Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
smooth and clear all year round. He has no problems driving large trucks to market.
The good quality of the road also means he will have fewer repairs to his trucks and
lower overall operating costs than other parts of the world.
10.7
LAND
For crop production, land is the essential ingredient. It is possible to raise crops in a
building without soil (hydroponics), but it is hard to beat soil as a readily available,
cheap growing medium. The food of most land animals comes from land-based
plants. Humans eat primarily land-based plants and animals. In most societies, the
wealth of a person is based on the amount of land he or she owns or controls. The
quality of the land for agriculture is also fundamental to its value. As you can see in
Figure 10.6, the size of fields and their topography vary greatly. In some cases, the
slope of the land is so steep that it cannot be used for agriculture. For the purposes
of this chapter, we will only consider land used for agricultural purposes.
The agricultural value of land depends on many factors: organic matter content,
depth of topsoil, drainage, ease of tillage, distance to markets, road access, and
slope. In the United States all agricultural soils have been classified according to
their technical characteristics and productive value. The taxes paid on land are deter-
mined by the soil classification. Value of land for sale depends in large measure on
its productivity. Two general classes of agricultural land values are watched by the
Department of Agriculture: cropland and pasture land. The trend of United States
cropland prices from 1982 to 2005 are shown in Figure 10.7.
2
Since 1987 there has
been a steady increase in average cropland prices. One hectare purchased in 1982
would now cost nearly twice as much. Of course, this is an average. Prices on
pasture land are lower and prices for highly productive land are higher.
We often think that in developing countries, land prices must be much lower. The
opposite is often the case. Take the case of northern India. Because of the population
pressure, there is competition for land. In 2002, irrigated land in Punjab Province
was reported as having dropped in price due to a drought. Land prices had dropped
as much as 20 percent to give an average selling price of US$10,869 per hectare.
Compare this to an average price of less than US$4000 per hectare in the United States.
Another factor that reduces the value of land for agriculture is the question of clear
title. In the United States we take it for granted that after purchasing a parcel of land the
land is ours. In some countries there are several causes of land tenure insecurity. Red
tape and dishonest officials are causes for delays and confusion in registering a land
purchase. Simple registration of title for a parcel of land can take years.
Other countries have to deal with different classes of land ownership that sometimes
conflict. In much of southern Africa, there are three recognized land tenure systems:
private, state owned, and customary. Customary land tenure is based on unwritten tra-
ditional rules with the land being administered by traditional leaders. There may be
no written proof that the land belongs to a tribe or group of tribes. Tribe members do
have rights to use of the land subject to approval of the council. Rights to use of land
may change as family or tribal conditions change leading to some uncertainty about
