GLOBALISATION OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMINGGlobalization means the rising in the movement of investment, inputs, output, information, and science within vast geographic areas. The benefits from globalization increase net income in a lot of places and helps in decreasing levels of poverty and may therefore increase levels of food security.According to (Potgieter et al.2011) Globalisation is the process where people, organisation, companies and nations interact and intergrate.This is through international trade and the development of technology.
Globalisation has a number of impacts on the economic, social, and political structures of a nation. There are both advantages and disadvantages for each case.The major economic impact is that there is growth and development of the economy in a country through globalisation. Countries do not suffer economically because it create flow of money in countries.
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The major political impact it allows for the exchange of political ideas among nations. Governments are able to work towards a common goal. Globalisation increases competition which lead to coming up with new ideas through innovation and creativity. It also helps in the standardization of prices. Social globalisation is when different cultures meet, for developing countries this has led to a greater access of the foreign culture. It has created more awareness when it comes to human right. People know more about their rights.
Globalisation has led to peace and stability among countries. There are wars among nations(Potgier et al .2011).According to (Mary ,1999) Agriculture is the cultivation of land and breeding of animals and plants to provide food, fibre, medicinal plants and other products to sustain and enhance life.Agriculture can be classified into two categories: Commercial agriculture is primarily for purpose of selling products for money and monocultures for economic scale(Mary ,1999).
Subsistence agriculture is primarily for direct consumption by a local population, usually small and low technology, people grow only enough food to survive. The main agricultural products can be generally classified into foods, fibres, fuels and raw materials. Food includes vegetables, cereals, fruits, oils, meats etc.Fibers include wool, cotton ,hemp, silk for an example scientist created transgenic animals where a by a silk producing goat is produced .Silk spider and goat are crossed in order to produce a silk producing goat .The goat produces strands of silk and this silk is used for clothing.
Raw materials include Humber and bamboo. Plants, such as resins dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants produce other useful materials.There is also labour intensive agriculture and capital-intensive agriculture .
Labour intensive agr iculture is when larger amount of human work is applied per unit of outp. Capital-intensive agriculture is when large amount of capital equipment and buildings used to produce other goods is applied per unit of output. Farming is the activity or business of growing crops and raising livestock, farming is also part of agriculture .Growing crops can be either organic or conventional.
According (Martin, 2009) Organic farming is series of practises that seeks to balance nature on the farm .Organic farmers usually uses natural holistic approaches to farming that do not rely on fossil energy for fertilizing and protecting crops .Organic producers still use pesticides and herbicides but the difference is that the pesticides and herbicides are not synthetic or chemical based for an example plant materials, beneficial insects. Organic farming manages nutrients in the soil by doing crop rotation that refers to when one crop is grown in one season and then next year some of the crop is grown instead of the previous crop. The use of green manure when crops for an example grasses or legumes ploughed under .Using compost decayed animals and vegetables .Organic farming allow animals to go outdoor and give them a balance diet to help prevent disease.
Conventional farming also known as industrial agriculture it is the farming system, which include the use of synthetic chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and genetically modified organism. In conventional farming for soil fertility, artificial fertilizers are used primary produced from ammonia, which is created via natural gas .Give antibiotics, growth hormones and medications to animals to prevent diseases and accelerate growth.Globalisation of agriculture and farming meaning that production is now an international process for an example South African agricultural products are not only produced for the South African market but are also exported as raw ,semi processed or ready processed goods to foreign countries ,Globalisation plays an important role on agriculture sector and farming but it have negative impacts as well. The positive impact is that through agricultural sector employment is created which reduces the high levels of poverty.
For an example in South Africa lot of people, have jobs in agriculture. The agricultural sector also plays an important role in exporting goods, which create an international trade for example there are goods that are produced in South Africa and exported to other countries around the world like fruits, nuts, apples, corn, wool and sugar. This how globalisation benefit the agriculture and farming in South Africa but large –scale commercial farmers are the ones who benefits a lot than the small-scale commercial farmers.Globalisation also have a negative impact on agriculture and farming for example the agricultural sector is facing more challenges because of the competition that has increased between South Africans and foreign producers .
South Africa farmers have to now compete with cheap imports from other countries and also face strong competition in exporting products to other countries .As the result South African farmers are trying to decrease production costs by reducing labour costs (which is the number of people being employed.Some workers have lost jobs and for those who are still employed ,are employed as seasonal worker for an example a company of Illovo in KwaZulu Natal at Pongola produces sugar from sugar cane ,workers who are working for this company do not go to work every day but there is specific time on which they are required to work. Retrenched farm workers find it hard to get new jobs; new jobs or available jobs require people with high skill levels. Small-scale commercial farmer’s struggles a lot to compete with cheap imports from foreign countries, especially for black market, find it difficult to make their business successful and to establish themselves.
The people who benefit more from globalisation are large-scale commercial farmers or producers, which are able to decrease prices in order for them to compete on the international market whereas small-scale farmers lose out.(Reddy ,2007) Farmers lack access to overseas markets, where they can sell their products at higher prices and purchase cheaper inputs and better technology. They also lack sufficient access to local markets and face unfair competition from subsidized imports.
Inputs and outputs are controlled by multinational companies. Controlling both the inputs and the marketing of commodities jeopardizes farmers? existence. Trade regulations, adjusting to the rules that govern international trade, food safety standards have affected the small farmers very much.Globalisation does not benefit everyone ,certain people do benefit from globalisation but some people find it hard for them to
