In this article, You will read Von Thunen theory of Agricultural Location – Human Geography Notes for UPSC. From the exam perspective, this topic is very important for geography optional in UPSC. Show In Geography Optional for UPSC, You have to read the 3 Model of Locational Theories i.e.
Von Thunen conceived the idea of a land-use model in both urban and rural landscapes around a city on an isotropic landscape. His idea is basically how economic rent decreases from the center of a city to its periphery. His system of land use around a city with no trade alliance with any other country is ring-shaped. Near the city, he envisages rings of the forest, crop rotation, horticulture, and dairying. His theory stresses more on agricultural land use around a city rather than the land use within the city.
Von Thunen theory of Agricultural LocationThe agricultural location theory is a normative economic model that was first presented by Johann Heinrich von Thünen, a Prussian landowner, in 1826 in a book called Der Isolierate Stat (Isolated State). This theory is based on the concept of Economic Rent which is prevalent in farm market distance relationships. The agricultural location theory is one of the earliest attempts to explain the pattern of land use in economic terms which was proposed by Von Thunen. Von Thunen’s location theory on agriculture is based on the study of an agriculture field in Germany. In this model, Von Thunen explains the crop productivity and land use pattern changes when we go away from the market. The main aims of the Von Thunen Model of Agriculture were to explain why and how agricultural land use pattern varies when we go away from the market. It also explains the hierarchy of agricultural crops based on profit-making capacity. First, the following basic terminology needs to understand to a better understanding of the model.
Economic rent – Economic rent is defined as the net income accruing to an area of land above the net income of land at the economic margin of production. The economic rent of a crop increases if the location of agricultural land is near the market due to less transportation cost. Von Thunen’s concept of economic rent is also known as locational rent since the economic rent is estimated by the location of agricultural land. Basic Assumptions in the Von Thunen Model
He had two basic postulates –
Using these two principles and basic assumptions, the model tried to give the optimal land use pattern which will give farmers maximum profit or rent. Since a farmer is an economic person and hence they will farm those crops which will give more total profit or rent. He observed that particular activities were focused in certain zones around the center, ideally this would then lead to a system of concentric rings with every ring specializing in different agricultural activities based on transportation costs, weight, and Perishability. Von Thunen developed an agricultural location model with 2 prominent parts- Agricultural land use and economic rent. Economic RentFew geographers later termed it as locational rent as well. This is the basic principle of Thunen’s analysis, where he argued that different types of land use produce different net returns per unit area. The price a farmer obtains can be calculated easily- the price at the market minus the cost of transporting it to the market. Economic rent is the measure of the advantage of one piece of land over another. Since all farmers receive the same price at the market and production costs are also assumed to be the same, the only advantage one piece of land has over another is its location from the market. So, if it’s closer to the market its locational rent is higher and it reduces with the distance from the market i.e. LR= Y (m-c) – Ytd, Where LR= locational rent per unit of land, Von Thunen theory of agricultural location
Intensity TheoryDue to the rise in transportation cost, intensive cultivation is most suitable near the city centre. Therefore, the intensity of production of a particular crop declines with distance from the market. Crop theoryAccording to crop theory, there will be a variation in the land use with distance and the factors responsible for the variation in the land use pattern are market price of a particular crop, transportation cost, production cost and yield per unit of land. The crop theory of Von Thunen can be understood by taking the following two cases. Case- 1: When two crops P and Q have the same production cost and yield but having different transport costs and market prices. If P is costlier to transport and has a higher market price then crop P will be grown closer to the market than Q. Due to the higher transportation cost of crop P, the location rent of P decreases more rapidly. Case- 2: When two crops X and Y have the same production and transportation cost (per tonne/km) but different market price and yield per unit of land. If X has a higher yield and lower market price than Y, it will be grown closer to the market than Y. Concentric zonal rings of agricultural productionVon Thunen recognized following six concentric zonal rings of agricultural production. Zone-1: Market Gardening and milk productionZone-1 would be dedicated to cash cropping. Due to deficiency of food preservation facilities, primitive modes of transportation, and the highly perish nature of products, market gardening, and milk production were most suitable in this zone. Zone-2: Firewood and Lumbering productionThe second zone was marked by the production of firewood. Due to heavy bulkiness and primitive transportation modes, wood was comparatively costly to be shipped. It was also used as a fuel and building material. However, the outer limit of this zone was marked by wood which was highly in demand in the market. Zone-3: Grain crops with no fallow landUnlike zone-2, the zone-3 was marked by food grains. Rye was the most important market product of this zone, having no fallow land. The cropping intensity of this zone was highest as compared to zone-4 and zone-5. Most importantly, grains could be stored, easy to transport and last longer than milk products. Also, the agricultural land would be cheaper farther away from the market. Zone-4: Grain crops with 14% of fallow landThis zone was marked by 14% of fallow land, having less crop intensity as compared to zone-3. The farmers of this zone usually practised seven years crop rotation with one year each rotation of rye, barley and oats, three-year rotation of pastures and one year as fallow land. Zone-5: Three field systemLike zone-2, this zone was marked by extensive cultivation having 33% of land as fallow. The farmers of this zone practised three-field system, having 1/3rd of land as crop field, 1/3rd as pastures and rest left for fallow land. Zone-6: Livestock ranching (Grazing)The market products of this zone would be of two types namely, livestock and by-products of milk like cheese, butter, etc. which would not highly perishable. Also, the reduction in the volume of these by-products made them cost-effective in terms of transportation. Modifications in Von Thunen model of agricultural locationVon Thunen himself considered the potentially distorting effect of improved transportation routes as navigable waterways, roads, and railways on which transportation was speedier and costs only about one-tenth (along waterway) that of land transportation. As important cities generally have access to a navigable waterway, Thunen introduced a stream into his “Isolated State” resulting in the elongation of the production zone roughly along the stream. Zone-1 was least changed in shape; zone -2 extended in a narrow band for some distance in each direction from the city, but it was no longer an enclosed zone and instead of approaching close to the town it seems more likely that woodlands would have been situated at some distance up and down the stream. Since the transportation cost of wood was very high vis-a-vis its value; the river-side location was the most favoured location for this form of production. The provision of only “one market” was also subsequently removed by Von Thunen. The consideration of a minor market center with its own small tributary area apparently with the production of Zone-1 type opens up the possibility of numerous towns of roughly equal importance with intermingled production zones that modify each other. This leads towards the extreme complexity in the real world where the zonation around the individual cities is rudimentary or indistinguishable. The following are the modification introduced in the classical model of Von Thunen.
Critical AnalysisThe theory of agricultural location was presented by von Thunen in the early 19th century. Since then, several scholars including geographers have applied it in various parts of the world and have pointed out certain aspects that are not applicable in a way as pointed out by von Thunen. Many aspects of this model have changed due to development in the agricultural systems, transportation system, and also due to other technological developments. There are also certain regional geo-economic factors that not only direct but determine the pattern of agricultural land use. The main points raised by scholars regarding this theory are as follows:
But, the model, despite these possible manipulations, is really static, since, it represents a land-use system at one point in time, Von Thunen was not concerned with transitional changes, since, he and most of the direct extenders of his model assumed that any change in technology, demand, or transport cost would automatically be accompanied by an adjustment in the land-use system. The Von Thunian model was developed in the early 19th century, since then, conditions have entirely been changed. Therefore, it is not desirable to accept this model in its original form as observed by many scholars. But this model is still considered to be significant in many ways. Why was the Von Thunen model created?Von Thunen created his model before industrialization and in it, he laid the foundation for what we know as the field of human geography. He strove to identify trends of people's economic relationship with the landscape surrounding them.
Why is Von Thunen's model important?Von Thünen's model helps explain the relationship between the cost of land and the cost to transport the crop to market. Using all the data he collected, von Thünen began to write about the spatial structure of agriculture.
What is Von Thunen's model based upon?So, what exactly did von Thünen's model predict? Based on his own research on land use, von Thünen predicted that agricultural land use was defined by a relationship between the cost of the land and the cost of transporting agricultural products to market.
Who modified Von Thunen model?The modified form of von Thunen's model devised by Jonasson is given in Figure 8.7. He applied this model to the agricultural landscape patterns of Europe in 1925. He observed that in Europe and North America, zones of agricultural land use were arranged about the industrial centres.
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