NATURE AND SCOPE OF AGRICULTUR NE AL GEOGRAPHY
Introduction
Agriculture is an important sector particularly in developing countries. It is a key
... [Show More] source of incomes, foreign exchange, employment and also a source of raw materials for the agro industries. More importantly, agriculture is a source of food for the rapidly growing populations in developing countries.
Nature of Agricultural Geography
1. The words ‘agricultural geography’ have Greek and Latin roots. The word ‘geography’ is derived from a Greek word ‘Geographia’ which stems from two words namely ‘geo’ and ‘graphia’ which mean ‘the earth’ and ‘to describe’ respectively. ‘Agriculture’ or ‘agercultura’ in Latin comes from the words ‘ager’ and ‘cultura’, which mean ‘a field’, and ‘to cultivate’ respectively. Consequently, agricultural geography means the description of the art of soil cultivation. But this definition however ignores animal production, which is an important agricultural activity practiced by man worldwide. Agricultural geography is therefore best defined as a study of crop and animal farming in the world. It involves a description of the spatial distribution and variation of agricultural activities on earth’s space as well as the factors talk in terms of distribution rather than the location of agricultural practices.
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To a large extent, agricultural geography is a science. This is particularly true in view of the techniques of analysis, methods of interpretation and the approaches used in the understanding of spatial variations in the world. Primarily, agricultural geography involves the process of undertaking geographical enquiries with a view to understanding the regional differences in as far as agricultural activities in the world are concerned. Like any other scientific study, agricultural geography progresses through the following stages to arrive at informed conclusions and generalizations:
Identification of problem e.g., post harvest loss of potatoes in Nyandarua County
Formulation of objectives and/or hypotheses e.g.,
1. To establish the main factors causing post harvest loss of potatoes in Nyandarua County.
2. To determine the extent of post harvest loss of potatoes in Nyandarua County.
Collection of relevant data (primary and/or secondary)
Analysis of data quantitatively or qualitatively
Interpretation of the data
Drawing generalizations and conclusions
Scope and Significance of Agricultural Geography
Agricultural geography involves investigations into spatio-temporal arrangement and distribution of agricultural phenomena over the earth’s space. It aims at:
Describing the different types of world agriculture (e.g. shifting cultivation, plantation agriculture, nomadism, horticulture farming, livestock farming etc) and their function in spatial arrangement.
Explaining physical and socioeconomic as well as cultural factors influencing the distribution of agricultural types practiced in different parts of the world.
Analyzing the operations of different types of farming systems (large scale or small scale; intensive or extensive; commercial or subsistence)
Explaining the type, volume and direction of changes that different agricultural systems undergo.
Measuring the levels of differences among agricultural regions
Identifying and explaining weaker areas in terms of agricultural productivity.
Delimiting areas of agricultural dynamism, transition and stagnation.
In addition, agricultural geography involves the following basic sets of relationships. Those between:
Physical environment and agricultural operations or attributes
Socioeconomic or cultural ecology and agricultural land use and productivity patterns; and
Population distribution, and density; and the available agricultural space or activities
Significance of agricultural geography
Nearly all countries worldwide have embarked on agricultural production, with the aim of establishing the nature of conditions surrounding that production in specific areas or of the conditions favorable to instituting the same in areas not currently devoted to that purpose. Also many nations of the world have been acquiring precise information concerning where supplies of such agricultural products may be most effectively obtained in quantities sufficient to meet the ever increasing domestic needs. Such information can be supplied by agricultural geographers which in fact highlights the significance of agricultural geography in the present developmental context.
The significance of agricultural geography is that it provides help and guidelines for decision-makers such as:
The agricultural specialist, who wishes to improve the structure of agriculture
The food economist, who wishes to increase the production of food stuff
The irrigation engineer, who plans to introduce new irrigation schemes etc
Relationship between Agricultural Geography and sciences some of which fall in agricultural sciences, agronomy and agricultural economics. Allied Sciences
(physical and human) determining the distribution. In essence an agricultural geographer attempts to answer the following three questions.
What type of agriculture is it?
Where is it located? Why is it there?
Besides being interested in the distribution of agricultural activities, agricultural geography is also concerned with:
Food security issues
Role of agriculture in economic development
Distribution and marketing of agricultural produce at local national and international levels
Use of modern technology to improve agricultural production
Regional and international integration and its role in trade across regions
Although by its very nature agriculture is economically based, it can be distinguished from other forms of economic activities on two major accounts:
2. Reliance on the physical environment and biological processes
3. Except for forestry and fishing, agriculture is the only economic activity, in which extensive use of the land is made. This explains why agricultural geographers usually Agricultural geography does not exist in isolation. It is allied to several
1. Agricultural Geography and Agricultural Sciences
One important component of agricultural geography concerns production of agricultural products in various parts of the world. It is, therefore, closely related to agricultural sciences because crop production activity draws upon the insights of agricultural sciences and technologies. It is allied, in particular, to the following disciplines within agricultural sciences.
Soil sciences such as soil fertility, soil conservation and management, soil chemistry, soil reclamation etc
Agricultural engineering which provides techniques of tilling, fertilizing, irrigation, sowing, planting harvesting etc
Crop science (e.g. agronomy, horticulture, plant breeding etc).
Plant protection sciences such as entomology, phytopathology
Animal science (animal breeding, feeding, management and disease control)
These disciplines provide useful information to agricultural geographers that improve their understanding of the factors that affect agricultural productivity.
2. Agricultural Geography and Agricultural Economics
Both agricultural geography and agricultural economics have similar objectives. That is;
i. efficient use of agricultural resources ii. elimination of poverty iii. Promotion of economic development.
Thus both agricultural geographers and agricultural economists seek solutions to agricultural problems. They are therefore, applied sciences concerned with the identification, description and classification of agricultural problems. But each discipline attempts to solve agricultural problems from their respective standpoints.
Agricultural economics deals with the principles of agricultural land or farm management. The word land is used in its broader sense of natural endowment covering man’s total physical environment such as land forms, climatic elements, soil and water resource all of which are also covered in agricultural geography.
Agricultural economics lays emphasis on the economic factors affecting the use of agricultural land. Agricultural geography focuses attention on physical and socio-economic factors that influence the usability of land. Agriculture is an economic activity, and the agricultural geographer’s primary interest must be in the production techniques. The agricultural geographer must also make use of the relevant basic concepts and principles of economics.
3 Agricultural Geography and Statistics
Agricultural geography makes use of different types of statistical techniques to collect, analyze and interpret data regarding specific agriculture related issues. For example, statistical tests are appropriate tools which can be used to ascertain the level of agricultural productivity in different areas.
In addition, agricultural geography adopts cartographic techniques based on available data to present information in a visual manner. Maps and graphs are essential tools used by agricultural geographers to present agricultural information so as to bring out the comparative locational and distributional patterns of agricultural activities and their geographic interrelationships. [Show Less]