An Overview of Agriculture, Livestock Farming, Fishing, and Forestry

• Techniques and basic tools
• Polyculture
• Slow yield
• Basic food requirement

• Competitive prices
• High production
• Global products
• Modern machinery

• Slash-and-burn shifting cultivation: This involves cutting and burning vegetation to create farmland, acting as a natural fertilizer. Crops include tubers, tapioca, and millet. Common in South Africa, Africa, and parts of Asia.
• Extensive dryland farming: Based on a crop rotation system, primarily growing cereals like millet and corn. Practiced in Africa, Asia, and South America.
• Irrigated rice farming: A labor-intensive method producing high rice yields. Common in Southeast Asia.

• Extensive cereal farming: Highly mechanized and profitable, focusing on wheat, rye, and corn. Primarily found in the USA, Canada, and Australia.
• Plantation agriculture: Mechanized and export-oriented, focusing on crops like coffee, tea, sugar, and cotton. Common in tropical regions.
• Mediterranean agriculture: Characterized by irrigated crops like fruits and vegetables, which are more profitable than dryland or rainfed crops.

Focuses on producing animal products for the farmers’ and their families’ consumption. Common in tropical, monsoon, and some Mediterranean regions. In arid areas, nomadic pastoralism is prevalent, with farmers herding camels, sheep, or goats in search of grazing areas and water.

Aims to maximize profit through investments in advancements, breed selection, mechanization, and improved animal diets.

• Extensive: Requires significant capital for livestock and infrastructure, with flocks grazing freely. Common in regions with vast open land like the western USA, Argentina’s Patagonia and Pampa regions, Australia, and South Africa.
• Intensive: Highly specialized, requiring substantial capital for labor, facilities, and feed. Common in Canada, the USA, New Zealand, and Atlantic Europe. Prioritizes maximizing productivity but can lead to pollution and less-than-ideal animal conditions.

Practiced close to shore using simple gear like spears, harpoons, traps, nets, and hooks. Common in less developed regions where fishing is crucial for local consumption. In developed countries, it targets valued species like lobster.

Focuses on supplying markets, with significant capital invested in maintaining large, technologically equipped fleets and docking facilities.

• Coastal fishing: Small boats fish near the coast using nets and lines, with catches declining due to decreasing fish populations.
• Deep-sea fishing: Large, well-equipped boats with radar and sonar remain at sea for extended periods.
• Large-scale fishing: Small boats fish in distant waters and transfer their catch to a larger supply ship for processing and sale.

Involves farming marine animals and plants in both freshwater and saltwater environments. Leading producers include China, Indonesia, India, the USA, and Japan.

Wood serves various purposes, including energy, construction, furniture, tools, and paper production. It’s a primary energy source, especially in less developed countries. Its use is increasing in developed countries to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.

Forests provide timber, other products (cellulose, resin, fiber, cork), and food sources.

• Less economically developed countries: Forests provide essential food and medicinal resources. Wild products like roots, nuts, and plants offer vital nutrients.
• More economically developed countries: Forest products like raspberries, chestnuts, pine nuts, blueberries, strawberries, truffles, and herbs are highly valued in fine cuisine. This has led to a processing industry, creating employment and transforming rural areas.