Fundamentals of Agricultural Systems and Practices
Agriculture Fundamentals
Physical Factors
1. Weather
- Temperature ranges: +45º to -10º.
2. Relief
- Includes features like terraces and balconies (+10°).
3. Soil Types
- Compact Clay Soils: Very fine-grained and compact. Rich in nutrients, but can become easily compacted.
- Sandy Soils: Coarse-grained and very loose (suelto). Do not retain water and nutrients well, requiring frequent watering and fertilizer for plants.
- Loamy Soils: Medium grain and optimal compactness. They are ideal because they retain water and nutrients without becoming overly compacted.
Human Factors
- Population volume.
- Agricultural techniques.
- Production methods.
- Agricultural policy.
Agricultural Landscapes
- Plots: Open fields and enclosed fields (bocage).
- Agriculture types: Intensive & extensive.
- Watering methods: Rainfed & irrigation.
- Cultivation patterns: Monoculture & polyculture.
Agriculture Market Dynamics
- Specialization of production.
- Mechanization of farm work.
- Application of modern cultivation techniques.
Effects on the Market
- High productivity allows prices to decrease (bahar).
- Speeding up the marketing process.
- Enables the occurrence of specialized trades to handle large quantities of product.
Modern Farming Techniques
- Greenhouse Crops.
- Crops in artificial soil.
- Growing without soil.
- Drip Irrigation.
Plantation Agriculture
- Agriculture aimed at the export market.
- Conducted on large estates.
- Requires significant financial investment for land purchase and export logistics.
- Characterized by monoculture.
- Employs a large labor force.
- High productivity.
Problems with Plantation Agriculture
- Foreign companies often reap the benefits.
- Some countries must import food for their population.
- It is very intensive exploitation.
- Farms may close if prices drop.
Traditional Agriculture
- Practiced on small properties.
- Polyculture is common.
- Uses very ancient cultivation techniques.
- Low productivity (baha).
- High dependence on physical factors.
Itinerant Agriculture
- Intertropical: Extensive, rainfed subsistence, low productivity (baha).
- Monoculture Savanna: Found in tropical countries of sub-Saharan Africa and parts of the Americas and Asia. Extensive, rainfed subsistence polyculture-subsistence.
- Irrigated Monsoon: Found in East China, Southeast Asia, and the eastern coast of India. Market-oriented, intensive, monoculture, rainfed productivity—high.