Farming around the world

People farm on every continent except Antarctica. Every region around the world is different. Geographical conditions affect the way crops and animals are farmed. To understand this better, let’s visit some farmers around the world. First, let’s meet Alfonse and Rosine, who farm a small patch of land in Ivory Coast in Africa, where they grow cocoa.

They can’t afford to hire labourers, they work on their land themselves. Growing cocoa is hard manual labour. It is the main or only source of income for tens of thousands of Ivorians. Cocoa is usually sold to other countries, which is more profitable for farmers. It is a commodity crop.

Cocoa is just one of many commodity crops grown in Sub-Saharan Africa. Other examples are coffee, tobacco, cotton, bananas… A warm climate allows crops to grow all year round, but in dry regions of Africa, water shortages are common. The soil here is often poor. There are often not enough nutrients for crops to grow. Many farms are located in secluded areas with no roads, so it’s difficult to transport produce.

Because of this, and lack of money, farmers often don’t have access to tools that would make their work easier. Let’s visit the Brazilian grasslands — the pampas — where geographic conditions are quite different to Africa. Here, rain falls heavily for a few months, while the rest of the year is very dry. During the dry season, there is not enough water for any crops to grow. But there are plenty of grasses - these conditions are perfect for grazing animals!

Paulo raises cattle here, he is a cattle rancher. His large herd of cattle grazes on a vast area of land. He follows the herd, and makes sure his cattle are healthy and safe from predators. Farmers around the world use grasslands to raise all sorts of livestock: sheep, bison, even ostriches or alpacas! This is Bill.

He is a commercial poultry farmer in the United States, and he raises thousands of chickens at a time! He uses technology to make his job easier. Machines control the amount of light, water and food. As well as the temperature and air flow inside the buildings where the chickens are kept. Very mechanised farming can be done anywhere, but it costs a lot of money, and you have to pay for fuel and maintenance.

That’s why mechanised farming is mostly practised in high-income, technologically developed regions, such as North America or Europe. China is an example of a country where farming has changed greatly. Chen and Fang have been rice farmers for many years. They have witnessed changes themselves. Rice generally requires rich soils and plenty of water.

So, rice farmers usually depend heavily on monsoon rains typical for their region. Rice also requires a lot of labour, and much of it is done by hand. Political decisions and technological advancements in China have led to quick development of farming techniques and more efficiency. This means that nowadays, there are fewer farmers in China than 30 years ago, yet one fifth of the world's food is produced here. And this despite the fact most land in China is not actually suitable for farming.

It’s the wrong type of terrain! There are many different ways to grow food all over the world. Each region has specific characteristics — climate, soil, terrain, population, politics and economy. All these factors create a region’s unique profile. They affect how the land is used, what is grown there and how.