Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Like Malbec for Porsches

Like Malbec for Porsches The Argentine government has introduced various business regulations that foreign companies which seek to do business in Argentina need to comply with. This has had a negative impact on business activities in the country.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Like Malbec for Porsches specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Argentine president, Christina Fernandez de Kirchner has introduced policies which have affected the country’s economy negatively. Car importers in the country from Germany and Japan have been made to agree to new conditions for them to continue operating in the country. These conditions are making it difficult for them to do business in Argentina. The importer of Porsche in the country has been asked to export olives and Malbec wine to be allowed to operate in the country. Other car importers have also had to comply with similar conditions. These conditions are not good for the car sellers because the c osts of doing business have increased. They have been made to focus on activities which they have little expertise in; to fulfil stringent business polices put in place by President De Kirchner’s government. These actions have dented the image of De Kirchner’s government in the eyes of foreign investors. The volume of car imports into Argentina has decreased from an estimated 580,000 vehicles in 2011 to 420, 000 vehicles in 2012. The insistence by the government that car importers need to export the country’s agricultural products equivalent to the value of cars imported has caused a lot of distress. The country’s economic policies fail to take note of the economic situation in the global economy. Argentina has experienced high rates of inflation which have made its products very expensive. The conditions given to the car importers are not going to change this economic situation. The country’s main currency, the peso, is facing serious challenges. The country receives more imports than exports because locally produced goods are very expensive. The value of the peso against the US dollar has strengthened; because importers are restricted on the amounts of dollars they can hold.Advertising Looking for essay on government? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This has made it difficult for crucial sectors in the economy to import raw materials from abroad. The government’s currency laws have severely affected the importation of crucial capital goods necessary for key economic sectors to perform. The macro economic situation in the country is bleak because the policies introduced by the government are unfavourable for local and foreign investors. Argentina is losing the confidence of foreign investors, some of whom have closed their business operations in the country. The country’s industrial output is declining which has affected economic growth in the f irst three quarters of 2012. This economic outlook has resulted from the De Kirchner’s policies which restrict the amounts of dollars Argentines can possess. Local industries which rely on imported raw materials cannot access sufficient quantities of dollars for their operations and this is affecting their output. Argentina is likely to slide into more problems similar to the economic decline that engulfed it in 2001 when it was unable to service its debt. The country’s stringent import controls have affected the performance of its key industrial sectors. The import restrictions will make other countries that trade with the country to impose their own restrictions against Argentine produced goods. This will limit the effectiveness of the currency and import regulation policies which have been put in place by the government.

Sunday, March 1, 2020

An Overview of Agricultural Geography

An Overview of Agricultural Geography Around ten to twelve thousand years ago, humans began to domesticate plants and animals for food. Before this first agricultural revolution, people relied on hunting and gathering to obtain food supplies. While there are still groups of hunters and gatherers in the world, most societies have switched to agriculture. The beginnings of agriculture did not just occur in one place but appeared almost simultaneously around the world, possibly through trial and error with different plants and animals or by long-term experimentation. Between the first agricultural revolution thousands of years ago and the 17th century, agriculture remained pretty much the same. The Second Agricultural Revolution In the seventeenth century, a second agricultural revolution took place which increased the efficiency of production as well as distribution, which allowed more people to move to the cities as the industrial revolution got underway. The eighteenth centurys European colonies became sources of raw agricultural and mineral products for the industrializing nations. Now, many of the countries which were once colonies of Europe, especially those in Central America, are still heavily involved in the same types of agricultural production as they were hundreds of years ago. Farming in the twentieth century has become highly technological in more developed nations with geographical technologies like GIS, GPS, and remote sensing while less developed nations continue with practices which are similar to those developed after the first agricultural revolution, thousands of years ago. Types of Agriculture About 45% of the worlds population makes their living through agriculture. The proportion of the population involved in agriculture ranges from about 2% in the United States to about 80% in some parts of Asia and Africa. There are two types of agriculture, subsistence, and commercial. There are millions of subsistence farmers in the world, those who produce only enough crops to feed their families. Many subsistence farmers use the slash and burn or swidden agricultural method. Swidden is a technique used by about 150 to 200 million people ​and is especially prevalent in Africa, Latin America, and Southeast Asia. A portion of land is cleared and burned to provide at least one and up to three years of good crops for that portion of land. Once the land can no longer be utilized, a new patch of ground is slashed and burnt for another round of crops. Swidden is not a neat or well-organized method of agricultural production by it is effective for farmers who dont know much about irrigation, soil, and fertilization. The second type of agriculture is commercial agriculture, where the primary purpose is to sell ones product at market. This takes place throughout the world and includes major fruit plantations in Central America as well as huge agribusiness wheat farms in the Midwestern United States. Geographers commonly identify two major belts of crops in the U.S. The wheat belt is identified as crossing the Dakotas, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. Corn, which is primarily grown to feed livestock, reaches from southern Minnesota, across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. J.H. Von Thunen developed a model in 1826 (which wasnt translated into English until 1966) for the agricultural use of land. It has been utilized by geographers since that time. His theory stated that the more perishable and heavier products would be grown closer to urban areas. By looking at the crops grown within metropolitan areas in the U.S., we can see that his theory still holds true. It is very common for perishable vegetables and fruits to be grown within metropolitan areas while less-perishable grain is predominantly produced in non-metropolitan counties. Agriculture uses about a third of the land on the planet and occupies the lives of about two and a half billion people. Its important to understand where our food comes from.