South America Agriculture

When talking about South America, do you think of the relaxing tropical forests? How about turning those lands in to agriculture? No? South America farms to supply the world. It supplies 23% of fresh fruits and vegetable as well as coffee, corn, wheat, soy product for the U.S. (Gaglio, 2011)Maybe we should learn more about our supplier - South America.

The Land

23% of the land in South America is suitable for farming,  23% is tropical rain forest, 13% is grassland which hold fresh water(Pengue, 2004). South American is a paradise for agriculture because of the flowing reasons:  

·       rain fall throughout the year

·       no extreme climate change such as hurricane, tornadoes, ect. 

·       has 20% of world's freshwater

·       cheap and productive

·       more land and less population

·       away from war and conflict

(Ramaswamy, 2009)

Subsistence Farming

Subsistence farming is people farms to feed themselves using human labor or animals such as ox( Wilson, 2011). Tony Waters writes: "Subsistence peasants are people who grow what they eat, build their own houses, and live without regularly making purchases in the marketplace."(Waters, 2007) A large population in South America practice subsistence farming.

A common technique to put nutrient into the soil is slash and burn agriculture. Farmers cut down all trees and vegetations and wait for them to dry for several days, then they start a fire to burn all the vegetations. ("Slash and burn," 2005) There are an estimated 250 million slash-and-burn farmers across the world(Skegg, 2011).

Pros:

·       provide nutrient to the soil

·       self sufficient

·       organic food

Cons:

·       hard living

·       cause environmental problems

·       not sustainable for large population

Brazil

1980s land were sold cheaply to farmers which caused population migration

Brazil's high-plains, the cerrados, cover about one-fourth of the country (Agbrazil,2006).

Cerrado land is cheapest highly productive agriculture land  because of supply and demand.  There are a lot of land but not enough people to farm. Brazil has rich soil and good environment for agriculture. Farms have high production to make more profit.

Main crops grown in Brazil:

·       coffee beans

·       sugar cane

·       soy beans

·       corn

·       tropical fruit

·       vegetable

Problem with Agriculture in Brazil

·       75% of Brazil's green house gas emissions are result from deforestation and change the land   for agriculture

·       decrease biodiversity in tropical forests

References

Agbrazil . (2006). Retrieved from http://www.agbrazil.com/western_bahia_.htm

Gaglio, J. (2011, July 25). Opinion: South american exports meet u.s. food        safety ‘gold standard’. Retrieved from        http://www.freshfruitportal.com/2011/07/25/opinion-south-american-       exports-meet-u-s-food-safety-‘gold-standard’

Mia MacDonald and Justine Simon (2010) Cattle, Soyanization, and Climate Change: Brazil's Agricultural Revolution. Brighter Green

Lee, T. (2010). Trade promotion agreement helps boost u.s. agricultural exports to        peru . Retrieved from United States Department of Agriculture website:        http://www.fas.usda.gov/info/WebStories/Peru010310.asp

Tony Waters. The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: life beneath the level of the marketplace. Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. 2007.

Pengue, W. (2004, April 25). A short story of farming in latin america. Retrieved        from http://www.grain.org/article/entries/413-a-short-history-of-farming-       in-latin-america

Ramaswamy, D. (Performer) (2009). Agriculture outsourcing: South america/latin america farmland investing [Web]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NDY__uBw_8

Slash and burn agriculture in brazil . (2005, July 26). Retrieved from http://www.sprol.com/2005/06/slash-and-burn-agriculture-in-brazil/

Skegg, Martin. True Stories: Up In Smoke The Guardian 24 September 2011

Subsistence agriculture [hd] [Video]. (2011). Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dr1qxdwJwC8&feature=related

Wilson , E. (2011, Nov 01). Interview by My Yu [Personal Interview]. South america agriculture. , Denver, Colorado

Agriculture in Africa

Africa has a very wide range of crops, given the country's diverse terrain, climate, and ecology

Most of the farming done in Africa is subsistence farming. The crops grown are just enough for farmers to feed their own families. There is a wide variety of crops and animals to maintain the family's needs and there is rarely any interaction, if any, in the marketplace.

Main staple crops:

    * maize and grains

    * rice and sugarcane

    * domestic fruits and vegetables

Export crops:

    * cotton

    * cocoa beans/coffee

    * sugar

Other:

    * livestock

    * forestry

    * fishing

Around 60% of African worker's are employed by the agricultural sector. In many underdeveloped countries in Africa, 90% of the population are small scale farmers and are dependent upon their farms for their income. Agriculture comprises more than a third of the GDP in two thirds of Africa's countries. It's nearly impossible to achieve economic development without agriculture in these areas. (wikipedia.org)

It is well known across the globe that the two biggest challenges Africa faces are hunger and poverty. The biggest focus of agriculture in Africa today is to develop agriculture to reduce poverty and create sustainability while achieving economic growth.

Developing Agriculture

According to Xinshen Diao in The Role of Agriculture in Development, it is suggested that while agriculture might be expected to be a key component of growth and development in Africa, it is not fulfilling its role in slashing poverty and transforming the economy like in many Asian or Latin American countries. "Most African countries have not yet met the criteria for a successful agricultural revolution, and factor-productivity in African agriculture lags far behind the rest of the world." (Diao)

Developing agriculture can:

• reduce poverty by creating income opportunities for both farm and non farm economies
• lower food prices for rural and urban customers
• increases food security 
• improves nutrition
• promotes productivity
• stimulate broader growth

Because Africa lacks the technology and productivity to get the most out of their larger farms, the focus has now turned to their most dominant part of the economy, small scale farms. It is vital to develop these areas to boost agricultural productivity, profitability, and sustainability. In Africa, small scale farms are actually more efficient than large farms in countries with a surplus of labor but a scarcity of land and capital, whereas labor is more costly in developed areas. (Diao)

By investing in these small scale farms, agriculture as a means of survival will quickly turn into agriculture as an opportunity to see small successes across the continent add up to sustained transformation, argues Namanga Ngongi in his post on the Poverty Matters Blog of The Guardian news. Building entrepreneurs and cultivating innovation out of the farmers in Africa will lead to opportunities that can change the lives of millions. (Ngongi)

Sustainability 

In Environmental Sustainability and Development, author Jules Pretty discusses the enormous food security challenges that Africa faces and deals with the question if sustainable agriculture is realistic for these countries.

Pretty focuses on emphasizing the productive values of natural, social, and human capital to take hold of the new opportunities that sustainable agriculture offers, arguing that these are all assets that Africa either has in abundance or can be regenerated at low financial cost.

After spreading this investigation through 45 different projects/initiatives across 17 different countries, over 730,000 households had substantially improved food production and household food security. There were also additional positive impacts on the natural, social, and human capital that would help to sustain these improvements in the future.

Spreading sustainable agriculture across Africa can deliver large increases in food production but it will, of course, not be easy. It will require substantial policy, institutional and professional reform. (Pretty)

This is a video of an African farmer in the rift valley of Kenya who is doing small things on his farm to be more environmentally friendly and benefit his crops. To view the full video, click on this link:  Sustainable Agriculture in Africa

This particular farmer owns a 5 acre farm that he uses to grow crops and rear animals.
His main goals are to:

• increase productivity for longer periods
• utilize soil for longer without damaging it
• and maximize products

The rift valley in Kenya deals with heavy rainfall in April and May.
The rain can be very destructive:

• washes away soil
• damages crops
• causes floods

Here are the ways this farmer makes his area more sustainable:

• builds trenches to create water diversion
• keeps animals in their own area to prevent damage to crops
• reuses plant material to cover soil and also used as fertilizer
• uses mixed cropping 
• utilizes grass to prevent an overflow of water
• builds contours to better his crops

This is another video of how Africa is moving toward self sufficient food production by training students within the environment to deal with it's unique agricultural challenges. To view the full video, click on this link: Investing in Africa's Agricultural Future

The African Center for Crop Improvement is at the University of Kwazulu-Natal in Durban, So uth Africa. A group of PHD students who are doing trial runs of breeding programs in their own home environments.

The starting point for improving production is by using better crops:

• improved varieties
• adapted to droughts
• resistant to diseases and pests

By learning the training fundamentals of crop breeding in Africa, these students are able to do their research at home, in their own environment, and see the results first hand.

Ultimately, Africa will see its largest economic growth in the development of agriculture through sustainability. By promoting learning and innovation in these small communities, the people of Africa can create opportunities for advancement while establishing a sustainable environment to survive in. 

Sources

Diao, Xinshen. The Role of Agriculture in Development: Implications for Sub-Saharan Africa. International Food Policy Research Institute: 2007.

Ngongi, Namanga. "We Need to Change the Image of Agriculture in Africa." Poverty Matters Blog. The Guardian. 2 November 2010. http://www.guardian.co.uk/global-development/poverty-matters/2010/nov/01/africa-agriculture-image-change


Pretty, Jules. "Can Sustainable Agriculture Feed Africa? New Evidence on Progress, Processes, and Impacts." Environment, Development, and Sustainability. Volume 1, Issue 3. Springer Netherlands: 1999.

Tutton, Mark. "Study: Africa Can Feed Itself in a Generation." CNN.com. 9 December 2010. http://edition.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/africa/12/02/africa.food.study/ 

YouTube videos:
"Sustainable Agriculture in Africa" by Conservation Films
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucdsju8FYKw

"Investing in Africa's Agricultural Future" by Catalytica Global
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuQr-nnQndc

Agriculture in Europe

 History of Agriculture in Europe 

Industrial Revolution 

Heavy Plow

Three-field System

                                                    









Four-field System (Crop Rotation)

Reference

http://www.flowofhistory.com/units/eme/17/FC109

Countries in Europe that use Organic Agriculture

Greece

   In Greece, the average farm size is about 6.6 hectares (1997). One of the main factors that made Greece different in agriculture is that they care more about water consume. They know the difference between irrigation and rain-fed agriculture. Despite the massive advertising campaigns of the chemical industry to promote irrigation, farmers preferred rain-fed agriculture.   One of the negative factors about rain-fed crops is that has a higher cultivation risk and the income is less. Therefore, only a small range of crops is cultivated on fields that cannot be irrigated. These are the crops that can be cultivated in rain- fed agriculture: cereals, pulses, some fodder crops, sesame, wine and olives.

     
    Olives are one of the products that are cultivated in organic farms. The difference is in fertilizing practice (green and animal manure) and Dacus fly protection (traps instead of spraying).

   
     Crop and animal production in Greece are traditionally separate from each other. Animals, mostly sheep and goats, graze on harvested fields and public land, including woodland, grassland and barren land.

The demand for fresh fruit and vegetables, especially for the external market, has caused the area under organic cultivation to increase.

One of the reasons that farmers are able to do organic farming it is because The EU Regulation 2078/92 first made it possible. Organic farmers receive subsidies for organic farming. The regulation was transferred into a national regulation in 1996. Organic farmers could apply for financial support from spring 1996 until spring 1997.

Rain-fed Agriculture                                                                       Irrigation

              

Reference

Nicolette van der Smissen, Dipl. Ing. Agr., M.Sc.Agric, Consultant for Organic Agriculture

http://www.rainbird.eu/images/rainbird/familles/11_familles.jpg

Author: Dr. Ana Finino

Spain 

 Spain is one of the countries that organic production is well developed. The reasons are:

a) The natural conditions of the land allow a higher diversity of production;

b) A relatively moderate use of aggro-chemicals in most rural areas of the country;

c) Numerous and various agricultural ecosystems;

d) A favorable climate for early cultivation;

e) A domestic organic market with unstable distribution and trade structures.

  Organic farmers were strongly motivated to produce organic products for internal and local used and were organized in cooperatives. One national support association for organic farming helped conventional farmers to convert to organic by making contracts for those products for which traders mostly from other European countries like France, Germany or United Kingdom. 


   Currently organic farming represents the most attractive economic alternative to conventional agriculture, so  more young farmers decide to stay in the rural areas.

    One of the reasons that farmers decide to change to organic farmers it is because there were a lot of organic campaigns around Spain. The targeted people were Spanish families, market actors, teachers, and education and consumer associations. The topics in the campaigns were environmental and sustainability issues, nutrition, health and quality aspects of organic products. The elements of the campaign were to inform a wide range of media, including TV and general press, information at selling points, advising journalists, Internet website, educational material for children, and specialized material for hotels and caterers. Two guidebooks - one for consumers and one for processors - were published.

    This well organized specially the government. The government support organic farming wanting to implant a plan of organic agriculture at a national level. The National Organic plan addresses three major objectives:

• Objective 1
  Promote the development of organic farming, in particular the primary sector, with education, research, inputs regulation, rural development tools, and recognition of the particularities of organic farming. 
• Objective 2
  Improve knowledge and to promote the consumption and marketing of organic products. The most relevant challenge in Spain is to stimulate the internal demand through adequate information for consumer
• Objective 3
  Improve institutional collaboration and management resources for the organic sector, thus contributing to a better coordination, improving communication and the collaboration between actors of the private and public sector.

Reference

http://www.vivelagriculturaecologica.com/.

 http://www.fundacion-biodiversidad.es/

http://www.organic-europe.net/country_reports/spain/default.asp

Bello, A. (2000). Ciencia y Formación sobre Agricultura Ecológica en el CSIC. En cuaderno de resúmenes IV Congreso SEAE de Agricultura Ecológica ‘Armonía entre ecología y economía

Alonso M., AM (2000). ‘Desarrollo y situación actual de la agricultura ecológica: elementos de análisis para entender el caso español”.

Author: Victor Gonzálvez Pérez, Director Técnico. Sociedad Española de Agricultura Ecologica (SEAE), Cami del Port, s/n. Edif ECA Patio interior 1º. Apdo 397. E-46470 Catarroja, Valencia, Spain. Tel: +34-961267200 Fax: +34-961267122.seae@agroecologia.nethttp://www.agroecologia.net/

Agriculture in Asia

1.      History and culture

-          First agricultural revolution

-          Vegeculture first developed in Southeast Asia more than eleven thousand years ago- taro, banana, and palm.

-          Seed agriculture(now the most common type of agriculture)from Central and West Asia about nine thousand years ago- wheat and barley

Although many plants were in different parts of the world, rice, oats, millet, sugarcane, cabbage, beans, eggplant, and onions were originated from Asia.

Asian agriculture- intensive

-          Asia supports about 60 percent of the global population on only about 23 percent of the world’s agricultural land.

-          Despite the population pressure on the land, Asia has remarkable progress in agricultural productivity.

-          Between 1966 and 1995, wheat production grew 5.5 percent a year, and rice production 2.2 percent.

Structure

-          Almost all farm operations are done manually or with the help of the animals. Exceptions are found in Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, where small scale equipment similar to garden tractors is widely used.

-          Some Asian farmers start to use chemical fertilizer, and for water, they largely depend on rain.

-          Farming is labor-intensive, and the extended family is the main source of labor. It explains why the family size is large in Asian agricultural countries.

2.      Agriculture in China and it’s trade

The picture above reflects the main agricultural regions of Mainland China.

Statistics of the crop production in China recent years:

	Crop	1949 Output (tons)	1978 Output (tons)	1999 Output (tons)
1.	Grain	113,180,000	304,770,000	508,390,000
2.	Cotton	444,000	2,167,000	3,831,000
3.	Oil-bearing crops	2,564,000	5,218,000	26,012,000
4.	Sugarcane	2,642,000	21,116,000	74,700,000
5.	Sugarbeet	191,000	2,702,000	8,640,000
6.	Flue-cured tobacco	43,000	1,052,000	2,185,000
7.	Tea	41,000	268,000	676,000
8.	Fruit	1,200,000	6,570,000	62,376,000
9.	Meat	2,200,000	8,563,000	59,609,000
10.	Aquatic products	450,000	4,660,000	41,220,000

Due to political and technological changes over the last half of the 20th century, the agricultural production of China greatly increased.

l  Bloomberg Television's "Behind the Wall": China's Agriculture in Transition:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1qj9fNRcth0

International trade in China                                            

-          The world’s largest importer of soybeans and other food crops

-          In order to maintain grain independence and ensure food security, the government of China has enforced policies that encourage grain production of more-profitable crops

3.      Plant Protection Technology for Sustainable Agriculture in Japan

-          Non-chemical methods of controlling pests and diseases

-          Plastic rain shelter reduces the incidence of bacterial diseases

-          Solar sterilization raises the soil temperature, killing pathogenic organisms

-          Protection of rice crops is aided by computer simulation models which record favorable conditions and predict outbreaks

4.      Southeast Asia

-          Early Agricultural Societies

-          Complex agricultural cultures, which influences from India and China a lot  

Work Cited

A.    ASIAN AGRICULTURE, 4, November, 2011. <http://www.flowers-gardens.net/asian-agriculture.html>.

B.     Beijing Official Website International, 4, November, 2011.

<http://ebeijing.gov.cn/BeijingInfo/BJInfoTips/BeijingFigures/t934770.htm>.

C.     Argument - Trends in Agricultural Policy. International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, 4, November, 2011.

<http://www.iiasa.ac.at/Research/LUC/ChinaFood/argu/trends/trend_70.htm>.

D.    Knutson. R.D., C.R. Taylor, J.B. Penson and E.G. Smith. 1990. Economic impacts of reduced chemical use. 72p, Knutson & Associates, College Station, Texas, U.S.A. Walker, P.T. 1975. Pest control problems (pre-harvest) causing major losses in world food supplies. FAO Plant Protection Bulletin. 23(3/4): 70-77, 4, November, 2011.

<http://www.agnet.org/library/eb/389/>.

E.     History of southeast asia - early agricultural societies, 4, November, 2011.

<http://www.experiencefestival.com/history_of_southeast_asia_-_early_agricultural_societies>.