Global Agricultural and Livestock Production Systems
Global Agricultural Systems
Subsistence Agriculture
It is practiced in developing regions of Africa, Asia, and Iberoamerica. There are 2 types:
Agricultural Fires or Roving Clearings
Extensive cultivation using rudimentary tools. To prepare the land, vegetation is cleared and burned, and the ashes serve as fertilizer. The land is exhausted quickly, forcing farmers to move elsewhere.
Itinerant Agriculture of Monsoon Asia
A system based on the intensive cultivation of rice fields surrounded by small dikes and channels for water flooding. Several harvests are obtained per year.
Commercial Market Agriculture
This is practiced in developed or emerging countries such as Europe, North America, parts of Latin America, Africa, and Asia. There are 3 types:
Modern Agriculture in Europe
Highlights include Dutch flowers and horticultural products, and cereals from Germany and the Paris Basin.
Mediterranean Agriculture
There are 2 varieties: rainfed cultivation (wheat, vines, and olives) and extensively irrigated cultivation, which focuses on horticultural produce.
Extensive Agriculture in New Countries
Cereal farming on plains in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and large areas in Argentina. Characterized by low labor availability but abundant machinery.
Livestock Farming Systems
Classification by Capital Investment
Extensive (Low Capital)
Low capital investment and low productivity. Requires large tracts of land for livestock (primarily bovine and ovine species) to graze freely outdoors. Production and trade are developing in America, China, and other regions.
Intensive (High Capital)
Large capital investments and labor for high productivity. Bovine cattle breeding occurs in wet areas, and sheep and poultry are raised in large industrial farms. Products are sold to large food companies. Typical in Europe and North America.
Classification by Feeding System
Pasture Feeding (Grazing)
Animals are fed outdoors. This extensive cattle farming, focused on meat production, develops in sparsely populated areas and requires basic equipment. Practiced in Africa and America.
Feedlot (Stall Feeding)
Livestock are kept in barns and farms and fed with specialized feed. Intensive livestock farming uses advanced technology and machinery to ensure the best breed product and productivity. Typical in Europe and America.
Semi-Intensive System
A system where livestock graze outdoors during summer, but during times of feed shortage, they are fed on farms. It is practiced in high mountain areas.
Classification by Mobility
Nomadic
Constant mobility in search of natural pasture, mainly located in Africa and Asia.
Transhumance
Based on the seasonal shift from winter pastures to summer pastures and vice versa. Characteristic of Mediterranean countries.
Sedentary
Livestock does not move for food; the farmer provides them with fodder or feed.