Which geographer is associated with a theory that population growth drives agricultural intensification to offset diminishing yields in swidden farming?

Which geographer is associated with a theory that population growth drives agricultural intensification to offset diminishing yields in swidden farming?

• A. Boserup, Ester
• B. Malthus, Thomas
• C. Rostow, Walt
• D. Weber, Alfred

Answer: (A)

The main idea is that when populations grow, farmers respond by making farming methods more intensive to produce more food from the same land. In swidden farming (slash-and-burn), plots are cleared and farmed in cycles with long periods of fallow to restore fertility. As people multiply, those fallow periods shorten and farmers adopt more labor, better techniques, multiple crops, and sometimes manure or fertilizers to push yields higher. This idea—the link between rising population and agricultural intensification to offset diminishing yields—belongs to Ester Boserup. It emphasizes human innovation and adaptation in response to demographic pressure, rather than assuming nature will cap production. This contrasts with Malthus, who argued population growth would outpace food supply and lead to inevitable checks, while the other thinkers are associated with different theories (economic development stages, rationalization of production) and not this specific mechanism.

The main idea is that when populations grow, farmers respond by making farming methods more intensive to produce more food from the same land. In swidden farming (slash-and-burn), plots are cleared and farmed in cycles with long periods of fallow to restore fertility. As people multiply, those fallow periods shorten and farmers adopt more labor, better techniques, multiple crops, and sometimes manure or fertilizers to push yields higher. This idea—the link between rising population and agricultural intensification to offset diminishing yields—belongs to Ester Boserup. It emphasizes human innovation and adaptation in response to demographic pressure, rather than assuming nature will cap production. This contrasts with Malthus, who argued population growth would outpace food supply and lead to inevitable checks, while the other thinkers are associated with different theories (economic development stages, rationalization of production) and not this specific mechanism.