Introduction to Agriculture
Introduced| English | Meaning |
|---|---|
| agriculture/ˈæɡrɪkʌltʃə/ | The deliberate growing of crops and raising of animals. |
| intensive/ɪnˈtensɪv/ | Describing agriculture using relatively high inputs of labour, capital or other resources per unit of land. |
| extensive/ekˈstensɪv/ | Describing agriculture using relatively low inputs of labour or capital per unit of land, often over large areas. |
| subsistence agriculture/sʌbˈsɪstəns ˈæɡrɪkʌltʃə/ | Farming primarily to feed the producer's household or local community rather than to supply commercial markets. |
| commercial agriculture/kəˈmɜːʃl ˈæɡrɪkʌltʃə/ | Farming primarily to sell products in markets rather than mainly to feed the producer's own household. |
Growing food on purpose
- Agriculture 农业 is the deliberate growing of crops and raising of animals.
- The first big split is by purpose: subsistence vs commercial.
- The second is by intensity: intensive vs extensive.
Subsistence vs commercial
- Subsistence agriculture 自给农业 feeds the farmer's own family.
- Commercial agriculture 商业农业 grows food to sell for profit.
- Subsistence is common in poorer regions; commercial in richer, mechanised ones.
Common farming examples classified by purpose and inputs per unit of land
Farming that grows food to sell for profit is called...
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Commercial agriculture produces for sale, not just the family.
Farming mainly to feed the farmer's own family is ____ agriculture.
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Subsistence agriculture feeds the household, not the market.
Intensive vs extensive
- Intensive 集约 farming uses a lot of labour or money on a small area (rice paddies, market gardens).
- Extensive 粗放 farming uses little input over a large area (ranching, shifting cultivation).
- Land cost usually decides which is used.
Intensive or extensive?
Sort each farm by its intensity.
Intensive farming uses a lot of labour or money on a small area.
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Yes — rice paddies and market gardens are intensive.
Select all examples of extensive farming.
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Ranching, shifting cultivation, and nomadism are extensive; a market garden is intensive.
Match each pair of terms.
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Subsistence = family; commercial = profit; intensive = high input.
"Subsistence vs commercial" (purpose) and "intensive vs extensive" (input per hectare) are two different scales. A farm can be commercial and intensive (a market garden) or commercial and extensive (a cattle ranch). Do not collapse the two.
A flooded rice paddy worked by hand is subsistence and intensive (lots of labour, small plot). A vast cattle ranch is commercial and extensive (little input, huge area). Same two scales, different combinations.
Agriculture is deliberate farming. Split it by purpose — subsistence (feed the family) vs commercial (sell for profit) — and by intensity — intensive (much input, small area) vs extensive (little input, large area). The two scales are independent.
Write from a subsistence farm
- A family grows rice and eats almost all of it.
- Very little is sold.
Is this subsistence or commercial farming?
Subsistence farming feeds the producers first.
What kind of farming feeds the family and sells little?
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The rice is grown to be eaten, not sold.