Fundamentals of Agriculture: Systems, Factors, and Practices

Fundamentals of Agriculture

Definition: The primary sector encompasses activities to extract resources from nature, including agriculture, fishing, mining, livestock, and forestry.

Agricultural Areas: Definition and Characteristics

An Agricultural Area is a natural space modified by humans for agricultural, livestock, and forestry exploitation.

Elements Characterizing Agricultural Areas

• Physical Factors

  • Climate:
    • Temperature: A minimum temperature (e.g., 10°C) is essential for crop development.
    • Precipitation: Requires a minimum amount, typically between 900 mm and 1200 mm.
    • Atmospheric Agents: Hail and torrential rains can cause significant crop destruction.
  • Relief (Topography):
    • Slope: Flat land and gentle slopes are generally more suitable for agriculture.
    • Altitude: Influences soil fertility and crop types.
    • Altitudinal Thermal Gradient: Temperature decreases by approximately 6°C for every 100m increase in altitude.
    • Wind Exposure: Strong winds can damage crops.
    • Sunlight Exposure: Solanas (sunny slopes) are suitable for farming, while umbrías (shady slopes) can hinder cultivation.
  • Soil:
    • Thickness: Greater thickness is generally more suitable for cultivation.
    • Texture: Affects water retention capacity.
    • Porosity: Favors or hinders oxygen supply to plant roots.

• Human Factors

  • Population Growth: Drives demand for agricultural products.
  • Techniques and Technologies: Modern methods improve efficiency and yield.
  • Economic Conditions: Influence investment and market access.
  • Property Ownership: Can be individual or collective.
  • Farm Size:
    • Minifundio: Smallholding
    • Mesofundio: Medium-sized farm
    • Latifundio: Large estate
  • Operating System:
    • Direct: Farmer manages the land directly.
    • Indirect:
      • Arrendamiento: Rental of land.
      • Aparcería: Sharecropping (both parties share a percentage of the farm's output).
  • Agricultural Policies: Government regulations and support.
  • Cultural and Historical Context: Shapes traditional practices and land use.

Structure of Agricultural Areas

• According to Plot Size: Small, Medium, Large.
• According to Form:
  • Regular: Geometric shapes.
  • Irregular: Lacking a defined shape.
• Land Division Systems:
  • Bocage: Enclosed fields separated by hedgerows.
  • Openfield: Open fields without enclosures.

Understanding Agriculture: Cultivation Practices

Agriculture involves cultivating land to produce crops for human or animal consumption, or as raw materials for industry.

Agricultural Practices

• Environmental Management: Includes irrigated and rainfed farming methods.
• Plant Varieties: Selection of suitable crop types.
• Land Use: Can be intensive (high input/output per unit area) or extensive (lower input/output over larger areas).
• Productivity: Focuses on yield per unit area.
• Production: The total output obtained from farming activities.

Agricultural Landscapes

• 1. Subsistence Agriculture

  General Characteristics: Utilizes archaic techniques, exhibits high dependence on the physical environment, is labor-intensive, and production is primarily for self-consumption.

  Typical Regions: Africa, Latin America, and Asia.

  Types:

  • Shifting Cultivation (Slash-and-Burn): Land is cleared by burning vegetation, with the ashes serving as fertilizer.
  • Intensive Rice Cultivation: Highly labor-intensive, common in densely populated areas.
  • Extensive Dryland Agriculture / Livestock: Often involves crop rotation (e.g., cereals, maize, legumes, fallow periods).

• 2. Market Agriculture

  Characteristics: Employs modern techniques, requires significant resource and capital investment, and aims for high productivity leading to surpluses.

  Requirements: Effective marketing strategies and robust transportation systems are crucial.

  Typical Regions: Modern Europe (especially Central and Western Europe).