Agriculture In South America
Agriculture in South America is the mainstay of its economy. However, of late it has been noticed that agriculture is taking second place because most farmers are migrating to cities in search of a better life. But agriculture in South America is still important. |
Efforts are being renewed to make use of all the resources for agriculture. Arable land in South America is around four-fifths of the total landmass but only one-third is being used while the remainder is being used to graze animals.
In South America, large properties of farming areas are owned by a minority while the smaller farms are producing only enough food to feed themselves. The large properties in South America that are involved in farming are now owned by foreign companies while those with technology are owned by agricultural businesses. The smaller farms in South America use mostly traditional methods of farming and are highly labor intensive. However, there are many small farmlands across South America, more that the larger farms.
Agriculture in South America sees two types of farming practices. One is subsistence farming where individual families grow just enough to feed their family and if there is surplus, it is sold commercially. The other farming practice is by large farms and estates, which are family-owned and employ laborers to do the farming or they have farmers as tenants.
There are many commercial farms in South America in countries like Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Uruguay and Columbia. These are mostly medium-sized farms which make full use of mechanization and chemical fertilizers. This ensures that they get ample yields to be commercially viable.
Agriculture in South America means producing wheat, corn, grapes, cacao, citrus fruits, sugarcane, bananas and other crops. You can also see many farms in South America concentrating on growing cotton rather than cash crops or fruits. But cultivating these crops are not giving smaller farmers enough money to survive and that is why there is a tendency among many farmers to grow poppies and marijuana in number of places across the continent. If the farmers are stopped from growing legal crops, they decide to migrate to cities looking for better lives.
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Not many people know too much about South America. Although it is connected to North America, most people identify South America with only Mexico. So, here are some facts on South America to help understand the continent better.