The three-fourths of the worlds people that live in LDC's and the form of subsistence agriculture that feeds most of them is intensive subsistence agriculture.
Intensive Subsistence WITH Wet Rice
The intensive agriculture region of Asia can be divided between areas where wet rice dominates, and areas where it doesn't dominate. The term wet rice refers to the practice of planting rice on dry land in a nursery and then moving the seedlings to a flooded field to promote growth.
Process and types of crops grown?
- First a farmer prepares the field for planting by using a plow drawn by water buffalo or oxen.
- The plowed land is then flooded with water. The water is collected from rainfall, river overflow, or irrigation. The flooded field is called a sawah in the Austronesian language of Indonesia. Europeans and North Americans usually call it a paddy, which is the Malay word for wet rice.
- The customary way to plant rice is to grow seedlings on dry land in a nursery then transplant the seedlings into the flooded field.
- After about a month, they are transferred into the field. Rice plants grow submerged in water for about three--fourths of the growing period.
Another Method is by broadcasting dry seeds by scattering them through the field. This method is used in South Asia to some extent.
Rice plants are harvested by hand usually with knives. To separate the husks, known as chaff, from the seeds, the heads are threshed by beating them on the ground or treading on them barefoot. The threshed rice is placed in a tray and the lighter chaff is allowed to be blown away by the wind. Rice that is sold commercially is frequently whitened and polished, a process that removes some nutrients but leaves rice more pleasing in apperance and taste.
Climate Conditions?
In densely populated East, South, and Southeast Asia, most farmers practice intensive subsistence farming. Wet Rice is most easily grown on flat land, because the plants are submerged in water much of the time. This is why most wet-rice cultivation takes place in river valleys and deltas. Double cropping, having two harvests per year from one field, is common in places that have warm winters, such as South China and Tiana.
Benefits and Drawbacks?
One drawback is that because the agricultural density - ratio of farmers to arable land- is so high in Asia that families must produce enough food for their survival from a very small area of land.
One benefit is that they intensive subsistence farmers waste no land. Paths and roads are kepy as narrow as possible to minimize the loss of arable land.
One benefit is that they intensive subsistence farmers waste no land. Paths and roads are kepy as narrow as possible to minimize the loss of arable land.