Agribusiness - farms operated by large companies, e.g. Findus, Bird’s Eye.
Appropriate Technology – technology that is appropriate to the needs, skills, knowledge and wealth of the people.
Arable – growing of crops, e.g. wheat, barely.
Biodiversity - a rich range of plants and animals.
Cash Crops – crops that are grown to be sold for profit.
Chagra – a clearing in the Amazon rainforest.
Climate – the average weather conditions of an area.
Commercial – the sale of farm products for profit.
Double or Multiple Cropping – Where two or more crops are produced on the same land in one year.
Eutrophication – the loss of oxygen in streams and lakes, caused by chemical pollution.
Extensive Farm- Farm system with low inputs and outputs per land area, usually practised over a large total area, e.g. hill sheep farming in Wales.
Green Revolution – Large increase in food production due to the introduction of new, high-yielding varieties of seeds.
High-tech Farming – Using modern machinery and computers to farm.
High-yielding Varieties (HYV) – Crops that have been specially developed to produce very high yields, e.g. IR8 rice.
Inbye- The flatter land close to the farm in the valley floor in hill sheep areas.
Inputs – Physical and human raw materials that go into a farming system.
Intensive Farm – Farm system with high inputs and outputs per land area, usually practised on a small area of land, e.g. market gardening in Kent, rice growing in Asia.
Irrigation – The artificial watering of land, using sprinklers, canals, sprays, etc.
Mixed Farm – Single farm where crops are grown and animals also reared.
Outputs - The end products of a farm system.
Pastoral – The rearing of animals.
Processes – Activities required to turn inputs into outputs.
Relief – The height and shape of the land.
Salinization – Increase in the salt content in soils due to overuse of irrigation water.
Self-sufficient – When people can produce all the foodstuffs they need.
Soil Erosion- Loss of topsoil through erosion by wind and water.
Soil – The thin layer of weathered material and organic matter on the land surface.
Staple Crop – Main food crop, e.g. rice in Bangladesh.
