UNIT 8: AGRICULTURE, LIVESTOCK AND

FISHING

1. PRIMARY SECTOR

1.1- Primary sector.• Primary activities are made of activities

related to collect or produce natural resources. It means agriculture, livestock and fishing.

• Nowadays, these activities takes 39% of world population. This percentage is unequal over the world (2% in North America, and 58% in Africa).

1.2 Agriculture activities.• In this sector, agriculture and livestock are

the most important because human feeding depends on these activities.

• Agriculture activities are conditioned by:- The climate: crops need temperate temperatures, water and humidity to grow up. So in extreme climates crops are unable to grow up.

- The relief: agriculture is usually located in plain areas or valleys. Sometimes mountain slopes are cultivated on terraces.

- The ground: is very important, because they have to be rich in nutrients, have a good structure and be able to keep the humidity.

• There are several differences between developed countries where the climate, the relief an the ground factors are less important than in undeveloped ones due to machinery and technology invested.

2- AGRARIAN LANDSCAPES2.1 Agrarian landscapes characteristics. • An agrarian landscape is a natural landscape

which has been changed by human activities.• There are three elements which are

characteristic of an agrarian landscapes:

2.2 Plots of land.• A plot is a piece of ground which is used to grow

crops.• They are different in size (small or large plots),

shape (regular or irregular), and they might be closed or open plots:

- Openfields: are plots of land without fences. They usually have a small size and a regular shape. (Mediterranean Europe).

- Bocage: they have a large size, besides they are irregular plots and are surrounded by a fence (Atlantic Europe)

Opendfield Bocage

2.3 Farming Systems.A)Multiple-crop farming system (policultivo)

and single-crop farming: - MCFS: there several kind of crops are

cultivated.- SCFS: the plot is used in a single and

specialized crop (olive threes).

B) Irrigated and dry lands.- Irrigated landscapes: water is taken of

the groundwater or reserves and it is used in fields.( it usually makes the production grow)

- Dry landscapes: they only are irrigated by the rainfall (the cheapest method).

C) Intensive agriculture and extensive agriculture:- Intensive: is characteristic in small plots of

land. The farmers try to have the largest production in the smallest area possible. This kind of agriculture need large investments (workers, machinery, chemical products).

- Extensive : in the largest plots. Farmers get high production with low cost.

2.4 Rural Settlements.• Rural areas are populated. Rural settlements

might be scattered or concentrated.• Nowadays, 39% of the world population live in

rural settlements , although, there are several differences between developed countries and undeveloped countries (3% in Belgium and 85% in Nepal, Asia).

3- SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE3.1 Characteristics.• Subsistence farmers produce food for

themselves and their family. There is rarely any profit or spare food.

• Farming systems and methods are very poor. Farmers haven´t got enough tools (plough or animals).

• Ground yield is also poor. It might be affected by droughts, pests or floods. In consequence population have several problems to get food or survive.

Subsistence farming in Thailand and India

3.2 Subsistence Agriculture in the World.• Nowadays more of 1000 million of people

work in subsistence farming system.• There are different kind of subsistence

agriculture. Most important are:a)- Itinerant agriculture system: mainly in Africa, South America and Asia. Farmers burn the forest to get cultivable fields. Then they cultivate these fields for three or four years. Finally they must give up the field and burn another forest area.

b) Extensive dry farming: it is based on a rotation system. Cultivable lands are divided in three parts: a fallow area, peanuts and millet. It is typical of Africa.

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• c) Irrigated rice growing: south-east of Asia, where the rainfall is abundant. It is an intensive farming system. Farmers get two harvest a year, on summer and winter. Normally the plots are on flooded terraces

4- MARKET AGRICULTURE4.1 From subsistence agriculture to market

agriculture.• Investments, improvements make possible to

pass from a subsistence farming system to another market farming system.

• It makes possible to get profits and spare food.

4.2 Market Agriculture.

• It’s practiced mainly in North America, West Europe, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and some parts of Argentina.

• This type of agriculture has two main objectives: raise the sales and reduce the expenses. It has some features:a) Field mechanization, that is to say, the use of machines allows:

- Save work force.- Raise the production.- Reduce the prices of the agricultural goods.

b) The specialization of agricultural production in one or more products makes possible:

- Raise the production.- Produce a greater quantity.- Better marketing to sell greater quantity.

c) Faster marketing of production needs to have better transports, it makes possible:

- Fresh products arrive earlier to market- Use some transports: train, trucks, aircraft…

• The main target of this kind of agriculture system is to get the highest profit as possible.

• In the international markets it is called speculation agriculture.

5- LIVESTOCK IN THE WORLD 5.1 Traditional Livestock.• Traditional livestock complements the

agriculture since animals are used to work the lands at the same time they give fertilizers. The farmer has got little flocks of sheep that give him milk, meat and wool.

• In the driest zones, where there is no agriculture, we find subsistence livestock typical of nomadic shepherds. They move regularly with their flocks of camels, sheep or goats looking for water.

• 5.2. Market Livestock.• Its goal is to sell the production in the market

and to obtain as much profit as possible.• Intensive livestock. It’s practiced in very

specialized farms. A lot of workforce is employed and lots of investments, installations and goods are provided. Animals are bred in stables or farms, that is stabling.

• Extensive livestock. It’s practiced in places where there is good pasture. Little workforce is needed, but it requires important resources: lots of head of cattle, good commercial structures….

6- FISHING. TYPES OF FISHING 6.1 Fishing • It is based on the exploitation of the animal

resources offered by the sea. There 2 types of fishing: traditional and industrial.

6.2 Traditional Fishing• It’s carried out near the coast and human

strength and simple fishing rigs are involved. Little developed regions carry out this type of fishing. Its production is scarce and it’s used for self-consumption.

• Traditional Fishing

6.3 Industrial Fishing.• Its goal is get a great volume of catches.

Therefore, it needs economic resources for ship equipment and for research in new fishing systems and also high technology to fish more and to make the activity profitable. Finally it also needs port infrastructures where ships can disembark and distribute the fish.

• Depending on the place where it’s practiced, we distinguish different types of fishing:a) Coastal fishing, ships are small, they fish near the coast and take the catches to the fish market.b) Deep-sea fishing, it’s carried out by the most important fleets which rely on big ships and well-equipped that can stay in open sea for weeks or months. These ships have radars to detect fish shoals and their speed and direction, and they also have sonars to measure the importance of those shoals.

7- WHERE DOES FISHING TAKE PLACE? MAIN FISHING ZONES

• The most abundant catches take place in the so called fishing grounds which are:

a- In zones where the continental shelf is vast, as in Japan, and where water is not very deep and has favorable temperatures for fish to grow.

b- In contact zones between cold and warm ocean currents because there are warm and cold water species.

c- In coastal zones near a cold ocean current because cold water has a lot of plankton.

World fishing areas

8-FISHING PROBLEMS: 8.1 Too Many Fishermen For Few Fish• The 2 most serious problems of the fishing

sector are: the overfishing and the lack of fishing grounds due to the widening of the territorial waters. Another problem is the growing pollution of water.

1) The overfishing• The use of effective techniques and the

increasing number of ships have caused the overfishing of the fishing resources, so the reproduction of many species is in danger.

• Some international organizations propose:• It’s compulsory to use nets of wide mesh to protect

the offspring.• The control of the minimum size of the species.• The establishment of close seasons.• The restriction of the capacity of the fishing fleets.

2) The widening of territorial waters• The sea tradition was based on the free use of

the oceans. When the UN recognized the right of every country to have at its disposal its territorial waters (200 nautical miles or 370 km), the countries with important fishing fleets had to leave some traditional fishing grounds. They had to reduce their fleets or establish agreements with countries which were far away from their origin ports.

8.2 Sustainable Exploitation• The animal and vegetable resources offered by

the sea are limited. To guarantee a sustainable exploitation of the sea resources, a regulated and intelligent sea exploitation is urgent.Some international organizations and the European Union:

• Establish strict fishing regulations.• Want to restock the sea with the artificial breeding of fish.• Propose to limit the number of fishing ships although it’s

necessary to buy the fleets or pay an unemployment benefit for jobless fishermen.

• Aquiculture in this sense, offers interesting alternatives.

Acuiculture: