Comparison Between Comercial Arable Farming in Canada and Guyana Essay

Commercial arable farming is a system of farming carried out on a very large scale, it is the extensive cultivation of usually one crop for sale in order for large profits (Monoculture). Some examples of crops that are associated with commercial arable farming are tobacco in Cuba, sugarcane in Barbados and Cotton in India. Guyana, a Caribbean territory located between Venezuela and Suriname in South America practices arable farming on a large scale. Their crop/product for export is lumber, simply because forests are the most abundant resource in Guyana. They cover about 80% of the country. These forests range from dry evergreen and seasonal forests to evergreen rainforests. These trees (which the lumber comes from) grow in the forests areas which are located mainly to the northwest of the territory where Guyana receives majority of its rainfall due to the ITCZ and other weather conditions. Some species of lumber produced by Guyana are; * Greenheart- used for the construction of houses, jetties, bridges etc. * Purpleheart- floors and ceilings * Wallaba- charcoal, firewood and electricity poles * Mora- houses * Crabwood- furniture * Balata- used in handicraft and golf balls. Commercial Arable farming in Guyana is very important. It comes with a lot of benefits for both the country and the people. Some benefits and importance of Guyana’s forest industry include; * Employment: Since the forest industry is progressing on such a large scale it creates a high demand for employment. Persons get jobs in that sector very easily with a descent pay. * Foreign exchange and contribution to the GDP: With a successful forest industry Guyana will get a steady flow of income contributing to the country’s GDP. Exports of lumber to other countries are plentiful bringing more revenue. Reduces soil erosion and landslides: with so many trees planted, Guyana will have less soil erosion due to heavy rainfall. The tree roots will hold the soil together. * Ecosystems: the forest areas of Guyana are home to many rear species of plants. These need be protected and cherished for years to come. * Medicines research and scientific study: scientists and herbalist are able to scrutinize plants to develop new medication and conduct indebt scientific study. * Improves water supply: Trees have been shown to influence the flow of water. Trees reduce topsoil erosion by catching precipitation with their leaf canopies. This lessens the force of storms and slows down water runoff which in turn ensures that our groundwater supplies are continually being replenished. * Linkage Industry: Other industries and businesses may rely on the forestry industry in order for their progression. In every industry there are challenges that are faced. Examples of challenges faced by the forestry industry in Guyana are: * Technology- lumbering companies are not technologically advanced so they use old technology. In order to address this more advanced tools and equipments should be introduced to improve efficiency. Manpower- the industry has a shortage of skilled workers with great knowledge on the tasks and forestry. To improve this training can be done to improve and expand employee’s knowledge. * Sustainability- steps should be taken to preserve and conserve the forest resources. Unfortunately Guyana lacks the data needed for proper forest management. * Over exploitation-An increasing global demand, logging is taking place more frequent than trees can grow. Good management strategies and farming techniques are essential to ensure that the industry progresses. Diseases-Good forest management, regular spraying is needed to minimize diseases. The Guyanese governments are unable to fund and undertake such measures. Canada  is a North American country consisting of 10 provinces and 3 territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic to the Pacific and northward into the Arctic Ocean. It also practices arable farming. Canada’s main crop for export is Wheat. In the early 1900’s the Prairie Provinces of Canada became a major wheat producing area and later one of the largest wheat exporters in the world. The Prairie Provinces are located between British Columbia and Ontario. Extending from the USA border into the territories of Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatwan. This is because Canada has the right conditions for growing this crop. Some of these conditions are flat undulating land and the climate which is 500mm of rainfall annually which is sufficient for the ripening of the grain. Canada exports wheat to places such as USA, Europe, South America and the Caribbean. The Importance of the Wheat Industry in Canada; * The country receives a great Income and revenue because of the large amount of wheat exported. Jobs are created in this sector working in planting, harvesting, processing and shipping of the wheat. Some challenges faces in the wheat industry include: 1. Pesticides 2. Herbicides these all harm the development of the wheat plant 3. Fungicides 4. fertilizers 5. Bad weather- hail storms, frost during long winters affect the wheat 6. Fluctuation in world prices- some years in the past there is over production and excess wheat causes prices to fall. The opposite happens when there is a shortage in wheat. 7. Technology- New equipments to enhance work power. To address these challenges plants need to be sprayed to keep away bugs and pests. Weather should be monitored carefully daily. New machinery should be used in convenience and sufficiently. As shown in the above data, Canada and Guyana are completely different when talking about arable farming. They have different products but the same concept. Meaning that they sell the raw material and it is processed somewhere else to make something different (Linkage Industry). Arable farming clearly brings in a large part in there economy and has a big part of the GDP. They share similar challenges like technology.