farming involves using very few inputs. It usually needs a lot of land instead.
	Upland sheep farming in Cumbria. Prairie wheat farming in the Canadian prairies.
	What affects the distribution of Farming?

	The Effect of Climate

	The Effect of Soil

	The Effect of Relief

	The Effect of Market and Labour

	How has farming changed since 1940?

	Why has farming changed?
	Mechanization
	Since the 1940s, the use of machinery on farms has increased enormously. Farm machinery is now bigger and much more effective. Fewer people are now needed to farm the land, because much of the work is done by machines. Mechanization has also changed the layout of farms.
	Hedges have been removed to enlarge fields so that they can be farmed more efficiently.
	Farm tracks have been improved so that large combined harvesters and other machinery can use them.

	EU membership
	In 1973, the UK joined the EU (European Union). The idea was for European countries to work together to achieve economic development. All EU members are subject to the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), which regulates farming in the EU. The CAP gives subsidies to some farmers to increase production, and imposes quotas on others to limit production.

	Diversification
	Diversification means branching out into activities, other than just growing crops and rearing animals. One reason for diversification is the Common Agricultural Policy. The CAP pays farmers to ‘set aside’ land – they are not allowed to use this land for agriculture, but they can use it for other activities such as tourism. Another reason is that recent food scares have shown that it is dangerous to rely on only one product.

	Environmental Impact of Farming
	The use of mineral fertilizers and pesticides have vastly increased global agricultural yields. Globally, over a hundred million tonnes of artificial fertilizers and pesticides are used every year.
	Fertilizers
	What are artificial (or mineral) fertilizers? Fertilizers generally encourage plant growth. They come in salt or liquid form and are mixed with water so that plants can absorb them as a weak solution. Artificial fertilizers are specifically designed for a particular crop. For example, a plant grown mainly for its leaves will need a fertilizer with a high nitrogen content. Farmers spray about 150-200 kg of fertilizer onto every hectare of cereal crop. This can be washed into rivers and lakes causing eutrophication.

	Pesticides
	A pesticide is a substance used to prevent, destroy or repel a pest. The pests you want to control could be insects, mice and other animals, weeds, fungi or micro-organisms (bacteria or viruses).
	•Insecticides kill insects •Herbicides kill plants •Fungicides kill fungi (mildews, molds, etc.)

	Problems with Pesticides

	Hedgerows
	Why are hedgerows important? They provide a habitat for animals and birds. They reduce soil erosion. They act as windshields, stopping the wind from blowing away the topsoil. The roots of the hedgerows also help by binding the soil together.

	Genetically Modified (GM) foods
	All organisms have genes. Genes contain a sort of code that tells each organism how to develop. GM crops have had their genes altered by scientists. Some farm animals and crops have been ‘genetically modified’ for centuries using selective breeding. However, modern genetic engineering allows scientists to mix genes from plants and animals that would never normally be able to breed together. For example, a gene from a fish could be put into a tomato.
	GM Foods - Possitive

	GM Foods - Negative

	Farming in LEDCs
	In less economically developed countries, farms are usually smaller and worked primarily to provide food for the farmer and his family. Farmers in LEDCs usually have almost no money to invest in their farms. They cannot afford things like pesticides, artificial fertilizers or agricultural machinery. As a result, their yields are usually low compared to farmers in more economically developed countries (MEDCs).
	What is subsistence farming?
	Subsistence farming means growing food just to feed yourself and your family. A true subsistence farmer does not produce any surplus food that could be sold or bartered for other goods.
	Why is farming in LEDCs so hard ?


	The challenges of climate
	Subsistence farmers only just grow enough food to survive. This makes them vulnerable to famine if conditions are bad.
	1. Flooding – for example in Bangladesh. The rivers Brahmaputra and Ganges cause flooding in Bangladesh every year. In particularly heavy years, it is devastating. Thousands of people are drowned, or die of diseases spread by the dirty water. Entire crops are wiped out. Cattle and other livestock are drowned. Farmers have no insurance or savings to help them cope. LEDCs have little money to spend on flood defences.
	2. Drought – for example in the Sahel. Rainfall is unpredictable – since the 1960s, rainfall in the Sahel has been below average for the region. Poor rainfall reduces the amount of grazing available, so herds congregate around the water sources. These areas become overgrazed and conflicts develop between herders and settled farmers. Animals start to die. This in turn causes famine among the people. The Sahel suffered several large-scale famines in the 1980s. This is partly due to soil erosion and desertification


	Other ways of helping farmers in LEDCs
	Fairtrade
	Small producers of goods like coffee, are often at the mercy of global commodity prices. Sometimes prices fall so low that they don’t even cover the cost of production. Fairtrade organisations buy goods directly from growers, who receive a fair price, or from plantations that pay decent wages and do not exploit their workers. The goods are then marketed to consumers as being ‘Fairtrade’.
	Charities
	Many charities and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) work with farmers in LEDCs on projects to improve agriculture, like irrigation and tree planting.