Solution

Plantation agriculture was introduced by the Europeans in colonies situated in the tropics. Some of the important plantation crops are tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas and pineapples.

The characteristic features of this type of farming are large-estates or plantations, large capital investment, managerial and technical support, scientific methods of cultivation, single crop specialisation, cheap labour, and a good system of transportation which links the estates to the factories and markets for the export of the products.

The French established cocoa and coffee plantations in West Africa. The British set up large tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka, rubber plantations in Malaysia and sugarcane and banana plantations in the West Indies.

Spanish and Americans invested heavily in coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines. The Dutch once had a monopoly over sugarcane plantations in Indonesia. Some coffee fazendas (large plantations) in Brazil are still managed by Europeans.

Today, ownership of the majority of plantations has passed into the hands of the government or the nationals of the countries concerned.