Discuss in detail the various factors which influence agriculture.
..
..
{long answer question}
Answers
Geographical factors influencing agriculture
Some of the geographical factors influencing agriculture are 1. Natural Factors 2. Economic Factors 3. Social Factors 4. Political Factors!
Growth and development of agriculture is always directed and determined by physical, economic, social and political factors.
In fact, geographical factors play a vital role in agricultural development, in spite of the technological and scientific development.
The important factors influencing agriculture are as follows:
1. Natural Factors:
The natural factors that affect agriculture most are:
(a) climate – mainly temperature and precipitation ,
b) Soil, and
(c) Topography. Most of these factors can be modified to some extent by man’s effort. For example, man carries water to land where there is little rain, or supplies fertilisers to soil that are deficient in plant food. If necessary, he will adapt his agriculture to conditions that he cannot overcome.
Climate:
All forms of agriculture are controlled largely by temperature. Areas deficient in heat are deficient in agriculture. For that is one element of climate that man has not been able to create at economic costs on a large scale. Temperature determines the growth of vegetation through determining the length of the vegetative period.
Successful agriculture, therefore, requires a fairly long summer. In higher latitudes, however, the shortness of summer is compensated by the longer duration of the day. The total amount of heat received is enough for ripening of In lower latitudes where the winters are never too cold to arrest the growth of vegetation, practically the whole year is the growing period, and the agricultural operations are timed according to the supply of rainfall.
The moisture requirements of the plant vary according to the heat received. In the higher latitudes, where the summers are not very hot or where the winds are not dry, the amount of moisture given out by plant transpiration is less than in the lower latitudes where the heat received is great and the capacity of the winds to suck up moisture considerable.
The plants, therefore, require less moisture in the temperate regions than in the tropical regions. Thus, a certain amount of precipitation may be sufficient for flourishing agriculture in the temperate regions, while the same may not suffice for meager agriculture in the tropical regions.
Soil:
A rich soil in plant food is the chief requirement of successful agriculture. It is essential as a support for plants, and as the main medium whereby water and all plant foods, except carbon dioxide, are brought to the roots of the plants where they are absorbed. Soils that are poor, either chemically or in texture, have low productivity, both in amount and variety.
Topography:
Topography affects agriculture as it relates to soil erosion, difficulty of tillage and poor transportation facilities. Mechanization of agriculture depends entirely on the topography of land. On rough, hilly lands, the use of agricultural machinery is impossible.
2. Economic Factors:
Market:
Relation to market generally determines the character of farming, for the cost of transport to the market will generally affect the competitive power of the agricultural output. Places away from the market will generally grow such things which can afford the cost of transport to the market.
Transportation Facilities:
In commercial type of farming transportation facilities play a significant role. Indeed they determine its genus. In regions far flung from markets and ill-equipped with transportation facilities commercial farming is a remote possibility. The term ‘truck farming’ bears the unmistakable influence of transportation facilities on agriculture.
Labour:
Labour supply determines the character of agriculture. Intensive agriculture is essentially labour-intensive and exemplifies the human pressure on land.
Capital:
The modern mechanised farming has become capital-intensive to a large extent. The occidental farmer has to invest large amount of capital in agriculture because he has to buy agricultural machinery and chemical fertilizers.
3. Social Factors:
Social factors affect farming in a number of ways. The type of farming practiced, be it shifting cultivation, subsistence farming, extensive cereal cultivation or mixed farming, etc., is always related to regional social structure. Social factors can also affect the type of crops that are grown.
4. Political Factors:
Political factors also play a vital role in agricultural development. The political system, i.e., capitalistic, communist or socialistic system determines the pattern of agriculture. For example in China, agriculture is fully controlled by government; similar was the case of former USSR. On the other hand, in USA, Canada and in most of the other countries of the world, agriculture is a private conversation
Answer:
Hi
Your answer is in the attachment
Hope it helps....
