Agriculture

Physical factors affecting farming activities:

 Solar energy/ Temperature

 Rainfall/ moisture
 Soil
 Relief/gradient/land

Human/cultural factors:

 Capital
 Labour
 Transport
 Market
 Technology
 Institution

A. Sahel

Physical constraints in Sahel:

 Climate
 Soil
 Pest and diseases

Famine – an human-induced or a natural disaster?

Natural causes:

 Extreme climate (e.g. drought)

 Low and unreliable rainfall
 Infertile soil
 Rugged relief
(~to ‘Physical input)
Human causes:

 Rapid population growth/over-population

 Commercialization
 Overgrazing/over-cultivation/deforestationsoil erosioncrop failure
 Over-tapping of underground water
 Over-irrigation
 Lack of capital
 Lack of technology/ misuse of farming technology
 Wars
 Political instability and corruption

Sustainable measures:

 Birth control
 Proper grazing management and technology
 Improve infrastructure and transport network
 Develop warning system
 Sedentary farming

B. Southern California

 Physical constraints:
 Climate
 Soil
 Pest and diseases
 *Relief
Technology adopted in farming and disadvantages:

Irrigation  Reduce in ground

water reserve
 Land subsidence
 Stalinization because
of rapid evaporation
 ↑Soil erosion
 Water pollution by
salt
Biotechnology  Danger to human
health
 GM crops lead to
reduce in biodiversity
Mechanization  Soil becomes harden
 ↑surface runoff,
infiltration
 ↑Soil erosion
Chemical fertilizers and  Eutrophication
pesticides  Contaminated food

Sustainable measures:

 Careful irrigation management

 Effective irrigation method (e.g. drip irrigation)
 Constant flushing on crops
 Educate the farmers to avoid the misuse of agricultural technology
 Practice organic farming (e.g. crop rotation)
 C. International help:

 Food aids and emergency supplies

 MDC donates food surplus to LDC
 Voluntary organization
 Proving grants and loans
 Provide education
 Birth control is promoted
 Food-for-work program
 Introduce drought/pest resistant crops
 Anti-corruption
 Stop civil wars

D. Problems resulting from international aid:

 ↑debt burdens of the poor countries as food aid in form of loans are required to
pay back debt
 Cheap and free food pulls down the process of locally grown food and local
farmers are forced to give up farming
 GM food is not suitable farmers due to low technology level
 GM food increase the production cost and may turn farmers into debt
 Farmers lose incentive under the ‘food-for-work’ programs
 Corruption and wars make food distribution more uneven and difficult.