THE HUMAN ENVIRONMENT

Agriculture

LEARNING OUTCOMES
You Will Learn:

What is agriculture Classification of agriculture according to purpose, output and location Agriculture as a system Interactions within an agricultural system

Our food comes from both local and overseas sources

Where are our farms are located?

Lim Chu Kang Egs of farms in this area 1. Aeroponic vegetable 2. Vegetable farms 3. Egg farm 4. Goat farm ( Hay Dairy Farm ) 5. Fish farms 6. Orchid farm

Source: http://www.ava.gov.sg/AgricultureFis heriesSector/FarmingInSingapore/Ag roTechParks/AgrotechnologyParksMa p.htm

Sheep rearing

Grape growing

Cotton farming Murray Darling basin Australia's major food bowl

Irrawaddy River and Rice Fields, Myanmar

WHAT IS AGRICULTURE?
Agriculture consists of the growing of crops and rearing of animals. In addition to providing food, agriculture can provide raw materials or natural resources that can be used to manufacture products.

Harvested grapes are used as a raw material for products like wine.

CONVERTING RAW MATERIALS INTO FINISHED PRODUCTS

An Egyptian wooden model of beer making in ancient Egypt.

Fermenting barley to produce beer in ancient Egypt

PROCESSING OF RAW MATERIALS-FROM WHEAT TO FLOUR WHICH IS USED IN THE MANUFACTURE OF BREAD Wheat

Modern flour mill

The output of a farm may be used as an input in another system

TYPES AND CLASSIFICATION

Farming

( agricultural ) types can be categorised as

-

Subsistence / Commercial (purpose) Arable / Pastoral / Mixed (output) Shifting / Sedentary (location)

CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE ( OUTPUT)

Arable

farming is the growing of crops. Pastoral farming is the rearing of livestock egs cattle, pigs and sheep. Mixed farming is the growing of crops and the rearing of animals together.

CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE ( PURPOSE)

Subsistence o o

farming the cultivation of crops and / rearing of livestock by farmers for their own use. Extra output may be sold to earn some money or exchanged for other products farming The cultivation of crops and/rearing of livestock for a profit.

Commercial

CLASSIFICATION OF AGRICULTURE (LOCATION)

Shifting agriculture Farmers move to a new plot of land from time to time to grow crops or to look for water and pasture for their livestock.

Nomadic herding and shifting cultivation are types of shifting agriculture. Sedentary agriculture Farmers remain in one place to grow their crops or to rear their animals.

Nomadic herding A group of nomadic herders ride horses, leading their camel herd across a plain to better grazing land in rural Mongolia.

SHIFTING CULTIVATIONA TYPE OF SHIFTING AGRICULTURE

Pask, R., Clarke, M.C., Lee N.E.S. (2007) The Blue Marble 2. Singapore: Pearson Education Sout Asia Pte Ltd

IN SUMMARY
Agriculture
Can be classified according to

Purpose

Output

Location

Subsistence

Arable

Mixed farming Pastoral Sedentary

Shifting

Commercial

IS AGRICULTURE A SYSTEM?
Yes,

agriculture can be organized as a system. In an agricultural system or a type of farming, there are inputs, processes and outputs.

WET RICE CULTIVATION AS A SYSTEM

Inputs Physical Temperature Rainfall Land Human Seeds (from w previous harvest) Animals Fertilisers Farm equipment egs ploughs & machines Workers Processes Egs Ploughing the land Sowing seeds Transplanting seedlings Watering the crops Fertilising the soil Harvesting the crops Outputs Farm produce ie rice grains

SOME EXAMPLES OF INTERACTION IN A FARMING SYSTEM

Soil type determines the type of crops grown eg wet rice needs soil that retains water but coconuts require sandy soil. Cultivation cycle is influenced by the rainfall distribution & river floods eg ancient Egyptians carry out farming from October to February after the Nile floods. (Jun to Sept)

CONCLUSION
The

type of farming develops as a result of interactions between people and their environment ( physical/ human). (i) Climate (physical) determines largely the type of crops that farmers can grow in an area. ( True in most countries) (ii) Physical limitations eg land area of a country can determine the characteristic of farms eg land shortage small farm and use of advanced technology to maximise output in a small farm

CONCLUSION
The

type of farming develops as a result of interactions between people and their environment ( physical/ human). (i) Human factors eg lack of workers- may result in farmers turning to advanced technology & automation