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Definition of Extensive Agriculture
Extensive agriculture is a farming system that is low-input and low-tech. It requires large areas of land and little labor per unit of output. This means little use of fertilizers, pesticides, and technology. Crops are grown in open spaces, with natural resources like sunlight and rainwater. Sustainable practices are used to conserve the land.
The goal is to get high yields with low investments. Profits are still made despite the lower yields per acre compared to intensive farming. Land prices are usually lower in these areas.
There are many advantages to extensive agriculture. It is environmentally-friendly, with organic materials used to manage soil fertility. This reduces contamination of water resources and improves natural means. Biodiversity increases as habitats for various species are provided. Soil conservation is improved in agro-ecological zones. People from poorer backgrounds can afford this method.
To sum up, extensive agriculture is important for food security and environmental stewardship. Who needs a gym membership when you can get ripped from tending to your extensive agricultural land?
Types of Extensive Agriculture
To understand the different ways in which extensive agriculture is practised, dive into the types of extensive agriculture. With pastoral agriculture, shifting cultivation, and nomadic livestock farming, there are various ways to use land without significantly impacting the natural ecosystem.
Pastoral Agriculture
Extensive pastoralism is all about managing large herds of animals across large areas without irrigation or cultivation. This type of agriculture has been used for centuries, with the aim of either trading or subsistence farming.
Pastoralists move their herds around based on the availability of resources like pastures and water sources. This kind of seasonal migration is often based on environmental patterns, like rainfall.
In addition to managing their livestock, pastoralists also do activities like hunting, fishing, trading, and handicrafts. This helps them make different kinds of income, and weather any extreme events like droughts or floods.
Policymakers need to invest in infrastructure to help pastoralists – such as roads, markets, vet services, education, and research – to address things like animal health, milking hygiene, breeding programs, access to credit, insurance schemes, and land tenure.
They should also respect indigenous peoples’ rights to land use and consult them when making policies that will affect them. On top of that, they should promote eco-friendly techniques such as rotational grazing systems. These systems will help maintain biodiversity, soil fertility, and water conservation.
Definition and Explanation
Extensive Agriculture: An Overview
Extensive agriculture involves low-intensity farming on large plots of land. Yields per unit area generally tend to be low and labor and capital investment are minimal. Different types of extensive agriculture exist, based on climate, soil, crops, and animals.
- Nomadic pastoralism involves herding domesticated animals across large areas for food and water.
- Shifting agriculture is the rotation of crops on a field that has been cleared from forests or bushland.
- Ranching/farming livestock involves rearing animals like cattle, sheep, or goats for meat or dairy.
- Dry farming is growing crops without irrigation in arid regions, depending on limited rainfall.
- Mixed crop-livestock farming is the cultivation of crops and rearing livestock together.
Farmers practicing extensive agriculture may need to move frequently to find better soil quality or pasturelands. Manual tools are often used due to budget constraints.
To increase productivity with extensive agriculture, strategies like crop rotation, soil conservation, and the introduction of drought-resistant crop varieties can help maintain soil fertility while reducing erosion and maximizing yields.
Extensive agriculture provides food security for millions and uses vast tracts of land efficiently. Fancy yourself an extensive farmer? These practices might be just what you’re looking for!
Examples
Extensive Agriculture Examples
Expansive farming techniques vary significantly based on location, climate, and resources. Here are some examples to illustrate the variety:
- Slash-and-Burn in South America and Africa; cutting and burning vegetation to enrich soil.
- Pastoral Nomadism in Asia and the Middle East; moving herds to save grazing areas.
- Crop Rotation in North America and Europe; alternating crops each year to prevent soil depletion.
- Terrace Farming in Southeast Asia, especially China and Japan; flattening hillsides for cultivation.
- Mixed Farming raising crops and livestock together, usually in Western Europe and Northern America.
These are often combined in one area or even on one farm.
Unique Characteristics
Expansive farming has many unique features like low input costs, traditional techniques, and limited technology. Farmers usually live off their land without commercialising.
Advanced Techniques
Extensive agriculture conserves ecosystems and can benefit from advanced techniques. For example, precision farming can reduce environmental destruction and increase yields from less land. Also, organic fertilisers can boost nutrient content and lower traditional methods like slash-and-burn.
Shifting cultivation: changing your crop rotation instead of choosing a hairstyle.
Shifting Cultivation
Shifting agriculture involves moving crops to new land after a few years. This is found in tropical areas worldwide and provides livelihoods for many indigenous communities. Farmers clear small areas by burning vegetation before planting crops. After a while, soil fertility decreases, so farmers abandon and open new land.
This method, known as slash-and-burn, has been used for centuries – although modern variations involve cutting down forests using machines instead of clearing small areas by hand. Slash-and-burn can be bad for the environment if not done sustainably, but it’s still an important form of subsistence agriculture, sustaining millions of families.
Farmers who practice this agriculture are skilled at managing both natural resources and cultural practices to make their lives sustainable. Shifting cultivation depends on restoring soil fertility naturally through mixed cropping, fallow periods, and diverse agroforestry systems.
As the world moves to industrial agriculture, favoring productivity over sustainability, we must recognize shifting cultivation as part of our global heritage. Ignoring these practices risks damaging invaluable cultural knowledge, plus more environmental degradation.
Definition and Explanation
Extensive agriculture is a farming method used to produce crops and livestock. It covers large areas with minimum labor input and low yields. Different types of practices exist worldwide, such as shifting cultivation, nomadic herding, transhumance pastoralism, and ranching. These depend on geographical factors, climate, terrain, soil type, and cultural practices.
Shifting cultivation is common in tropical parts of Asia, Africa and South America. Nomadic herding involves wandering animals for food and water, mainly done in arid regions. Transhumance pastoralism is when animals move seasonally, depending on weather conditions like snow melt or heavy rain. Ranching is rearing animals on livestock farms, usually found in North America.
The African continent has the most area practicing shifting cultivation, over 200 million ha, according to FAO_data_2018. Want to know more about extensive agriculture? Here are some examples that’ll blow your mind!
Examples
Extensive Agriculture – There’s More Than Meets the Eye!
Extensive agriculture is found around the world with low population density. Types of extensive agriculture include:
- Pastoralism
- Transhumant Pastoralism
- Shifting Cultivation
- Dryland Farming
Each type has its own characteristics. For example, pastoralists just use livestock, and dryland farming focuses on crops in arid climates. They also each require their own knowledge, skills, and cultural resources. Plus, extensive agriculture aids in biodiversity conservation and soil degradation prevention.
The earliest form of extensive agriculture was done over 10,000 years ago in the Amazon Basin. It’s called terra preta and it’s still used today!
Why stay put on a farm when you can take your livestock on a journey? Nomadic farming – a perfect way to shake things up!
Nomadic Livestock Farming
Nomadic Pastoralism is a type of agriculture practiced by nomads. They keep their livestock such as cows, sheep, and goats for food and other needs.
A table can showcase the features of this form of farming. It includes:
- Location
- Type of Livestock
- Mode of Transportation
- Food Resources
- Housing/Shelter.
For example, in Africa, they use cows and camels for long-distance travel. Their food comes from pasture or foliage. They live in dwellings made of animal hides and wool tents.
In Asia, they use buffalos and horses to roam around lowlands. They build open-styled tents on hilltops with little wood coverings.
In Australia, they have goats and sheep. Camels are used for short-distance mobility. They eat native vegetation and live in semi-permanent huts with thatched roofs.
In North America, they have bison, and they use fossil fuels or horses for transportation. Their food is grass. They stay in teepees or wikiups.
Nomadic Livestock farming has other features too. It has survived for centuries, adapting to different climates and environments. It has been around since 5000 BC.
A case study by Echegaray & Ross explains how Mongolian nomads follow a cycle of migration.
Some might think extensive agriculture is just taking a lot of space. However, we look at it positively.
Definition and Explanation
Extensive agriculture is large-scale farming with low labor and resource inputs per unit of land. The goal? Maximize output, minimize costs by cultivating one crop over a large area. There are different types: dryland farming, shifting cultivation, and ranching.
Advantages? High productivity. Disadvantages? Degradation of land due to overuse. But with appropriate measures, it can be sustainable and provide food security.
Check out the various forms of extensive agriculture. Explore the methods and adopt eco-friendly approaches for food production. Rice paddies to cattle ranches, it’s a lot of land!
Examples
Extensive Agriculture – A Variety of Options!
Extensive agri boasts low inputs and reliance on natural forces. It comes in various varieties, like:
- Pastoral nomadism – roaming with animals in search of food and water.
- Shifting cultivation – changing crop spots due to soil nutrient depletion.
- Hunter-gatherer lifestyle – eating wild plants and game.
- Ranching – raising livestock in large areas with minimal human input.
- Slash-and-burn agriculture – burning forests to create agricultural land.
- Terrace farming – building terraces on hillsides for farming.
These methods are tailored to environmental conditions, so they vary across the globe.
Pro Tip: Natural resources must be used wisely for successful extensive agri. Don’t forget, it’s the key to your daily sustenance!
Features of Extensive Agriculture
To understand the features of extensive agriculture with a focus on land use, labor intensity, low input production, and environmental impact, continue reading.
Land Use
Extensive Agriculture is a large-scale farming practice that utilizes land for crop and livestock production. It involves clearing vast areas for cultivation and pastures, relying on natural resources such as water, sunlight and soil.
This type of farming has low labor intensity as machines do most of the work. Moreover, it has lower yields per unit area compared to intensive agriculture due to no artificial inputs. Nevertheless, it can be an efficient way of producing food on a large scale with minimal inputs.
Throughout history, extensive agriculture has been a major practice globally. From the first domestication of cereal grains in the fertile crescent to the emergence of vast cattle ranches in America’s great plains. Today, it remains a major contributor to global food production.
Who needs a gym membership? Get your full-body workout on an extensive farm instead – minus the mirror selfies.
Labor Intensity
Workforce Intensity is the human effort needed for Extensive Agriculture. It usually involves manual labor, as economic returns are low. But, crop rotations and mulching can help reduce it. Farm organization and modern machinery can also cut down the intensity. Lastly, training workers and offering incentives, can ensure higher efficiency. Low input doesn’t mean low quality – unless you’re counting the effort put in.
Low Input Production
Low input production is agriculture that requires minimal resources. Small-scale farmers with limited land, water and capital use this method. Instead of expensive inputs like chemicals or tech, traditional methods are used. These methods include natural resources like organic fertilizers, crop rotation and intercropping. Livestock animals are kept under free range conditions, reducing the need for costly feeds and vet services.
Factors in low input production include resource use, crop choice, soil conservation and livestock management.
Low input production assists small scale farmers to make profits despite limited resources. It promotes sustainable farming practices and increases food security. Farmers can reduce debt, gain financial independence and contribute to a better future. Don’t miss out on efficient farming with optimal results! But, beware of the environmental damage caused by extensive agriculture.
Environmental Impact
Extensive agriculture can’t be overlooked; it has a big effect on the environment. Overusing pesticides and herbicides leads to soil degradation, water pollution and a decrease in biodiversity.
Moreover, artificial fertilizers raise soil acidity, polluting water supplies and causing damage to the environment. Therefore, it’s necessary to use sustainable agricultural practices which limit the use of artificial fertilizers.
Resource extraction for agriculture has caused deforestation, leading to natural habitats being destroyed, and the loss of animal and plant populations. Plus, soil quality has worsened, likely leading to soil erosion.
Regulations should be enforced on the use of pesticides and herbicides. Farmers need to be taught about balancing farming practices with sustainable methods, like crop rotation or organic fertilizers. Additionally, agroforestry should be used more, rather than chopping down forests just for agricultural purposes.
It’s essential to grow food sustainably without causing long-term harm. If we properly maintain intensive and extensive agricultural practices, regulate chemical usage and stop clearing habitats for cultivation, we might reduce these effects greatly over time.
Advantages of Extensive Agriculture
To fully appreciate the benefits of extensive agriculture, we must recognize its solutions to sustainable use of natural resources, contribution to rural livelihoods, and preservation of traditional knowledge and skills. These three sub-sections offer insight into how extensive agriculture can have a positive impact on both the environment and local communities.
Sustainable Use of Natural Resources
Human population is rising and food demand is increasing. So, resources are under stress. To maintain the balance between natural resource use and ecosystem preservation, sustainable practices are essential in agriculture. This includes using land optimally, preventing soil erosion, managing water well and reducing the use of chemicals.
Extensive agriculture helps sustainability. It uses available land well and reduces the bad effects on the environment. This includes crop rotation to stop soil depletion, less livestock overgrazing and better irrigation to optimize water usage.
Rather than maximizing yields, extensive agriculture emphasizes on reducing environmental impacts and preserving natural resources. It encourages crop diversification instead of monoculture farming to safeguard biodiversity.
A study in “Agriculture and Human Values” says that with extensive sustainable agricultural practices, food production can be sustained without harming ecosystem services.
Extensive agriculture provides jobs and income for rural communities. Who needs a social life?
Contribution to Rural Livelihoods
Agriculture has a major effect on rural livelihoods, providing jobs, food, and income. Farmers in extensive agriculture have more chances to grow different plants and breed livestock, allowing them to make other sources of revenue. It helps them develop their farming techniques and learn about the market, soil quality, and sustainable practices.
Also, it supports the growth of local businesses and infrastructure in rural economies. More production from crops or animals leads to a greater demand for seeds, fertilizer, and other equipment. This creates more jobs for people like truck drivers. The money earned boosts spending at local stores and helps local economies to grow.
Moreover, farmers can save money by mechanizing farm operations, such as sowing seeds and harvesting with machines. This reduces costs and increases profit margins. Tightly planting crops and using natural predators instead of pesticides encourages healthy crop growth and a better return when harvested.
Extensive agriculture ensures that traditional knowledge and skills are kept alive, making sure that only the dinosaurs become extinct.
Preservation of Traditional Knowledge and Skills
Extensive cultivation of crops and livestock helps to preserve indigenous ways of tending plants and animals. It also keeps traditional knowledge and skills alive, even as modern techniques become more popular.
Also, the use of native breeds helps maintain biodiversity. For example, certain heirloom veggies have special qualities, like being pest-resistant or able to withstand harsh weather.
Moreover, extensive farming gives families and communities chances to learn new skills. Knowledge is passed on through informal means, such as stories, observation, and apprenticeships.
Interestingly, in Europe, intensive agriculture was adopted due to economic needs. This led to low inputs and high crop production per unit area. Traditional knowledge and skills became underrated. But get ready, because the challenges of extensive agriculture are about to make you root for the weeds!
Challenges of Extensive Agriculture
To address the challenges of extensive agriculture in the modern world, the following solutions are presented: Competition with Intensive Agriculture, Land Use and Tenure Issues, and Climate Change and Its Impacts.
Competition with Intensive Agriculture
Agriculture is a competitive industry. Extensive farming means using a large area of land with few inputs. Intensive farming is about optimizing yields and product quantity per unit. See the comparison table below for a better understanding:
| Factor | Extensive Agriculture | Intensive Agriculture |
|---|---|---|
| Land use efficiency | Low | High |
| Production Quantity | Less | More |
| Environment Impact | Low | High |
| Inputs (land, water, fertilizers) | Low | High |
| Labor demand per hectare | Low | High |
Extensive agriculture can be cost-effective, yet it can lead to underutilized land and decreased productivity. To counter this, sustainable practices like agroforestry or intercropping can increase productivity on smaller plots. Government subsidies can promote the shift from extensive farming to intensive farming. Home is where the deed is for farmers dealing with land use and tenure issues.
Land Use and Tenure Issues
Managing agri-land is pivotal for the success of large scale farming. Issues with land use and tenure have major effects on this management. Allocating land, offering titles and controlling ownership can be a tricky task, varying from region to region and culture to culture.
Comprehending local customs and conforming to legal frameworks governing land rights are needed to deal with these issues. Other methods such as communal land ownership or leasing may need to be taken into account if traditional individual ownership models are not possible in certain areas.
It’s essential to keep in mind the history of land tenure in the area studied. Historical elements, including colonialism or post-colonial conflicts, can lead to legacy problems making farming practices and their management systems more complex.
For instance, some places are still suffering from conflicts regarding ancestral lands or post-independence interference by authoritarian regimes. In this case, addressing these singular historical nuances is key to solving current agrarian challenges.
Climate change won’t discriminate between believers and skeptics, it’s coming for your crops either way.
Climate Change and Its Impacts
Climate disorders are a huge challenge for large-scale farming. Rising temperatures, different rain patterns, and extreme weather can ruin soil quality, reduce crop yields, and damage livestock production. This has put rural food security in danger, forcing people to migrate.
Farmers have taken action to try and limit the damage, like better irrigation, drought-resistant crops, and renewable energy sources. But to keep up with the changing climate, they need to constantly adapt and invest money.
Climate change has other effects too. If people don’t have enough supplies, economic growth and poverty levels will get worse. This goes against international sustainable goals.
Pro Tip: To counter climate disasters, farmers should turn to solar/wind power. Not only will this help the environment, it will reduce emissions too.
Future of Extensive Agriculture
To explore the future of extensive agriculture through the lenses of sustainable development, innovation, technology, policy support, and investment, we have divided this section into three sub-sections: Role in Sustainable Development, Potential for Innovation and Technological Advancement, and Need for Policy Support and Investment.
Role in Sustainable Development
The extensive agriculture system has a big part to play in sustainable development. It guarantees food security, offers job opportunities and brings income to farmers. Plus, it adds to worldwide economic growth and poverty reduction. Moreover, using sustainable methods such as crop rotation and integrated pest management can increase its environmental advantages.
Sustainable agricultural techniques can help preserve natural resources and create resilient ecosystems. Introducing high-tech systems, like precision agriculture and smart irrigation systems, can enhance productivity while cutting back resource depletion. This strategy makes sure there’s a balance between economic success, social equilibrium and environmental protection.
Extensive agriculture also helps to lessen greenhouse gas emissions by promoting carbon sequestration in the soil. Agroforestry practices, combining trees with crops, give habitats for wildlife, support biodiversity and boost ecosystem services. These practices aid in storing carbon in vegetation and soil organic matter while enhancing soil fertility.
The Food Agriculture Organization (FAO) reports that globally, 80 percent of agriculture is practiced on small farms using family labor. Extensive agriculture could provide lots of chances for these small-scale farmers to access markets by taking part in value chains, thus earning better incomes.
A 2019 World Bank Group report reveals that 70 percent of the world’s poor live in rural areas, where farming is the primary source of livelihoods. Who needs a green thumb when you can have a high-tech tractor doing all the work? This is the future of farming – where innovation and technology meet the dirt.
Potential for Innovation and Technological Advancement
Recent tech advancements have opened up great possibilities for extensive agriculture. AI, Machine Learning and the Internet of Things allow farmers to monitor their crops remotely and make decisions based on data. This tech can also identify pest infestations and provide treatment to increase yields.
These advancements have made sustainable agriculture practices possible – reducing water usage, preventing soil degradation and using resources efficiently. Precision farming techniques enhance the produce quality while decreasing waste – in line with the global movement for sustainability.
Research is being done to develop better, disease-resistant seeds that use less water. This could help in averting crop failure due to changing weather patterns.
Pro Tip: Embracing these technologies can lead to greater productivity and profits in extensive agriculture, all while contributing to a sustainable future for the planet. Without proper policy support and investment, though, extensive agriculture has a bleak future.
Need for Policy Support and Investment
Growth of extensive agriculture is possible, but only with investment and policy support. Lowering input costs and increasing output and quality requires funding. Policies must promote regenerative practices, collaboration, and address environmental issues.
Investment brings benefits: better use of resources, higher productivity and positive social development. Policy aid and investment are essential for the future of agriculture.
Consumers worldwide are demanding sustainably produced products. Not investing risks missing out on markets, leading to less competitiveness. Therefore, investment must be made with the ‘fear of missing out‘ in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is extensive agriculture?
Extensive agriculture refers to a farming method that involves low inputs of labor and capital per unit of land. It typically involves large areas of land and low yields per acre.
2. What are some examples of extensive agriculture?
Examples of extensive agriculture include livestock grazing, shifting cultivation, and nomadic herding. These are types of farming that require little to no irrigation or fertilization.
3. How does extensive agriculture differ from intensive agriculture?
Intensive agriculture involves higher inputs of labor and capital per unit of land, with the aim of achieving higher yields per acre. It often involves the use of irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides to maximize crop yields.
4. What are the benefits of extensive agriculture?
Extensive agriculture can be less expensive and labor-intensive than intensive farming methods. It can also be more sustainable and environmentally friendly, as it often involves less use of chemicals and other inputs that can have negative impacts on soil and water quality.
5. What are the challenges of extensive agriculture?
One of the main challenges of extensive agriculture is that it typically produces lower yields per acre than intensive farming methods. This can make it more difficult to produce enough food to meet the growing needs of populations in many parts of the world.
6. How can we promote sustainable use of extensive agriculture?
To promote sustainable use of extensive agriculture, it is important to invest in research and development of new methods and technologies that can increase yields while minimizing negative environmental impacts. Additionally, policymakers can incentivize and promote sustainable farming practices through policies and initiatives such as subsidies, conservation programs, and certification schemes.
