describe different types of agriculture
Answers
Shifting Cultivation
Shifting cultivation is commonly practiced in the tropics. It involves forest clearance through burning and slashing. The cleared land is cultivated until its fertility declines, or for three to five years or until native flora and weeds overtake it. When that happens, farmers abandon the land for a fallow period and clear another forest area for cultivation.
Nomadic Herding
Nomadic herding is the practice of keeping and grazing animals on natural pastures. It is common in the arid and semi-arid regions such as certain parts of Saudi Arabia, northern Africa and northern parts of Eurasia. The practice resembles pastoral farming.
Rudimentary Sedentary Tillage
Unlike other types of agricultural activities, rudimentary sedentary cultivation is a type of subsistence farming practiced on the same piece of land year-in, year-out. Land is then left fallow after some years to regain its soil fertility. It is commonly practiced in the tropics and involves the growth of tree crops such as the Para rubber tree and grains.
Livestock Ranching/Pastoral Farming
Livestock ranching focuses on rearing animals. Unlike nomadic herding, farmers do not move from one place to another in search of pasture and water, but live in settlements. Pasture lands are developed for grazing the animals. Many areas across the globe with large pieces of land with enough grazing areas for animals practice this type of agriculture for commercial reasons.
Summary
Agriculture involves rearing of animals and crop cultivation
Agriculture aims at providing enough, healthy food to feed the population worldwide
Different types of agricultural activities are practiced in different regions across the world
Factors such as climate affect the type of agricultural activity a farmer can practice
Types of agricultural activities include subsistence farming, nomadic herding, commercial plantation, livestock rearing, etc.
Agriculture involves plants and animals breeding and land cultivation to offer fiber, food and medicine. It also provides other products necessary for life enhancement and sustenance. During the sedentary human civilization, agriculture was a critical aspect of development. Domesticated plant and animal species were farmed for food surpluses to sustain people living in cities.
Agricultural science is the study of agriculture, a field whose history dates back thousands of years. People began planting grains about 11,500 years ago prior to their domestication. On the other hand, wild grains were gathered over 105,000 years ago. However, sheep, pigs and cattle were first domesticated more than 10,000 years ago.
Crops have their origin in about 11 regions across the world. Within the previous century, large-scale monoculture has driven the growth of industrial agriculture and thus its domination of agricultural output. However, more than 2 billion people worldwide rely on subsistence agriculture for sustenance.
Technological developments, plant breeding, modern agronomy and agrochemicals such as fertilizers and pesticides have spurred agricultural output. However, they’ve also led to widespread environmental and ecological damage.
Similarly, animal husbandry practices and selective breeding have increased meat output. On the converse, concerns are rising regarding environmental damage and animal welfare. They’ve led to deforestation, global warming, hormonal growth in meat produced industrially, aquifers depletion and resistance to antibiotics. Although genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are banned in many countries, their use is widespread.
Fuels, foods, raw materials such as rubber and fibers are the major groups of agricultural products. Food classes comprise of vegetables, oils, fungi, grains or cereals, fruits, eggs, meat and milk. The agricultural field employs more than a third of the total number of workers worldwide after the service industry. However, the number of workers in the agricultural sector of developed nations has reduced over the last centuries.