Food production intensity is assessed by comparing food output with resource usage, including labor and land area. Productivity can be influenced by various social, physical, and economic factors.
Government policies - Plan of action that a government takes.
In
Economic factors
Capital - Sum of money used to start or expand food production.
Capital is needed to purchase seeds, fertilisers and pesticides. Helps to increase output and productivity.
Demand - When people buy a large amount of food at a certain price at a certain time.
High demand, higher output and productivity.
Social factors
Land tenure - Land owned by government, not farmers.
Farmers have to pay a sum of money to get the right to live on and use the land.
It does not promote efficient use of the land to increase productivity. (harvest will eventually go to the government)
Land fragmentation - A land of plot is diivide into smaller plots. Over many generations, the resultant plots may become very small.
Limited output of a small farm, unprofitable to use expensive machines. Productivity is low as more labour is required to work on the farm.
Physical Factors
Climate - Rainfall and average temperature of soil.
High temperature and rainfall, higher output as such conditions are more favourable for plant growth.
Soil - Fertility of soil.
Fertility of soil depends on the amount of air, water and nutrients present in it.
Fertile soil, higher productivity as it is helpful for healthy plant growth.
Relief - Physical height and slope of the land.
Gentle/flat slope, more productive for farming, less likely for soil erosion to occur, easier for farmers to transport and operate mahines.
Steep slopes, lower productivity, additional labour is required to build terraces.
Productivity
Can be measured by output per unit area too!
Amount of food produced
Land Area
Can be measured by labour per unit area.
Number of workers
Land area
Measured by the amount of food produced compared with the amount resources used to produce the food.
