Category Archives: Agriculture

Agriculture

Human Geography: Von Thünen’s Agricultural Model in the Real World

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I recently introduced myself to the man that makes the daily milk delivery to  the school I teach at. His name is Faustino and I was pleasantly surprised to hear that he is a Cuban immigrant, just like my parents. He opened up to me and I asked him about his family and his experiences since having come to the United States. I then asked him about his job. As he described his route to me  it dawned on me that, as always, I was having a human geography discussion without even realizing it.

Johann Heinrich von Thünen was a German landowner in the early 1800s. He was also one of the leading economic thinkers of his time. He created one of the most important concepts in all of human geography, the model regarding agricultural land use around a population center. Although the theory was created two centuries ago it is still applicable and quite simple. Assuming a population center in the middle, the land beyond it would have differing agricultural uses in outward rings. Immediately around the city would be fruit and vegetable farming, as well as dairy. These products need to be closest to the market as they are highly perishable, especially milk as it needs to be refrigerated in transport.

Human Geography: Von Thunen's Model
Faustino, the local milk man, makes a delivery to a high school.

When I asked Faustino about his route, he explained to me that he delivers to all of the schools down a stretch of road approximately 20 miles long. With high fuel costs it is important for him to make his deliveries quickly. His delivery system fits von Thünen’s model perfectly, from his distribution center he takes care of a specific and compact area.  Beyond his area there is another distribution center and another local driver.

Human Geography: Von Thünen's Model
Von Thünen’s model of agricultural land use.

In the rings beyond the innermost dairy and produce zone there are specific purposes as well. The second zone will primarily be used for timber as the cost of moving large trees for construction requires shorter distances. In the third zone there will be a combination of livestock ranching and field crops produced on a large scale such as grain or corn. In the final ring there is exclusively ranching as the only necessity is a steady supply of grass for the livestock to graze.

As I always tell my students, we rarely think about where our food comes from beyond the refrigerator or at most the grocery store. As with all things, our food doesn’t magically appear. There is a pattern to where our food comes from and people like Faustino work hard to keep that system going.

Agriculture, Political Geography

Flooding Along the India-Pakistan Border: A Human, Agricultural, and Political Disaster

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Recently there was massive flooding along the border of India and Pakistan, especially hard hit was the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir. The death toll is near 300 and it is estimated that in some villages as many as 95% of homes have been destroyed. It is a humanitarian crisis of the highest level as these people have limited options for shelter and are running low on food. The fact that heavy rains hit the region is not a surprise as this is an annual event typically lasting from June-September. As students of human geography it is critical to analyze the relationship between the people in this part of the world and the annual rains as well as how the hostile relationship between India and Pakistan has made the situation that much worse.

Agriculture

While in other parts of the world such heavy rains would be seen solely as a threat, in South Asia the downpours are welcomed as a critical part of their existence. Agriculture in much of South Asia depends on the annual monsoons to provide enough water to irrigate crops throughout the year. There are years where the rains fail to provide enough water, and the region, already struggling with extreme poverty, must deal with the crisis of drought and becomes highly vulnerable to famine. As is often the case in the poor world, what they count on to sustain them, may also bring about their demise.

Territorial Dispute

Disaster relief would normally override most political issues, but not when India and Pakistan are involved. Kashmir has long been a disputed territory as a result of the Partition of India in 1947. When India was granted it’s independence by the British, one of the final acts of the European colonizers was to create Pakistan as a Muslim state in an attempt to separate them from the Hindu population. When the British created the new border they kept Kashmir in India despite being predominantly Muslim. This is one of the most militarized borders on the planet and moving in troops to provide aid to victims could be seen as a hostile act. Not even in this extreme crisis can these two governments coordinate in order to help their people.