Essential Definitions in Economics and Agricultural Systems

Core Economic and Government Concepts

Public Sector Intervention

The government and its agencies that constitute the public sector intervene through several procedures, including the implementation of laws regulating the market, providing services, and collecting taxes.

Economic Activity

Activities that produce goods using different types of economic resources, which are called factors of production. These factors are grouped into sectors.

Capital

Often identified with money, capital is truly a factor of production encompassing buildings, machinery, and infrastructure. We distinguish between fixed capital (buildings, machinery) and circulating capital (money and raw materials).

Economic Agents

• Consumers: Grouped in families or households, they decide what goods and services to consume to better meet their needs.
• Companies: Make decisions on the production and distribution of goods and services, usually in exchange for a profit.

Agricultural and Resource Definitions

Fallow Land Technique (Berbecho)

The technique of leaving land fallow for a period to allow the soil to recover its fertility naturally.

Deep-Sea Fishing

Fishing conducted far off the coast for several weeks at a time.

Factory Farming (Industrial Livestock)

Requires strong capital investment for high productivity. Cattle are often raised in humid areas, while pork and poultry farms are typically located near urban centers. This represents industrial livestock production.

Polyculture

The cultivation of different plant species in the same farm space. Production is allocated to domestic consumption and livestock feed; surplus is traded.

Subsistence Agriculture

Uses archaic techniques, shows strong dependence on the physical environment, and yields low productivity. A large portion of the population and land is dedicated to this, with production primarily allocated to consumption.

Slash-and-Burn Agriculture (Rozas)

An extensive cultivation system using rudimentary tools. Vegetation is burned, and the ashes serve as fertilizer for the first crop. After sowing and harvesting, the land is exhausted and left fallow.

Monsoon Asia Agriculture

An intensive system based on rice cultivation in small plots surrounded by levees and channels. Floodwaters provide irrigation, allowing for multiple crops per year.

Key Agricultural Practices

Agricultural practices are differentiated based on three main factors:

• Water Management: According to the water received, crops differ between irrigated agriculture and rainfed agriculture.
• Variety of Plant Species: According to the number of species grown in an agricultural area, practices are distinguished between polyculture and monoculture.
• Land Use Intensity: According to the degree of land use, agriculture differs between extensive agriculture and intensive agriculture. Intensive agriculture is further divided based on productivity: low and high productivity.