intensive and extensive agriculture

• the intensity of agriculture is a measure of the amount of artificial inputs and the extra yield that is produced
• in extensive agriculture, the aim is to maximise the total yield by spreading the available inputs over a large area of available land
• • intensive agriculture is practised where large inputs are available but there may be a shortage of land
  • yields per unit area may be very high but the extra yield per unit of input may not be
  • although intensive agriculture may be very productive, it is not necessarily very efficient
• productivity

  • a measure of the yield of a system, often expressed as the yield per unit area, time or input.
• efficiency

  • a measure of the amount of product compared with the inputs usually expressed as a percentage
  • yield per unit input