Agricultural Population Density
Agricultural population density refers to the number of rural inhabitants per unit of agriculturally productive land. It provides insight into the relationship between population distribution and agricultural resources. This measure is important for understanding the pressure on agricultural land and the potential impact on food production and rural livelihoods.
3 Key excerpts on "Agricultural Population Density"
eBook - ePubPopulation Geography
A Systematic Exposition
- Mohammad Izhar Hassan(Author)
- 2020(Publication Date)
- Routledge India(Publisher)
...In the case of Egypt, while the crude density is only 93, physiological density works out to be nearly 3,498 thousand persons per square kilometres of arable land according to PRB, 2017. This measure is very appropriate for a situation where agriculture is the mainstay of population. But it is also true that not all the people in a region or country are dependent on agriculture. Thus, physiological density also does not provide an accurate picture of population pressure on land. As a further refinement, agricultural density is worked out which refers to a ratio between the number of people earning their living or subsistence from working the land and the total amount of farmland. In the economically advanced countries, agricultural densities are very low as compared to the less advanced countries. As cultivable and cultivated areas of a region or country are generally not of uniform value, agricultural density does not provide an exact account of man-land relations. Vincent, a French geographer, in 1946, therefore, suggested an index, which he termed as comparative density (Clarke, 1972:30). In the calculation of comparative density, total population of a region is related to the aggregate of weighted land under cultivation according to its productivity. Thus, it is type of physiological density taking into account the varying levels of productivity of cultivated lands in any area. It is worthwhile to note here that the measures of density discussed earlier are of no practical value for areas which are more urbanised and industrialised. In the developed countries of the West vertical expansions of residential complexes invalidate the relationship between population and areas, and these measures, therefore, reveal nothing about the concentration of people within buildings...
eBook - ePubAn Introduction to Population Geographies
Lives Across Space
- Holly R. Barcus, Keith Halfacree(Authors)
- 2017(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...These include proximity to resources, historical distribution of lands and land tenure issues, transportation systems, distribution of amenities and individual preferences. They are inextricably entangled with the arenas of life course construction outlined in Section 2.3. In South America, for example, the population is not evenly distributed but clustered along the coastlines and a few interior cities, leaving large areas of low population density. Knowing the extensiveness of the Amazon rainforest and the difficulty of living in the Andes mountains, for example, gives immediate physical geographic clues to these spatial patterns, even if these factors alone are unable to explain the full picture. Figure 3.2 World population distribution 2015. Data Source: Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University; United Nations Food and Agriculture Programme (FAO); Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) 2005; SEDAC. Fortunately, Geographers’ methods to measure population density and distribution have evolved as rapidly as the populations being measured. Censuses (Box 3.2), population registers and surveys that count the number of people who reside in a particular area help production of density measures. Advanced technologies, such as satellite images and aerial photography, can further be employed for population estimation. For example, Rindfuss et al. (2002) utilized Geographic Information Systems and remote sensing to link data about changes in village practices and landscape change in Nang Rong, Thailand. Similarly, Fox (2002) utilized aerial photography and socioeconomic data to assess the multiple dimensions of land change, including the implications of land tenure policies, on land use practices in several villages in northeastern Cambodia...
eBook - ePub- Rob Roggema, Rob Roggema(Authors)
- 2016(Publication Date)
- Routledge(Publisher)
...Spatial food density maps and attribute data were generated. Agriculture land use per capita index Agricultural area by population numbers of a given time indicates an area’s available land resources for producing its own food: Land use land cover classification maps were used to get an estimation of the area for agricultural land use for the different time periods. Projected total agricultural land area for 2050 was based on projections and assumptions of the possible state of land use at time (t). Food frequency assessments and household consumption rankings In understanding household food security perspectives, household demographics and socio-economic characteristic were identified for the different household members through a household survey. A total of 600 households were visited for the general household survey and 300 households represented for in-depth interviews. Food frequency assessments using the household consumption security rankings method involved the collection of minimum amounts of food consumption data from the household members. Though this method is limited in its level of precision, we found it cost effective and it helped us to detect the consumption differences between the households. Results and discussion This study assessed the population dimensions of land use change and food security in the peri-urban area of Santa-Babadjou in the western highlands of Cameroon. Findings reveal that from 1973 to 2050 increased urbanization tendencies, population numbers and densities, changing land use land cover patterns, and competing land uses over agricultural land use are greatly altering the human environment and posing a challenge to the food security status of the Santa-Babadjou communities. Population change and land use The general trend in population change within the Santa and Babadjou sub-divisions reveals a general increase in population numbers and densities over time...
