13.2.5: Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming

Commercial Gardening and Fruit Farming

A market garden is a relatively small scale business, growing vegetables, fruits, and flowers (Figure 10.19). The farms are small, from under one acre to a few acres (.5-1.5 hectares). The diversity of crops is sometimes cultivated in greenhouses, distinguishing it from other types of farming. Commercial gardening and fruit farming is quite diverse, requiring more manual labor and gardening techniques. In the United States, commercial gardening and fruit farming is the predominant type of agriculture in the Southeast, the region with a warm and humid climate and a long growing season. In addition to the traditional vegetables and fruits (tomatoes, lettuce, onions, peaches, apples, cherries), a new kind of commercial gardening has developed in the Northeast. This is a non-traditional market garden, growing crops that, although limited, are increasingly demanded by consumers, such as asparagus, mushrooms, peppers, and strawberries. Market gardening has become an alternative business, significantly profitable and sustainable especially with the recent popularity of organic and local food.

Figure | Market Farming A garden with edible plants for use in a culinary school in Lawrenceville, Georgia. Author | U.S. Department of Agriculture Source | Wikimedia Commons License | Public Domain

Mediterranean Agriculture

The term ‘Mediterranean agriculture’ applies to the agriculture done in those regions which have a Mediterranean type of climate, hot and dry summers and moist and mild winters. Five major regions in the world have a Mediterranean type of agriculture, such as the lands that border the Mediterranean Sea (South Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East), California, central Chile, South Africa’s Cape, and in parts of southwestern and southern Australia (Figure 10.20). Farming is intensive, highly specialized and varied in the kinds of crops raised. The hilly Mediterranean lands, also known as ‘orchard lands of the world,’ are dominated by citrus fruits (oranges, lemons, and grapefruits), olives (primary for cooking oil), figs, dates, and grapes (primarily for wine), which are mainly for export. These and other commodities flow to distant markets, Mediterranean products tending to be popular and commanding high prices. Yet, the warm and sunny Mediterranean climate also allows a wide range of other food crops, such as cereals (wheat, especially) and vegetables, cultivated especially for domestic consumption.

Figure | Mediterranean Regions Author | User “me ne frego” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 4.0

Plantation Farming

Plantations are large landholdings in developing regions designed to produce crops for export. Usually, they specialize in the production of one particular crop for market laid out to produce coffee, cocoa, bananas, or sugar in South and Central America; cocoa, tea, rice, or rubber in West and East Africa; tea in South Asia; rubber in Southeast Asia, and/or other specialized and luxury crops such as palm oil, peanuts, cotton, and tobacco (Figures 10.21 and 10.22). Plantations are located in the tropical and subtropical regions of Asia, Africa, and Latin America and, although they are located in the developing countries, many are owned and operated by European or North American individuals or corporations. Even those taken by governments of the newly independent countries continued to be operated by foreigners in order to receive income from foreign sources. These plantations survived during decolonization, continuing to serve the rich markets of the world.

Unlike coffee, sugar, rice, cotton and other traditional crops, exported from large plantations, other crops can be required by the international market such as flowers and specific fruits and vegetables. These represent the nontraditional agricultural exports, which have become increasingly important in some countries or regions such as Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Mexico, and Central America, to mention a few. One important reason for sustaining nontraditional exports is that they complement the traditional exports, generating foreign exchange and employment. Thus, plantation agriculture, designed to produce crops for export, is critical to the economies of many developing countries.

Figure| Coffee Plantation Author | User “Prince Tigereye” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY 2.0

Figure | Tea Plantation Author | User “Joydeep” Source | Wikimedia Commons License | CC BY SA 3.0