Farming in LEDCs
Comparing LEDCs with MEDCs
Types of farming in LEDCsSubsistence
• Shifting cultivation– Eg Amazonia
• Nomadic pastoralists– Eg Masai in Kenya
• Intensive cutivation– Eg Rice farming in India
Commercial
• Plantations (monoculture)– Cash crops such as coffee,
tea, sugar, flowers
Types of farming
Physical problems of farming• Too much water - flooding. Crops &
animals are washed away Eg Bangladesh
• Not enough water – drought often associated with desertification eg Sahel zone in Africa
• Soil erosion – caused by drought but also poor farming techniques
Average rainfall in the Sahel
Rainfall below average – desert advances
Rainfall above average – desert retreats
Why did farmers in West Africa begin to grow more crops in the early 20th century?
What happened in the 1970’s?
Desertification
Human problems of farming
• Vicious circle of poverty – no money for investment
• Lack of education about good farming techniques
• Low use of technology
• Cash crops grown on best quality land so countries have to import food
• Fluctuating prices
Ways of helping farmers in LEDCs
Rice farming in Sri Lanka
Rice growing in the padi field
Harvest by hand
Physical inputs
• The farm is on flat land on the floodplain of the river
• Size - 2 hectares
• Fertile, alluvial soils
• Average temperature is 28oC
• Average rainfall 1,000mm
• Manure from the oxen is used to fertilise the fields
Human inputs
• The labour on the farm consists of Mr Silva, his wife and 3 children
• No machinery so all work is manual
• The family own an ox which is used to plough the fields. They hire this out to other villagers to earn extra cash.
Outputs
• 2 crops of rice are grown each year. The yield is approximately 100 kilos per hectare.
• Manioc and sweet potatoes
• Vegetables such as chilli and cabbage are grown in a small garden by the house.
Rice farming in Sri Lanka
INPUTS OUTPUTS
Is this farm intensive?
Add labels to your photo to describe how the rice is grown