(Redirected from Farming)
'Agriculture' (encompassing 'farming', '
grazing', and the tending of '
orchards', '
vineyards' and '
timberland') is the production of
food,
feed,
fiber and other goods by the systematic raising of
plants and
animals.
''Agri'' is from the
Latin ''ager'' ("a field"), and ''culture'', from the Latin ''cultura'' ("
cultivation" in the strict sense of "
tillage of the soil"). A literal reading of the English word yields "tillage of the soil of a field". In modern usage, the word ''agriculture'' covers all activities essential to food/feed/fiber production, including all techniques for raising and "processing"
livestock. Agriculture is also short for the study of the practice of agriculture — more formally known as
agricultural science.
The
history of agriculture is a central element of
human history, as agricultural progress has been a crucial factor in worldwide
socio-economic change.
Wealth-building and
militaristic specializations rarely seen in
hunter-gatherer cultures are commonplace in agricultural and agro-industrial societies—when farmers became capable of producing food beyond the needs of their own families, others in the
tribe/
nation/
empire were freed to devote themselves to projects other than food acquisition.
As of 2006, an estimated 36 percent of the world's workers are employed in agriculture
[1] (down from 42% in 1996), making it by far the most common
occupation. However, the relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of
industrialization, and in 2006 – for the first time in history – the
services sector overtook agriculture as the
economic sector employing the most people worldwide. Also, agricultural production accounts for less than five percent of the
gross world product (an aggregate of all
gross domestic products).
[2]
Overview
The term "farming" covers the wide spectrum of agricultural practices. On one end of the spectrum is the
subsistence farmer, who farms a small area with limited resource inputs, and produces only enough
food to meet the needs of his/her family. At the other end is commercial
intensive agriculture, including
industrial agriculture. Such farming involves large fields and/or numbers of animals, large resource inputs (pesticides, fertilizers, etc.), and a high level of
mechanization. These operations generally attempt to maximize financial income from grain,
produce, or
livestock.
Modern agriculture extends well beyond the traditional production of food for humans and
animal feeds. Other agricultural production goods include
timber,
fertilizers,
animal hides,
leather, industrial chemicals (
starch,
sugar,
alcohols and
resins),
fibers (
cotton,
wool,
hemp,
silk and
flax), fuels (
methane from
biomass,
ethanol,
biodiesel),
cut flowers, ornamental and
nursery plants, tropical fish and birds for the pet trade, and both legal and illegal drugs (
biopharmaceuticals,
tobacco,
marijuana,
opium,
cocaine).
The twentieth century saw massive changes in agricultural practice, particularly in
agricultural chemistry and in mechanization. Agricultural chemistry includes the application of chemical fertilizer, chemical insecticides (see
pest control), and chemical
fungicides, analysis of soil makeup and nutritional needs of farm animals.
Up to and including the 1970s,
surface runoff of fertilizer and pesticides was a growing, uncontrolled problem. Starting roughly in 1980, many Western nations, prodded by dozens of environmental action groups, began to implement effective controls on farming-related pollution, and this
green revolution spread many of the benefits of agricultural chemistry to farms throughout the world, without the extreme pollution that originally accompanied them. Between 1950 and 1984, as the green revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, world grain production increased by 250%.
[3]
Mechanization has also enormously increased farm efficiency and productivity in most regions of the world, due especially to the
tractor and various
gins (short for "engine") like the
cotton gin, semi-automatic
balers and
threshers and, above all, the
combine (see
agricultural machinery).
Other recent changes in agriculture include
hydroponics,
plant breeding, hybridization,
gene manipulation, better management of soil nutrients, and improved
weed control.
Genetic engineering has yielded crops which have capabilities beyond those of naturally occurring plants, such as higher yields and disease resistance. Modified seeds germinate faster, and thus can be grown on an accelerated schedule. Genetic engineering of plants has proven controversial, particularly in the case of
herbicide-resistant plants.
Engineers may develop plants for
irrigation,
drainage,
conservation and sanitary engineering, particularly important in normally arid areas which rely upon constant irrigation, and on large scale farms.
The processing, packing and marketing of agricultural products are closely related activities also influenced by science. Methods of quick-freezing and dehydration have increased the markets for many farm products (see
food preservation and
meat packing industry).
Animals, including horses, mules, oxen, camels, llamas, alpacas, and dogs, are often used to help cultivate
fields, harvest
crops,
wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers.
Animal husbandry not only refers to the breeding and raising of animals for meat or to harvest animal products (like milk, eggs, or wool) on a continual basis, but also to the breeding and care of species for work and companionship.
Airplanes, helicopters, trucks, tractors, and combines are used in Western (and, increasingly, Eastern) agriculture for seeding, spraying operations for insect and disease control, harvesting,
aerial topdressing and transporting perishable products. Radio and television disseminate vital weather reports and other information such as market reports that concern farmers. Computers have become an essential tool for farm management.
Ploughing rice paddies with water buffalo, in
Indonesia.
According to the
National Academy of Engineering in the
United States, agricultural mechanization is one of the 20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. Early in the century, it took one American farmer to produce food for 2.5 people. By 1999, due to advances in agricultural technology, a single farmer could feed over 130 people.
[4]
In recent years, some aspects of intensive
industrial agriculture have been the subject of increasing debate. The widening
sphere of influence held by large seed and chemical companies, meat packers and food processors has been a source of concern both within the farming community and for the general public. Another issue is the type of feed given to some animals that can cause
bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle. There has also been concern over the effect of intensive agriculture on the environment.
The patent protection given to companies that develop new types of seed using
genetic engineering has allowed seed to be licensed to farmers in much the same way that computer software is licensed to users. This has changed the balance of power in favor of the seed companies, allowing them to dictate terms and conditions previously unheard of. The
Indian activist and scientist
Vandana Shiva argues that these companies are guilty of
biopiracy.
Soil conservation and
nutrient management have been important concerns since the 1950s, with the most advanced farmers taking a
stewardship role with the land they use. However, increasing contamination of waterways and wetlands by nutrients like
nitrogen and
phosphorus are concerns that can only be addressed by "enlightenment" of farmers and/or far stricter
law enforcement in many countries.
Increasing consumer awareness of agricultural issues has led to the rise of
community-supported agriculture,
local food movement, "
Slow Food", and commercial
organic farming.
History
Main articles: History of agriculture
Ancient Egyptian farmer, copied from
archaeologically preserved specimen by a modern artist guessing at original colors.
Source: http://www.kingtutone.comAncient origins
Developed independently by geographically distant populations, systematic agriculture first appeared in
Southwest Asia in the
Fertile Crescent, particularly in modern-day
Iraq and
Syria/
Israel. Around 9500 BC, proto-farmers began to select and cultivate food plants with desired characteristics. Though there is evidence of earlier sporadic use of wild cereals, it was not until after 9500 BC that the eight so-called
founder crops of agriculture appear: first
emmer and
einkorn wheat, then hulled
barley,
peas,
lentils,
bitter vetch,
chick peas and
flax.
By 7000 BC, small-scale agriculture reached
Egypt. From 9000 BC the
Indian subcontinent saw farming of
wheat and
barley, as attested by archaeological excavation at
Mehrgarh in
Balochistan. By 6000 BC, mid-scale farming was entrenched on the banks of the
Nile. About this time, agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, with
rice, rather than wheat, as the primary crop.
Chinese and
Indonesian farmers went on to domesticate
mung,
soy,
azuki and
taro. To complement these new sources of
carbohydrates, highly organized net
fishing of rivers, lakes and ocean shores in these areas brought in great volumes of essential
protein. Collectively, these new methods of farming and fishing inaugurated a human population boom dwarfing all previous expansions, and is one that continues today.
By 5000 BC, the
Sumerians had developed core agricultural techniques including large scale intensive cultivation of land,
mono-cropping, organized
irrigation, and use of a specialized
labour force, particularly along the waterway now known as the
Shatt al-Arab, from its
Persian Gulf delta to the confluence of the
Tigris and
Euphrates. Domestication of wild
aurochs and
mouflon into
cattle and
sheep, respectively, ushered in the large-scale use of animals for food/fiber and as beasts of burden. The
shepherd joined the farmer as an essential provider for
sedentary and semi-
nomadic societies.
Maize,
manioc, and
arrowroot were first domesticated in the Americas as far back as 5200 BC.
[1] The
potato,
tomato,
pepper,
squash, several varieties of
bean,
Canna,
tobacco and several other plants were also developed in the New World, as was extensive
terracing of steep hillsides in much of
Andean South America.
In later years, the
Greeks and
Romans built on techniques pioneered by the Sumerians but made few fundamentally new advances. The Greeks and
Macedonians struggled with very poor soils, yet managed to become dominant societies for years. The Romans were noted for an emphasis on the cultivation of crops for
trade.
Agriculture in the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, Muslim farmers in North Africa and the Near East developed and disseminated agricultural technologies including irrigation systems based on
hydraulic and
hydrostatic principles, the use of machines such as
norias, and the use of water raising machines, dams, and reservoirs. They also wrote location-specific farming manuals, and were instrumental in the wider adoption of crops including sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, and saffron. Muslims also brought lemons, oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical crops such as bananas to Spain.
Renaissance to present day
The invention of a
three field system of crop rotation during the
Middle Ages, and the importation of the Chinese-invented
moldboard plow, vastly improved agricultural efficiency.
The ammount of workforce dedicated to agriculture tends to decrease
After 1492, a global exchange of previously local crops and livestock breeds occurred. Key crops involved in this exchange included the
tomato,
maize,
potato,
cocoa and
tobacco going from the New World to the Old, and several varieties of wheat,
spice and
coffee going from the Old World to the New. The most important animal exportations from the Old World to the New were those of the horse and dog (dogs were already present in the pre-Columbian Americas but not in the numbers and breeds suited to farm work). Although not usually food animals, the horse (including
donkeys and
ponies) and dog quickly filled essential production roles on western hemisphere farms.
By the early 1800s, agricultural techniques, implements, seed stocks and
cultivars had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen in the Middle Ages. With the rapid rise of
mechanization in the late 19th and 20th centuries, particularly in the form of the
tractor, farming tasks could be done with a speed and on a scale previously impossible. These advances have led to efficiencies enabling certain modern farms in the United States,
Argentina,
Israel,
Germany, and a few other nations to output volumes of high quality produce per land unit at what may be the practical limit.
Agricultural output in 2005
In 2005, the
agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, accounting for almost one-sixth world share followed by the EU, India and the USA, according to the
International Monetary Fund.
Crops
World production of major crops in 2004
Specific crops are cultivated in distinct
growing regions throughout the world. In millions of metric tons, based on
FAO estimates.
Crop alteration
Main articles: Plant breeding
An agricultural scientist records corn growth
Netting protecting wine grapes from birds
Domestication of plants is done in order to increase yield, improve disease resistance and drought tolerance, ease harvest and to improve the taste and
nutritional value and many other characteristics. Centuries of careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant breeders use greenhouses and other techniques to get as many as three generations of plants per year so that they can make improvements all the more quickly.
Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and 1930s improved
pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive radiation mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn and barley.
For example, average yields of corn (
maize) in the USA have increased from around 2.5 tons per hectare (t/ha) (40 bushels per acre) in 1900 to about 9.4 t/ha (150 bushels per acre) in 2001. Similarly, worldwide average wheat yields have increased from less than 1 t/ha in 1900 to more than 2.5 t/ha in 1990.
South American average wheat yields are around 2 t/ha,
African under 1 t/ha,
Egypt and Arabia up to 3.5 to 4 t/ha with irrigation. In contrast, the average wheat yield in countries such as
France is over 8 t/ha. Variation in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the use or non-use of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical
pest control, growth control to avoid lodging). [Conversion note: 1 bushel of wheat = 60 pounds (lb) ≈ 27.215 kg. 1 bushel of corn = 56 pounds ≈ 25.401 kg]
In industrialized agriculture, crop "improvement" has often reduced nutritional and other qualities of food plants to serve the interests of producers. After mechanical tomato-harvesters were developed in the early 1960s, agricultural scientists bred tomatoes that were harder and less nutritious (Friedland and Barton 1975). In fact, a major longitudinal study of nutrient levels in numerous
vegetables showed significant declines in the last 50 years; garden vegetables in the U.S. today contain on average 38 percent less vitamin B2 and 15 percent less vitamin C (Davis and Riordan 2004).
Very recently,
genetic engineering has begun to be employed in some parts of the world to speed up the selection and breeding process. The most widely used modification is a
herbicide resistance gene that allows plants to tolerate exposure to glyphosate, which is used to control weeds in the crop. A less frequently used but more controversial modification causes the plant to produce a toxin to reduce damage from insects (c.f.
Starlink).
The same effects are occurring to this day. The only changes made are presented in the technology to day.
There are specialty producers who raise less common types of livestock or plants.
Aquaculture, the farming of
fish,
shrimp, and
algae, is closely associated with agriculture.
Apiculture, the culture of bees, traditionally for
honey—increasingly for crop
pollination.
:''See also'' :
botany,
List of domesticated plants,
List of vegetables,
List of herbs,
List of fruit
Livestock
Main articles: Livestock
The farming practices of livestock vary dramatically world-wide and between different types of animals. Livestock are generally kept in an enclosure, are fed by human-provided food and are intentionally bred, but some livestock are not enclosed, or are fed by access to natural foods, or are allowed to breed freely, or all three. Approximately 68% of all agricultural land is used in the production of livestock as permanent pastures.
[7]
Environmental impact
Agriculture may often cause environmental problems because it changes natural environments and produces harmful by-products. Some of the negative effects are:
★ Loss of
biodiversity
★ Surplus of
nitrogen and
phosphorus in
rivers and
lakes
★ Detrimental effects of
herbicides,
fungicides,
insecticides, and other
biocides
★ Conversion of natural
ecosystems of all types into
arable land
★ Consolidation of diverse
biomass into a few species
★
Soil erosion
★ Depletion of
minerals in the
soil
★
Particulate matter, including
ammonia and
ammonium off-gassing from animal waste contributing to
air pollution
★
Weed Science -
feral plants and animals
★ Odor from agricultural
waste
★
Soil salination
Agriculture is cited as a significant threat to biodiversity in many nations'
Biodiversity Action Plans, due to reduction of forests and other
habitats when new lands are converted to farming. Some critics also include agriculture as a cause of
current global climate change.
According to the United Nations, the livestock sector (primarily cows, chickens, and pigs) emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to our most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet.
[8]It is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases—responsible for 18% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO
2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO
2. It produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO
2) and 37% of all human-induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO
2). It also generates 64% of the ammonia, which contributes to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems
[2].
Policy
Agricultural policy focuses on the goals and methods of agricultural production. At the policy level, common goals of agriculture include:
★
Food safety: Ensuring that the food supply is free of contamination.
★
Food security: Ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs.
★
Food quality: Ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality.
★ Conservation
★ Environmental impact
★ Economic stability
Satellite image of circular crop fields characteristic of
center pivot irrigation in
Haskell County, Kansas in late June 2001. Healthy, growing crops are green.
Corn is growing leafy stalks, but
Sorghum, which resembles corn, grows more slowly and is much smaller and therefore paler.
Wheat is a brilliant gold as harvest occurs in June. Brown fields have been recently harvested and plowed under or lie
fallow for the year.
Further reading
See also
: ''Main lists:
List of basic agriculture topics and
List of agriculture topics''
★
Aeroponics
★
Agrocenter
★
Apiculture
★
Climate change and agriculture
★
Geoponic
★
Green Revolution
★
Horticulture
★
Hydroponic
★
Industrial agriculture
★
Integrated Pest Management (
IPM)
★
List of domesticated animals
★
List of subsistence techniques
★
List of countries by agricultural output
★
List of sustainable agriculture topics
★
Timeline of agriculture and food technology.
★
Organic farming
★
Permaculture
References
1. ILO Key Indicators of the Labour Market 2007, chapter 4 p. 6
2. https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/xx.html#Econ
3. Can We Feed the World Without Industrial Agriculture?
4. http://www.greatachievements.org/greatachievements/ga_7_2.html
5. http://faostat.fao.org/
6. http://faostat.fao.org/
7. FAO Database, 2003
8. Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N. retrieved 27 jun 2007
★ Artz, F. B, (1980), ‘The Mind of the Middle Ages’; Third edition revised; The University of Chicago Press,
★ Bolens, L. (1997), `Agriculture’ in Encyclopedia of the history of Science, technology, and Medicine in Non Western Cultures, Editor: Helaine Selin; Kluwer Academic Publishers. Dordrecht/Boston/London, pp 20-2
★ Collinson, M. (editor): ''A History of Farming Systems Research''. CABI Publishing, 2000. ISBN 0-85199-405-9
★ Crosby, Alfred W.: ''The Columbian Exchange : Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492''. Praeger Publishers, 2003 (30th Anniversary Edition). ISBN 0-275-98073-1
★ Davis, Donald R., and Hugh D. Riordan (2004) Changes in USDA Food Composition Data for 43 Garden Crops, 1950 to 1999. Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 6, 669-682.
★ Friedland, William H. and Amy Barton (1975) Destalking the Wily Tomato: A Case Study of Social Consequences in California Agricultural Research. Univ. California at Sta. Cruz, Research Monograph 15.
★ Saltini A.''Storia delle scienze agrarie'', 4 vols, Bologna 1984-89, ISBN 88-206-2412-5, ISBN 88-206-2413-3, ISBN 88-206-2414-1, ISBN 88-206-2414-X
★ Watson, A.M (1974), ‘The Arab agricultural revolution and its diffusion’, in The Journal of Economic History, 34,
★ Watson, A.M (1983), ‘ Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World’, Cambridge University Press
★ Wells, Spencer: ''The Journey of Man : A Genetic Odyssey''. Princeton University Press, 2003. ISBN 0-691-11532-X
★ Wickens, G.M.(1976), ‘What the West borrowed from the Middle east’, in Introduction to Islamic Civilisation, edited by R.M. Savory, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge
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