Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Chapter 8
Plantation Crops
Yan Diczbalis, Jeff Daniells, Smilja Lambert and Chris Searle
Abstract
Plantation horticulture is an important part of the economic landscape of
many tropical countries. Plantations were developed in association with colonial
expansion and the original models were based on the production of monocrops
which had a ready export market, using cheap or slave labour. Plantations in the
twenty first Century are less likely environments for exploitation of human and
environmental capital. They are however, linked to crop production on a large scale
for produce to be sold, at profit, for export to distant markets rather than local sale.
A range of crops can be broadly categorized into plantation crops. Plantations con-
tinue to be effective models for efficient agricultural production and will evolve in
response to the continued demand for food, fruit, fibre, oil crops and timber from a
growing population.
Keywords
Plantation
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Crop categories
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Cocoa
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Banana
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Macadamia
Introduction
The word “plantation” evokes images of hot humid locations, far from the highly
urbanized communities most of humanity inhabit, producing the necessities of do-
mestic life such as tea, coffee, sugar, spices, and industrial crops such as rubber and
