An Introduction to Agricultural Geography

by Grigg,David

• ISBN13: 9780415084437
• ISBN10: 0415084431
• Edition: 2nd
• Format: Nonspecific Binding
• Copyright: 1995-02-17
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

Employing nearly half the world's workforce, agriculture is the single most important global industry. David Grigg provides a comprehensive introduction to agriculture in both the First and Third Worlds, describing both human and environmental issues. Covering the physical environment, economic behavior and demands, institutional, social and cultural influences, and the impact of farming upon the environment, the book explores the wide range of factors which influence how agriculture and agricultural practice differ from place to place. For this edition, the text, statistics, artwork and bibliography have been entirely updated and revised. In addition, two chapters on modernization and on the environment have been added.

Table of Contents

List of figures	xi	(3)
List of tables	xiv	(2)
Acknowledgements	xvi
1 Introduction	1	(8)
A definition of agriculture	2	(2)
Approaches to description	4	(1)
Approaches to explanation	5	(2)
Purpose and pattern	7	(2)
2 The biology of agriculture	9	(10)
Food chains	9	(2)
Crop productivity	11	(1)
Perennials and annuals	12	(1)
The biology of livestock	13	(2)
Pests and diseases	15	(2)
Conclusions	17	(2)
3 Climate and crops	19	(21)
Optimum growth	19	(2)
Optimum areas and competing crops	21	(3)
Net photosynthesis	24	(1)
Temperature	24	(5)
Moisture	29	(2)
Grass and cereals in England and Wales	31	(4)
Crop diversity in West Africa	35	(2)
Conclusions	37	(3)
4 Soils and the farmer	40	(11)
The edaphic optimum	40	(1)
Criticisms of the edaphic optimum concept	41	(1)
Soil characteristics and agriculture	41	(2)
Plant nutrient and fertility	43	(1)
Farming systems and fertility	43	(3)
Soil type and the distribution of arable land	46	(3)
Conclusions	49	(2)
5 Slopes, altitude and agriculture	51	(8)
Altitude	51	(3)
Slopes and agriculture	54	(1)
Slopes and water	55	(1)
Slopes, water and wet-rice	56	(1)
Conclusions	57	(2)
6 The demand for agricultural products	59	(10)
Human food requirements	59	(2)
Income and food requirements	61	(1)
Low incomes and the starchy staple ratio	62	(2)
Higher incomes and changing demand	64	(2)
Tastes and preferences	66	(1)
Industrial demand for agricultural products	67	(1)
The implications of variations in demand	67	(2)
7 The economic behaviour of farmers	69	(15)
The economic distinctiveness of agriculture	69	(2)
The economic behaviour of commercial farmers	71	(10)
The economic behaviour of subsistence farmers	81	(1)
Conclusions	82	(2)
8 The modernization of agriculture	84	(17)
The extent of subsistence farming	84	(2)
The purchase of inputs	86	(1)
Power and machinery	87	(4)
Commercial fertilizers	91	(1)
Modern crop varieties	91	(3)
Insecticides, fungicides and herbicides	94	(1)
Irrigation	94	(1)
Difference in land productivity	95	(3)
The processing of farm and food output	98	(1)
Economic development and agricultural productivity	99	(1)
Conclusion	100	(1)
9 The state and the farmer	101	(12)
Reasons for government intervention	101	(2)
Methods of intervention	103	(2)
Sugar-beet and sugar-cane	105	(1)
Cotton in the USA	106	(1)
The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Community	107	(3)
Land colonization and land reform	110	(1)
Conclusions	111	(2)
10 Markets and transport	113	(15)
Von Thunen's rings	113	(1)
The intensity theory	114	(1)
The crop theory	114	(3)
Changing technology and von Thunen's model	117	(1)
Modern modifications of von Thunen	118	(1)
Testing von Thunen	119	(1)
Distance and farming today	120	(6)
Conclusion	126	(2)
11 Agriculture in peri-urban regions	128	(9)
The loss of farmland	129	(1)
The anticipation of urban expansion	129	(2)
Land use and farm enterprises	131	(1)
Farm size and landownership	131	(2)
The disadvantages of peri-urban farming	133	(1)
Peri-urban farming in the USA	133	(2)
Conclusion	135	(2)
12 Population, labour supply and agriculture	137	(23)
Agriculture and economic development	137	(4)
Agriculture and population in developing countries	141	(4)
Subsistence communities in the tropics	145	(1)
Density and farming in West Africa	145	(1)
Multiple cropping	146	(1)
Characteristics of areas of high population densities	147	(1)
Agricultural characteristics of regions of high population and growth	148	(3)
Agricultural change in regions of declining agricultural labour force	151	(7)
Conclusions	158	(2)
13 Farm size and landownership	160	(13)
The size of farms	160	(5)
The layout of farms	165	(3)
Landownership and farming	168	(2)
The modernization of agriculture and the organization of production	170	(1)
Conclusion	171	(2)
14 The diffusion of agricultural innovations	173	(13)
Social diffusion	173	(3)
Spatial diffusion	176	(1)
The domestication of plants and their present distribution	176	(2)
The diffusion of hybrid corn in the USA	178	(1)
The diffusion of cattle: Herefords and the Aberdeen Angus	179	(1)
The Green Revolution in Asia	180	(4)
Conclusions	184	(2)
15 The cultural framework of farming	186	(11)
Ethnic factors and farming	186	(2)
Religion and crops	188	(2)
Religion and livestock	190	(5)
Conclusions	195	(2)
16 Agriculture and the environment	197	(15)
Deforestation	198	(4)
Land degradation: soil erosion	202	(2)
Land degradation: salinity and alkalinity	204	(1)
Desertification	205	(2)
Modern farming and the environment	207	(2)
Towards sustainable agriculture	209	(3)
17 Conclusions	212	(1)
Index	213