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&KEY WORDS
irrigation system: man-made system
bringing water to agricultural land
yield: amount of crop produced persquare metre
market garden: area for growing fruit and
salad vegetables
Farming systems
Crop agriculture
Agriculture obtains fruit, vegetable and cereal products from the earth to be
used for consumption or as raw materials for industry.
Crop agriculture practices
Different farming systems are used for the exploitation of agricultural
space.
Depending on the use ofwater
Irrigated agriculture: crops receive water from man-
-made irrigation systems. This method is used for the
cultivation of fruit trees, rice, cotton and vegetables.
Rain-fed agriculture: crops only receive rainwater. This
method is mainly used for pulses, suntlowers, wheat,
vinesand olive trees.
Irrigated agriculture
Depending on the variety of species
Monoculture: the cultivation of a single species in an
agricultural area. Cereals, cotton and coffee are often
grown like this.
Mixed cropping: the cultivation of several species in an
agricultural area. Mixed crops grown by irrigated
agriculture include fruit trees, peppers, tomatoes, lettuce,
etc.
Monoculture of cotton
Depending on the utilisation of the soil
Intensive agriculture: high capital investment (in tools,
machinery, equipment, etc.) and labour are used to obtain
maximum yield. Crops are produced for commercial
purposes, for example, in the market gardens of Valencia
and Murcia.
Intensive agriculture in the market gardens of Valencia
Extensive agriculture: does not use all the technological or
human resources (workers) available to obtain the
maximum yield. Production can be for sale (e.g. on the
wheat plains in the United States) or for personal
consumption.
Extensive agriculture in the United States
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2.2. Agricultural landscapes
Agricultural activities create different types of agricultural landscape.
Subsistence agriculture: this method uses ancient techniques and has
low productivity. Most crops are for the farmers own consumption.
There are different types of subsistence agriculture:
Slash-and-burn agriculture: to prepare the land, the vegetation is cut
down and burnt, and the ashes are used as fertiliser. Used to growmillet, sorghum and tapioca, for example.
Intensive agriculture ofMonsoon Asia: rice is grown on small plots.
Commercial agriculture: this is characterised by high investment, the
use ofadvanced techniques such as drip irrigation, and high
productivity. Crops are produced for commercial purposes. There are
different types ofcommercial agriculture:
Advanced agriculture of Europe: flowers, market garden
products and cereals are among the most important crops.
Mediterranean agriculture: this is rain-fed (wheat, vines and
olives) and irrigated (fruit trees and vegetables). Extensive New World agriculture: large farms employ few
workers and use a lot ofmachinery. They mostly grow cereals.
Plantations: large estates with monocultures of cocoa, tea, coffee,
bananas and pineapples, for example. The farms are owned by big
multinational companies.
WORLD AGRICULTUREARCTIC OCEAN
@KEY WORDS
productivity: relation between theamount produced and the work,time and money needed toproduce it
Drip irrigation: irrigation system inwhich water is applied in smallamounts (drops) to each plant
New World: countries that werecolonised by European nationsand obtained independencefrom the 18th century onwards;e.g. the United States
PACIFIC
OCEAN
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&KEY WORDS
feed (n.):dry food for livestock
graze (vb.):feed on grass
pasture: grassland where animals cangraze
Types of livestock farming
livestock farming
This type of farming obtains different products from animals (meat, milk,
wool, eggs, etc.).
The principal types oflivestockare: cattle (cows, oxen, bulls), sheep,
goats, pigs, rabbits, horses, mules and poultry (hens, chickens, ducks, turkeys,
etc.).
Livestock farming can be classified as follows:
Capital investment and labour
Extensive livestock farming: capital investment (in feed,
farms, etc.) is limited and productivity low. The livestock is
mostly cattle and sheep, and grazes on large pastures in
the open air.
Extensive livestock farming
Intensive livestock farming: capital investment (in feed,
farms, etc.). labour and productivity are high. Mostly cattle,
pigs and poultry are farmed.
Food and feeding methods
Grazing livestock: animals feed on grass. This is an
example of extensive farming.
Confined livestock: animals are kept in sheds and
covered pens, and eat feed. This is an example of
intensive farming.
Confined livestock
Semi-confined livestock: in summer, the animals eat
grass; when there is not enough grass, they eat feed.
Mobility of livestock
Nomadic herding: herders and their families are
constantly moving with their animals in search of good
pasture.
Nomadic herders
Transhumance (seasonal migration of livestock):
herders move their animals several times a year
between winter and summer pastures.
Sedentary livestock farming: animals do not have to
move around to obtain food because farmers give them
feed.
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12:00 pm
2:00 pm
4:30 pm
5 Are these examples typical of subsistence or commercial
agriculture?
a) Farmers and their families consume most of the crops.
b)Machinery and modern techniques are used.c) The majority of crops are sold.
Activities1 Match the following words with the examples below:
monoculture, irrigated crops, intensiveagriculture, rain-fedcrops.
a) Farmers use technology to water these crops.
b) A coffee plantation is an example of this type of crop.c) If the summer is very dry, these crops suffer because they
receive no water.
d) These crops need a lot of workers, machines and
money.
2 Answer the questions.
a) What is the name of this plant?
b) What type of crop is it?
c) Is it an irrigated or rain-fed crop?
3 Complete the sentences.
a)The action of animals eating grass is called _______
b)Birds that are kept on farms, like chickens or ducks, are
called ___________
c)Is the grey substance that is left after you have burnt
something.
d)Vegetables and fruit are grown in ______________ and
sold for profit.
e)Capital and labour are used to increase _____________
4 Look at the photos and answer the questions.
a) What are the names of these animals?
b) What type of livestock are the animals in photos 2 and
3?
6 What type of livestock farming do these people practice?
a) Kumar is an Indian herder. He is constantly moving around
with his family and his flock of goats, looking for pasture.
b) Harry is an Australian farmer. His sheep graze on the
fields on his farm.
c) Pedro lives in Spain. Every summer, he moves his sheep from
the valley to the mountain pastures.
7 John is a Welsh farmer. Look at his timetable. Complete thequestions with the following words: often, why, does, time,
who, many, when.
5:25 amJohn gets up and begins milking between
six o'clock and quarter past six.
John feeds the cows.
John begins to do other jobs such as
taking the cows out to pasture.
In summer, John harvests grass, which he
stores in order to feed the animals in winter.John continues with his other jobs.
A milk tanker comes to collect the milk.
The cows are milked again.
6:15 am
8:00 am
10:00 am
a) What _________________does John start work?
b) How ________does he milk the cows? At what time?
c) ________________ does John feed the cows?
d)What other jobs _________________John do?
e) _______________ does John harvest the grass?
f) What time do they collect the milk? _________collects it?
g)How ___________________hours a day does John work?
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