Ch.10 AgricultureWhere did agriculture originate?

Geography of Agriculture

Why study agriculture?

Why study agriculture?Covers over 40% of Earth’s land surface

Why study agriculture?More than ½ of all families in LDC’s earn living through agriculture

What is agriculture?

Agriculture

What % of the people in this world are farmers?

Principle primary-sector economic activity Definition: Deliberate modification of

Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain

Origins of Agriculture

Cannot be documented w/ certainty, before recorded history

Hunters & Gatherers:- Lived in small groups (>50)- Gender roles (men-hunt; women-gather)- Frequent travel, seasons, movement of game- 250,000 ppl today (.005%); isolation

Hunters and Gatherers - Contemporary

Africa - Kalahari Bushmen

Arctic - Inuit

South America (Paraguay)- Ache’ Hunters

Australia

Invention of Agriculture

Probably an accident (dropped food) Experimentation Noneconomic reasons (animals) 2 Types of cultivation – vegetative

followed by seed agriculture which is more common today

Location of first Vegetative Planting

Probably originated in SE Asia Fishing led to more sedentary lifestyle Roots such as taro & yam, tree plants

such as banana & palm Other independent hearths may have

been W Africa, NW SA – diffused from there

Vegetative Planting Hearths

Fig. 10-1: There were several main hearths, or centers of origin, for vegetative crops (roots and tubers, etc.), from which the crops diffused to other areas.

Location of First Seed Agriculture Also originated in more than one hearth W India, N China, Ethiopia Diffused quickly, domestication of wheat &

barley – became particularly important thousands of yrs later in European & American civilizations

Integration of seed agr. & domestication of herd animals (cattle, sheep, goats)

Other animal products came later (milk, skins) Complex pattern of diffusion throughout world of

various plants & animals (pg.335)

Seed Agriculture Hearths

Fig. 10-2: Seed agriculture also originated in several hearths and diffused from those elsewhere.

First Agricultural Revolution - Where?

Differences Between Subsistence & Commercial Agriculture

1) Purpose of Farming LDCs – subsistance farming, for purpose of own

consumption Some surplus may be sold, but not purpose and

may not be any surplus some yrs MDCs – Commercial farming, for purpose of

sale off the farm to food-processing companies

- General Mills, Kraft etc.

2) % of Farmers in the Labour Force MDCs; less than 5% directly involved

(Canada & US only 2%) LDCs; 55% # of farmers declined drastically in MDCs

during 20th century Push & Pull factors

Labour Force in Agriculture

Fig. 10-3: A large proportion of workers in most LDCs are in agriculture, while only a small percentage of workers in MDCs are engaged in agriculture.

3) Use of Machinery vs. use of people/animals Small # of farmers in MDC’s can feed

many people Farm machinery 1st produced in 18th

century (2nd agricultural revolution) Transportation improvements move things

farther & faster (railroads, highways) Scientific advances (research) Electronics & GPS

Tractors, per Population

Fig. 10-4: Tractors per 1,000 people. Use of machinery is extensive in most MDC agriculture, but it is much less common in LDCs.

4) Farm Size Commercial- large (US/Canada), although

family owned & operated (98%) Dominated by a handful of large farms (top

4%, 50%+ total output) ½ of US farms generate >$10,000/yr Huge impact of mechanization Fewer farms/farmers, more land devoted

to agriculture (13% more than 1900 – peak in 1960)

Urban sprawl

5) Relationship of farming to other business Commercial farming: Agribusiness More than 20% of US labour works in field

related to agribusiness Machinery manufacturing, fertilizer

production, retailing etc.) Many aspects of agribusiness are

controlled by large corporations

Mapping Agricultural Regions

Derwent Whittersey – map 11 main agricultural regions + area where

non-existant (5 LDCs, 6 MDCs) Climate main influence *Figure 10-5 in textbook

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