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Key questions: Agriculture

Agriculture

What different types of agriculture are there?

What are intensive and extensive farming?

Which agricultural systems are used in the UK and around the world?

By the end of this chapter you should have considered these key themes and questions:


Agriculture types


Intensive and extensive farming


Global farming types

On a global scale, there are more types of farming, combining different types of provision and resources. These include:

In which parts of the world do you think each type of farming takes place?

intensive subsistence

nomadic hunting

extensive subsistence

nomadic herding.

commercial pastoral

intensive commercialcommercial grain

commercial plantationMediterranean agricultureirrigation


Key questions: Food supply and demand

Food supply and demand

What are the patterns of global food supply and demand?

What measures can be employed to increase global food supply and what are their advantages and disadvantages?

What is the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and how does it operate?



Global food supply and demand


Increasing food supply

Since the 1950s much of the increase in agricultural yields has been the result of intensification through fertilizer and pesticide use. However, their use has declined due to concerns over the implications and drawbacks of their use.

World food supply could be increased through various different measures, including:

integrated pest management (IPM)the Green Revolution

land colonization.

genetic modification (GM)land reform

use of fertilizers and pesticides

What are the drawbacks of fertilizers and pesticides?


Integrated pest management

Integrated pest management (IPM) refers to a pest-control strategy involving natural predators and parasites, pest-resistant varieties, cultural practices and biological controls.

Pheromone traps for insects were used in the 1990s in Pennsylvania, USA in order to decrease the pest problem on crops, especially maize. It resulted in a 50% reduction in pesticide application, saving over $20 million (US) per year.

natural predators

insect growth regulators

pheromones to disrupt mating.

trapping devicesFor example:


The Green Revolution

The Green Revolution refers to the development of high-yielding varieties (HYVs) of crops, and the accompanying modernization of farming technologies. The crops have a higher growth rate, more usable parts or an increased resistance to disease.

In India, an HYV seed programme began in 1966. New hybrid varieties of wheat, rice, maize, sorghum and millet were introduced. By the end of the decade India was self-sufficient in wheat and rice crops.


Pros and cons of the Green Revolution


What types of genetic modification of crops are there?

GM crops

The genetic modification (GM) of crops involves taking genetic information (in the form of DNA) from one species and adding it to the genetic code of another. The new crop then takes on the desired characteristics of the donor plant.

adding the genes of resistant species to those of non-resistant species, e.g. to make them resistant to a pest or to a herbicide treatmentadding drought-resistant genes to another species to make them tolerant of drier conditions, e.g. rice.


The GM debate


Land strategies


The Common Agricultural Policy

The Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) is a strategy for managing food production in Europe. It was set up in 1960 by the European Economic Community (EEC), a predecessor of the European Union (EU). At the time, the six members were net importers of staple food products.

What are the aims of the CAP?

stabilize markets and decrease dependence on imports

ensure fair prices for farmers

ensure fair prices for consumers.

maintain agricultural employment

increase agricultural productivity


Operating the CAP


CAP issues


Key questions: Sustainable agricultureSustainable agriculture

What causes unsustainable agriculture and what can be done to combat it?

What Environmental Stewardship schemes exist?

How can food security be achieved in developing countries?



Can you explain how each of these causes, or contributes to, unsustainable agriculture?

Towards sustainable agriculture

Sustainable agriculture requires the production of food indefinitely without damage to the environment. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has identified five causes of unsustainable agriculture.

rural inequalities

unsuitable technologies

trade relations.

resource imbalance

policy failure

These causes are:


Sustainable strategies


CAP changes for sustainability

In 1992, 1999 and 2005 radical CAP reforms introduced new regulations to address some of the issues with overproduction and environmental impacts. Crop-specific subsidies have been withdrawn and the emphasis has shifted to Environmental Stewardship and consumers rather than production.

Environmental Stewardship pays £30 per hectare each year to carry out stewardship schemes. There are over 50 options to choose from.

Set-aside was a scheme introduced in 1988 to pay farmers to reduce the cultivated area and set areas aside for nature reserves or leave them fallow.


Environmental Stewardship


Towards food security

In developing countries efforts are being made to bring food security to the population. This is being done through a sustainable livelihoods approach to raise people from poverty.

adopting a range of sustainable farming practices

better healthcare provision.access to credit at a fair price

prioritizing domestic food production

more agricultural education, especially for women

better rural infrastructureeffective storage to reduce loss of harvestsoff-farm employment opportunities to increase income

Measures employed include:

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