ABSTRACT
Much has been written on the relationships between population growth and food supply, rather less on the influence of population growth and regional differences in density upon farm structure and land use. Yet differences in the amount of labour used in agricultural production are of paramount importance in determining spatial differences in the way farming is carried on. In this chapter a brief account of world differences in agricultural densities is given, followed by an outline of Ester Boserup’s theory that links changes in land use intensity to population increase. Some empirical relationships between population density and agricultural characteristics are then discussed.
