The Rural Economy: Farming Models

In Economics, the urban economy has higher importance than the rural economy beause of the amassing of wealth fromt he Capitalist system.

In Supereconomics, both urban and rural economies have importance. This is because the basis for the economy is the grain value.

While Economics favors the trading class, Supereconomics favors the working class, specifically the farmers who provide food for society.

Supereconomics also gives importance to the wildlife and natural environment that are essential to support the weather and climate systems for sustainable agriculture.

The rural economy can be divided into two:

1. Agriculture and Extractive
2. Forestry and Wildlife

Agriculture: Farming Models

Agriculture has several models of organization and operation.

Rural Agriculture

1. Plantation Model

This involves large-scale farming on private or state-owned land, usually producing cash crops such as tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, or oilseeds.

This uses monoculture farming, where only one type of crop is grown over a large area.

The land is usually owned by large corporations or wealthy individuals who either employ workers directly or contract labor for the production. The crops are often sold to large companies or export markets.

Because of its large size, it often involves Capitalist foreign direct investment (FDI) in countries with favorable climatic conditions for specific crops. The investor often provides worker housing, infrastructure, and healthcare.

Its drawbacks are:

• its dependence on the market price for cash crops.
• environmental concerns such as monoculture farming and deforestation

Examples are:

• tea plantations in India
• coffee plantations in Brazil
• banana plantations in Honduras
• pineapple plantations in the Philippines
• rubber plantations in Malaysia
• palm oil plantations in Indonesia

2. Corporate Farming / Agribusiness Model

Corporate farming involves large, corporate-owned farms that may operate on a national or international scale. These corporations may employ advanced technology, economies of scale, and vertical integration (owning the supply chain from production to processing and retail).

This model typically involves large-scale monoculture farming, with the corporation responsible for production, processing, packaging, and distribution. The focus is often on efficiency, high yields, and profit maximization.

• Use of advanced machinery and technology.
• Focus on large-scale, efficient production.
• Vertical integration and control over supply chains.
• Risk of environmental degradation due to monoculture practices and high chemical use.
• Examples: Large agribusinesses like Cargill, Monsanto, and Archer Daniels Midland (ADM), which engage in everything from crop production to food processing.

3. Contract Farming

Contract farmers grow crops or raise livestock according to an agreement with a buyer (often a company or processor) who provides inputs like seeds, fertilizers, or technical expertise.

In return, the buyer agrees to purchase the produce at a set price, often being responsible for collection, processing, and distribution.

This model helps ensure the buyer has a steady supply of agricultural products, while farmers are assured a market and sometimes financial support.

This reduces the market risk for farmers but might reduce autonomy and profit margins.

Examples are contract farming for crops like tomatoes, corn, and cotton, and livestock such as poultry and dairy.

4. Cooperative Farming

This involves farmers coming together to form a cooperative society to pool resources for joint farming efforts.

The goal is to increase bargaining power, reduce costs, and improve efficiency.

The cooperative can handle tasks such as bulk purchasing of inputs (seeds, fertilizers, machinery), joint processing and storage of products, and marketing of farm produce. The profits are usually distributed based on individual contributions.

This is the most difficult model to set up because there has to be fellow-feeling among the memebers. This is opposed to the profit motive in the previous models.

Examples are dairy cooperatives like Amul in India, agricultural cooperatives in Europe.

5. Integrated Farming

This combines crop production with livestock farming, agroforestry, and aquaculture in a way that creates synergies and maximizes land and resource use.

This is commonly the tradtional model used by small holder farmers and is the most sustainable.

Examples are Crop-livestock integration, fish farming combined with vegetable or rice cultivation, mixed farming.

Urban Agriculture

During the pandemic, urban agriculture gained popularity because of lockdowns and the price inflation of food.

1. Community-Supported Agriculture

This is where consumers (often urban dwellers) buy shares in a local farm’s harvest before the growing season. In exchange, they receive a weekly supply of fresh produce directly from the farm.

Community farmers typically grow a variety of crops and distribute them to shareholders on a regular basis (e.g., weekly or monthly) throughout the growing season.

The consumers share the risks and rewards of farming (if there’s a good harvest, they get more produce; if there’s a poor harvest, they get less).

These often focuses on organic or sustainable farming practices.

Examples are local CSA farms in the United States, Europe, and parts of Asia.

2. Urban Agriculture / Vertical Farming

Urban agriculture involves growing crops within city environments, often using innovative farming techniques such as vertical farming or hydroponics.

Urban farms may be small and located on rooftops, vacant lots, or inside buildings.

Vertical farming uses stacked layers or hydroponic systems to grow crops indoors, utilizing artificial light and climate control.

The benefits includes:

• the reduction of carbon footprint associated with transportation
• the use of sustainable practices and technology (e.g., water-saving techniques)
• direct supply of fresh produce to urban communities

Examples are:

• rooftop farms in New York
• hydroponic and vertical farms in Singapore