Rural geography
Rural geography is the geographical study of the rural landscape: rural settlements, activities and ways of life developed in rural areas.
Global Change
Technology, or better still, technological development, has caused such an important transformation, both in cities and in rural areas, as to consider that we can no longer talk about the concepts that have to do with this branch of geography in the same way as some four or five decades ago. This is due to the fact that since the middle of the XX century, in many geographical areas considered to have low population density, there have been services until recently. not long were considered fully urban. On the other hand, today's cities tend to invade what used to be clearly rural space, through the construction of residences, part-time dedication to agriculture, etc., thus creating an intermediate zone that is difficult to define. Despite this, a rural geography can still be described as a space where human activities related mainly to the primary sector of the economy predominate (Agrarian Geography).
Rural areas
Zones of agricultural activities
The unavoidable presence of agricultural activities is the most characteristic within the rural world, these activities being the ones that define and give character to the vast majority of the different rural spaces in the world and their respective landscapes.
By and for their character, and their dedication to agriculture, rural spaces suffer from a series of geographical conditions; since not all climates or all soils are suitable for any type or technique of cultivation. In addition, they have demographic constraints; since it tends to balance between population and resources. This weighting favors the modification of cultivation techniques, in case of overpopulation or underpopulation. In the most serious situations, it is possible to go from intensive agriculture to extensive agriculture: intensify the use of the soil, plow the forest territory and even reorganize the social structure; or a new cultivation technology will be assumed. At present, services are demanded in rural areas, which is why we find people in the countryside who do not live from agriculture or livestock. The rural environment must also submit to certain legal conditions that affect the property structure and forms of exploitation. Lastly, the rural world suffers economic and political vicissitudes, especially in countries where agriculture is subsidized.
Current agriculture has tried to overcome climatic conditions by cultivating species under plastic: in a greenhouse.
Cultivating a certain species for years in the same place ends up depleting the minerals that the plant feeds on. To avoid this, the land is left to rest, without cultivating, for at least one year. This technique is called fallow. However, there are several types of fallow: short, on land that is cultivated again in one or two years, before the forest recovers; and the length in which the total recovery of the forest is allowed.
Irrigation techniques have changed a lot. The traditional technique is flood irrigation in which furrows are made between the plants, part of the current of the river or well is diverted and the entire surface is flooded. This system is not very efficient, since much more water is used than necessary. Modernly, sprinkler irrigation has been used, which if done at night requires much less water. Sprinkler irrigation consists of a mechanism that spreads water over the entire surface as if they were raindrops. The most effective irrigation technique is drop by drop. It consists of channeling the water with small tubes to the foot of each plant and letting a drop fall from time to time, until the needs of each plant are complete. It is controlled by computer and is usually practiced in greenhouse crops.
In many cases, it is the structure of land ownership and agrarian structure, which defines rural landscapes. The property can be collective and of common use: with own goods, common, etc., but there can also be large property and small property. In Spain, the great property has its origin in the Reconquista: during the Middle Ages. This large property could have evolved into small property, if the inheritance system favors partition, or if it was sold to those who worked the farms. On the contrary, small property can evolve towards large property, if the hereditary system favors the majority, for example, or if the price of land is low and there is a rural capitalist who buys the adjacent lands.
But one thing is the size of the property and another is the size of the farms. A farm is the technical-economic unit from which agricultural products are obtained. These farms, depending on the exploitation techniques, can be a latifundio, if they are large, or a minifundio, if they are small. Large property does not have to coincide with latifundio, nor small property with minifundio: the large property can be divided up to the minifundio and the small concentrated, by lease, up to the latifundio. However, both extremes tend to become obsolete and tend not to be functional. In addition, they have different economic and social consequences. Imbalances have propitiated, in all countries, agrarian reforms, either technical or political.
At the same time, technical constraints have led to a progressive increase in the productivity of the land, with which the size of the farm has become relative. This tendency has reached its maximum degree in the green revolution, or the application of all the technical advances that modern science can offer, in agriculture.
Finally, in general we can distinguish two large sets of agricultural landscapes:
- The closed fields (bocage) and
- The open fields (openfield), found in different parts of the world, for different reasons.
In the rural world we distinguish two types of settlement: concentrated and dispersed. The population concentrated in the grouping of the houses of the village in a specific place, leaving the rest so that it can be cultivated. The dispersed settlement is characterized by the fact that there is no nucleus of dwellings but that they are scattered throughout the territory, normally close to the farms of each family.
Other rural areas
Rural spaces are currently defined as: other areas far from the city or with low population density, such as:
- Large leisure facilities: ski resorts, golf courses.
- Areas of extractive activities: mining, quarries and forestry.
Rural conflict
Agricultural production in the world, in general terms, has been decreasing its production compared to the figures reached in previous years, both in developed and developing regions, a consequence produced mainly by the incidence of conditions catastrophic and large-scale atmospheric events, such as droughts and torrential rains, the main factors that leave a deep mark on agricultural production, preventing its normal development, mainly in developing regions which were notably affected, such as the region of Far East and Pacific, these figures may represent the lowest in agricultural production since 1972; However, not all regions were affected equally. We see the case of Vietnam, which will be one of the countries with one of the highest growth rates close to or greater than 5%, and the case of Sub-Saharan Africa, where agricultural production had a recovery growth at a rate of 4.3% thanks to the expansion of production in Nigeria or also the case of Vietnam in Asia.
Regarding the economies in transition, there was also a decrease due to the contraction coming from the former Commonwealth of Independent States (from the former Soviet Union), where no higher growth is estimated for the coming years except in Kazakhstan.
Deficit areas of agricultural production
There is the East African region (Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan, etc.), whose main causes of food scarcity are the lack of rainfall that leads to droughts that affected most of the grazing area added to the past and current civil conflicts that have caused disruption in production, poor food distribution and the migration of thousands of people in search of it, generating serious social crises due to the lack of supplies in which the population finds itself.
In Western Africa, the areas affected by droughts and floods in the Sahel were the main ones lacking an adequate food supply and, on the other hand, the civil conflicts in Liberia and Sierra Leone make these countries continue to depend on international food assistance.
In the region of the great African lakes (Burundi, Rwanda, D.R. Congo, Katanga), there are deficiencies in food production due to droughts and persistent civil conflicts where the displaced population does not have access to their lands, leading them to states of malnutrition and making them particularly vulnerable.
In Southern Africa, prolonged periods of drought and/or major floods caused considerable damage to infrastructure and housing (Madagascar, Mozambique, etc.), leaving tens of thousands of people in urgent need of emergency food assistance, while in Angola civil conflicts leave thousands of refugees without food.
In the Near East, the shortage of agricultural inputs, forced population displacements (internal or international wars), droughts and, above all, the problems of deficient agrarian policies and almost permanent wars, are the main causes of deficits in agricultural production and food,
In Asia, natural disasters such as the cyclones in northeastern India and major floods that affect the southeast of the continent annually with monsoon rains have caused considerable difficulties for agricultural production. In other countries, overpopulation and political regimes have led to a serious decline in food security and agricultural production.
In Latin America, bad weather conditions have caused prolonged droughts in Central America, damaging bean and cereal crops, while in the Caribbean the damage caused by hurricanes Lily, George and Match caused the loss of all crops, countless lives and serious damage to homes and infrastructure. The excesses caused by the El Niño phenomenon also caused serious problems throughout the region.
In the countries of the former Soviet Union, the confrontations registered in Chechnya, for example, have caused a critical situation in agriculture, especially the wine sector and the livestock sector, and good conditions are not expected either for the crops of fodder and winter cereals; on the other hand, displaced people are economically vulnerable and urgently need food assistance.
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