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| What 2 issues influence the choice of crops planted by subsistence farmers? | 1st, because of rapid population growth in LDCs, subsistence farmers must feed growing # of people= 2nd, because of adopting the international trade approach to development, subsistence farmers must grow food for export instead of for direct consumption |
| Boserup Thesis | (Made by Ester Boserup [an economist] who offered explanation for why population growth influences distribution of types of subsistence farming) Says that population growth compels subsistence farmers to consider new farming approaches that produce enough food to take care of the additional people |
| Describe the history of Subsistence Farming in LDCs | For long time, subsistence farming in LDCs produced enough food for people living in rural villages to survive (assuming no drought, flood, other natural disaster occurs)= Suddenly in late 20th century, LDCs needed to provide enough food for a rapidly growing population as well as for the growing # of urban residents who cannot grow their own food |
| Boserup Thesis: How do Subsistence Farmers increase the supply of food? | Through intensification of production, achieved in 2 ways: 1st, land is left FALLOW for shorter periods (resulting in expansion in amount of land area devoted to growing crops at any given time)= 2nd, new farming methods are adopted |
| Boserup Thesis: What are the 5 basic stages in the intensification of farmland? | Forest Fallow= Bush Fallow= Short Fallow= Annual Cropping= Multicropping |
| Forest Fallow | Fields are cleared and utilized for up to 2 years and left fallow for more than 20 years (long enough for the forest to grow back) |
| Bush Fallow | Fields are cleared and utilized for up to 8 years and left fallow for up to 10 years (long enough for small trees/bushes to grow back) |
| Short Fallow | Fields are cleared and utilized for PERHAPS 2 years (Boserup was uncertain) and left fallow for up to 2 years (long enough for wild grasses to grow back) |
| Annual Cropping | Fields are used every year and left fallow for a few months by planting legumes and roots |
| Multicropping | Fields are used several times a year and never left fallow |
| Shifting Cultivation: Where is it practiced? Characteristics | Practiced in regions of low population density (e.g. central Africa)= Under Shifting Cultivation, cleared fields are used for a couple of years, then left fallow for 20 years or more= This type of agriculture supports a small population living at low density (as # of people living in an area increases [i.e. the population density increase] and more food must be grown, fields will be left fallow for shorter periods of time)= Eventually, farmers achieve the very intensive use of farmland characteristic of areas of high population density |
| Intensive Subsistence Agriculture: Where is it practiced? Characteristics | Practiced in regions of high population density (e.g. East Asia)= |
| Boserup Thesis: Adopting new farming methods to intensify production | Adopting new farming methods is another way that Subsistence Farmers intensify production= Ploughs replace axes and sticks= More weeding is done, more manure applied, more terraces carved out of hillsides, and more irrigation ditches dug= The extra labor needed to perform these operations comes from the population growth= The farmland yields more food per area of land, but with the growing population, output per person remains about the same |
| What do Subsistence Farmers need to expand production and how do they get these things? | Need higher-yield seeds, fertilizer, pesticides, machinery= Some needed supplies can be secured by trading food with urban dwellers |
| African and Asian countries: Getting supplies needed to expand production | Main way to get agricultural supplies is to import them from other countries= These countries lack $ to buy agricultural equipment and materials from MDCs |
| What must LDCs do to generate the funds they need to buy agricultural supplies (to expand production)? | LDCs must produce something they can sell in MDCs= LDCs sell some manufactured goods, but most raise funds through sale of crops in MDCs (consumers in MDCs are willing to pay much $ for fruits/vegetables that would otherwise be out of season or for crops [e.g. coffee and tea] that can't be grown there because of the climate) |
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