intensive agriculture

Intensive agriculture is a type of agriculture focused on the mass production of agricultural products, with the aim of making them available for commercial use.

Intensive agriculture is one of the most popular types of agriculture on the planet. This type of agriculture uses methods and tools to obtain a mass production of agricultural products. For this reason, high value-added machinery and tools are used. Thus, it should be noted that, for this reason, this type of agriculture presents a high degree of technification and requires large investments of capital and energy. Therefore, its use is commercial, with the aim of obtaining an economic return.

It is similar to industrial agriculture. The goal is to take advantage of economies of scale.

Characteristics of intensive agriculture

Among the characteristics that define intensive agriculture, the following should be highlighted:

• He is one of the best known types on the planet.
• It is usually used in developed economies.
• It focuses on large-scale production.
• It is usually a production focused on certain products.
• It is done for commercial purposes.
• It presents a high technification.
• It requires large investments in capital and energy.
• It is more harmful to the environment than other types.
• Higher productivity of the land.

Advantages and disadvantages of intensive agriculture

Apart from this, this type of agriculture, in the same way that it has advantages, also has disadvantages.

Therefore, the advantages and disadvantages of this type of agriculture are shown below.

Among the advantages we could say:

• Higher productivity of the land.
• Higher economic performance.
• Ensures large-scale production.
• Generate higher quality employment.
• It presents a greater added value.
• More sectors benefit from it.

On the other hand, among the disadvantages we could include:

• More polluting with the ecosystem.
• Less inclusive, as it occurs more in developed economies.
• It requires a large investment in machinery.
• It presents a high expenditure of energy, through fuels.

Products in which intensive agriculture is usually used

Among the products in which this type of agriculture is usually used, it is worth highlighting:

• Vegetables.
• Flowers.
• Fruit.
• Rice.

Difference between intensive agriculture and extensive agriculture

Among the best known types of agriculture we find intensive agriculture and extensive agriculture.

These types, even presenting common aspects, present clear differences that we will clarify below.

On the one hand, intensive agriculture, as we said, focuses on the mass production of products, with the aim of having them for commercial use. It is characterized by the use of machinery, as well as large amounts of energy. It presents a high degree of technification, which is why it is usually used in developed economies.

While, on the other hand, extensive agriculture is a type of agriculture that does not try to modify anything with capital, but adapts to agricultural cycles. It uses less energy and fewer resources. It is not so harmful to the environment. At the same time, the producers are less dimensioned and present other alternative purposes.

Example of intensive agriculture

Among the best known examples of intensive agriculture are intensively grown greenhouses. These types of greenhouses have energy to obtain large-scale production, as well as extensive machinery to extract said production.

Thus, we also have other examples such as growing vegetables. A culture carried out, sometimes, without a greenhouse. But it is done in large fields, and very frequently.