ABSTRACT
Intensive farming systems with high output levels are generally characterized by high use of agro-chemicals. Rice production in Japan, for example, is characterized by intensive and small-scale farming practice with high input use per hectare. The area planted in Japan in 1991 constituted only 1.4 per cent of global area grown to rice, while share of global rice production was some 2.5 per cent, almost twice the share of planted area. Rice agro-chemical use in Japan, however, was more than 40 per cent of the global total (County NatWest WoodMac, 1992). Similar phenomena are observed in the European Union. The area planted to cereals in Western Europe constitutes approximately 8 per cent of the global total, but share in global cereals production in 1991 was some 18 per cent while share in cereals agro-chemicals use was some 55 per cent. High levels of productivity and input use are largely due to the intensive farming practices employed in this part of the world; land is used rather intensively in the EU compared to other continents. This phenomenon is reflected by a high input of labour or capital, or both. This high intensity of farming in Europe is also reflected by usage patterns of plant protection products and mineral fertilizers. Farming systems in the EU show a diverse pattern, however, with intensive systems that contribute largely to agricultural production. Contrary to this, highly extensive systems contribute largely to the provision of landscape and the maintenance of biodiversity and nature. Dehesas in Spain, for example,
covers more than three million hectares and includes extensive arable cultivation and complementary silviculture (Brouwer and van Berkum, 1996).
