Key Agricultural and Economic Terms Explained
Key Agricultural and Economic Terms
Asian Dragons – Southeast Asian countries in recent decades have witnessed great economic development, an economic miracle. This refers to the tremendous growth that Japan experienced as an economic power (10% annual growth during the ’53 and ’73).
CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) – The basis of agricultural policies in the EU, ensuring the supply of agricultural products, streamlining operations, and maintaining the living standards of farmers.
CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) – Regulates the number of catches, fishing systems, and agreements with third countries to manage stocks.
Primary Sector – Resources obtained directly from nature (hunting, fishing, harvesting, livestock, agriculture, forestry).
Secondary Sector – Involves extracting goods from nature that are not alive (mining, energy) and transforming products from the primary sector (industry, construction).
Tertiary Sector – Provides services to consumers or other sectors (trade, transportation, finance).
Feixes – Pieces of farmland in the form of terraces with built-in margins of dry stone on mountain slopes.
Extensive Farming – Increased production by increasing the cultivated area.
Intensive Agriculture – Aims to increase productivity.
Crops – Growing various types of herbs.
Shrub Lands – Cultivated areas with shrubs.
Trees – Areas formed by tree crops.
Dry Cropping Systems – Crops irrigated naturally by rain.
Irrigated Cropping Systems – Crops irrigated with canals, irrigation systems, sprinklers, or drip irrigation.
Estates – Properties where the owner exploits laborers or employees on private land.
Smallholdings – Properties where the owner directly operates the private land.
Openfield – A system of management and operation of agricultural plots without boundaries.
Bocage – Irregular plots separated by vegetation.
Remences – Middle-aged farmers attached to a feudal lord who could only leave through the payment of a remença.
Confiscation – The process of distributing land over time.
Leasing – Renting land for a fixed income.
Partnership – Renting land with income based on a percentage.
Public Property – Land owned by the State, mainly dedicated to preserving the environment.
Cooperatives – Groups of people who share ownership of land.
Communal – Land owned by the community residents of a municipality.
Family-Owned – Property set within a family or clan that cannot be sold outside this group.
Polyculture – Farming with the main objective of self-sufficiency.
Shifting Cultivation – A process where a part of the forest is burned to create a clearing for cultivation for about 4 years, then abandoned and the process restarted.
Extensive Dryland Agriculture – Farming systems with an annual turnover in three parts.
Fallow – Part of the land left to rest to grow in the next year.
Agriculture Irrigation Monsoon – When monsoon rains cause severe flooding, making the land suitable for rice cultivation.
Sitges – Underground cavities designed to store harvested field products.
Agriculture Biogenetics – Agriculture focused on modifying the genetic codes in plants and animals.
Transgenic Crops – Genetically modified crops.
Extended Farms – Agriculture located on large plots in regions with low population density.
Intensive Operations – Agricultural production systems that make intensive use of media production.
Plantations – Cultivation of plants, especially industrial crops.
Organic Farming – An agricultural mode in which no synthetic chemicals are used and which aims to be environmentally sustainable, respecting the health and welfare of consumers.
Livestock (Beef) – Bulls, cows, and calves.
Livestock (Sheep) – Sheep and goats.
Livestock (Pigs) – Pigs.
Livestock (Horses) – Mules and horses.
Livestock (Poultry) – Chickens, hens, turkeys, ducks, rabbits.
Ranching – Large livestock farms fed on natural pastures.
Intensive Farming (Livestock) – Farms with very high productivity.
Subsistence Livestock Farming – Farms with low production for family consumption or local complementary activity.
Fishing from Shore – Fishing dedicated to collecting shellfish at low tide.
Aquaculture – Fish bred in captivity.
Coastal Fishing – Fishing near the coast, with daily departures and arrivals in small boats.
Deep Sea Fishing – Fishing far from the shore with long stays at sea, providing the majority of global fish production.
Forestry – Economic exploitation of forests.
Deforestation – Uncontrolled exploitation of forests, a major environmental issue.