INTRODUCTION Currently in Spain must distinguish between rural geography (studying the countryside, where farming is a greater role in the process of multifuncionalización now defines rural) and Agricultural Geography (study of the activities performed in the field: agriculture, livestock and forest resources). Until the sixties of the twentieth century, both agreed, but the great changes then (crisis of traditional agriculture in Spain) and joining the EU in 1986 have been updated so rural areas that no longer match.
I. - ACTIVITY FACTORS AGRICULTURAL
1 .- PHYSICAL FACTORS
In traditional farming these factors conditioning in high farming, modern agriculture but its importance is much lower, as technology can meet some of these constraints.
| WEATHER | RELIEVE | SOIL | VEGETATION |
| is the most important factor, determining the main types of agricultural landscapes. Except for the ocean landscape, humid, arid conditions typical of Mediterranean climate is a key determinant, along with the thermal contrast in the interior, the annual rainfall and interannual irregularity and extreme weather: hail, frost, etc. | farming conditions all the slope: over 60% of cultivated land have 11% + slope, favoring increased erosion, making the tasks and specifying the performance of Abanco, height influences through climate (temperature gradient and foehn effect. | soils are poor in general (shallow and lack of organic matter). Distinguishing between the silicon substrate (the most evil, by its acidity, to grow, although good for grazing), the limestone (middle and base) and clay (the best) | Sometimes it has been completely removed to allow agricultural work, other times it has removed the tree layer and has been retained for use livestock herbaceous or sometimes remained for logging or, finally, we have chosen integrated development, soil, grass and trees, as is the case of rangelands. |
2 .- HUMAN FACTORS
| HISTORICAL FACTOR | LAND FORCE | TECHNICAL FACTORS: MECHANICS, RESEARCH, NEW TECHNOLOGY. |
| Until the twentieth century agriculture was characterized by the high percentage of working population (70%), poor performance, the dominance of rainfed irrigation, ownership structure so extreme (large estates and a large number of smallholdings), poor technology and low investment. · From 1900 to 1936 (Civil War): signs of change: low active population (45%) increase agricultural land and agrarian reform rendimientos.la the Second Republic would not be effective for the rejection of landowning elite and collusion with the Civil Guard to avoid compliance. · From 1939 to 1959: autarky: weight gain agricultural land consolidation home (1952). · De 1959 a 1986: grandes cambios por el Plan de Estabilización: modernización agraria, aumento de la mecanización y éxodo rural, caída de la población activa (20%), aumento del regadío y de la productividad, sustitución de cultivos tradicionales por otros más productivos. · De 1986 hasta hoy: la actividad agraria se ha ido adaptando a los objetivos y métodos de la PAC y de una economía globalizada, aumentando la productividad y la competitividad. | the active agrarian population, very important in traditional agriculture, began to decrease progressively from the early twentieth century, to suffer a big drop in the sixties, up to 5-6% today. One consequence of this process has been the recent emergence of part-time farming. The population distribution is very uneven. While has witnessed a progressive aging of the agricultural workforce, except in areas dominated by social and olive crops the Jaén and Córdoba, which is a hindrance to the demands of modernity and current competitiveness in context of a globalized economy. | The incorporation of agriculture to a market economy has meant that these factors have a major impact today. All technical factors and forward looking to increase production and reduce labor costs through mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides and applied research. Mechanization is on the basis of the agrarian revolution (specialized tools for planting, tilling, fertilize, etc.).. fertilizers and plant protection products have been increasing their presence and importance on par with agricultural development. The National Institute for Agricultural Research concentrates research efforts focused on seed selection, genetic changes or improvements of races, or food safety, or improved technology in agriculture and forestry or products for sale. It also addresses the controversial genetically modified products. |
3 .- AGRARIAN STRUCTURE: It is important to distinguish first the concepts of ownership (legal term) and exploitation (economic term)
| EXPLOITATION | PROPERTY | TENURE |
| The parcel is the smallest unit is operating and the extent of lands under the same boundary. The whole plot of the same employer is exploitation regardless of tenure (directly or indirectly). Due to the modernization process experienced in our agrarian structure have reduced holdings and increased their average size. However, the same dualism that exists on the property: farms of less than 5 ha account for 60% of the total, bringing the 5% of the surface, while the holdings that exceed 200 ha occupy 51% of the cultivated area. | The property is a legal group that refers to the landowner. In Spain, in line with recent changes, has also increased the average size of the property, reducing the number of small landowners, despite the resistance of the part-time farming. However, the land in Spain is characterized by the dominance of the extreme values \u200b\u200band a shortage of properties medium size. Landlordism dominates the southeastern half and smallholdings in the middle does Northwest. The implementation of large estates in Spain starts from the XII century medieval repopulation and the seizure suffered in the nineteenth century and has been the basis of the agrarian problem in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries, it has always been associated with the absence of the owner, low investment, laborer excessive labor and low productivity. Most large companies today are land owners (Great Capitalist Property) of high productivity. The smallholding has the problem of lack of competitiveness and profitability current market economy. Have now been proposed some solutions to small farms and cooperatives, land consolidation, efforts insufficient. | Tenure is the degree of control over exploitation. We will direct holdings when the same owner and entrepreneur and indirect if not match. The indirect ownership can be divided, in turn, rented if the plot is transferred in exchange for money, or partnership if it gives in return for a percentage of production. Another tenure has gained importance in recent years is the co-op. |
4 .- POLITICAL
| TO THE CAP (Common Agricultural Policy) | AFTER PAC |
| The confiscation of the nineteenth century marked the passing of property repaid to the individual capitalist and the increasing degree of ownership concentration which enabled a boom in commercial exploitation. This problem of concentration of ownership as the Second Republic tried to solve the agrarian reform law, but could not apply more partially and for a short period of time. Autarky Franco left the land reform and social reform focused on productive land consolidation and increased productivity with mechanized farms, increased irrigation, new settlements, construction of reservoirs and economic protectionism. | Since Spain joined the EU CAP policy that governs our land. The objectives of the CAP are to increase productivity, ensure the agricultural population an adequate level of life, stabilize the markets for food and agricultural products, ensure supply by reducing external dependence, and ensure the development of consumer prices reasonable. To finance the CAP the EU has the EAGGF (European Agricultural Guidance and Guarantee Fund), which consists of two parts: one section Guidance for promoting modernization and improvement of agricultural structures and Section Warranty, to protect the market agriculture and ensure stable prices for farmers. Trade with the EU was liberalized and Spain adopted the principle of Community preference and common external tariff for products from third countries, having to make a major effort to modernize and increase productivity, quality and competitiveness. The CAP has had a positive impact on English and European primary sector but is a huge financial effort by the budget, absorbing and creating an internal market more expensive than outside. The CAP reforms seek to improve sustainable development, cutting spending and prices approach the European market with the world, l resulting from the reduction of quotas and the diversification of agricultural uses. The sectors most affected were the dairy cow in the Atlantic and Cantabrian Spain, the grain interior and the coastal horticultural more favored. |
II .- USES AND USE OF AGRICULTURAL LAND
1 .- AGRICULTURE
| | PRODUCTS LOCATION | FEATURES | PAC |
| Mediterranean Trilogy: cereal, grapes and olives. | Spain is located in the dry or semi-dry, based on field crops to adapt to harsh environmental conditions. They are located in most of Spain, except Atlantic Spain, Canary Islands, high mountains and coastal plains. | are decreasing grain for human consumption (wheat, rice), increasing use as livestock feed (barley, oats, corn). Have been traditionally associated with sheep industry, pig or goat, fallow and restrojos advantage. The maize import requirements are some of the deficit responsible for the current state of the agricultural trade balance. The olive tree is a tree crop highly resistant to summer drought. It is supported by the EU currently has enough problems for the community surplus fats and oils by masting (a good year and bad) practices, low productivity linked to lack of mechanization and competition from other producers such as Italy or Greece. The vine is a plant well adapted upland shrub-like two to drought, has undergone many vicissitudes since the phylloxera (end of XIX) to today, where quality products prevail. | For cereals the latest CAP reforms reduce their prices and try to increase yields, which hurts the English production, less competitive than the smaller European holdings. CAP feed grain premium on human consumption. For the olive the trend is encouraging the production of quality (virgin oils) and reduce overall production with the imposition of quotas which seriously affect the English countryside. For EU to the vine has enough surplus wine, so it has been subsidizing the start of strains, aiming at present the conversion to higher quality varieties, subsidizing the drop to the lowest quality. |
| Legumes | Spain is located in the dry or semidry, coinciding with the grain is rotated with | are one of the products Mediterranean diet. However, its consumption has been reduced because it is an inferior product (intake decreased with increasing economic development that meets the difficulties of mechanization and low yields) | EU subsidies are much higher than that of cereals, which has contributed to a recent recovery in production. |
| horticultural products | producing areas are located in the peninsular irrigation | Being considered remarkable products have experienced a large increase in consumption and production. The traditional export of citrus character have joined horticultural products and flowers. Are the competitive agricultural products, reduce trade deficit and is the field where more are using new technologies. | Due to the high competitiveness of the CAP subsidies refer to the technological aspects, however, have to withstand competition from North African countries with which the EU has signed bilateral agreements that lower tariffs on these products. |
| industrial and forage crops | Spain irrigated wet | industrial crops are those that target the industrial processing (sunflower, sugar beet, lavender, cotton, hops, snuff ...) Now some of them are made with large-cap, often are those industries that provide the seeds, farmers instruct, supervise the production and set prices. Forage crops intended for animal feed (alfalfa, corn, vetch ...) by or that their production and consumption steadily increasing. | The sunflower after a period of CAP subsidies enjoyed a significant development, today it has reduced its production by the disappearance of aid. Beet cotton and snuff are subject to production quotas, causing conflicts with producers. |
LIVESTOCK 2 .-
The traditional farming was based on the coexistence of diverse species composed of indigenous breeds on small farms that used backward techniques and extensive systems that consume much space, labor intensive and provided little return.
The existing farming have undergone significant transformations and that is specialized in production of beef and milk as they are introducing more cost effective than other breeds of native and are increasing the size and mechanization of farms. Thus, intensive livestock weight gains compared to the extensive, explaining that the center of livestock, traditionally located in the north, is moving toward the northeast and the Mediterranean coast, especially in the case of the pig and poultry. Loa
major problems posed by livestock are the shortage of natural food for livestock (for the poverty of rainfall) to make it necessary to resort to import the result of agricultural trade balance deficit. The inadequate size of farms (small) and Community surpluses of certain products (cow's milk, the imposition of milk quotas by the CAP) are another problem for English livestock.
However, livestock production has significantly increased its agricultural final participation has viewing areas (northern Spain) where livestock production is more important than agriculture.
| PRODUCTS | LOCATION | FEATURES | PAC |
| cattle | in extensive is located in the mountains and meadows, Intensively in Atlantic Spain and stabled in the farms near large cities. | extensive production is devoted to meat, while the extensive and stables to the milk. Despite being two notable products have increased very significantly and consumption in recent decades is the sector that is most problematic since the entry of Spain into the EU, the competition of cheaper milk from other EU countries and competition from other cheaper meats. | Because excess bovine meat and milk production quotas of the CAP have deeply damaged the sector. |
| Sheep | drylands is located in the peninsular, the density decreasing towards the east and south. | is operated in three regimes, livestock transhumance, which is almost on the verge of disappearing, the extensive associated with agriculture (fallow and stubble) and livestock stables for fattening lambs that get better results. | The EU is encouraging extensive farms as another way to curb rural depopulation. Thanks to these subsidies and production has increased efforts are being made of mechanization and modernization. |
| Pig farming | is located near large cities for the feedlot system, and in western Spain to the extensive system. | The scheme is based on extensive high-quality breeds (Salamanca, Extremadura and Huelva) and its main problem is the ASF. In intensive regimen stresses involvement of multinational corporations that provide the feed and the pigs and the farmers who provide the work and is stable (System Integration). | intensive farms to the big problem is the swing in prices due to surpluses and imports from EU countries. |
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