Defensible Space In A Housing Project: A Case Study From A South Florida Ghetto

Analyses of agricultural growth in subsistence economies may be facilitated if agricultural intensity is viewed in terms of the concentration of production or yield per unit area and time. This view of agricultural intensity is implicit in many growth arguments and is consistent with their purpose. Limited production data from various subsistence economies necessitate the use of a surrogate measure of intensity that is based on a variety of input factors.     

Extending agent-based land-use/-cover change models to tropical deforestation: a focus on farm-based decision making in tropical subsistence farming

Subsistence agriculture continues to be the mainstay activity in most tropical regions, and opinions on how it impacts tropical deforestation vary significantly. The sparse literature available on subsistence farm-based models highlights the existing methodological gap in the ability of present-day agent-based models (ABMs) to simulate the impact of subsistence production on frontier tropical deforestation. Though issues concerning agent specification and its variability have been successfully dealt with, gaps exist in the explicit incorporation and articulation of linkages of subsistence production and consumption theories on the one hand and frontier tropical deforestation on the other hand. This demands explicit determination of the decision-making process and the objective functions for subsistence farmers. Once simulated, the trajectories of deforestation and its trigger mechanisms can be understood. Overall, farm-based ABMs have the potential to allow insightful understanding of the small and slow individual homogeneous subsistence practices that have resulted in massive deforestation in the tropics.     

WORK AND JOURNEY TO WORK IN SUBSISTENCE AGRICULTURE

Christiansen, Sofus: Work and journey to work in subsistence agriculture—a case of cultivation of scattered areas on Rennell Island (Mugaba). Geografisk Tidsskrift 76: 84–88, june 1, 1977.

In subsistence agriculture, area and work are usually the most important production factors. Total cultivation work is shown to be greatly increased, if journeying to work is augmented, as when cultivated areas are scattered. Formulae are devised for the increase of total work caused by transport.

On Rennell Island (Mugaba) the traditional bisettlement-based cultivation strategy is demonstrated to be a rational means to diminish the journey to work problem.     

The Dynamic Pathways of Agrarian Transformation in the Northeastern Thai–Lao Borderlands

ABSTRACT

Rural livelihoods in the northeastern Thai borderlands have moved away from being predominantly agrarian, yet farming remains a desirable alternative for many people. The empirical findings from fieldwork in a village in the northeastern Thai–Lao borderlands indicate how dependence on agriculture is determined by family contexts, such as land ownership, education level of household members, their gender and age. Cheap Lao labour and government price-support policies have enabled farmers to remain in production and diversify. Some educated rural people have successfully found employment opportunities outside the village as migratory wage labour, and are able to attain higher social status back in the village. Successful migrants have invested their earnings on cash-crop production and become rural entrepreneurs. Conversely, less educated migrants were unsuccessful in finding good jobs in the city and viewed agriculture as a more favourable alternative and valuable security. Geographical, cultural and economic specificities conditioned rural transformation and contributed to increasingly diverse and geographically extended livelihoods.     

Biochar soil amendment increases tomato seedling resistance to drought in sandy soils

Expanding aridity threatens agriculture in much of the world. Small farms (less than two hectares) produce 90% of the food in Eastern and Southern Africa and provide 70% of employment for women in the Least Developed Countries. Aridity thus endangers both food production and the employment of women. One possible solution is the addition of biochar, a highly porous pryrolysed biomass which is well documented to help retain water and nutrients in soils. Most current literature, however, proposes quantities of biochar which are beyond reach of small farms. The purpose of this research was thus to develop a method which would allow small amounts of biochar to provide significant protection for plants in their most vulnerable stage, the seedling. The test species was the cultivated tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) because this is an important crop for subsistence farmers, and the seedlings are highly susceptible to drought. The results demonstrate that, in sandy substrates, 30% (v/v) biochar, concentrated in seedling root zones, significantly increases seedling resistance to wilting. Normal cooking can produce about 500 g of biochar a day and thus make possible increased wilting resistance for over 4000 tomato seedlings each year. This benefit is therefore within the reach of a demographic whose success is critically important to global sustainability.     

Contending with unequal and privileged access to natural resources and land in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

This paper reviews how state policy and regulatory instruments, including protected area alienations and concessions, have altered or denied the access to land and natural livelihood resources of the indigenous Basarwa and minority subsistence-oriented communities in the Okavango Delta (OD) in Botswana. Drawing on field research and guided by a sustainable rural livelihoods framework, the paper provides an overview of key institutional interventions – in particular the setting up of the Moremi Game Reserve, Wildlife Conservation Policy, Tourism Policy, Agricultural Development Policy and the erection of veterinary fences – that have served to privilege a foreign-owned and dominated commercialized wildlife and nature tourism sector and the export-oriented beef industry in the OD. The officially sanctioned barriers to customary and usufructory rights and access, and the non-recognition of historically embedded traditional land uses have decimated already marginalized resource-based subsistence livelihoods, and precipitated intergroup conflicts over preferential rights and access to resources and opportunities, notably wildlife, non-timber veld products, agriculture and community-based tourism schemes. Such outcomes, moreover, will have consequences for the longer-term sustainability of the OD both as a socioeconomic resource base and as a natural ecosystem.     

A FURTHER INVESTIGATION OF URBANIZATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION IN PRE-REVOLUTIONARY RUSSIA∗

The effect of distance upon agricultural production should be as apparent among primitive subsistence agriculturalists as in market-oriented societies. This analysis of yield variations among the Basotho of southern Africa attempts to determine the frictional effect of distance. The results show that distance does not explain variations in yield even when other physical factors are held constant. Perhaps such variables as household characteristics, not included in the analysis, would provide a better explanation.     

Perceptions of climate variability and livelihood adaptations relating to gender and wealth among the Adi community of the Eastern Indian Himalayas

The impacts of extreme weather events and climate variability on natural resource dependent farmers will further increase their vulnerability. This study describes how Adi farmers in Arunachal Pradesh (India) perceive and adapt to climate variability, and how this is influenced by gender and wealth. A total of 65 male and 71 female Adi farmers were interviewed or participated in focus group discussions. Both men and women have noticed there are fewer rainy days, longer summers, shorter winters and more erratic rainfall. However, some perceptions of change were gender and/or wealth class specific. Adi women noticed changes across areas they control including collecting forest foods, crop harvesting, and fermenting and storing of food. Men noted climate variability had made hunting wild game and marketing agricultural produce more difficult. Wealthy people were better placed to adapt to climate variability than poorer people because they could intensify their production systems. They switched to rainfed maize with improved varieties and horticultural cash crops which need more costly inputs. Wealthy people, particularly men, also received more advice and training than poorer people. Poorer farmers, particularly poor women, adapted predominantly by diversifying activities, such as using drought tolerant oil seeds and subsistence horticultural crops, accessing forest-based resources, rearing pigs and poultry, increasing fishing and the making of handicrafts. Storage, exchange and pooling of local resources were further strategies of the poor. This deeper understanding of Adi livelihood adaptation strategies will help increase their resilience by improving targeting of location specific extension services and adaptation policies.     

Continuity and Change: Amish Dairy Farming in Wisconsin Over The Past Decade

Changes in Amish dairy farming in Wisconsin over the past decade are seen in their growing numbers, the increased percentage of dairy farms that are Amish operated in the state, and the decreased share of the Amish population that is engaged in dairying. Use of technology in the Amish barn and fields represents both continuity and change. Among those Amish dairy farmers who utilize ten‐gallon milk cans to store and ship their milk, little change in use of modern technology has occurred, and their herds remain small. Among those Amish dairymen who have adopted bulk tanks for their milk, many have embraced a variety of additional technologies, including milking machines. These dairymen have increased their use of technology over the past decade, their herd sizes have increased, and they are more reliant upon milk sales for their income than Amish dairy farmers producing can milk. Keywords: agriculture, Amish, dairy farms, Wisconsin.     

A MEASURE OF CROPPING INTENSITY∗

The measurement of agricultural intensity is fundamental to an understanding of spatial organization of agriculture. This paper develops a new index of cropping intensity from land use data. The length of time for which a crop stays in the field, a factor ignored in other indirect measures of cropping intensity, has been incorporated in the new index. To illustrate the method, cropping intensity in India is measured, mapped and discussed. Differences between the patterns derived from the new index and the traditional index are noted and explained.     

SELLERS AND NONSELLERS OF LAND FOR NEW RURAL HOUSING∗

Landowners can choose either to sell or to hold their land in areas with active rural land markets. Sellers and nonsellers are both important because their decisions shape patterns of land use. Analysis of mail survey data from 286 landowners in the Rochester, MN SMSA isolates four characteristics that distinguish sellers from nonsellers: occupation, size of landholding, recent acquisition of land, and interest in selling land. Nonsellers are often farmers with a large landholding and no interest in selling. More information is needed about their non-economic motives for holding land.     

Modern Agriculture in Advanced Placement Human Geography

Abstract

This article is an overview of the agriculture section in the outline of the Advanced Placement (AP) human geography course. It is intended to provide a more detailed framework on which teachers may develop their own curriculum for the AP class. Special emphasis is given to the practice of agriculture in contemporary industrial societies. It also encourages teachers to balance the cultural and historical views of agriculture contained in many textbooks with an economic and geographic focus. Agribusiness is also given special treatment.     

Converting to organic agriculture—Danish farmers' views and motivations

Expanded organic food production has been an issue of public debate in Denmark since its promotion by two government-sponsored plans. Yet the number of organic farms, constituting 5% of alt Danish farms, is still small. Farmers' attitudes and motivations around converting their farms to organic agriculture were surveyed in the counties of Ribe and Vestsj?lland in order to assess the feasibility of expansion. New organic farmers come either from the ranks of conventional farmers or from ‘beginners’ who initiate organic agriculture from the start. Only 7% of conventional farmers plan to convert their farms by the year 2003, but beginners will have increasing importance and augment the number. Farmers most frequently mentioned consideration for the environment as a reason for conversion. A considerable expansion of organic agriculture will be difficult, due to an insufficient number of farmers interested in organic agriculture. A high number of less productive hobby or spare-time farmers among new organic farmers also hinders expanded organic food production. Organic agriculture shows parallels to conventional agriculture, with a surplus of very small and very large farms, regional specialisation, and oil-farm specialisation.     

Culture,Markets, and Agricultural Production: A Comparative Study of the Investment Patterns of Migrant and Citizen Cocoa Farmers in the Western Region of Ghana

Current agrarian reforms in Ghana, sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, are based on the notion that pricing incentives from markets are the key to agricultural investments. The turnaround in the production of the principal agricultural export, cocoa, seems to vindicate this view. However, this perspective is silent on the question of why many farmers continued to produce cocoa in the period preceding the reforms when prices were at their lowest in the country's history. Based on research on the comparative investment patterns of migrant and citizen cocoa farmers in two districts in the Western region of Ghana, this article suggests a holistic approach to comprehending investments. It indicates that the economic behaviour of cocoa farmers is complexly linked to the politics of land tenure, and cultural expectations and obligations.     

A Q-Method Analysis of Environmental Governance Discourses in Brazil's Northeastern Soy Frontier

This article describes and analyzes discourses regarding environmental governance held among key actors in a region of expanding high-input, high-output agriculture. Q-method, an intensive (small n) and quantitative technique in which n tests are measured by m individuals, was used to determine four empirically significant social perspectives: critical environmentalism, agri-environmentalism, private environmentalism, and statist environmentalism. The article highlights major differences and agreements among social perspectives, in addition to the arguments used to justify claims. These findings help fill a knowledge gap in the literature on governance debates between farmers and environmentalists; moreover, the findings contribute to a concern in the literature regarding the role of discourses in producing policy solutions to environmental governance problems. The article also supports continued use of Q-method in human geography, suggesting the value of Q as a research ends and means, particularly when research subjects include landed elites.     

Toward an Ecological Explanation of Agricultural Unemployment in Bangladesh

Cultural ecology theoretical framework was found suitable to explain unemployment in agriculture in three villages in Bangladesh. Path analysis and multiple regression statistics were used to examine the direct, indirect, and total effects of eight independent human, social, environmental, and technology variables as well as their aggregate contribution on agricultural unemployment. The multiple regression model explains 86.2% of the total variation in unemployment in agriculture; they were followed by environmental constraints and labor saving technology variables.     

Transitional rural landscapes: The role of small-scale commercial farming in former homelands of Post-Apartheid KwaZulu-Natal

Geografisk Tidsskrift, Danish Journal of Geography 106(2): 87–102, 2006

The paper presents trends in past and present land use patterns in parts of a former homeland of KwaZulu-Natal, and discusses the changing role of farming. It suggests that an understanding of the transition in rural land must take into account the impact of rural-urban relations and the Colonial and Apartheid socio-spatial policies. A sequence of map data is analysed and compared with interviews with residents of the studied area and official data concerning actual and prospected development. The data demonstrate how population pressures and changing sources of income during the Apartheid period have resulted in a land use system dominated by home gardens and some attempts to develop small-scale commercial farming, while traditional subsistence farming has gradually decreased. On this background the prospects for small-scale commercial farming are discussed. It is argued that at least four aspects may explain why commercial farming is still marginal: the troubled land allocation system, the continued dependency on cash income for successful farming, the institutional obstacles to farmers from the homeland who wish to develop market relations, and the changing territorial logics that have characterized demarcation and land use in the post-Apartheid period.     

Research strategies for the improvement of cactuspear (Opuntia ficus-indica) fruit quality and production

Cactus pear (Opuntia ficus-indica L.) is cultivated worldwide for fruit production either in the subsistence agriculture of dryland areas or as a cash crop. However, little horticultural research has been devoted to this species so far. Research needs related to reproductive biology as well as productivity and orchard management are outlined. A better knowledge of the environmental influence on reproductive biology and fruit quality, the control of fluctuations in plant cropping, as well as the reduction of seed number and size, are the major challenges for future research. Cactus pear will transcend the ethnical markets only if adequate marketing strategies can be promoted and fruit quality enhanced and standardized.     

Meteorological Observations in 1995 at the Arctic Station,Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn), Central West Greenland/Concentrational Agriculture: Types,Functions, and Derivation/Den Danske Nationalkomité for Geografi

In October 1990 an automatic meteorological station was established at the Arctic Station (69°15'N, 53°31'W), Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn), Central West Greenland, The station register parameters each 20 min, and the parameters have been described in an earlier paper in this journal by Nielsen et al. (1995). The present paper summarises main points of the climate during 1995.

Concentrational agriculture, defined as types of agriculture based on local concentration of plant nutrients, encompasses two main types: shifting cultivation and infield-outfield systems. They may ecologically be characterised by their mode of concentration: either by a vertical or a horisontal transfer (‘pumping’) of nutrients, respectively. The use of the general term ‘concentrational agriculture’ for the two forms is advocated by demonstrating that functional substitution of one by the other is possible, and by showing that the one type theoretically can be derived from the other. Historically, infield-outfield systems are supposed to be developed from some form of shifting cultivation.

Kort beretning om virksomheden i 1995

Justering af medlemskredsen. I forbindelse med valg af repræsentanter fandt en justering af repræsentationsområder sled (Århus Universilet har ikke længere fagområdet ‘kulturgeografi’). Videnskabernes Selskab har i samme forbindelse bifaldet, at fire observatører, repræsenterende undervisningstrinene i geografi deltager i møderne.