🔸️ Agriculture:
Agriculture is the process of producing food, feed, fiber and many other desired products by the cultivation of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals .The practice of agriculture is also known as “farming”, while scientists, inventors and others devoted to improving farming methods and implements are also said to be engaged in agriculture.Modern agriculture extends well beyond the traditional production of food for humans and animal feeds.Agricultural chemistry includes the application of chemical fertilizer, chemical insecticides, and chemical fungicides, soil makeup, analysis of agricultural products, and nutritional needs of farm animals.
Beginning in the Western world, the green revolution spread many of these changes to farms throughout the world, with varying success.
Other recent changes in agriculture include hydroponics, plant breeding, hybridization, gene manipulation, better management of soil nutrients, and improved weed control.
Depending on the diverse climatic conditions, level of Technology ,investment,etc. various types of agriculture is practised in various regions:
🔸️Plantation agriculture .
A plantation is a large-scale estate meant for farming that specializes in cash crops. The crops that are grown include cotton, coffee, tea, cocoa, sugar cane, opium, sisal, oil seeds, oil palms, fruits, rubber trees and forest trees. Protectionist policies and natural comparative advantage have sometimes contributed to determining where plantations are located.
Plantation agriculture grew rapidly with the increase in international trade and the development of a worldwide economy that followed the expansion of European colonial empires. Like every economic activity, it has changed over time.
It was introduced by Europeans in colonies situated within the tropical regions .the characteristics features of this type of agriculture are as follows:
▪︎ large size plantations
▪︎ large capital investment
▪︎ scientific methods of cultivation
▪︎ single crop specialisation
▪︎ labour intensive
▪︎ good system of transportation which links the plantation to factories
▪︎ strong technical and managerial support
Some of the coffee plantations in Brazil are still managed by Europeans .at present, most of these plantations are under the control of native governments.
🔸️ Mixed Farming:
Mixed farming is a type of farming which involves both the growing of crops and the raising of livestock. This type of farming is practiced across Asia and in countries such as India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Afghanistan, South Africa, China, Central Europe, Canada, and Russia.
Before horses were commonly used for haulage, many young male cattle on such farms were often not butchered as surplus for meat but castrated and used as bullocks to haul the cart and the plough.
It is practiced to enhance income levels from farms. It is also practised in developing countries as an insurance against crop failure.
▪︎ Subsistence agriculture:
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families.In subsistence agriculture, farm output is targeted to survival and is mostly for local requirements with little or no surplus. Planting decisions are made principally with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year, and secondarily toward market prices. Tony Waters writes: “Subsistence peasants are people who grow what they eat, build their own houses, and live without regularly making purchases in the marketplace.
It is undertaken to fulfill the flood requirements of a household further it is of the following types :
1▪︎primitive subsistence agriculture:
In this type of Agricultural ,crops remains are cleared by fire .the cultivated patches very small, and cultivation is done with primitive tools.after three to five years the soil loses its fertility. the farmer clears the new forest and utilise its for cultivation. this type of agriculture is called slash and Burn agriculture . it is known by different names such as jhum in the North Eastern states of India ,Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia, milpa and Central America and Mexico.
Such gardens near the homestead often regularly receive household refuse, and the manure of any household, chickens or goats are initially thrown into compost piles just to get them out of the way. However, such farmers often recognize the value of such compost and apply it regularly to their smaller fields. They also may irrigate part of such fields if they are near a source of water.Thus farmers practicing ”slash and burn” agriculture are often much more sophisticated agriculturalists than the term “slash and burn” subsistence farmers suggests.
▪︎ Intensive subsistence agriculture:
In intensive subsistence agriculture, the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labour.Climate, with large number of days with sunshine and fertile soils permits growing of more than one crop annually on the same plot.intensive situation, farmers may even create terraces along steep hillsides to cultivate rice paddies. Such fields are found in densely populated parts of Asia, such as in the Philippines. it involves the use of family labour and appropriate agriculture methodology such as farmyard manure to maintain fertility of soil. this productivity in this type of agriculture is not as highest as commercial gain cultivation ,but it is better than primitive subsistence agriculture. it is practised in a large part of India, including Ganga plains.
🔸️ Extensive commercial grain cultivation:
Commercial grain farming is an extensive and mechanised form of agriculture.
This is a development in the continental lands of the mid-latitudes, which were once roamed by nomadic herdsmen.
In commercial grain farming crops are grown for commercial purpose. Wheat and maize are common commercially grown grains.
Major areas where commercial grain farming is pracised are temperate grasslands of North America, Europe and Asia. These areas are sparsely populated with large farms spreading over hundreds of hectares. Severe winters restrict the growing season and only a single crop can be grown.
It is undertaken on large farm with extensive use of machinery in operations ranging from ploughing to cultivation. this type of agriculture is carried in temperate grassland such as Eurasian steppes,American prairies ,argentinean pampas, South African velds ,and Australian downs.
🔸️ Horticulture :
Horticulture is the science and art of the development, sustainable production, marketing, and use of high-value, intensively cultivated food and ornamental plants. Horticultural crops are diverse; they include annual and perennial species, delicious fruits and vegetables, and decorative indoor and landscape plants.
Horticulturists apply knowledge, skills, and technologies to grow intensively produced plants for human food and non-food uses and for personal or social needs. Their work involves plant propagation and cultivation with the aim of improving plant growth, yields, quality, nutritional value and resistance to insects, diseases and environmental stresses. They work as gardeners, growers, therapists, designers, and technical advisors in the food and non-food sectors of horticulture. Farms under Horticulture are small and are commonly located in areas near urban centres. it is both labour and capital intensive .special care required while growing crops. Highly investment is required not only in agriculture but also in storage and transportation of agriculture produce. Horticulture is popular in densely populated regions of North Western Europe, North Eastern USA, and Mediterranean regions.
🔸️ Mediterranean Agriculture:
The term ‘Mediterranean agriculture’ applies to the agriculture done in those regions which are having Mediterranean type of climate.Mediterranean agriculture is unique because it is a mixture of diverse bio-cultural activities (both animal husbandry and crop farming) that has developed in five major world regions.
The natural setting that lends itself to Mediterranean agriculture is distinguished by erratic rainfall, mild temperatures, irregular topography, and nearness to large water bodies. It is practiced in region surrounding the Mediterranean sea in Southern Europe and north Africa. viticulture or cultivation of grapes is speciality of Mediterranean agriculture. in Mediterranean agriculture, citrus fruits and vegetables are grown during winters .these fruits and vegetables caters to the heavy demand and western Europe and North America.
🔸️ Floriculture :
Floriculture, branch of ornamental horticulture concerned with growing and marketing flowers and ornamental plants as well as with flower arrangement.floriculture is largely thought of as a greenhouse industry, though many flowers are cultivated outdoors in nurseries or crop fields. Both the production of bedding plants and the production of cuttings to be grown in greenhouses or for indoor use as houseplants are usually considered part of floriculture. it is undertaken on small Farms and is highly capital and Labour intensive. high level of investment is required in the input, labour ,machinery,etc. storage facilities are also costly. floriculture is popular in western Europe and northern america .Netherland specializes in growing flowers.
