CHANGES

IN THE
ECONOMIC
SYSTEM

FORAGING
Foraging for wild plants and hunting wild animals is the most ancient of human
subsistence patterns. Prior to 10,000 years ago, all people lived in this way. Hunting
and gathering continued to be the subsistence pattern of some societies well into the
20th century, especially in environmentally marginal areas that were unsuited to farming
or herding, such as dense tropical forests, deserts, and subarctic tundra click this icon
to hear the preceding term pronounced. Earlier foragers also occupied productive river
valleys in temperate zones until these areas became farmlands during the last 5,000-
8,000 years.
Foragers generally have a passive dependence on what the environment contains.
They do not plant crops and the only domesticated animals that they usually have are
dogs. These useful animals often have multiple functions for foraging peoples. They
serve as pets, hunting aids, watch-animals, camp refuse scavengers, and even surplus
food when needed.
Some foragers in East Africa and Western North America are known to have
periodically regenerated the productivity of their environments by intentionally burning
grasslands and sparse woodlands. This encouraged the growth of tender new
vegetation which attracted game animals. It is likely that controlled burns of this sort
were used by foragers elsewhere in the world as well.
SocietY that experienced foraging
 Aeta

PASTORALISM
Pastoralism is the branch of agriculture concerned with the raising of livestock. It is
animal husbandry: the care, tending and use of animals such as camels, goats, cattle,
yaks, llamas, and sheep. "Pastoralism" generally has a mobile aspect, moving the herds
in search of fresh pasture and water (in contrast to pastoral farming, in which non-
nomadic farmers grow crops and improve pastures for their livestock).

Pastoralism is a successful strategy to support a population on less productive land,

and adapts well to the environment. For example, in savannas, pastoralists and their
animals gather when rain water is abundant and the pasture is rich, then scatter during
the drying of the savanna.
Pastoralists often use their herds to affect their environment. Grazing herds on
savannas can ensure the biodiversity of the savannas and prevent them from evolving
into scrubland. Pastoralists may also use fire to make ecosystems more suitable for
their food animals. For instance, the Turkana people of northwest Kenya use fire to
prevent the invasion of the savanna by woody plant species. Biomass of the
domesticated and wild animals was increased by a higher quality of grass.
Pastoral society
 Afar of the Horn of Africa

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 Kuchis of Afghanistan

 Tuvans of Mongolia

 Bakarwal found in Jammu and Kashmir

  Kyrgyz people

HORTICULTURE
Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and
business of growing plants. It includes the cultivation of medicinal plants, fruits,
vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and
non-food crops such as grass and ornamental trees and plants. It also includes plant
conservation, landscape restoration, landscape and garden design, construction, and
maintenance, and arboriculture. Inside agriculture, horticulture contrasts with extensive
field farming as well as animal husbandry.
Horticulturists apply their knowledge, skills, and technologies used to grow intensively
produced plants for human food and non-food uses and for personal or social needs.
Their work involves plant propagation and cultivation with the aim of improving plant
growth, yields, quality, nutritional value, and resistance to insects, diseases, and
environmental stresses. They work as gardeners, growers, therapists, designers, and
technical advisors in the food and non-food sectors of horticulture. Horticulture even
refers to the growing of plants in a field or garden.
Horticultural societies
 Gururumba Tribe in New Guinea

 Maasai people of Kenya

 INTENSIVE
AGRICULTURE
Intensive farming or intensive agriculture also known as industrial agriculture is
characterized by a low fallow ratio and higher use of inputs such as capital and labour
per unit land area. This is in contrast to traditional agriculture in which the inputs per unit
land are lower.
Intensive animal husbandry involves either large numbers of animals raised on limited
land, usually confined animal feeding operations (CAFO) often referred to as factory
farms, or managed intensive rotational grazing (MIRG). Both increase the yields of food
and fiber per acre as compared to traditional animal husbandry. In a CAFO feed is
brought to the animals, which are seldom moved, while in MIRG the animals are
repeatedly moved to fresh forage.
Intensive crop agriculture is characterised by innovations designed to increase yield.
Techniques include planting multiple crops per year, reducing the frequency of fallow
years and improving cultivars. It also involves increased use of fertilizers, plant growth
regulators, pesticides and mechanization, controlled by increased and more detailed
analysis of growing conditions, including weather, soil, water, weeds and pests.
INTENSIVE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY
 Britain