MODULE 8 Food, Water &

Agriculture

Content to be delivered;
1. Commercial Agriculture

2. Population and Food Production

Intended Learning Outcomes

1. Identify the current world commercial Agriculture status; and

2. Analyze the current problem of food production and its effect to the people.

Uncover Your Prior Knowledge!

Direction: List down all food products you have in your house and track where it came from. Explain why
these food products were sourced or outsourced from these places.
Let’s Discover and Learn

Commercial Agriculture

Commercial farming is all about the growing of crops and/or the rearing of animals for raw materials,
food, or export, particularly for profitable reasons. In order to achieve the economy of scale, therefore,
commercial farming needs to be very efficient and practiced on a large scale as the goal of the farmer is
to maximize the profit margin.

Contemporary commercial farming hence solely focuses on the production of crops and farm animals
for sale, using the most advanced, efficient, and recent technologies. The practice, also known as
agribusiness, is increasingly being taken up and practiced as more and more people partake in it as a
lucrative business venture.

Due to this, a lot is invested in terms of capital, manpower, and land, making commercial farming the
main driver and influencer of the global agriculture industry. But then again, commercial farming is
worrying to some extent despite its positive results. For instance, lots of fertilizers, insecticides, weed
killers and pesticides are used during farming.

Furthermore, it utilizes huge parcels of land and also uses a lot of water. On a planet where the
population is expected to reach over 9 billion by 2050, these practices worry about those who are
fighting for a sustainable environment.

Characteristics of Commercial Farming

The crops and livestock in commercial farming are produced on a large scale, and grown in huge farms,
using machinery, irrigation methods, chemical fertilizers, and other technologies.

1. Large-scale production
Commercial farming sees livestock and crops produced in large numbers. For this reason, it requires a
lot of land, advanced technology, and expertise to meet the expected production targets or goals.
2. It is capital intensive
Since the practice requires a lot of investment before it is started it, therefore, implies that it requires a
lot of capital to get it up and running.
The capital is used to purchase farm materials such as seedlings or seeds, fertilizers and pesticides,
machinery, the farm itself, and in paying for the expenses incurred such as water and electricity bills,
and in paying for labor, and expertise.
3. The use of High-Yielding Varieties
The practice of commercial farming uses high doses of modern inputs and high yielding varieties of
seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides, weed killers, and insecticides. This is done to obtain higher
production but has detrimental effects on environmental sustainability
4. It is produced for sale
As opposed to other forms of agriculture where people farm for their use, commercial farming is done
for sale only.
Under commercial agriculture, the thousands of acres of products such as millet, cocoa, bananas, rice,
sugarcane, tea, and other products are harvested and sold, mainly as exports to other countries.
5. Heavy machinery and human labor
Commercial farming requires large supplies of both skilled and unskilled labor. While skilled labor in
commercial labor comes from professionals, unskilled labor tends to exploit immigrants and persons
who live in absolute poverty.
It also requires heavy machinery such as diggers, trailed sprayers, plows, harvesters, and planters just to
mention a few to meet the targets and goals in time, as well as meet the skills of the system of
production.
6. In most cases, one type of agricultural practice is done in a large area
As much as commercial farming may involve different agricultural practices within the same parcel of
land or region, it mainly involves large scale farming of one type of agricultural practice such as
aquaponics, beef farming, dairy farming, chicken farming, coffee farming, sugarcane farming, specialized
fruit plantation, flower farming, and tea farming among many others in one region or large piece of
land.
Examples include the vast farms of tea in India and Kenya, the coffee plantations in Brazil and India,
banana production in Uganda, beef farming in the United States, and sugarcane farms in Indonesia and
Mexico. The degree of area coverage may vary from one region to the other.
7. The practices is traditionally done all year round
Commercial agriculture is unique as the farmers can irrigate the land or keep the farm systems under
operation all year round.
They do not rely on the rains or natural supplies as ordinary farmers do since they have advanced
technologies, machines, and artificial growth enhancers to have their crops or animals sustained
throughout.
Advantages of Commercial Farming

1. Encouraging Improvement in Local Infrastructure

Commercial farming helps an area or country establish or improve the infrastructure of the area, such as
roads and electricity.
For instance, commercial farms rely on electricity and in having the farms wired with electricity, the
surrounding communities will also be wired. Also, when the roads are improved, they help both the
farms and the people who live nearby.
Also, water is piped into the surrounding communities.
2. Job Creation
Commercial farming is a source of jobs for persons living within the area. The workers will earn some
money, enabling them to provide food for their families. As such, commercial farming stimulates the
growth of the local economy.
3. Lowering the Price of Products
Commercial farming helps decrease the cost of agricultural products since the crops are available in the
market in enough numbers. The forces of demand and supply, therefore, operate to lower the prices of
such commodities.
4. Increased Production and Enhancing Food Security
Commercial farming mechanizes operations control diseases and pests, enabling the farms to produce
more. As a result, commercial farmers increase production, helping increase the national stock of food
products.
5. Provision of Raw Materials for Agribusiness Manufacturing Companies
Commercial farming avails more raw materials to feed the local and international industries that engage
in the production or manufacture of agricultural by-products.
For instance, the manufacture of juices is enabled by the farming of fruits such as pineapples, mangoes
and oranges in commercial quantities. Coffee and cocoa farming also serves the confectionery
industries.
6. Lowering the cost of Production
Since farmers employ more efficient methods of production, like the use of harvesters, ploughs,
harrowers, and planters, the operations of the commercial farmer become cheaper in the long run.
7. Foreign exchange earner
Commercial farming helps countries in the world earn a high foreign exchange. For instance, in West
Africa, cocoa and coffee exports have earned the respective countries lucrative foreign exchange, which
is an economic growth booster.
(Retrieved from https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/commercial-farming.php)
Food consumption and production have a considerable impact on the environment. To be good, food
needs to be responsibly sourced and consumed, as well as healthy

Food production contributes, for example, to climate change, eutrophication and acid rain, as well as
the depletion of biodiversity. It is also a considerable drain on other resources, such as nutrients, land
area, energy, and water. In Finland, approximately half of the amount of both phosphorus and nitrogen
that ends up in the Baltic Sea due to human activity is attributable to agriculture.

Farming techniques have evolved, and the use of fertilisers has decreased considerably during the last
few decades. Despite this, there appears to be no decrease in nutrient loading attributable to
agriculture.

The Natural Resources Institute Finland is developing new solutions for improving production
techniques, maximising the use of by-products, and minimising waste in order to reduce the nutrient
loading attributable to production. The aim of the Natural Resources Institute Finland is to find ways of
mitigating the environmental and climatic impacts of food production.

(Retrieved from https://www.luke.fi/en/natural-resources/food-and-nutrition/effects-of-food-

production-and-consumption-the-environment-and-climate/)

The Top 5 Problems with the Global Food System

1. Increased Biofuel Production

Biofuels are fuels derived from organic matter, such as plant and animal materials, as opposed to fossil
fuels. These biofuels can be crop-based, and can be made from corn, palm oil, sugarcane, and soybeans.
Thought to be a valuable alternative to fossil fuels, many farm subsidies have been put into place to
promote the production of these crops. Yet not only have biofuels proven to be more harmful to the
environment than expected, they can also be potentially devastating to the food system. Increased
devotion of agricultural land to produce food-based biofuels has resulted in global displacement of
people and rise in food prices. Incentives to produce biofuels have raised the global competition for
land, and have made it harder for smaller farmers to compete or maintain control of their property.
Currently, fewer than five corporations control about 47% of all ethanol production in the U.S. As more
land is concentrated on food-based biofuel production, less is devoted to the growing of crops for
consumption. The World Resources Institute (WRI) reports that “producing 10% of all transport fuels
from biofuels by 2050, as planned by some governments, would require 32% of global crop production
but produce only 2% of global energy,” while also increasing the “food gap to roughly 100%.”On the
other hand, “eliminating the use of crop-based biofuels for transportation would close the food gap by
roughly 14%.” Nationally and globally, we need to address and reform the subsidies and policy
incentives that drive biofuel production.

2. Limited Food Access

The inability to access sufficient amounts of food is an issue that plagues populations globally.
Worldwide, about 795 million people suffer from chronic undernourishment, and about 15% of
households in the U.S. lack food to some degree. More than 29 million Americans live in “food deserts”,
which means that they do not have a supermarket “within a mile of their home if they live in an urban
area, or within 10 miles of their home if they live in a rural area.” On top of the absence of these
markets, limited mobility, economic barriers, and a lack of fresh food options prevent certain low-
income communities from obtaining healthy and affordable food. This problem has only been
exacerbated by the farm policy incentives that drive an excess production of sweets, fats, and meats,
and producers choosing to cut costs through extensive food processing and use of high fructose corn
syrup and hydrogenated soy oil to increase product self-life and convenience.

Globally, consumers and farmers alike are unable to access the market or afford the costs of
consumption or production. In developing countries, about 16% of the rural population lacks convenient
access to the market, and, at most, only 40% of any crop is marketed with only one-third of farmers
selling to the market. International efforts must be made to develop local and regional markets, improve
infrastructure to ease transportation, and increase agricultural investment in smallholder farmers.

3. Unsustainable Agricultural Practices

According to the FAO, agricultural production is a huge driver of climate change, producing one-fifth of
total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Intensive farming methods use fertilizers and pesticides that
contaminate streams and rivers that can create downstream “dead zones,” and deforestation for
agricultural use accounts for an estimated 10-11% of global GHG emissions. Big agribusinesses utilize
poor agricultural practices to cut production costs, and, due to these practices, 5-10 million hectares of
arable farmland become unusable every year, with an additional 0.3-1.5 million becoming unproductive
as a result of salinization and water logging. To protect our environment, our health, and our food, we
must implement climate-sensitive production methods such as reduced tillage, crop rotations, soil
enrichment, the encouragement of natural pest predators, and the incorporation of agroforestry.
Agriculture can be shifted to degraded lands, rather than clearing new lands, with a focus on practices
that boost productivity and enhance resilience. Furthermore, there is a global need to support more
small-scale, less mechanically intensive, and more organic practices in order to preserve our productive
agricultural land and prevent climate change.

4. Lack of Farmer and Workers’ Rights

According to the International Food Policy Research Institute’s Global Food Policy Report (GFPR),
smallholder farmers that farm less than 2 hectares of land make up the majority of agricultural
producers for the world, but also make up half of the world’s poor and hungry population. These smaller
farmers are increasingly unable to compete in an agricultural market dominated by big agribusinesses.
Smallholders have a lack of access to the proper assets, such as tractors and fertilizers, and small
farmers that are able to stay in business earn less due to the immense surpluses produced by industrial
agricultural companies or are subject to these companies’ control. For example, being forced to buy
Monsanto’s patented “transgenic seeds” in order to stay competitive. Therefore, only about 10-20% of
the agricultural product value is returned to the farmer and the farmer’s rural community.

Female and youth farmers face similar constraints in terms of asset and market access. The United
Nations estimates that approximately 43% of farmers in developing countries are women, but they do
not perform as well due to a lack of the proper inputs, services, and productive resources. However, the
GFPR states that closing the agricultural production gender gap could decrease the number of
undernourished people by 12-17%.
Additionally, food workers in the U.S. are the lowest paid and least protected workers in the nation,
often facing low wages and substandard working conditions. Immigrants especially face routine
mistreatment, violations of their compensation claims, and interference with union formation.

Worldwide, policies must be put in place to increase equal access to agricultural inputs and financial
services, establish land rights for women, provide a livable wage, institute healthy working conditions,
create fair pricing mechanisms, ensure benefits and employment security, and empower immigrant
workers.

5. Food Waste
Food waste is an issue at both ends: production and consumption. Over one-third of food produced
around the world is lost or wasted, equating to about 1.3 billion tons per year. Halving this rate could
close the global food gap by 20% by 2050. Furthermore, food waste is a climate change concern, as
methane (a greenhouse gas) emitted by rotting food is 23 times more potent than carbon
dioxide. Production food loss in developing countries is often due to harvesting and storage technique
issues or destruction by pests, while food waste on the consumer end takes place when food is
discarded because of quality or safety concerns. To correct this problem, initiatives will need to be
implemented around low-cost storage methods close to farms, improved redistribution and
transportation processes, as well as enhancements in the agricultural infrastructure. Moreover,
clarification of “sell-by” and “best-before” labels and education on proper storage methods can reduce
consumer food waste.

The FAO’s Rome Declaration on World Food Security states that, “Food security exists when all people,
at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their
dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” However, 800 million people go
hungry every day, with another 2 billion people suffering from micronutrient deficiencies, and still
another 2.1 billion people are categorized as overweight. Attempts to increase food output through
intensive farming practices have diminished our natural resources, degraded the soil, polluted our
water, and driven deforestation. Worldwide, we must end programs and incentives for biofuel use
expansion, promote smallholder farming and sustainable agricultural practices, localize the food system,
demand full rights for food workers at all points in the food system, and employ techniques to diminish
food waste. Ultimately, change can only take place once there is a social pressure to democratize the
food system, and return the control to individuals and communities. The first step for you to join the
movement is to be educated about the food system globally and recognize the issues in your own
community!
Engaging Activity

Activity 1
(Critical Thinking)

Direction: Write a proposal to the government on how the farmers could benefit more and live a
comfortable life than what the majority of them are experiencing.

Let’s Try It!

I. Direction: Please answer the questions comprehensively.

1. Why commercial farming is worrying to some extent despite its positive results? What would be the
best solution to avoid this problem?
References

https://www.luke.fi/en/natural-resources/food-and-nutrition/effects-of-food-production-and-
consumption-the-environment-and-climate/

https://www.conserve-energy-future.com/commercial-farming.php