Plantation Agriculture

Plantation Agriculture Climate

Despite the fact plantations can be found in the USA, plantations are mostly located in tropical and subtropical regions. This is because the climate most suitable for plantations is hot and humid regions. These are mostly located around the equator.

The locations that plantations are grown in are not only humid environments but they are also often surrounded by large amounts of rich vegetation, such as rainforests.

Plantation Agriculture Crops

Various crops are grown on plantations. The list below names some examples of plantation crops.

• Cocoa
• Coffee
• Tea
• Sugarcane
• Tobacco
• Rubber
• Cotton
• Pineapple
• Bananas
• Palm Oil

Most of these crops are used on a daily basis by the average person. Ultimately, they are cash crops.

This means that the crops grown in plantations are grown for economic factors. These crops are sold and exported out of the countries where the plantation itself is located.

Fig 2. Palm Oil Plantation

Characteristics of Plantation Agriculture

There is a large range of characteristics associated with plantation agriculture. Let's take a look at some of these characteristics.

Commercial Aspects

Plantations are very much commercial in the sense that the products grown on plantations are cash crops. These crops are grown in mostly low and middle-income countries as exports to gain foreign investment, typically from countries in North America and Europe. High yields, therefore, generate high amounts of money, which is key for the commercial aspect of plantations.

Large-Scale Operation

Plantations occur on a huge scale and require large amounts of work in order to produce high-quality crops regularly to meet high demands. Such a commercial process means large yields of the crops are grown, requiring numerous employees. These employees are laborers, who work on the plantation working long hours, mostly harvesting the crop.

Monocultures

Plantations are essentially monocultures.

Monocultures are necessary aspects of plantations because it allows increased efficiency of planting, harvesting, and processing, as only one type of crop is grown across the entire plantation.

However, monocultures can create environmental issues as they can cause the spreading of diseases and pests since there is only one type of crop grown. This ultimately reduces soil quality and leads to a loss of biodiversity. This can have negative impacts on crop growth and therefore turnover of yield, leading to a loss in profit for plantation owners.

Innovation and Development

Plantations are aided by well-developed transportation and strong communication networks. This combined with the economic gain of plantations leads to the research and development of machinery that is used in plantations to enhance the processing and speed of crop growth and harvesting. Many plantations use this advanced machinery, which allows for fast turnover of crop and therefore a large economic gain.

Importance of Plantation Agriculture

Although plantation agriculture may seem like an excellent commercial farming technique, it is important to remember that there are negatives as well as positives to this intensive farming.

Positives of Plantation Agriculture

Plantation agriculture is deemed important due to a variety of factors. These include; job opportunities, income to governments, and modern development.

Job Opportunities

Plantation agriculture provides many job opportunities and income to locals. Plantations are most commonly located in developing countries; therefore, it may be hard for many citizens to find work and receive an income. This is due to challenges such as poor working conditions, low wages, wage gaps, and workplace discrimination. However, plantations provide employment opportunities for locals, including labour work such as growing, harvesting, and processing the crop. This ensures a steady income for the workers.

Income to Governments

Plantation agriculture also offers income to the government as it is a source of foreign trade. This is because external companies from foreign countries may use the land as plantations and export the crops, which provides income to the country via foreign revenue. This is vital for developing countries, helping them to become more connected due to globalization and economic gain.

Modern Development

Plantations increase modern development and industrial growth. Since plantations occur on a mass agricultural scale, the development of technology and machinery to increase processing times is needed. This encourages the growth of agro-based processing industries.

Plantations also encourage further agricultural development and research, such as growing strains of crops that are resistant to diseases and pests.

Issues of Plantation Agriculture

Despite these positive aspects of plantations, there are multiple issues associated with plantation agriculture.

Colonialism

The history of plantations is associated with colonialism. This is because plantations were set up by British colonialists during the Colonial Era (between the 15th and 19th centuries). Large areas of land deemed suitable for farming were turned into plantations, and the exploitation of slave labour occurred.

It is considered that plantations are still exploitative due to the fact companies utilize foreign countries and use cheap labour to rely on the production of various crops. This is neocolonialism, as developed countries take advantage of developing countries by owning the plantations.

Competition

Other issues surrounding plantations include competition against plantations. Due to the employment opportunities of plantations and the income generated from this employment, the living standards in countries that have plantations are increasing. This causes an increase in production costs, which leads to competition between plantations. Some plantations then may struggle to meet the higher incomes offered by other plantations or jobs as the living standards continue to be raised.

Additionally, monopolization is becoming an issue with plantations. This means that local farmers cannot compete with large foreign-owned corporations and are often put out of business.

Crop Failure

Crop failure can also often occur on agricultural plantations, especially since climate change is having a large impact on agriculture. If crops do not require harvesting due to crop failure, there becomes a lack of required employment, and this creates unstable earnings for workers on plantations.

Environmental Issue

Plantations are criticized for their lack of sustainability. This is due to the high amount of greenhouse gas emissions, their impact on biodiversity, soil erosion, and pollution. Plantation agriculture utilizes large machines during the growing, harvesting, processing, and transportation of crops. These processes produce greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide. These gases contribute to global warming and can also affect the local environment.