10. Elements that determine
the development of
agrarian activities
PHYSICAL FACTORS:
- Climate and weather: sunlight hours, temperatures, precipitations, winds, etc.
- Relief of the land: plains or valleys Vs steep terrains.
- Soil: physical and chemical characteristics.
HUMAN FACTORS:
- Demographic pressure: correlation size of population and demand of food.
- Technological development: tools and techniques.
Capacity for controlling nature Overcoming the physical factors.
- Economic and social organisation: land ownership, exploitation, orientation, agrarian
policies, etc.
26. CROP
VARIETIES
USE OF
THE LAND
SOIL USE
WATER
SUPPLY
Dry farming
IrrigatedMonoculture
Polyculture
Intensive
Extensive
Continual
Crop-rotation
TECHNOLOGY
Traditional
Mechanised
DESTINATION
Self-subsistence
Market-oriented
30. Migratory or slash-and-burn agriculture
Sedentary dryland agriculture
Irrigated monsoon agriculture
Tropical climates. Africa, S y C America
Irregular fields created by clearing trees
and burning the wood and the
undergrowth.
Polyculture (cereal, sorghum, millet, maize,
cassava, etc.)
Semi-nomadic lifestyle
Savannah, Asia and S. America.
Continuous cultivation with crop-rotation
systems, mixed use.
Polyculture: main crop (maize, millet, etc.),
complementary one (groundnuts, tubers,
etc.), fallow land.
Permanent settlements.
South and south-eastern Asia.
Paddy fields for rice production.
Alluvial plains and deltas Water.
Intensive labour.
39. EXTENSIVE INTENSIVE
Large, open-air fields, which require little
labour force or capital.
Housed in barns
Fed completely or partially with artificial feeds.
High levels of investment in buildings, breed
selection, feeding technology, veterinary care, etc.
40. Nomadic livestock farming:
- Continuous movement for finding fresh pastures.
- Typical of peoples living on edges of deserts.
Seasonal migration:
- Seasonal basis, between summer and winter
pastures
- Typical of mountainous regions in America,
Asia and North Africa.
41. INDUSTRIAL SYSTEMS:
Objective – the highest yield
Extensive: large quantities of livestock are reared in
the open air. Ranches in North America and
Australia, farms in Argentina (Pampas and
Patagonia).
Intensive: genetically selected livestock reared
in barns and fed with artificial feeds. Highly
technological and mechanised
42. ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS:
Objective – Related with the
well-being of the animals, the
breeding of local species, the
respect for the environment, etc.