Breadbasket

Thebreadbasketof a country or of a region is an area which, because of the richness of thesoiland/or advantageous climate, produces large quantities of wheat or other grain.Rice bowlis a similar term used to refer to Southeast Asia;California'sSalinas Valleyis sometimes referred to as America'ssalad bowl.Such regions may be the subject of fierce political disputes, which may even escalate into full military conflicts.
Breadbaskets have become important within the globalfood systemby concentrating global food-production in a small number of countries and, in countries such as India, in small geographic regions.Asclimate change increases weather variabilityaround the world, thelikelihood of multiple breadbaskets failing at a time increases dramatically.The2022 food criseshas been in part facilitated by aseries of failuresin key breadbasket regions, and the2022 Russian invasion of Ukrainehas created significant potential disruption of the respective breadbasket regions that are important for global wheat and oil seed production.
Sicilyand theprovince of Africawere considered the breadbaskets of theRoman Republic. Later, in the imperial era,Hispania(and specifically,Baetica) was considered the "breadbasket of Rome."Strabomentions that "Turdetaniais wonderfully fertile, it has all kinds of fruits and very abundant", and that together withprovince of Egypt, they are the most productive territories in the known world.Crimeawas the source of a large amount of grain supplied to the Greek city-states, especiallyAthens.
InSouth Africa, theFree Stateprovince is often considered the country's breadbasket due to its wheat, sunflower, and maize fields.TheOverbergregion in theWestern Capeis also known as the breadbasket of South Africa due to its large wheat fields, as well as fruit growing.
Zimbabwe, formerly known asRhodesia, was  known as the breadbasket of Africa until 2000, exporting wheat, tobacco, and maize to the wider world, especially to other African nations. However today,Zimbabwe, is a net importer of foodstuffs from the Western World.
Sincesubsistence agriculturewas the dominant economic system in most ofMorocco'shistory, it's difficult to speak of a breadbasket region. All regions produced their own wheat and barley to feed themselves and their livestock. With the European commercial penetration in the second half of the 19th century, Morocco started to export wheat to Europe despite the objection of theulama(religious establishment). TheChaouiaandDoukkalaplains became the most important suppliers of wheat for export. This is logical given their proximity to the coast. The ports ofCasablancaand Feddala, today'sMohammedia, serviced the Chaouia Plain while the port ofMazaganserviced Doukkala.
After Morocco's independence, agriculture in Doukkala became geared toward irrigation so less area has been devoted to wheat, whereas Chaouia maintained its status as a major wheat-producing region thanks to its dark soil calledtirsand relatively abundant rainfall (avg. 400 mm/year).
In Canada, a major grain-growing area is called theCanadian prairies. Sometimes the province ofSaskatchewan, also known for producing a huge supplement ofpotash, is further singled out from within this region as the main breadbasket of Canada.
In the United States, an important region is theCorn Belt, where maize and soybeans are major crops, which generally extends from theGreat Lakessouth throughMissouri.Further to the west in both the United States and Canada, east of theRocky Mountains, is theWheat Belt, where the climate is too severe for maize or soybeans.
The Palouse region of Eastern Washington state is often referred to as the Breadbasket of the Pacific Northwest, due to its high production of cereal wheat and lentils.[1]
During theCivil War, theShenandoah Valleywas known as the Breadbasket of the Confederacy.
Additionally, theSan Joaquin Valleyin California has also been called the breadbasket of the world.The San Joaquin Valley produces the majority of the 12.8% of the United States' agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) that comes from California.Grapes—table, raisin, and, to a lesser extent, wine—are perhaps the valley's highest-profile product, but equally (if not more) important are cotton, nuts (especially almonds and pistachios), citrus, and vegetables. 70% of the world's and 100% of the U.S. supply ofalmondscomes from the valley. Oranges, peaches, garlic, tangerines, tomatoes, kiwis, hay, alfalfa and numerous other crops have been harvested with great success. According to the 2002 Census of Agriculture's ranking of market value of agricultural products sold, nine of the nation's top 10, and 12 of the top 20, producing counties are in California.
Brazilis the second biggest grain exporter in the world, with 19% of the international market share, and the fourth grain producer country (rice, barley, soybeans, corn and wheat) behind the United States, China and India.Brazil is also the top global exporter ofsoybeans,sugarcane,orange juice,coffee,poultry,beef,maize, and the second biggest exporter ofporkandcotton. The country also has a significant presence as producer and exporter ofrice,wheat,eggs,cocoa,beans,nuts, and diverse fruits and vegetables.
During the 19th and 20th centuries,Argentinawas known as thebreadbasket of the world, due to the importance that agriculture had, and still has, in the country. Argentina's cereal cultivation is found in thePampasregion, which encompasses the provinces of Buenos Aires, Santa Fe, Córdoba and La Pampa. Within this region, many cities, such asPergamino,Venado TuertoandRosario, are one of the most fertile areas in the continent. Some of the plantations includesoybeans, maize, wheat,barley,sunflowerand peanut, among others.
In the 19th century, access to the Californian and Australian markets made wheat export a very lucrative activity, leading to theChilean wheat cycle.In the mid-19th century, those countries experienced largegold rushes, which created a large demand for wheat.Chilewas at the time the "only wheat producer of some importance in the Pacific".
TheMurray-Darling Basinis seen asAustralia's breadbasket, being the source of 40% of the nation's agricultural income, a third of the wheat harvest, 95 percent of the rice crop and other products such as fruit, wine and cotton.
WhenNew Zealandbecame aBritish colony, the fertile lands produced food that would be shipped back to England, causing New Zealand to become colloquially known (occasionally along with Australia) as Britain's breadbasket, subsequently leading to theDunedinbeing the first ship to complete a truly successful transport ofrefrigeratedmeat. She was refitted with a refrigeration machine with which she took the first load of frozen meat from New Zealand to the United Kingdom.