As the amount of land available for agricultural use continues to decrease worldwide, the demands of human populations (especially urban) are simultaneously increasing, putting more pressure on the soil resource base and the environment (Lavelle, 2000; Young, 1998).
What is the impact of population growth on agriculture?
Impact of population growth on agriculture is an important topic to discuss .On a population growth of 2%, the population would grow by about 350 million people. This population increase will have an impact on agriculture and will require more food production to meet demand. In order to do this, there are three things that must happen:
What are the effects of farming on the environment?
Loss of forests and unsustainable farming practices lead to extreme erosion. During the past 150 years, half of all agricultural topsoil has been lost. Agriculture is the leading source of pollution in many countries. Pesticides, fertilizers and other toxic farm chemicals can poison fresh water, marine ecosystems, air and soil.
How does human population increase affect the environment?
While human population increases, food production should be increased therefore we want more agricultural land, cut down trees, alter rivers, etc. For agricultural land demand, people tend to clear forests. Therefore, natural ecosystems lost.
Can agriculture meet the demands of a growing population?
Shaw says meeting the demands of a growing population is nothing new to agriculture. Today the American farmer feeds an average of 144 people, almost an eight-fold increase from 1940. Most of the increase has come from higher yields. Per-acre production of corn, for example, has doubled since 1970.
How does population affect agriculture?
Higher rural population density is associated with smaller farm sizes. Higher rural population density is also associated with greater demand for inorganic fertilizer. Maize and teff yields do not rise with population density. Farm income per hectare decreases as rural population density rises.
What are the human factors affecting agriculture?
These are human factors and include labour, capital, technology, markets and government (political). The importance of each factor varies from farm to farm. Note how each influences farms near to you.
How does human factors affect agricultural production?
Agricultural landscapes are the result of human activities. To supply this land humans change the environment and affect the natural vegetation and relief. These changes in the landscape and the over-exploitation of resources cause serios problems for the environment and animal species.
How does population growth affect agriculture and food?
In addition, rapid population growth can lead to inappropriate farming practices that impoverish and erode the soil; reduce vegetation; over-use and improperly use agrochemicals; and frustrate water resource management. The result of such practices is severe land degradation.
What are the physical and human factors affecting agriculture?
Climatic factors such as light, water and rainfall, temperature, air, relative humidity and wind also affect farming. Physical factors such as topography/relief, soil and climate affect farming. Technology affects farming. Education/Farming Knowledge affect farming.
How does human factors affect land use?
The land use pattern is also influenced by some of the human factors. Technological capabilities, the population density of the country, culture, and traditions, etc are a few of the factors. Technological development leads to the economic advancement or growth of the country.
How does physical factors affect agriculture?
Topography affects agriculture as it relates to soil erosion, difficulty of tillage and poor transportation facilities. Mechanization of agriculture depends entirely on the topography of the land. On rough, hilly lands, the use of agricultural machinery is impossible.
What are the six factors that affect farming?
Six factors interact to affect farm and ranch profits. The number of production units, production per unit, direct costs, value per unit, mix of enterprises, and overhead costs all interact to determine profitability.
What is the link between agriculture and population growth?
These environmental conditions are conducive to agriculture (11), which may have increased food productivity, thus accelerating population growth. Accelerated population growth associated with agriculture is sometimes referred to as the Agricultural or Neolithic Demographic Transition (12).
How would overpopulation affect food and other resources?
“As overpopulation takes hold, producers find themselves under pressure to meet amplified demand for food, thus placing vast constraints on production and distribution channels. For example, as crop yields grow in size, producers cut corners and attempt to inflate their production line.
How does population growth affect soil?
Population growth has direct effects on increased demand for fuelwood and food and land fragmentation. Indirect effects exist through the demand for food which puts pressure on land extensification and intensification which affects soil quality and out migration which affect deforestation and desertification.
What are positive effects of population growth?
However, I believe that population growth has positive effects on societies. These include economic benefits such as expansion of tax bases and increased consumer spending at local businesses, as well as benefits derived from innovations by cultures seeking to keep up with growing populations.
What is the effect of population growth on water?
As the world’s population grows, the demand for water mounts and pressure on finite water resources intensifies. Climate change, which is also closely tied to population growth, will also lead to greater pressures on the availability of water resources.
How does population affect food production?
Increasing numbers of people often drive up demand for food, which typically results in additional use of arable land and water. The Food and Agriculture Organization projects that by 2050, population and economic growth will result in a doubling of demand for food globally.
What are the factors of agriculture?
Environmental factors that influence the extent of crop agriculture are terrain, climate, soil properties, and soil water. It is the combination of these four factors that allow specific crops to be grown in certain areas.
How does population growth affect food security?
The Population Institute estimates that a 70 per cent increase in food production will also have to take into account increases in energy prices, as well as factors such as the groundwater depletion, the loss of farmland to urbanization, and potential flooding and droughts caused by climate change.
What is the impact of population growth in Ethiopian economy?
Econometric analysis has shown that population growth has had a significant negative impact in the short run but that of positive impact in the long run on the economic performance of the country.
Ethiopia is the second populous country in Africa while it is one of the Sub-Saharan Countries trapped by poverty.
Why is rapid population growth a problem?
Rapid population growth has serious economic consequences. It encourages inequities in income distribution; it limits rate of growth of gross national product by holding down level of savings and capital investments; it exerts pressure on agricultural production and land; and it creates unemployment problems.
What does population growth mean?
Population growth means an increased demand for homes and services. That kicks up the price for land, meaning farmers can’t afford to buy it. But sometimes farmers can’t afford not to sell their land. It depends what side of the fence you’re on when it comes to skyrocketing land values.
Is Texas a rural state?
Texas is still a rural state, but it’s growing more urban every year. That’s both an opportunity and a challenge for rural Texas. It’s a chance for farmers to connect with consumers like you and me, but it also means a loss of our state’s working lands and natural resources.
Can farmers and ranchers stay on land?
But farmers and ranchers can stay on the land and keep it in production for future generations. Land trusts and conservation easements with financial incentives offer farmers and ranchers a way to do so. Texas is still a rural state, but it’s growing more urban every year.
How many people will live on an acre of land in 2050?
He estimates that by 2050 an acre of land will need to support between 2.4 and 2.6 people. It’s a trend that’s been accelerating for more than 50 years. “From 1950 through 2000, the world population doubled,” Percy said. By 2050, the world will include 9 billion people. Socio-economic changes, including increased buying power, …
What will be the population of the world in 2050?
Farm Progress Show. By the year 2050, global population will reach 9 billion, a figure that poses significant challenges to the agricultural producers who will be charged with providing adequate food and fiber to nourish and clothe that many people. To meet production goals, farmers, ranchers and the industries that support them with seed, …
How does population growth affect the environment?
Population growth causes a disproportionate negative impact on the environment. Problems of population size and growth, resource utilization and depletion, and environmental deterioration must be considered jointly and on a global basis. In this context, population control is obviously not a panacea—it is necessary but not alone sufficient …
How does the former increase per capita energy use?
The latter also increases per capita energy use, since the amount of energy invested per unit yield increases as less desirable land is cultivated .
How much has aluminum consumption increased since 1940?
Certainly, aluminum consumption has swelled by over 1400 percent since 1940, but much of the increase has been due to the substitution of aluminum for steel in many applications. Thus a fairer measure is combined consumption of aluminum and steel, which has risen only 117 percent since 1940.
Why did the US increase electricity consumption from 1940 to 1969?
Thus the 760 percent increase in electricity consumption from 1940 to 1969 (4) occurred in large part because the electrical component of the energy budget was (and is) increasing much faster than the budget itself. (Electricity comprised 12 percent of the U.S. energy consumption in 1940 versus 22 percent today.)
What happens when a small increment in population produces a small increment in smog?
But, at some point, when a small increment in population produces a small increment in smog, living trees become dead trees.
Does impact increase faster than linearly?
displaying the fact that impact can increase faster than linearly with population. Of course, whether F (P) is an increasing or decreasing function of P depends in part on whether diminishing returns or economies of scale are dominant in the activities of importance.
How does agriculture affect the environment?
While agricultural operations provide unique opportunities to conserve biodiversity, they also can threaten wild species and spaces. From habitat loss to pollution, agriculture contributes to many of the environmental challenges that WWF actively addresses.
How does farming affect the atmosphere?
Many farming practices—such as burning fields and using gasoline-powered machinery—are significant contributors to the buildup of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contends that the livestock sector alone is responsible for 18% of all greenhouse gas production. Additionally, clearing land for agricultural production is a major contributor to climate change, as the carbon stored in intact forests is released when they are cut or burned.
Why is farming important?
Farming is the only viable livelihood option for three-quarters of the world’s extremely poor people. Subsidies provided by U.S. and European governments to their agriculturalists encourage overproduction, which drives down world prices and forces many producers in developing countries to cut corners environmentally. Producers facing declining harvests from cleared lands expand into surrounding wild lands that are rich in biodiversity, resulting in a cycle of increasing poverty and biodiversity loss.
What are the main sources of pollution in the world?
Agriculture is the leading source of pollution in many countries. Pesticides, fertilizers and other toxic farm chemicals can poison fresh water, marine ecosystems, air and soil. They also can remain in the environment for generations. Many pesticides are suspected of disrupting the hormonal systems of people and wildlife. Fertilizer run-off impacts waterways and coral reefs.
Why is it so hard to meet the demand for accelerated agricultural productivity?
The reasons for this have to do with ecological factors. Global climate change is destabilizing many of the natural processes that make modern agriculture possible.
What will happen to the world population as the population continues to skyrocket?
With the global population continuing to skyrocket, the tension will continue to grow between continued agricultural growth and the ecological health of the land upon which humans depend. More than half the planet’s suitable land has been cultivated for crops, like these terraced rice fields in Bali, Indonesia.
What is the effect of nitrogen on soil?
In addition, fertilizer application in soil leads to the formation and release of nitrous oxide, one of the most harmful greenhouse gases.
How does irrigation affect water?
Irrigation causes increases in water evaporation, impacting both surface air temperature and pressure as well as atmospheric moisture conditions . Recent studies have confirmed that cropland irrigation can influence rainfall patterns not only over the irrigated area but even thousands of miles away.
What is irrigation related to?
Irrigation has also been connected to the erosion of coastlines and other kinds of long-term ecological and habitat destruction. A huge amount of agricultural territory is used primarily as pasture for cattle and other livestock.
What are the consequences of irrigation?
One of the most obvious consequences is the depletion of aquifers, river systems, and downstream ground water. However, there are a number of other negative effects related to irrigation.
How do cattle damage soil?
Cattle and other large grazing animals can even damage soil by trampling on it. Bare, compacted land can bring about soil erosion and destruction of topsoil quality due to the runoff of nutrients. These and other impacts can destabilize a variety of fragile ecosystems and wildlife habitats. Chemical Fertilizer.
