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Human Geography
Human Geography (Gt-Ss2) (GEO 106)
Colorado Mountain College
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switched to the international trade approach have seen far greater results. To further promote this model the World Trade Organization (WTO) was founded.
Regardless of the approach taken, nearly all LDC’s face the challenge of financing their development. LDC’s can borrow money from MDC’s to build infrastructure in order to instigate growth, but many are unable to even pay the interest on the loans, much less actually pay them off. Recently, MDC’s have grown increasingly unwilling to lend money to LDC’s because of their history of defaulting. Many MDC’s force the LDC’s that wish to borrow money to adopt structural adjustment programs- economic policies that create conditions encouraging international trade, such as raising taxes, reducing govt. spending, controlling inflation, selling publicly owned utilities to private corporations, and charging citizens more for services.
In recent years, U., Japanese, and European multinational corporations (MNC) have been created. These companies take advantage of the cheap labor and relaxed regulations found in many of the LDC’s to produce products cheaply and sell them back home for much higher. The main problem with MNCs is that LDC governments concentrate only on creating the infrastructure to attract these large companies, therefore using crucial funds to draw big business instead of investing in the standard of living of its citizens. In addition, the govt. may overlook labor violations in order to keep the MNC from leaving.
Ch. 10 Agriculture
Key Issue 1: Where did agriculture originate?
Agriculture- the deliberate modification of Earth’s surface through cultivation of plants and rearing of animals to obtain sustenance or economic gain.
Before ag, humans existed through hunting and gathering, meaning the collection of food on a daily basis. About 250,000 people still engage in hunting and gathering; these people live in isolated areas of the Arctic, Africa, Australia, and S. America. The first form of agriculture was vegetative planting- the reproduction of plants by direct cloning from existing plants, i. cutting roots/stems. Later, seed agriculture- the reproduction of plants through annual planting of seeds that result from sexual fertilization.
Vegetative planting originated in three primary hearths: S. Asia, West Africa, and northwest South America. Seed ag also originated in several primary hearths: west India, north China, Ethiopia, south Mexico, and north Peru.
Subsistence ag- the production of food primarily for consumption by the farmer’s family. Commercial ag- the production of food primarily for sale off the farm.
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Five features distinguish commercial ag from subsistence: -Purpose of farming: subsistence ag is to produce food for own consumption. Commercial ag is produced for sale to others. -Percentage of farmers: in MDC’s less than 5% of workers are farmers, compared to 55% in LDC’s. The farmers in MDC’s are typically commercial, whereas the LDC farmers are subsistence. -Use of machinery: Commercial ag makes heavy use of machinery where subsistence ag uses mainly hand tools and animals. -Farm size: Commercial farms are much larger than subsistence farms. The commercial farms have to be larger in order to pay for their heavy machinery, and to make a profit. -Relationship of farming to other business: Commercial farms are commonly part of an agribusiness- the many facets of food production, not just isolated family farming.
Key Issue 2: Where are agricultural regions in less developed countries?
The three primary types of ag in LDC’s are:
Shifting cultivation- characterized by slash-and-burn ag- the clearing of land by slashing vegetation and burning debris , and using a select field (swidden) for only a few years before leaving it fallow for many years to recover the soil. Shifting cultivation is practiced most commonly in the tropics and other regions where soil quality is relatively poor for supporting ag. The process works well with few people, but grows inefficient as the number of people increases and more fields must be left fallow longer. Shifting cultivation has been looked down upon in recent years as the importance of the rain forests to the Earth’s ecosystem becomes more apparent. Pastoral nomadism- a form of subsistence ag based on the herding of domesticated animals. Primarily practiced in the large belt of arid and semiarid land that includes north Africa, the Middle East, and parts of Central Asia. About 15 million people are pastoral nomads; they sparsely occupy 20% of Earth’s land surface. The animal that the nomad chooses to herd depends on the climate, and on cultural preferences. Some nomads practice transhumance- the seasonal migration of livestock betwixt mountains and lowland pasture areas. The future of pastoral nomadism is grim, as govt. increasingly confine the nomads to areas that cannot be irrigated or that lack valuable raw materials. Intensive subsistence ag- the form of ag used in areas of high density such as East, South, and Southeast Asia. It is characterized by high efficiency farming practices that yield a large number of crops per small amount of land. The intensive ag in Asia is subdivided into “wet rice dominant” and “wet rice not dominant”. Aside from the obvious difference in what is grown, the two classifications are quite similar. They each use the land intensively, primarily using human power with some animal and hand tool assistance. In some regions, crop rotation may be practiced, as well as double cropping- obtaining two harvests from one field in one year.
Human Geography
Course: Human Geography (Gt-Ss2) (GEO 106)
University: Colorado Mountain College
