Oil:for and against

Oil:for and against

An oil is any neutral, nonpolar chemical substance , that is a viscous liquid at ambient temperatures, and is immiscible with water but soluble in alcohols or ethers. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are usually flammable and slippery. Oils may be animal, vegetable, or petrochemical in origin, and may be volatile or non-volatile.

Importance of Water

Importance of Water

Water is an essential production factor in agriculture, both for crops and for livestock.Climate change will have a significant impact on agriculture in terms of water quantity and quality. This will be exacerbated by the increasing demand for food worldwide as population and real incomes increase.European agriculture is already dealing with the consequences of extreme events such as floods, storms and drought, which might imply excess water or scarce water availability, that are 

likely to become more frequent as a result of climate change. European farmers, who manage more than 50% of land in the EU 27, are essential players in ensuring that water resources are sustainably managed. They have and will continue to adapt their practices to manage water more efficiently. For centuries, farmers have controlled the water cycle locally, either through irrigation or drainage. As an integral part of the climate system, the hydrological cycle can be positively influenced by using adapted agricultural practices. Solutions allowing greater production using less water are a critical future priority. If European agriculture is to continue to deliver social, environmental and economic benefits, access to adequate water supplies is essential.

Water is an essential production factor in agriculture. The 

production of biomass is inextricably linked to the need for 

fresh water, and livestock depends on water to drink. 

Plants capture water in their biomass and put it back to the 

atmosphere by means of transpiration - a process which 

positively influences micro-climatic conditions. Plants are 

able to convert “blue” water into “green” water captured 

in the biomass. Soils covered with plants have higher 

infiltration and soil moisture rates, and thus reduced runoff. On abandoned land, especially if desertification occurs, 

the capacity to retain water is much lower and completely 

lost once the soil is sealed.

Agriculture depends on the climate and on natural 

conditions. Changing climatic conditions lead to imbalances 

between rainfall and crop needs during vegetation and have 

a strong impact on yields and the quality of agricultural 

products. The increased frequency and severity of extreme 

weather conditions will increase the vulnerability of the 

European farming sector .

Agriculture as a system

Agriculture as a system

Agricultural Systems is an integrative discipline that tries to combine our understanding of the parts of the farm into a larger understanding of how the parts interact with each other and the wider worlds of nature and economics. Ag systems research and teaching has a long history at UNE, with the visionary, pioneering work by Prof Bill McClymont laying the ground work for our modern understanding of “agro-ecosystems”.Agricultural enterprises-crop or livestock-deal with such concepts as labor supply, marketing, finances, natural resources, genetic stock, nutrition, equipment, and hazards. While it is possible to effectively manipulate each mechanism of successful farming individually, better results can often be obtained by treating the farming operation as a system. The interactions, then, among system components may become more important than how each component functions by itself. Treating production operations holistically offers greater management flexibility, provides for more environmentally and economically sound practices, and creates safer and healthier conditions for workers and for farm animals. NIFA staff provides leadership to land-grant university partners and other grantees as they conduct research, education, and extension activities in programs related directly and indirectly to agricultural systems.

Crop Farming

Crop Farming

 A crop farming is a volunteered or cultivated plant (any plant) whose produce is harvested by man at some point of its growth stage. Plants which have not been cultivated but whose produce are harvested, are not really classified as crops. The same goes for plants which have been planted, but are never harvested. Flowers are classified as crops because when it has been cultivated, its harvesting also include the aesthetic purpose it serves. Crops refer to plants of same kind that are grown on a large scale for food, clothing, and other human uses. They are non-animal species or varietiesgrown to be harvested as food, livestock fodder,fuel or for any other economic purpose (for example, for use as dyes, medicinal, and cosmetic use).

Major crops include sugarcane, pumpkin, maize, wheat, rice, cassava, soybeans, hay, potatoes and cotton. While the term "crop" most commonly refers to plants, it can also include species from other biological kingdoms. For example, mushrooms like shiitake, which are in the fungi kingdom, can be referred to as "crops". In addition, certain species of algae are also cultivated, although it is also harvested from the wild. In contrast, animal species that are raised by humans are called livestock, except those that are kept as pets. Microbialspecies, such as bacteria or viruses, are referred to as cultures. Microbes are not typically grown for food, but are rather used to alter food. For example, bacteria are used to ferment milk to produce yogurt.

Based on the growing season, the crops grown in India can be classified as kharif crop and rabi crops.

Physical factors affecting farming

Physical factors affecting farming


Climate: Temperature a minimum temperature of 6°C is needed for crops to grow. The growing season is the number of months the temperature is over 6°C. Different crops need a different growing season, e.g. wheat needs 90 days. Rainfall – all crops and animals need water.


Relief: Temperatures decrease by 1>°C every 160 metres vertical height.
Uplands are more exposed to wind and rain. Steep slopes also cause thin soils and limit the use of machinery. Lowland areas are more easily farmed.


Soil: Crops grow best on deep, fertile, free-draining soils, e.g. the brown earths found in lowland Britain. Less fertile soils prone to water logging are best used for pastoral farming.


Aspect: The direction a slope faces. South-facing slopes are best for growing crops.


Vegetation:Vegetation provides the soil with humus,so the more vegetation an area has,the more fertile soil will be.

The farming system

The farming system

A farming system is defined as a population of individual farm systems that have broadly similar resource bases, enterprise patterns, household livelihoods and constraints, and for which similar development strategies and interventions would be appropriate. Depending on the scale of the analysis, a farming system can encompass a few dozen or many millions of households.

The classification of the farming systems of developing regions has been based on the following criteria:

• available natural: resource base, including water, land, grazing areas and forest; climate, of which altitude is one important determinant; landscape, including slope; farm size, tenure and organization.




• dominant pattern: of farm activities and household livelihoods, including field crops, livestock, trees, aquaculture, hunting and gathering, processing and off-farm activities; and taking into account the main technologies used, which determine the intensity of production and integration of crops, livestock and other activities.

Types of farming

A farm is an area of land, or, for aquaculture, lake, river or sea, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food (produce, grains, or livestock), fibres and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production.

Types of farming:

Capital investment and labour

Collective farming: and communal farming are types of agricultural production in which the holdings of several farmers are run as a joint enterprise. This type of collective is essentially an agricultural production cooperative in which member-owners engage jointly in farming activities.

Factory farming: is the process of raising livestock in confinement at high stocking density, where a farm operates as a business a practice typical in industrial farming by agribusinesses. The main products of this industry are meat, milk and eggs for human consumption. However, there have been issues regarding whether factory farming is sustainable and ethical.

Intensive farming: is an agricultural production system characterized by a low fallow ratio and the high use of inputs such as capital, labour, or heavy use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers relative to land area.

Extensive farming: or extensive agriculture (as opposed to intensive farming) is an agricultural production system that uses small inputs of labour, fertilizers, and capital, relative to the land area being farmed.

Organic farming: is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation,green manure, compost and biological pest control. Organic farming uses fertilizers and pesticides but excludes or strictly limits the use of manufactured fertilizes, pesticides plant growth regulators such as hormones, livestock antibiotics, food additives, genetically modified organisms, human sewage sludge, and nanomaterials.

Food and feeding methods

Grazing livestock:animals feed or grass.This is an example of extensive farming.

Confined livestock:animals are kept in sheds and eat food.This is an example of intensive farming.

Mobility of livestock

Nomadic herding:herders and their families are constantly movingwith their animals in search of good pasture.

Transhumance:herders move their animals several times a year between winter and summer pastures.

Sedentary livestock farming:animals don´t have to move around to obtain food because farmers give them feed.

Primary Economic Activity World Map

Primary economic activities are those activities where natural resources are extracted from the earth.

There are some primary economic activities like:

• Agriculture
• Livestock farming 
• Forestry
• Fishing

Gross Domestic Product of Countries in the World

  The gross domestic product is the market value of all final goods and services from a nation in a given year.Several economies which are not considered to be countries (world, the EU, and some dependent territories) are included in the lists because they appear in the sources. These economies are not ranked in the charts here, but are listed where applicable.

Bar Chart of Income per Capita of the Countries E.U.

Political Map of America

Here is a political map of the North and South America showing all the countries and their teritories on the Western hemisphere.

Physical Map of America

Political Map of Asia

Asia is the largest continent in the world, covering an area of 44,579,000 square kilometers (17,212,000 square miles), as well as the most populated, with over 3,879,000,000 people.

Physical Map of Asia