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Farming in LEDCs


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es How is farming different in less economically developed countries?

Challenges facing farmers in LEDCs.

Initiatives to help farmers in LEDCs.


How is farming different in less economically developed countries (LEDCs)?

In less economically developed countries, farms are usually smallerand worked primarily to provide food for the farmer and his family.

Farmers in LEDCs usually have almost no money to invest in their farms. They cannot afford things like pesticides, artificial fertilizers or agricultural machinery.

As a result, their yields are usually low compared to farmers in more economically developed countries (MEDCs).

Introduction to farming in LEDCs


Comparing LEDCs with MEDCs


Subsistence farming means growing food just to feed yourself and your family.

A true subsistence farmer does not produce any surplusfood that could be sold or bartered for other goods.

In practice, there is little true subsistence agriculture, as most farmers produce enough food in good years to be able to sell or trade some of it.

Farming in LEDCs is often subsistence farming.

What is subsistence farming?


The Sahel is a large area in Africa, which lies between the Sahara desert and the true grasslands further south.

The land is poor, and the rainfall low, but there is enough grass to support cattle herding –

however, the herds must keep moving to find fresh grazing.

Extensive subsistence farming in the Sahel


All the rain falls between May and September. Seven months of the year are usually completely dry.

The cattle graze further north during the rainy season and move south, closer to the water holes in the dry season.

Sometimes the rains don’t

come at all, and many cattle die.

The cattle herders are subsistence farmers, however many of them sell some of their meat and milk at market, and use the money to buy vegetables and cereal crops.Some grow a few crops to add to their income from herding. This means staying in the same place for part of the year.

Extensive subsistence farming in the Sahel


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Farmers in LEDCs are often caught in a sort of vicious circle:

Yields are low

The family has little surplus

produce to sell

The family has barely any

income

Cannot afford to invest in the farm – no fertilizer or machinery

Why is farming in LEDCs so hard?


There is little food

The family has no money

There are other cycles too:

Cannot afford to

buy machinery

Have many children to

provide labour

There is little

surplus produce

Need lots of labour to farm

Nutrition is poor

Farm workers are physically

weaker

Yields are low

LABOUR NUTRITION

Why is farming in LEDCs so hard?


Subsistence farmers only just grow enough food to survive. This makes them vulnerable to famine if conditions are bad.

1. Flooding – for example in Bangladesh.The rivers Brahmaputra and Ganges cause flooding in Bangladesh every year. In particularly heavy years, it is devastating.

Thousands of people are drowned, or die of diseases spread by the dirty water.

Entire crops are wiped out.

Cattle and other livestock are drowned.

Farmers have no insurance or savings to help them cope. LEDCs have little money to spend on flood defences.

The challenges of climate


2. Drought – for example in the Sahel.Rainfall is unpredictable – since the 1960s, rainfall in the Sahel has been below average for the region.

Poor rainfall reduces the amount of grazing available, so herds congregate around the water sources.

These areas become overgrazed and conflicts develop between herders and settled farmers. Animals start to die.

This in turn causes famine among the people. The Sahel suffered several large-scale famines in the 1980s.

This is partly due to soil erosion and desertification.

The challenges of climate


Soil erosion is when the fertile top layer of the soil is blown or washed away.

In the Sahel, low rainfall has led to a loss of vegetation. With no roots to hold it together, the dry topsoil is easily removed by the wind, or washed away when the rains finally do come.

The growing population of the region also contributes. Grazing and arable fields are overused and become less fertile. More trees are also cut down for firewood.

Soil erosion can lead to desertification – ‘semi-arid’

areas turn to proper deserts.

Soil erosion and desertification


Desertification


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How is farming different in less economically developed countries?




The Green Revolution had a particularly large effect on North India.

The initiative in India focused on the introduction of modern, high-yielding strains of rice and wheat.

Large dams and irrigation systems were built to allow two harvests per year instead of one.

It also aimed to improve access to the fertilizersneeded to get the most out of the new crops.

The Green Revolution refers to initiatives started in the 1960s, aimed at improving agricultural production in LEDCs.

The Green Revolution


Indian farmers were quick to adopt the new varieties.

In 1960, 1.9 million hectares were sown with the new high-yielding crops; by 1980, this had increased to 43 million hectares.

In the Punjab district, wheat production increased from 1.9m tonnes in 1965, to 5.6m tonnes in 1972.

By the late 1970s, India was able to export grain abroad.

The Green Revolution – successes


How many changes can you see?

The Green Revolution


The Green Revolution – limitations


There is now evidence that long term use of high-yielding crops and the extra chemicals they need, may lead to a decline in soil fertility. This means that more and more fertilizer is required to get the same yield.

Was the Green Revolution a success?

However, India now produces enough food to make sure that tragedies like the Bengal famine of the 1940s, are unlikely to be repeated.

How successful do you think the Green Revolution was in solving India’s food production problems?

The Green Revolution – conclusion


FairtradeSmall producers of goods like coffee, are often at the mercy of global commodity prices. Sometimes prices fall so low that they don’t even cover the cost of production.

Fairtrade organisations buy goods directly from growers, who receive a fair price, or from plantations that pay decent wages and do not exploit their workers. The goods are then marketed to consumers as being ‘Fairtrade’.

CharitiesMany charities and NGOs (Non-Governmental Organisations) work with farmers in LEDCs on projects to improve agriculture, like irrigation and tree planting.

Other ways of helping farmers in LEDCs


SOS Sahel is an NGO (Non-governmental Organisation) that works with rural people in the Sahel in Africa.

Together with local organizations, SOS Sahel helps rural people by:

Encouraging local communities to manage forests.

Helping to resolve conflicts between nomadic herders and settled farmers.

Helping people gain access to small loans.

Educating farmers about more efficient and sustainable farming methods.

© Sue Cavanna

Case study – SOS Sahel International UK


In Ethiopia, SOS Sahel works with communities to set up forest management projects.

Local people agree to limit the amount of wood they cut in a given area. People who cut too much are fined by the forest group.

In time the forest grows back. The trees hold the soil together and retain water, halting soil erosion and preventing desertification.

Unmanaged land

Managed land

© Sue Cavanna

© Janey Forgan

SOS Sahel International UK

Case study – SOS Sahel International UK


Other ways of helping farmers in LEDCs

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