StrategiesForAgricultureInLEDC’s.pptVIP

Strategies For Agriculture In LEDC’s Food Production Food production is one of the most important industries in most LEDCs and agriculture is often still their main source of employment. has increased, and with the environmental difficulties that many of these countries face, a number of strategies have been introduced. These have been aimed at helping the farmers become firstly self-sufficient and then begin to allow them to make a profit. However it has not just been a case of the developed countries of the world throwing money at the problem, the solutions have had to be appropriate to the countries concerned. Appropriate Technology This involves small-scale projects that will help a community or maybe even individual subsistence farmers. Ideas include digging wells to provide water for irrigation, setting up projects that can be easily maintained and sustained by the local people. They have not included bringing in large machines and expensive technology, as this can rarely be repaired when it goes wrong. The use of renewable energy sources, such as wind power and biogas has been encouraged rather than huge HEP schemes. The Green Revolution This involved developing new high yield crops, initially in Mexico, which were then used in countries such as India. Their effect was to increase yields dramatically, and sometimes allow an extra crop each year to grown. The farmers quickly produced greater amounts of crops and there fore produced larger profit, from which they could buy improved machinery. There were some disadvantages of the scheme however. The new seeds were very expensive to buy and required a lot of expensive fertilisers and pesticides to ensure that they grew properly. This meant that many of the poor farmers just couldnt afford the new crops. Some farmers fell heavily into debt trying to finance buying the new crops. Irrigation The Green Revolution meant the need of massive irrigation schemes. Long series of canals took water to the fields.