Agriculture is the combination of techniques applied to the soil for the cultivation of vegetables for human and animal consumption, production of raw materials and ornamentation. Agriculture is a productive activity of great importance to man, as it is from it that we make our living. There are three factors linked to agricultural production: physical, such as soil and climate; the human factor, which corresponds to the workforce in its development; and the economic factor, which refers to the value of the land and the level of technologies applied in production.
Among the natural factors, without a doubt, the climate is the one that exerts the greatest influence on the development of agriculture. If the rain is late, for example, the crop is compromised; if it rains excessively, it will also be harmed.
Another essential natural element for agriculture is the soil. This is an essential renewable mineral resource for vegetables, since it is there that the plant develops and extracts nutrients and water for germination, growth and fruit production.
Mind Map: Agriculture
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The human factor is directly linked to the workforce employed in planting, caring and harvesting. In this way, it is possible to check the type of labor applied, the quantity, the qualification and also the relations of established between the employee and the employer, which are determined by the technological level inserted in the production. Thus, the more mechanized and developed the property, the less need for labor. Then, the two main aspects of agriculture: primitive or subsistence and commercial or monoculture.
• Subsistence agriculture: aims to provide food and raw materials for the workers who are involved in production and generate surplus production to be marketed in the Local market.
• Commercial agriculture: intended for export or even for the domestic market, in which large tracts of land are used with the application of technologies that achieve high productivity rates.
In the field there are two forms of work and remuneration:
• In the first, the work performed does not generate a fixed salary, the worker receives a place to live and also the right to plant crops on the property of others. From the harvest, the worker receives a percentage, leaving the rest with the owner of the rural property.
• In the second, there is the payment of salary, this employment relationship can be temporary or not. These practices vary according to the level of development in the region.
The financial resources applied to agricultural production are of paramount importance for the model of agriculture that is intended to be developed. In areas where agriculture is practiced commercially, agricultural inputs are used (fertilizers, pesticides and machinery), elements that favor a significant increase in production, without the need to employ a lot of constructions. In subsistence agriculture, the number of workers is high, as there are no machines to carry out of labor, productivity is low due to the almost inexistence of technologies inserted in the production system.
These factors cause a great disparity, as the large rural properties allocate their productions for the foreign market and for industries, which makes the internal supply harmed.
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*Mental Map by Rafaela Sousa
Graduated in Geography
Would you like to reference this text in a school or academic work? Look:
FREITAS, Eduardo de. "Agriculture"; Brazil School. Available in: https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/geografia/agricultura-5.htm. Accessed on June 27, 2021.
