In your opinion and experience, which one is the most efficient for food production?

Based on my experience, ranches are the best, though they make more polution than the farms. It seems that a ranch just takes some months to release food while a farm takes 3 years, right? At the start of the game, I usually plan a wide area for ranches (you would see a wide and smooth area in any island and that area may be good for planning for ranches. A ranch just needs 2 workers but it seems it produces the same quantity of food as a farm does. I built 12 ranches for the island of crowded population (nearly 500) and I found that there were a surplus of food and I could export even (smoked beef).

Btw, any data on how many inhabitants every food farm (corn, banana, papaya), ranch (cattle, goat), fishing wharf could feed? If I'm not wrong in Tropico 1 a farm would feed 40 people, wouldn't it?

(18-04-2010 01:05 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  In your opinion and experience, which one is the most efficient for food production?

I never even consider food production till I see some tropican die of starvation... Is that bad?
I do like ranches for feeding people.The market always seems to risky to base an economy on in campaign. But if the green space is there, and close to my initial population center, it's the first thing I build. It is the most efficient for food production.

(18-04-2010 01:05 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  Btw, any data on how many inhabitants every food farm (corn, banana, papaya), ranch (cattle, goat), fishing wharf could feed? If I'm not wrong in Tropico 1 a farm would feed 40 people, wouldn't it?

I don't spy on my tropicans enough I guess... No numbers. I'll take a stab at it, saying two different farm types will happily feed 50 people, the people themselves being happy.
As a general rule, I don't worry about food production till someone starves. Usually it's more because of location the resources. I start scanning the population centers I've built. Pause it and take a look around. Maybe some remote place has no market. I use farms to mark and plot out the space I'll use for an given game, so people rarely ever starve. It's how I expand. 2 farms, a town, or a industrial, bank, or housing tourism park and another 2 farms. As always terrain dictates everything, and most people like smoked meat.
But numbers? No. Gotta go spying....

Actually, the 2 farms near the Palace are soemtimes useless as they aren't located at fertile soil and you can't let them stand for long there when your town is enlarged, Why? polution.

My strategy at the first stage is to build the diplomacy then edict 'Aid Corp' and 'double food for people'. The aid camp will last for 5 years so I'm not worried abt food and health care but concentrate manpower in exploit mines. Then, I plan an agricultural area for food production (far from town center, of course, to avoid pollution effect. Usually 6 ranches around a garage) in preparation when the aid camp is moved out. Within 5 years I have enough time to finish a food production area with a surplus output.

Fish, Fish, Fish!

That's my main source late-game.

I might grow pineapple too but that is mainly for industry.

(18-04-2010 01:05 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  In your opinion and experience, which one is the most efficient for food production?

It depends on the soil quality, sometimes the soil is perfect for pineapples, and other times it is bananas and papaya that grow best.

(18-04-2010 01:05 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  Based on my experience, ranches are the best, though they make more polution than the farms. It seems that a ranch just takes some months to release food while a farm takes 3 years, right? At the start of the game, I usually plan a wide area for ranches (you would see a wide and smooth area in any island and that area may be good for planning for ranches. A ranch just needs 2 workers but it seems it produces the same quantity of food as a farm does. I built 12 ranches for the island of crowded population (nearly 500) and I found that there were a surplus of food and I could export even (smoked beef).

I find that a ranch can take up to 5 years before it produces enough food to feed a decent number of people. Although I do admit that beef production can give your economy a jolt of cash in the first 10-15 years; however, since the ranch doesn't reach full productivity for 5 years, it means that you have to spend very little during that period.

(18-04-2010 01:05 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  Btw, any data on how many inhabitants every food farm (corn, banana, papaya), ranch (cattle, goat), fishing wharf could feed? If I'm not wrong in Tropico 1 a farm would feed 40 people, wouldn't it?

It depends on your character traits. For example if you select you background as 'Farmer', and the means by which you came to power as 'Communist Rebellion', then your farmers produce 60% more food compared to the normal rate. This is good if you want an agrarian economy, or if you want to export certain industrial products like canned pineapples or rum.

I saw it seemed fishing wasn't efficient for long time as the fishing area would be exhausted.

Besides, I've just found that any food production building will keep at least 200 units of food as its stock (i.e the teamster workers never come to take food to marketplace if the food at the stock is below 200).

So it's difficult to run a strategy of planning a food production area far away from the town center if we don't build a medium numbers of wharfs, farms, ranches. Besides the min.200 kept at the stock, the food production workers also consume what they produce.

That's the reason why sometimes we build so many food production buildings but the stravation still happens. As above-said, teamsters never deliver food if the stock is below 200, so the inhabitants living far away from food production area must travel themselves to take. Sometimes they come on time to satisfy their hunger, sometimes they are late and die .

(19-04-2010 02:18 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  I saw it seemed fishing wasn't efficient for long time as the fishing area would be exhausted.

Besides, I've just found that any food production building will keep at least 200 units of food as its stock (i.e the teamster workers never come to take food to marketplace if the food at the stock is below 200).

So it's difficult to run a strategy of planning a food production area far away from the town center if we don't build a medium numbers of wharfs, farms, ranches. Besides the min.200 kept at the stock, the food production workers also consume what they produce.

That's the reason why sometimes we build so many food production buildings but the stravation still happens. As above-said, teamsters never deliver food if the stock is below 200, so the inhabitants living far away from food production area must travel themselves to take. Sometimes they come on time to satisfy their hunger, sometimes they are late and die .

You use marketplaces, right?

(Even though they don't help as much as I'd like them to)

Yep m8,

I'm a Green peace member so I always try my best to keep polution far way fro my inhabitants. That's why marketplaces play their role.

The starvation will be lessenend if your residence near the farms, wharfs but inhabitants will be suffered from polution.

Placement is the key and a good transport network. Farmin fishing and ranching need the best conditions to thrive. Check out the transport guild http://forum.kalypsomedia.com/showthread.php?tid=2786

Personally I like crops that you can build an industry on once you have surplus supplies. I'm also big on ranches because they don't need as many employees.

I suggest adding coconut farms as coconut is also a typical one in the Caribean countries.

Could someone post some tips regarding markets?? Most of the time I see those with 0 meals served. I understand that farms must be over 200 for the rest to be sent to the market, but even then they don't seem to do much. After my population reaches about 250, I'm always getting 3-5 deaths from starvation every year no matter the number of food production buildings nor the number of markets I build.

Also, do military bases provide food? I tend to build my bases in little, beautiful corners of the island to minimize the impact on liberty and keep the space in the center for more important buildings. So... should I build a market by the army base?? I usually do, just in case.

(21-04-2010 09:47 AM)redScare Wrote:  Could someone post some tips regarding markets?? Most of the time I see those with 0 meals served. I understand that farms must be over 200 for the rest to be sent to the market, but even then they don't seem to do much. After my population reaches about 250, I'm always getting 3-5 deaths from starvation every year no matter the number of food production buildings nor the number of markets I build.

I find if farms are around a population center, the trops will just go to a farm, even if the market is right there. I've also noticed that if the market is not close to a road or a garage(right next to, especially a garage) I get a no meals served as well.
Typically I'll build a market only for an isolated pop center, the college type. It might also be possible that if your farms produce enough food, there may not be enough teamsters.. Thus my reason for building a market next to a garage.

(21-04-2010 09:47 AM)redScare Wrote:  Also, do military bases provide food? I tend to build my bases in little, beautiful corners of the island to minimize the impact on liberty and keep the space in the center for more important buildings. So... should I build a market by the army base?? I usually do, just in case.

I don't think so, but I've never paid close enough attention to the movement of tropicans... I do however always build a pub for entertainment next to the base. Since like you, I tend to place a base on the outskirts, I usually have a farm or two kicking close by.
That's my two cents.

In conclusion, marketplaces are efficient only if we build a couples of food production buildings (the more the better, based on my experience an isolated area for ranches is good idea, you would see a smooth and empty area in any island and that plcae is an ideal one for an agricultural area) and the stock at the buildings must be over 200 (you have to look at the stock, time goes by with your population increasing, you have to add more farms.wharf/ranches, just check the stock, if it's over 200, even a little bit, i.e the marketplace is running well).

Besides, a teamster office must be placed right next to the marketplace, so its no.1 duty is to serve the marketplace 1st.

I'm running by this way and never found any death due to starvation.

And, locating the food production area away from the residence area keeps the polution away. It's realistic as any city administration's doing so.

Anyway, I watched some documentary film on CNN and saw that people sometimes lived near the farms (They were farmers). So, for quick movement to work, we could place some houses for the farmer near the farms but they would be suffered from pollution.

Btw, I think country houses in Tropico aren't efficient. Are they for farmers? They cost high price (1,000$) hold only 1 family, rating is just 50.

(22-04-2010 12:46 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  Anyway, I watched some documentary film on CNN and saw that people sometimes lived near the farms (They were farmers).

You had to actually watch a documentary to learn that farmers live near their farms?? Are you one of those city boys that doesn't know where things like milk and bread come from?

(22-04-2010 12:46 AM)Little Dragon Wrote:  Btw, I think country houses in Tropico aren't efficient. Are they for farmers? They cost high price (1,000$) hold only 1 family, rating is just 50.

Country houses are a waste of time, if you have the space you should just build an apartment block, as it can hold all the families from one farm.

(22-04-2010 06:03 PM)BlackXcalibur Wrote:  You had to actually watch a documentary to learn that farmers live near their farms?? Are you one of those city boys that doesn't know where things like milk and bread come from?

Hehe,
You may be right. I'm just wandering around the urban area almost night and day. But, I was so curious abt how the farmers lived their daily life.

[/quote]
Country houses are a waste of time, if you have the space you should just build an apartment block, as it can hold all the families from one farm.
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You are right, again.
Anyway, I love the country houses in real life. they look so peaceful, stress released,...but almost disappointed with the country houses in Tropico 3, what a pity!

Should we propose a change (improvement)?

(22-04-2010 06:28 PM)Little Dragon Wrote:  You are right, again.
Anyway, I love the country houses in real life. they look so peaceful, stress released,...but almost disappointed with the country houses in Tropico 3, what a pity!

Should we propose a change (improvement)?

Country houses look crappy because the housing they provide are crappy.. isn't it only like 50?

But I love to build the regular Houses for my citizens, it makes my island look gorgeous and helps compensate for how grossly I underpay my citizens. And they provide better quality than apartments. However, they aren't cost effective at all... I guess its an acquired taste.

If the Tropican country houses look so crappy, even the tenements look better, I think its rating 50 is a bit high.

In case changing its model is unneccessary, I think its price should be decreased. 1000$ is so high compared with its actual value. The size of country house is near to the common houses but just can contain 1 household, it must be 2-3 households and emphasized that the farmers prefer country houses, you could see, when we set up an agricultural/suburban area, it will be more stylish if it's around with all the country houses nearby not seen as of now, the farmers live in multifloor tenements, that's life in urban area, it's strange for farmers.