Agricultural land use

Agriculture activities usually take place mainly in the rural areas. agriculture land use is the maximising of the use of arable land. The farmers need to do so in order to increase their crop produce for both subsistence and commercial purposes. Agriculture land use is similar to that of urban land use which can be found in Singapore or other large cities.

Terracing

The method of farming on steps cut on hillside is called terracing. This method increases the area of arable land. This method thus maximises the existing land use.In agriculture, a terrace is a leveled section of a hill cultivated area, designed as a method of soil conservation to slow or prevent the rapid surface runoff of irrigation water. Often such land is formed into multiple terraces, giving a stepped appearance. The human landscapes of rice cultivation in terraces that follow the natural contours of the escarpments like contour plowing is a classic feature of the island of Bali and the Banaue Rice Terraces in Benguet, Philippines. In Peru, the Inca made use of otherwise unusable slopes by drystone walling to create terraces. This form of land use is prevalent in many countries, and is used for crops requiring a lot of water, such as rice. Terraces are also easier for both mechanical and manual sowing and harvesting than a steep slope would be. Terracing slows down the speed of water and therefore allow more run-off to be sucked up by the soil.

Soil-less farming (method of hydroponics)

Hydroponic farms do not need soil to grow vegetables and other crops. By using this farming method, less land is needed moreover, the supply of food is not affected. This way, we can thus maximise the existing land use.Hydroponics is a method of growing plants using mineral nutrient solutions, in water, without soil. Terrestrial plants may be grown with their roots in the mineral nutrient solution only or in an inert medium, such as perlite, gravel, or mineral wool.
Researchers discovered in the 19th century that plants absorb essential mineral nutrients as inorganic ions in water. In natural conditions, soil acts as a mineral nutrient reservoir but the soil itself is not essential to plant growth. When the mineral nutrients in the soil dissolve in water, plant roots are able to absorb them. When the required mineral nutrients are introduced into a plant's water supply artificially, soil is no longer required for the plant to thrive. Almost any terrestrial plant will grow with hydroponics. Hydroponics is also a standard technique in biology research and teaching.

Irrigation

It helps to maximise existing land use. This particular method involves supplying water to areas that were formerly not suitable for cultivation, such as deserts or areas with seasonal or unreliable rainfall. Irrigation can also increase yields in existing farmlands by lengthening the growing seasons. Traditional methods include diverting water to the fields by simple canals. Its widely used in China and in South-East asian and African countries. Water comes from wells, rivers, lakes or tanks that store rainwater. Nowadays, perennial canals are built. These canals provide irrigation all year round. They are usually built in conjuction with large ddamn projects such as the Aswan High Dam Project which was built across the Nile River in Egypt. Sprinklers driven by electric pumps are also wideely used on modern farms to increase the efficiency of irrigation.