Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating
plants
Plants are predominantly photosynthetic eukaryotes of the kingdom Plantae. Historically, the plant kingdom encompassed all living things that were not animals, and included algae and fungi; however, all current definitions of Plantae exclude ...
and
livestock.
Agriculture was the key development in the rise of
sedentary
Sedentary lifestyle is a lifestyle type, in which one is physically inactive and does little or no physical movement and or exercise. A person living a sedentary lifestyle is often sitting or lying down while engaged in an activity like soci ...
human civilization
A civilization (or civilisation) is any complex society characterized by the development of a state, social stratification, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyond natural spoken language (namely, a writing system).
Civi ...
, whereby farming of
domesticated
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...
species created food
surpluses that enabled people to live in cities. The
history of agriculture
Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least eleven separate regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin.
The development of agriculture a ...
began thousands of years ago. After gathering wild grains beginning at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers began to plant them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs and cattle were domesticated over 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world.
Industrial agriculture based on large-scale
monoculture
In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare/acre cornfield and a 10-ha/acre field of organic kale are ...
in the twentieth century came to dominate agricultural output, though about 2 billion people still depended on
subsistence agriculture.
The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into
foods,
fibers, fuels, and raw materials (such as
rubber). Food classes include
cereals (
grains
A grain is a small, hard, dry fruit (caryopsis) – with or without an attached hull layer – harvested for human or animal consumption. A grain crop is a grain-producing plant. The two main types of commercial grain crops are cereals and legumes ...
),
vegetables,
fruits,
cooking oils
Cooking oil is plant, animal, or synthetic liquid fat used in frying, baking, and other types of cooking. It is also used in food preparation and flavoring not involving heat, such as salad dressings and bread dips, and may be called edible oil ...
,
meat,
milk, eggs, and
fungi. Over one-third of the world's workers are employed in agriculture, second only to the
service sector, although in recent decades, the global trend of a decreasing number of agricultural workers continues, especially in developing countries, where
smallholding is being overtaken by industrial agriculture and
mechanization
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
that brings an enormous crop yield increase.
Modern
agronomy,
plant breeding,
agrochemicals such as
pesticides and
fertilizers, and technological developments have sharply increased
crop yields, but cause
ecological and environmental damage.
Selective breeding and modern practices in
animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about
animal welfare and environmental damage. Environmental issues include contributions to
global warming, depletion of
aquifers,
deforestation,
antibiotic resistance, and
other agricultural pollution. Agriculture is both a cause of and sensitive to
environmental degradation, such as
biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...
,
desertification,
soil degradation
Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to ...
, and
global warming, all of which can cause decreases in crop yield.
Genetically modified organisms are widely used, although
some are banned in certain countries.
Etymology and scope
The word ''agriculture'' is a late
Middle English adaptation of Latin , from 'field' and '
cultivation' or 'growing'. While agriculture usually refers to human activities, certain species of
ant
Ants are eusocial insects of the family Formicidae and, along with the related wasps and bees, belong to the order Hymenoptera. Ants evolved from vespoid wasp ancestors in the Cretaceous period. More than 13,800 of an estimated total of ...
,
termite and
beetle have been cultivating crops for up to 60 million years. Agriculture is defined with varying scopes, in its broadest sense using natural resources to "produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services".
Thus defined, it includes
arable farming
Arable land (from the la, wikt:arabilis#Latin, arabilis, "able to be ploughed") is any land capable of being ploughed and used to grow crops.''Oxford English Dictionary'', "arable, ''adj''. and ''n.''" Oxford University Press (Oxford), 2013. Al ...
, horticulture,
animal husbandry and
forestry, but horticulture and forestry are in practice often excluded.
It may also be broadly decomposed into plant agriculture, which concerns the cultivation of useful plants,
and animal agriculture, the production of agricultural animals.
History
Origins
The development of agriculture enabled the human population to grow many times larger than could be sustained by
hunting and gathering
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
.
Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe,
and included a diverse range of
taxa
In biology, a taxon (back-formation from ''taxonomy''; plural taxa) is a group of one or more populations of an organism or organisms seen by taxonomists to form a unit. Although neither is required, a taxon is usually known by a particular nam ...
, in at least 11 separate
centers of origin
A center of origin is a geographical area where a group of organisms, either domesticated or wild, first developed its distinctive properties. They are also considered centers of diversity. Centers of origin were first identified in 1924 by Ni ...
.
Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. In the Paleolithic Levant, 23,000 years ago, cereals cultivation of
emmer
Emmer wheat or hulled wheat is a type of awned wheat. Emmer is a tetraploid (4''n'' = 4''x'' = 28 chromosomes). The domesticated types are ''Triticum turgidum'' subsp. ''dicoccum'' and ''Triticum turgidum ''conv.'' durum''. The wild plant is ...
,
barley, and
oats
The oat (''Avena sativa''), sometimes called the common oat, is a species of cereal grain grown for its seed, which is known by the same name (usually in the plural, unlike other cereals and pseudocereals). While oats are suitable for human co ...
has been observed near the sea of Galilee. Rice was
domesticated in China between 11,500 and 6,200 BC with the earliest known cultivation from 5,700 BC, followed by
mung,
soy
The soybean, soy bean, or soya bean (''Glycine max'') is a species of legume native to East Asia, widely grown for its edible bean, which has numerous uses.
Traditional unfermented food uses of soybeans include soy milk, from which tofu and ...
and
azuki
''Vigna angularis'', also known as the adzuki bean , azuki bean, aduki bean, red bean, or red mung bean, is an annual vine widely cultivated throughout East Asia for its small (approximately long) bean. The cultivars most familiar in East As ...
beans. Sheep were domesticated in
Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. Cattle were domesticated from the wild
aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan some 10,500 years ago.
Pig production emerged in Eurasia, including Europe, East Asia and Southwest Asia, where
wild boar were first domesticated about 10,500 years ago. In the
Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans,
coca
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.
The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...
,
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s,
alpaca
The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...
s, and
guinea pigs.
Sugarcane and some
root vegetables were domesticated in
New Guinea around 9,000 years ago.
Sorghum was domesticated in the
Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago. Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago,
and was independently domesticated in Eurasia.
In Mesoamerica, wild
teosinte was bred into maize by 6,000 years ago. The
horse was
domesticated
Domestication is a sustained multi-generational relationship in which humans assume a significant degree of control over the reproduction and care of another group of organisms to secure a more predictable supply of resources from that group. A ...
in the
Eurasian Steppes around 3500 BC.
Scholars have offered multiple hypotheses to explain the historical origins of agriculture. Studies of the transition from
hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies indicate an initial period of intensification and increasing
sedentism; examples are the
Natufian culture in the
Levant, and the Early Chinese Neolithic in China. Then, wild stands that had previously been harvested started to be planted, and gradually came to be domesticated.
Civilizations
In Eurasia, the
Sumerians started to live in villages from about 8,000 BC, relying on the
Tigris and
Euphrates rivers and a canal system for irrigation. Ploughs appear in
pictograph
A pictogram, also called a pictogramme, pictograph, or simply picto, and in computer usage an icon, is a graphic symbol that conveys its meaning through its pictorial resemblance to a physical object. Pictographs are often used in writing and g ...
s around 3,000 BC; seed-ploughs around 2,300 BC. Farmers grew wheat, barley, vegetables such as lentils and onions, and fruits including dates, grapes, and figs.
Ancient Egyptian agriculture relied on the
Nile River and its seasonal flooding. Farming started in the predynastic period at the end of the
Paleolithic, after 10,000 BC. Staple food crops were grains such as wheat and barley, alongside industrial crops such as
flax and
papyrus.
In
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, wheat, barley and
jujube
Jujube (), sometimes jujuba, known by the scientific name ''Ziziphus jujuba'' and also called red date, Chinese date, and Chinese jujube, is a species in the genus '' Ziziphus'' in the buckthorn family Rhamnaceae.
Description
It is a smal ...
were domesticated by 9,000 BC, soon followed by sheep and goats.
Cattle, sheep and goats were domesticated in
Mehrgarh culture by 8,000–6,000 BC.
[Baber, Zaheer (1996). ''The Science of Empire: Scientific Knowledge, Civilization, and Colonial Rule in India''. State University of New York Press. 19. .][Harris, David R. and Gosden, C. (1996). ''The Origins and Spread of Agriculture and Pastoralism in Eurasia: Crops, Fields, Flocks And Herds''. Routledge. p. 385. .][Possehl, Gregory L. (1996). ''Mehrgarh'' in ''Oxford Companion to Archaeology'', Ed. Brian Fagan. Oxford University Press.] Cotton was cultivated by the 5th–4th millennium BC. Archeological evidence indicates an animal-drawn
plough from 2,500 BC in the
Indus Valley civilisation.
In China, from the 5th century BC there was a nationwide
granary
A granary is a storehouse or room in a barn for threshed grain or animal feed. Ancient or primitive granaries are most often made of pottery. Granaries are often built above the ground to keep the stored food away from mice and other animals ...
system and widespread
silk farming. Water-powered grain mills were in use by the 1st century BC, followed by irrigation. By the late 2nd century,
heavy plough
A plough or plow ( US; both ) is a farm tool for loosening or turning the soil before sowing seed or planting. Ploughs were traditionally drawn by oxen and horses, but in modern farms are drawn by tractors. A plough may have a wooden, iron or ...
s had been developed with iron ploughshares and
mouldboards.
[Greenberger, Robert (2006) ''The Technology of Ancient China'', Rosen Publishing Group. pp. 11–12. ] These spread westwards across Eurasia. Asian rice was domesticated 8,200–13,500 years ago – depending on the
molecular clock estimate that is used
– on the Pearl River in southern China with a single genetic origin from the wild rice ''
Oryza rufipogon
''Oryza rufipogon'', known as brownbeard rice, wild rice, and red rice, is a member of the genus ''Oryza''.
It is native to East, Southeast and South Asia. It has a close evolutionary relation to ''Oryza sativa'', the plant grown as a major rice ...
''.
In
Greece and
Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
, the major cereals were wheat, emmer, and barley, alongside vegetables including peas, beans, and olives. Sheep and goats were kept mainly for dairy products.
[Koester, Helmut (1995), ''History, Culture, and Religion of the Hellenistic Age'', 2nd edition, Walter de Gruyter, pp. 76–77. ][White, K. D. (1970), ''Roman Farming''. Cornell University Press.]
In the Americas, crops domesticated in Mesoamerica (apart from
teosinte) include squash, beans, and
cacao.
Cocoa was being domesticated by the Mayo Chinchipe of the upper Amazon around 3,000 BC.
The
turkey was probably domesticated in Mexico or the American Southwest.
The
Aztecs developed irrigation systems, formed
terraced
In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping is therefore ...
hillsides, fertilized their soil, and developed
chinampas or artificial islands. The
Mayas used extensive canal and raised field systems to farm swampland from 400 BC.
Coca
Coca is any of the four cultivated plants in the family Erythroxylaceae, native to western South America. Coca is known worldwide for its psychoactive alkaloid, cocaine.
The plant is grown as a cash crop in the Argentine Northwest, Bolivia, ...
was domesticated in the Andes, as were the peanut, tomato, tobacco, and
pineapple.
Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 3,600 BC.
Animals including
llama
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
s,
alpaca
The alpaca (''Lama pacos'') is a species of South American camelid mammal. It is similar to, and often confused with, the llama. However, alpacas are often noticeably smaller than llamas. The two animals are closely related and can success ...
s, and
guinea pigs were domesticated there.
In
North America, the indigenous people of the
East domesticated crops such as
sunflower, tobacco, squash and ''
Chenopodium
''Chenopodium'' is a genus of numerous species of perennial or annual herbaceous flowering plants known as the goosefoots, which occur almost anywhere in the world. It is placed in the family Amaranthaceae in the APG II system; older classific ...
''. Wild foods including
wild rice and
maple sugar were harvested.
The domesticated
strawberry is a hybrid of a Chilean and a North American species, developed by breeding in Europe and North America. The
indigenous people of the Southwest and the
Pacific Northwest practiced
forest gardening and
fire-stick farming. The
natives controlled fire on a regional scale to create a low-intensity
fire ecology
Fire ecology is a scientific discipline concerned with natural processes involving fire in an ecosystem and the ecological effects, the interactions between fire and the abiotic and biotic components of an ecosystem, and the role as an ecosystem ...
that
sustained a low-density agriculture in loose rotation; a sort of "wild"
permaculture.
A system of
companion planting
Companion planting in gardening and agriculture is the planting of different crops in proximity for any of a number of different reasons, including pest control, pollination, providing habitat for beneficial insects, maximizing use of space, a ...
called
the Three Sisters was developed in North America. The three crops were
winter squash, maize, and climbing beans.
Indigenous Australians
Indigenous Australians or Australian First Nations are people with familial heritage from, and membership in, the ethnic groups that lived in Australia before British colonisation. They consist of two distinct groups: the Aboriginal peoples ...
, long supposed to have been nomadic
hunter-gatherers
A traditional hunter-gatherer or forager is a human living an ancestrally derived lifestyle in which most or all food is obtained by foraging, that is, by gathering food from local sources, especially edible wild plants but also insects, fungi, ...
, practised systematic burning, possibly to enhance natural productivity in fire-stick farming. Scholars have pointed out that hunter-gatherers need a productive environment to support gathering without cultivation. Because the forests of New Guinea have few food plants, early humans may have used "selective burning" to increase the productivity of the wild
karuka fruit trees to support the hunter-gatherer way of life.
The
Gunditjmara
The Gunditjmara or Gunditjamara, also known as Dhauwurd Wurrung, are an Aboriginal Australian people of southwestern Victoria. They are the traditional owners of the areas now encompassing Warrnambool, Port Fairy, Woolsthorpe and Portland. Th ...
and other groups developed eel farming and fish trapping systems from some 5,000 years ago. There is evidence of 'intensification' across the whole continent over that period. In two regions of Australia, the central west coast and eastern central, early farmers cultivated yams, native millet, and bush onions, possibly in permanent settlements.
Revolution
In the
Middle Ages, compared to the
Roman period, agriculture in Western Europe became more focused on
self-sufficiency. The agricultural population under feudalism was typically organized into
manors consisting of several hundred or more acres of land presided over by a
Lord with a
Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
* Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
* Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
church and priest.
Thanks to the exchange with the
Al-Andalus where the
Arab Agricultural Revolution
The Arab Agricultural Revolution was the transformation in agriculture from the 8th to the 13th century in the Islamic region of the Old World. The agronomic literature of the time, with major books by Ibn Bassal and Abū l-Khayr al-Ishbīlī, d ...
was underway, European agriculture transformed with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees (such as the orange).
After 1492 the
Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes,
sweet potatoes and
manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice and
turnip
The turnip or white turnip ('' Brassica rapa'' subsp. ''rapa'') is a root vegetable commonly grown in temperate climates worldwide for its white, fleshy taproot. The word ''turnip'' is a compound of ''turn'' as in turned/rounded on a lathe and ...
s, and livestock (including horses, cattle, sheep and goats) to the Americas.
Irrigation,
crop rotation, and
fertilizers
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
advanced from the 17th century with the
British Agricultural Revolution, allowing global population to rise significantly. Since 1900 agriculture in developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as
mechanization
Mechanization is the process of changing from working largely or exclusively by hand or with animals to doing that work with machinery. In an early engineering text a machine is defined as follows:
In some fields, mechanization includes the ...
replaces human labor, and assisted by
synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and
selective breeding. The
Haber-Bosch
The Haber process, also called the Haber–Bosch process, is an artificial nitrogen fixation process and is the main industrial procedure for the production of ammonia today. It is named after its inventors, the German chemists Fritz Haber and C ...
method allowed the synthesis of
ammonium nitrate
Ammonium nitrate is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is a white crystalline salt consisting of ions of ammonium and nitrate. It is highly soluble in water and hygroscopic as a solid, although it does not form hydrates. It is ...
fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing
crop yields and sustaining a further increase in global population. Modern agriculture has raised or encountered ecological, political, and economic issues including
water pollution,
biofuels,
genetically modified organisms,
tariffs and
farm subsidies, leading to alternative approaches such as the
organic movement.
[
]
In the 1930, there was a
Dust Bowl
The Dust Bowl was a period of severe dust storms that greatly damaged the ecology and agriculture of the American and Canadian prairies during the 1930s. The phenomenon was caused by a combination of both natural factors (severe drought) a ...
in the United States with tragic consequences.
Types
Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In
nomadic pastoralism
Nomadic pastoralism is a form of pastoralism in which livestock are herded in order to seek for fresh pastures on which to graze. True nomads follow an irregular pattern of movement, in contrast with transhumance, where seasonal pastures are fix ...
, herds of livestock are moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water. This type of farming is practised in arid and semi-arid regions of
Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India.
In
shifting cultivation, a small area of forest is cleared by cutting and burning the trees. The cleared land is used for growing crops for a few years until the soil becomes too infertile, and the area is abandoned. Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated. This type of farming is practiced mainly in areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly. This practice is used in Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon Basin.
Subsistence farming
Subsistence agriculture occurs when farmers grow food crops to meet the needs of themselves and their families on smallholdings. Subsistence agriculturalists target farm output for survival and for mostly local requirements, with little or no su ...
is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere. It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia. An estimated 2.5 billion subsistence farmers worked in 2018, cultivating about 60% of the earth's
arable land.
Intensive farming
Intensive agriculture, also known as intensive farming (as opposed to extensive farming), conventional, or industrial agriculture, is a type of agriculture, both of crop plants and of animals, with higher levels of input and output per unit of ...
is cultivation to maximise productivity, with a low fallow ratio and a high use of inputs (water, fertilizer, pesticide and automation). It is practiced mainly in developed countries.
Contemporary agriculture
Status
From the twentieth century, intensive agriculture increased productivity of crops. It substituted synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labour, but caused increased water pollution, and often involved farm subsidies. In recent years there has been a backlash against the
environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the
organic,
regenerative, and
sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...
movements.
One of the major forces behind this movement has been the
European Union
The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...
, which first certified
organic food
Organic food, ecological food or biological food are food and drinks produced by methods complying with the standards of organic farming. Standards vary worldwide, but organic farming features practices that cycle resources, promote ecological ...
in 1991 and began reform of its
Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies, also known as
decoupling. The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as
integrated pest management, selective breeding, and
controlled-environment agriculture
Controlled-environment agriculture (CEA) -- which includes indoor agriculture (IA) and vertical farming -- is a technology-based approach toward food production. The aim of CEA is to provide protection from the outdoor elements and maintain opti ...
.
Recent mainstream technological developments include
genetically modified food
Genetically modified foods (GM foods), also known as genetically engineered foods (GE foods), or bioengineered foods are foods produced from organisms that have had changes introduced into their DNA using the methods of genetic engineering. Gene ...
. Demand for non-food biofuel crops, development of former farm lands, rising transportation costs,
climate change, growing consumer demand in China and India, and
population growth, are threatening
food security in many parts of the world.
[Watts, Jonathan (4 December 2007)]
"Riots and hunger feared as demand for grain sends food costs soaring"
, ''The Guardian'' (London).[Mortished, Carl (7 March 2008]
"Already we have riots, hoarding, panic: the sign of things to come?"
, ''The Times'' (London).[Borger, Julian (26 February 2008)]
"Feed the world? We are fighting a losing battle, UN admits"
, ''The Guardian'' (London). The
International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in
smallholder agriculture may be part of the solution to concerns about
food prices and overall food security, given the favorable experience of Vietnam.
Soil degradation
Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to ...
and diseases such as
stem rust
Stem rust, also known as cereal rust, black rust, red rust or red dust, is caused by the fungus ''Puccinia graminis'', which causes significant disease in cereal crops. Crop species that are affected by the disease include bread wheat, durum w ...
are major concerns globally; approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. By 2015, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States.
Economists measure the
total factor productivity of agriculture and by this measure agriculture in the United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in 1948.
Workforce
Following the
three-sector theory
The three-sector model in economics divides economies into three sectors of activity: extraction of raw materials (primary), manufacturing (secondary), and service industries which exist to facilitate the transport, distribution and sale o ...
, the number of people employed in agriculture and other
primary activities (such as fishing) can be more than 80% in the least developed countries, and less than 2% in the most highly developed countries.
Since the
Industrial Revolution, many countries have made the transition to developed economies, and the proportion of people working in agriculture has steadily fallen. During the 16th century in Europe, for example, between 55 and 75% of the population was engaged in agriculture; by the 19th century, this had dropped to between 35 and 65%. In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%.
At the start of the 21st century, some one billion people, or over 1/3 of the available work force, were employed in agriculture. It constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in many countries employs the largest percentage of women of any industry.
The service sector overtook the agricultural sector as the largest global employer in 2007.
Safety
Agriculture, specifically farming, remains a hazardous industry, and farmers worldwide remain at high risk of work-related injuries, lung disease,
noise-induced hearing loss
Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a hearing impairment resulting from exposure to loud sound. People may have a loss of perception of a narrow range of frequencies or impaired perception of sound including sensitivity to sound or ringing i ...
, skin diseases, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. On
industrialized farms, injuries frequently involve the use of
agricultural machinery, and a common cause of fatal agricultural injuries in developed countries is
tractor rollovers.
Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can be
hazardous to worker health, and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects.
As an industry in which families commonly share in work and live on the farm itself, entire families can be at risk for injuries, illness, and death.
Ages 0–6 May be an especially vulnerable population in agriculture;
common causes of fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor accidents, including with all-terrain vehicles.
The
International Labour Organization considers agriculture "one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors".
It estimates that the annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs. In addition, incidences of death, injury and illness related to agricultural activities often go unreported.
The organization has developed the
Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001, which covers the range of risks in the agriculture occupation, the prevention of these risks and the role that individuals and organizations engaged in agriculture should play.
In the United States, agriculture has been identified by the
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH, ) is the United States federal agency responsible for conducting research and making recommendations for the prevention of work-related injury and illness. NIOSH is part of the C ...
as a priority industry sector in the
National Occupational Research Agenda to identify and provide intervention strategies for occupational health and safety issues.
In the European Union, the
European Agency for Safety and Health at Work
The European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) is a decentralised agency of the European Union with the task of collecting, analysing and disseminating relevant information that can serve the needs of people involved in safety and ...
has issued guidelines on implementing health and safety directives in agriculture, livestock farming, horticulture, and forestry. The Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA) also holds a yearly summit to discuss safety.
Production
Overall production varies by country as listed.
Crop cultivation systems
Cropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and the philosophy and culture of the farmer.
["Agricultural Production Systems". pp. 283–317 in Acquaah.]
Shifting cultivation (or
slash and burn) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then
perennial crops for a period of several years.
["Farming Systems: Development, Productivity, and Sustainability", pp. 25–57 in Chrispeels] Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20). This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring the input of nutrients (fertilizer or
manure
Manure is organic matter that is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. Most manure consists of animal feces; other sources include compost and green manure. Manures contribute to the Soil fertility, fertility of soil by adding organic ma ...
) and some manual
pest control
Pest control is the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest; any animal, plant or fungus that impacts adversely on human activities or environment. The human response depends on the importance of the damage done and will range ...
. Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period. This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs.
Further industrialization led to the use of
monoculture
In agriculture, monoculture is the practice of growing one crop species in a field at a time. Monoculture is widely used in intensive farming and in organic farming: both a 1,000-hectare/acre cornfield and a 10-ha/acre field of organic kale are ...
s, when one
cultivar is planted on a large acreage. Because of the low
biodiversity, nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build up, necessitating the greater use of
pesticides and fertilizers.
Multiple cropping, in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and
intercropping, when several crops are grown at the same time, are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as
polycultures.
In
subtropical and
arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in a year, or requiring irrigation. In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry. In
temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly
grassland or
prairie
Prairies are ecosystems considered part of the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome by ecologists, based on similar temperate climates, moderate rainfall, and a composition of grasses, herbs, and shrubs, rather than trees, as the ...
, highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system.
Important categories of food crops include cereals, legumes, forage, fruits and vegetables.
Natural fibers include cotton,
wool,
hemp, silk and
flax. Specific crops are cultivated in distinct
growing regions throughout the world. Production is listed in millions of metric tons, based on
FAO
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
estimates.
Livestock production systems
Animal husbandry is the breeding and raising of animals for meat, milk,
eggs
Humans and human ancestors have scavenged and eaten animal eggs for millions of years. Humans in Southeast Asia had domesticated chickens and harvested their eggs for food by 1,500 BCE. The most widely consumed eggs are those of fowl, especial ...
, or
wool, and for work and transport.
Working animals, including horses,
mules,
oxen,
water buffalo, camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs, have for centuries been used to help cultivate fields,
harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers.
Livestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless.
, 30% of Earth's ice- and water-free area was used for producing livestock, with the sector employing approximately 1.3 billion people. Between the 1960s and the 2000s, there was a significant increase in livestock production, both by numbers and by carcass weight, especially among beef, pigs and chickens, the latter of which had production increased by almost a factor of 10. Non-meat animals, such as milk cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases. Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are expected to continue to increase sharply through 2050.
Aquaculture or fish farming, the production of fish for human consumption in confined operations, is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production, growing at an average of 9% a year between 1975 and 2007.
During the second half of the 20th century, producers using selective breeding focused on creating livestock
breeds and
crossbreeds that increased production, while mostly disregarding the need to preserve
genetic diversity. This trend has led to a significant decrease in genetic diversity and resources among livestock breeds, leading to a corresponding decrease in disease resistance and local adaptations previously found among traditional breeds.
Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as
shrubland,
rangeland, and
pastures for feeding
ruminant
Ruminants (suborder Ruminantia) are hoofed herbivorous grazing or browsing mammals that are able to acquire nutrients from plant-based food by fermenting it in a specialized stomach prior to digestion, principally through microbial actions. The ...
animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30–40 million pastoralists.
Mixed production systems use grassland,
fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastric (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock. Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as a fertilizer for crops.
Landless systems rely upon feed from outside the farm, representing the de-linking of crop and livestock production found more prevalently in
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries. Synthetic fertilizers are more heavily relied upon for crop production and manure use becomes a challenge as well as a source for pollution.
Industrialized countries use these operations to produce much of the global supplies of poultry and pork. Scientists estimate that 75% of the growth in livestock production between 2003 and 2030 will be in
confined animal feeding operations, sometimes called
factory farming. Much of this growth is happening in developing countries in Asia, with much smaller amounts of growth in Africa.
Some of the practices used in commercial livestock production, including the usage of
growth hormones, are controversial.
Production practices
Tillage is the practice of breaking up the soil with tools such as the plow or
harrow to prepare for planting, for nutrient incorporation, or for pest control. Tillage varies in intensity from conventional to
no-till
No-till farming (also known as zero tillage or direct drilling) is an agricultural technique for growing crops or pasture without disturbing the soil through tillage. No-till farming decreases the amount of soil erosion tillage causes in certai ...
. It may improve productivity by warming the soil, incorporating fertilizer and controlling weeds, but also renders soil more prone to erosion, triggers the decomposition of organic matter releasing CO
2, and reduces the abundance and diversity of soil organisms.
["Land Preparation and Farm Energy", pp. 318–338 in Acquaah]
Pest control includes the management of weeds, insects,
mites, and diseases. Chemical (pesticides), biological (
biocontrol
Biological control or biocontrol is a method of controlling pests, such as insects, mites, weeds, and plant diseases, using other organisms. It relies on predation, parasitism, herbivory, or other natural mechanisms, but typically also in ...
), mechanical (tillage), and cultural practices are used. Cultural practices include crop rotation,
culling,
cover crops, intercropping,
composting, avoidance, and
resistance. Integrated pest management attempts to use all of these methods to keep pest populations below the number which would cause economic loss, and recommends pesticides as a last resort.
["Pesticide Use in U.S. Crop Production", pp. 240–282 in Acquaah]
Nutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of use of manure produced by livestock. Nutrient inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure,
green manure, compost and minerals.
["Soil and Land", pp. 165–210 in Acquaah] Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as crop rotation or a
fallow
Fallow is a farming technique in which arable land is left without sowing for one or more vegetative cycles. The goal of fallowing is to allow the land to recover and store organic matter while retaining moisture and disrupting pest life cycl ...
period. Manure is used either by holding livestock where the feed crop is growing, such as in managed intensive rotational grazing, or
by spreading either dry or liquid formulations of manure on cropland or
pastures.
[Brady, N. C.; Weil, R. R. (2002). "Practical Nutrient Management" pp. 472–515 in ''Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils''. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. ]["Nutrition from the Soil", pp. 187–218 in Chrispeels]
Water management is needed where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world.
Some farmers use irrigation to supplement rainfall. In other areas such as the
Great Plains in the U.S. and Canada, farmers use a fallow year to conserve soil moisture to use for growing a crop in the following year.
["Plants and Soil Water", pp. 211–239 in Acquaah] Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide.
According to a report by the
International Food Policy Research Institute, agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, the International Food Policy Research Institute found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.
Payment for ecosystem services is a method of providing additional incentives to encourage farmers to conserve some aspects of the environment. Measures might include paying for reforestation upstream of a city, to improve the supply of fresh water.
Effects of climate change on yields
Climate change and agriculture are interrelated on a global scale.
Global warming affects agriculture through changes in
average temperatures, rainfall, and
weather extremes (like storms and heat waves); changes in pests and diseases; changes in atmospheric
carbon dioxide and ground-level
ozone concentrations; changes in the nutritional quality of some foods;
and changes in
sea level. Global warming is already affecting agriculture, with effects unevenly distributed across the world.
[Porter, J. R., ''et al.''., Executive summary, in]
Chapter 7: Food security and food production systems
archived ), in Future climate change will probably negatively affect
crop production in
low latitude countries, while effects in northern
latitudes may be positive or negative.
Global warming will probably increase the risk of
food insecurity for some vulnerable groups, such as the
poor.
Crop alteration and biotechnology
Plant breeding
Crop alteration has been practiced by humankind for thousands of years, since the beginning of civilization. Altering crops through breeding practices changes the genetic make-up of a plant to develop crops with more beneficial characteristics for humans, for example, larger fruits or seeds, drought-tolerance, or resistance to pests. Significant advances in plant breeding ensued after the work of geneticist
Gregor Mendel
Gregor Johann Mendel, OSA (; cs, Řehoř Jan Mendel; 20 July 1822 – 6 January 1884) was a biologist, meteorologist, mathematician, Augustinian friar and abbot of St. Thomas' Abbey in Brünn (''Brno''), Margraviate of Moravia. Mendel was ...
. His work on
dominant and
recessive alleles, although initially largely ignored for almost 50 years, gave plant breeders a better understanding of genetics and breeding techniques. Crop breeding includes techniques such as plant selection with desirable traits,
self-pollination and
cross-pollination, and molecular techniques that genetically modify the organism.
Domestication of plants has, over the centuries increased yield, improved disease resistance and
drought tolerance
Drought tolerance is the ability to which a plant maintains its biomass production during arid or drought conditions. Some plants are naturally adapted to dry conditions'','' surviving with protection mechanisms such as desiccation tolerance, detox ...
, eased harvest and improved the taste and nutritional value of crop plants. Careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics of crop plants. Plant selection and breeding in the 1920s and 1930s improved pasture (grasses and clover) in New Zealand. Extensive X-ray and ultraviolet induced mutagenesis efforts (i.e. primitive genetic engineering) during the 1950s produced the modern commercial varieties of grains such as wheat, corn (maize) and barley.
The
Green Revolution
The Green Revolution, also known as the Third Agricultural Revolution, was a period of technology transfer initiatives that saw greatly increased crop yields and agricultural production. These changes in agriculture began in developed countrie ...
popularized the use of conventional
hybridization to sharply increase yield by creating "high-yielding varieties". For example, average yields of corn (maize) in the US 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, and 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. Variations in yields are due mainly to variation in climate, genetics, and the level of intensive farming techniques (use of fertilizers, chemical pest control, growth control to avoid lodging).
Genetic engineering
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are
organism
In biology, an organism () is any living system that functions as an individual entity. All organisms are composed of cells (cell theory). Organisms are classified by taxonomy into groups such as multicellular animals, plants, and ...
s whose
genetic material has been altered by genetic engineering techniques generally known as
recombinant DNA technology. Genetic engineering has expanded the genes available to breeders to use in creating desired germlines for new crops. Increased durability, nutritional content, insect and virus resistance and herbicide tolerance are a few of the attributes bred into crops through genetic engineering. For some, GMO crops cause
food safety and
food labeling
The packaging and labeling of food is subject to regulation in most regions/jurisdictions, both to prevent false advertising and to promote food safety.
Regulations by type
Multi-faceted
* Codex Alimentarius (international voluntary standard) ...
concerns. Numerous countries have placed restrictions on the production, import or use of GMO foods and crops. Currently a global treaty, the
Biosafety Protocol
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement on biosafety as a supplement to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) effective since 2003. The Biosafety Protocol seeks to prote ...
, regulates the trade of GMOs. There is ongoing discussion regarding the labeling of foods made from GMOs, and while the EU currently requires all GMO foods to be labeled, the US does not.
Herbicide-resistant seed has a gene implanted into its genome that allows the plants to tolerate exposure to herbicides, including
glyphosate
Glyphosate (IUPAC name: ''N''-(phosphonomethyl)glycine) is a broad-spectrum systemic herbicide and crop desiccant. It is an organophosphorus compound, specifically a phosphonate, which acts by inhibiting the plant enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshik ...
. These seeds allow the farmer to grow a crop that can be sprayed with herbicides to control weeds without harming the resistant crop. Herbicide-tolerant crops are used by farmers worldwide. With the increasing use of herbicide-tolerant crops, comes an increase in the use of glyphosate-based herbicide sprays. In some areas glyphosate resistant weeds have developed, causing farmers to switch to other herbicides.
Some studies also link widespread glyphosate usage to iron deficiencies in some crops, which is both a crop production and a nutritional quality concern, with potential economic and health implications.
Other GMO crops used by growers include insect-resistant crops, which have a gene from the soil bacterium ''
Bacillus thuringiensis'' (Bt), which produces a toxin specific to insects. These crops resist damage by insects. Some believe that similar or better pest-resistance traits can be acquired through traditional breeding practices, and resistance to various pests can be gained through hybridization or cross-pollination with wild species. In some cases, wild species are the primary source of resistance traits; some tomato cultivars that have gained resistance to at least 19 diseases did so through crossing with wild populations of tomatoes.
Environmental impact
Effects and costs
Agriculture is both a cause of and sensitive to
environmental degradation, such as
biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...
,
desertification,
soil degradation
Soil retrogression and degradation are two regressive evolution processes associated with the loss of equilibrium of a stable soil. Retrogression is primarily due to soil erosion and corresponds to a phenomenon where succession reverts the land to ...
and
global warming, which cause decrease in crop yield. Agriculture is one of the most important drivers of environmental pressures, particularly habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions. Agriculture is the main source of toxins released into the environment, including insecticides, especially those used on cotton. The 2011 UNEP Green Economy report stated that agricultural operations produced some 13 per cent of anthropogenic global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes gases from the use of inorganic fertilizers, agro-chemical pesticides, and herbicides, as well as fossil fuel-energy inputs.
Agriculture imposes multiple external costs upon society through effects such as pesticide damage to nature (especially herbicides and insecticides), nutrient runoff, excessive water usage, and loss of natural environment. A 2000 assessment of agriculture in the UK determined total external costs for 1996 of £2,343 million, or £208 per hectare.
A 2005 analysis of these costs in the US concluded that cropland imposes approximately $5 to $16 billion ($30 to $96 per hectare), while livestock production imposes $714 million.
Both studies, which focused solely on the fiscal impacts, concluded that more should be done to internalize external costs. Neither included subsidies in their analysis, but they noted that subsidies also influence the cost of agriculture to society.
Agriculture seeks to increase yield and to reduce costs. Yield increases with inputs such as fertilisers and removal of pathogens, predators, and competitors (such as weeds). Costs decrease with increasing scale of farm units, such as making fields larger; this means removing
hedges, ditches and other areas of habitat. Pesticides kill insects, plants and fungi. These and other measures have cut biodiversity to very low levels on intensively farmed land. Effective yields fall with on-farm losses, which may be caused by poor production practices during harvesting, handling, and storage.
Livestock issues
A senior UN official, Henning Steinfeld, said that "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems". Livestock production occupies 70% of all land used for agriculture, or 30% of the land surface of the planet. 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 emission. Livestock expansion is cited as a key factor driving
deforestation; in the Amazon basin 70% of
previously forested area is now occupied by pastures and the remainder used for feed crops.
Through deforestation and
land degradation
Land degradation is a process in which the value of the biophysical environment is affected by a combination of human-induced processes acting upon the land.
It is viewed as any change or disturbance to the land perceived to be deleterious o ...
, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity. Furthermore, the UNEP states that "
methane emissions
Increasing methane emissions are a major contributor to the rising concentration of greenhouse gases in Earth's atmosphere, and are responsible for up to one-third of near-term global heating. During 2019, about 60% (360 million tons) of methane r ...
from global livestock are projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2030 under current practices and consumption patterns."
Land and water issues
Land transformation, the use of land to yield goods and services, is the most substantial way humans alter the Earth's ecosystems, and is the driving force causing
biodiversity loss
Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...
. Estimates of the amount of land transformed by humans vary from 39 to 50%.
Land degradation, the long-term decline in ecosystem function and productivity, is estimated to be occurring on 24% of land worldwide, with cropland overrepresented.
Land management is the driving factor behind degradation; 1.5 billion people rely upon the degrading land. Degradation can be through deforestation,
desertification,
soil erosion, mineral depletion,
acidification, or
salinization.
Eutrophication, excessive nutrient enrichment in
aquatic ecosystem
An aquatic ecosystem is an ecosystem formed by surrounding a body of water, in contrast to land-based terrestrial ecosystems. Aquatic ecosystems contain communities of organisms that are dependent on each other and on their environment. The t ...
s resulting in
algal bloom
An algal bloom or algae bloom is a rapid increase or accumulation in the population of algae in freshwater or marine water systems. It is often recognized by the discoloration in the water from the algae's pigments. The term ''algae'' encompass ...
s and
anoxia, leads to
fish kills,
loss of biodiversity
Biodiversity loss includes the worldwide extinction of different species, as well as the local reduction or loss of species in a certain habitat, resulting in a loss of biological diversity. The latter phenomenon can be temporary or permanent, de ...
, and renders water unfit for drinking and other industrial uses. Excessive fertilization and manure application to cropland, as well as high livestock stocking densities cause nutrient (mainly
nitrogen
Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...
and
phosphorus)
runoff and
leaching from agricultural land. These nutrients are major
nonpoint pollutants contributing to
eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems and pollution of groundwater, with harmful effects on human populations.
Fertilisers also reduce terrestrial biodiversity by increasing competition for light, favouring those species that are able to benefit from the added nutrients.
Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of withdrawals of freshwater resources. Agriculture is a major draw on water from
aquifers, and currently draws from those underground water sources at an unsustainable rate. It is long known that aquifers in areas as diverse as northern China, the
Upper Ganges and the western US are being depleted, and new research extends these problems to aquifers in Iran, Mexico and Saudi Arabia. Increasing pressure is being placed on water resources by industry and urban areas, meaning that
water scarcity is increasing and agriculture is facing the challenge of producing more food for the world's growing population with reduced water resources.
Agricultural water usage can also cause major environmental problems, including the destruction of natural wetlands, the spread of water-borne diseases, and land degradation through salinization and waterlogging, when irrigation is performed incorrectly.
Pesticides
Pesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5 million short tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss from pests has remained relatively constant.
The World Health Organization estimated in 1992 that three million pesticide poisonings occur annually, causing 220,000 deaths.
[''Our planet, our health: Report of the WHO commission on health and environment''. Geneva: World Health Organization (1992).] Pesticides select for
pesticide resistance
Pesticide resistance describes the decreased susceptibility of a pest population to a pesticide that was previously effective at controlling the pest. Pest species evolve pesticide resistance via natural selection: the most resistant specimens su ...
in the pest population, leading to a condition termed the "pesticide treadmill" in which pest resistance warrants the development of a new pesticide.
["Strategies for Pest Control", pp. 355–383 in Chrispeels]
An alternative argument is that the way to "save the environment" and prevent famine is by using pesticides and intensive high yield farming, a view exemplified by a quote heading the Center for Global Food Issues website: 'Growing more per acre leaves more land for nature'.
However, critics argue that a trade-off between the environment and a need for food is not inevitable,
[Lappe, F. M.; Collins, J.; Rosset, P. (1998)]
"Myth 4: Food vs. Our Environment"
, pp. 42–57 in ''World Hunger, Twelve Myths'', Grove Press, New York. and that pesticides can replace
good agronomic practices such as crop rotation.
The
Push–pull agricultural pest management technique involves intercropping, using plant aromas to repel pests from crops (push) and to lure them to a place from which they can then be removed (pull).
Contributions to climate change
Agriculture, and in particular animal husbandry, is responsible for
greenhouse gas emissions of CO
2 and a percentage of the world's methane, and future land infertility, and the displacement of wildlife. Agriculture contributes to climate change by anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases, and by the conversion of non-agricultural land such as forest for agricultural use. Agriculture, forestry and land-use change contributed around 20 to 25% to global annual emissions in 2010. A range of policies can reduce the risk of negative climate change impacts on agriculture, and
greenhouse gas emissions from the agriculture sector.
Sustainability
Current farming methods have resulted in over-stretched water resources, high levels of erosion and reduced soil fertility. There is not enough water to continue farming using current practices; therefore how critical water, land, and
ecosystem
An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...
resources are used to boost crop yields must be reconsidered. A solution would be to give value to ecosystems, recognizing environmental and livelihood tradeoffs, and balancing the rights of a variety of users and interests. Inequities that result when such measures are adopted would need to be addressed, such as the reallocation of water from poor to rich, the clearing of land to make way for more productive farmland, or the preservation of a wetland system that limits fishing rights.
Technological advancements help provide farmers with tools and resources to make farming more sustainable. Technology permits innovations like
conservation tillage, a farming process which helps prevent land loss to erosion, reduces water pollution, and enhances
carbon sequestration. Other potential practices include
conservation agriculture
Conservation agriculture (CA) can be defined by a statement given by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations as "Conservation Agriculture (CA) is a farming system that can prevent losses of arable land while regenerating degrad ...
,
agroforestry, improved
grazing, avoided grassland conversion, and
biochar
Biochar is the lightweight black residue, made of carbon and
ashes, remaining after the pyrolysis of biomass. Biochar is defined by the International Biochar Initiative as "the solid material obtained from the thermochemical conversion of ...
. Current mono-crop farming practices in the United States preclude widespread adoption of sustainable practices, such as 2-3 crop rotations that incorporate grass or hay with annual crops, unless negative emission goals such as soil carbon sequestration become policy.
The International Food Policy Research Institute states that agricultural technologies will have the greatest impact on food production if adopted in combination with each other; using a model that assessed how eleven technologies could impact agricultural productivity, food security and trade by 2050, it found that the number of people at risk from hunger could be reduced by as much as 40% and food prices could be reduced by almost half.
[ The food demand of Earth's projected population, with current climate change predictions, could be satisfied by improvement of agricultural methods, expansion of agricultural areas, and a sustainability-oriented consumer mindset.
]
Energy dependence
Since the 1940s, agricultural productivity has increased dramatically, due largely to the increased use of energy-intensive mechanization, fertilizers and pesticides. The vast majority of this energy input comes from fossil fuel sources. Between the 1960s and the 1980s, the Green Revolution transformed agriculture around the globe, with world grain production increasing significantly (between 70% and 390% for wheat and 60% to 150% for rice, depending on geographic area) as world population doubled. Heavy reliance on petrochemicals has raised concerns that oil shortages could increase costs and reduce agricultural output.
Industrialized agriculture depends on fossil fuels in two fundamental ways: direct consumption on the farm and manufacture of inputs used on the farm. Direct consumption includes the use of lubricants and fuels to operate farm vehicles and machinery.
Indirect consumption includes the manufacture of fertilizers, pesticides, and farm machinery. In particular, the production of nitrogen fertilizer
A fertilizer (American English) or fertiliser (British English; see spelling differences) is any material of natural or synthetic origin that is applied to soil or to plant tissues to supply plant nutrients. Fertilizers may be distinct from ...
can account for over half of agricultural energy usage. Together, direct and indirect consumption by US farms accounts for about 2% of the nation's energy use. Direct and indirect energy consumption by U.S. farms peaked in 1979, and has since gradually declined. Food systems
The term food system describes the interconnected systems and processes that influence nutrition, food, health, community development, and agriculture. A food system includes all processes and infrastructure involved in feeding a population: growi ...
encompass not just agriculture but off-farm processing, packaging, transporting, marketing, consumption, and disposal of food and food-related items. Agriculture accounts for less than one-fifth of food system energy use in the US.
Plastic pollution
Plastic products are used extensively in agriculture, for example to increase crop yield and improve the efficiency of water and agrichemical use. "Agriplastic" products include films to cover greenhouses and tunnels, mulch to cover soil (e.g. to suppress weeds, conserve water, increase soil temperature and aid fertilizer application), shade cloth, pesticide containers, seedling trays, protective mesh and irrigation tubing. The polymers most commonly used in these products are low- density polyethylene (LPDE), linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), polypropylene (PP) and polyvinyl chloride (PVC).
The total amount of plastics used in agriculture is difficult to quantify. A 2012 study reported that almost 6.5 million tonnes per year were consumed globally while a later study estimated that global demand in 2015 was between 7.3 million and 9 million tonnes. Widespread use of plastic mulch and lack of systematic collection and management have led to the generation of large amounts of mulch residue. Weathering and degradation eventually cause the mulch to fragment. These fragments and larger pieces of plastic accumulate in soil. Mulch residue has been measured at levels of 50 to 260 kg per hectare in topsoil in areas where the mulch has been used for more than 10 years, which confirms that mulching is a major source of both microplastic and macroplastic contamination of soil.
Agricultural plastics, especially plastic films, are not easy to recycle because of high contamination levels (up to 40- 50% by weight contamination by pesticides, fertilizers, soil and debris, moist vegetation, silage juice water, and UV stabilizers) and collection difficulties . Therefore, they are often buried or abandoned in fields and watercourses or burned. These disposal practices lead to soil degradation and can result in contamination of soils and leakage of microplastics into the marine environment as a result of precipitation run-off and tidal washing. In addition, additives in residual plastic film (such as UV and thermal stabilizers) may have deleterious effects on crop growth, soil structure, nutrient transport and salt levels. There is a risk that plastic mulch will deteriorate soil quality, deplete soil organic matter stocks, increase soil water repellence and emit greenhouse gases. Microplastics released through fragmentation of agricultural plastics can absorb and concentrate contaminants capable of being passed up the trophic chain.
Disciplines
Agricultural economics
Agricultural economics is economics as it relates to the "production, distribution and consumption of griculturalgoods and services". Combining agricultural production with general theories of marketing and business as a discipline of study began in the late 1800s, and grew significantly through the 20th century. Although the study of agricultural economics is relatively recent, major trends in agriculture have significantly affected national and international economies throughout history, ranging from tenant farmers and sharecropping in the post- American Civil War Southern United States to the European feudal system of manorialism. In the United States, and elsewhere, food costs attributed to food processing, distribution, and agricultural marketing, sometimes referred to as the value chain, have risen while the costs attributed to farming have declined. This is related to the greater efficiency of farming, combined with the increased level of value addition (e.g. more highly processed products) provided by the supply chain. Market concentration
In economics, market concentration is a function of the number of firms and their respective shares of the total production (alternatively, total capacity or total reserves) in a market. In any industry, a handful of firms that hold a signific ...
has increased in the sector as well, and although the total effect of the increased market concentration is likely increased efficiency, the changes redistribute economic surplus
In mainstream economics, economic surplus, also known as total welfare or total social welfare or Marshallian surplus (after Alfred Marshall), is either of two related quantities:
* Consumer surplus, or consumers' surplus, is the monetary gain ...
from producers (farmers) and consumers, and may have negative implications for rural communities.
National government policies can significantly change the economic marketplace for agricultural products, in the form of taxation, subsidies
A subsidy or government incentive is a form of financial aid or support extended to an economic sector (business, or individual) generally with the aim of promoting economic and social policy. Although commonly extended from the government, the ter ...
, tariffs and other measures. Since at least the 1960s, a combination of trade restrictions, exchange rate policies and subsidies have affected farmers in both the developing and the developed world. In the 1980s, non-subsidized farmers in developing countries experienced adverse effects from national policies that created artificially low global prices for farm products. Between the mid-1980s and the early 2000s, several international agreements limited agricultural tariffs, subsidies and other trade restrictions.
However, , there was still a significant amount of policy-driven distortion in global agricultural product prices. The three agricultural products with the most trade distortion were sugar, milk and rice, mainly due to taxation. Among the oilseed
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
s, sesame had the most taxation, but overall, feed grains and oilseeds had much lower levels of taxation than livestock products. Since the 1980s, policy-driven distortions have seen a greater decrease among livestock products than crops during the worldwide reforms in agricultural policy. Despite this progress, certain crops, such as cotton, still see subsidies in developed countries artificially deflating global prices, causing hardship in developing countries with non-subsidized farmers. Unprocessed commodities such as corn, soybeans, and cattle are generally graded to indicate quality, affecting the price the producer receives. Commodities are generally reported by production quantities, such as volume, number or weight.
Agricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences used in the practice and understanding of agriculture. It covers topics such as agronomy, plant breeding and genetics, plant pathology, crop modelling, soil science, entomology, production techniques and improvement, study of pests and their management, and study of adverse environmental effects such as soil degradation, waste management, and bioremediation
Bioremediation broadly refers to any process wherein a biological system (typically bacteria, microalgae, fungi, and plants), living or dead, is employed for removing environmental pollutants from air, water, soil, flue gasses, industrial effluent ...
.
The scientific study of agriculture began in the 18th century, when Johann Friedrich Mayer conducted experiments on the use of gypsum (hydrated calcium sulphate
Calcium sulfate (or calcium sulphate) is the inorganic compound with the formula CaSO4 and related hydrates. In the form of γ-anhydrite (the anhydrous form), it is used as a desiccant. One particular hydrate is better known as plaster of Paris, ...
) as a fertilizer.[John Armstrong, Jesse Buel. ''A Treatise on Agriculture, The Present Condition of the Art Abroad and at Home, and the Theory and Practice of Husbandry. To which is Added, a Dissertation on the Kitchen and Garden.'' 1840. p. 45.] Research became more systematic when in 1843, John Lawes and Henry Gilbert began a set of long-term agronomy field experiments at Rothamsted Research Station in England; some of them, such as the Park Grass Experiment, are still running. In America, the Hatch Act of 1887 provided funding for what it was the first to call "agricultural science", driven by farmers' interest in fertilizers. In agricultural entomology, the USDA began to research biological control in 1881; it instituted its first large program in 1905, searching Europe and Japan for natural enemies of the gypsy moth
''Lymantria dispar'', also known as the gypsy moth or the spongy moth, is a species of moth in the family Erebidae. ''Lymantria dispar'' is subdivided into several subspecies, with subspecies such as ''L. d. dispar'' and ''L. d. japonica'' bei ...
and brown-tail moth, establishing parasitoids (such as solitary wasps) and predators of both pests in the USA.[Coulson, J. R.; Vail, P. V.; Dix M. E.; Nordlund, D. A.; Kauffman, W. C.; Eds. 2000. 110 years of biological control research and development in the United States Department of Agriculture: 1883–1993. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. pages=3–11]
Policy
Agricultural policy
Agricultural policy describes a set of laws relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultu ...
is the set of government decisions and actions relating to domestic agriculture and imports of foreign agricultural products. Governments usually implement agricultural policies with the goal of achieving a specific outcome in the domestic agricultural product markets. Some overarching themes include risk management and adjustment (including policies related to climate change, food safety and natural disasters), economic stability (including policies related to taxes), natural resources and environmental sustainability
Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and have varied in the literature and over time. The concept of sustainability can be used to guide decisions at the global, national, and individual levels (e.g. sustainable livin ...
(especially water policy), research and development, and market access for domestic commodities (including relations with global organizations and agreements with other countries). Agricultural policy can also touch on food quality
Food quality is a concept often based on the organoleptic characteristics (e.g., taste, aroma, appearance) and nutritional value of food. Producers reducing potential pathogens and other hazards through food safety practices is another important fa ...
, ensuring that the food supply is of a consistent and known quality, food security, ensuring that the food supply meets the population's needs, and conservation. Policy programs can range from financial programs, such as subsidies, to encouraging producers to enroll in voluntary quality assurance programs.
There are many influences on the creation of agricultural policy, including consumers, agribusiness, trade lobbies and other groups. Agribusiness interests hold a large amount of influence over policy making, in the form of lobbying and campaign contribution
Campaign finance, also known as election finance or political donations, refers to the funds raised to promote candidates, political parties, or policy initiatives and referendums. Political parties, charitable organizations, and political act ...
s. Political action groups, including those interested in environmental issues and labor unions, also provide influence, as do lobbying organizations representing individual agricultural commodities. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...
(FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger and provides a forum for the negotiation of global agricultural regulations and agreements. Samuel Jutzi, director of FAO's animal production and health division, states that lobbying by large corporations has stopped reforms that would improve human health and the environment. For example, proposals in 2010 for a voluntary code of conduct for the livestock industry that would have provided incentives for improving standards for health, and environmental regulations, such as the number of animals an area of land can support without long-term damage, were successfully defeated due to large food company pressure.
See also
* Aeroponics
Aeroponics is the process of growing plants in the air or mist environment without soil or an aggregate medium. The word "aeroponic" is derived from the Greek meanings of ''aer'' ("air") and ''ponos'' ("labour"). It is a subset of hydroponic ...
* Agricultural aircraft
An agricultural aircraft is an aircraft that has been built or converted for agricultural use – usually aerial application of pesticides (crop dusting) or fertilizer (aerial topdressing); in these roles they are referred to as "crop duster ...
* Agricultural engineering
* Agricultural machinery
* Agricultural robot
An agricultural robot is a robot deployed for agricultural purposes. The main area of application of robots in agriculture today is at the harvesting stage. Emerging applications of robots or drones in agriculture include weed control, cloud s ...
* Agroecology
* Agribusiness
* Agrominerals
* Building-integrated agriculture
* Contract farming
Contract farming involves agricultural production being carried out on the basis of an agreement between the buyer and farm producers. Sometimes it involves the buyer specifying the quality required and the price, with the farmer agreeing to deliv ...
* Corporate farming
* Crofting
Crofting is a form of land tenure and small-scale food production particular to the Scottish Highlands, the islands of Scotland, and formerly on the Isle of Man.
Within the 19th century townships, individual crofts were established on the bett ...
* Ecoagriculture
* Hill farming
Hill farming or terrace farming is an extensive farming in upland areas, primarily rearing sheep, although historically cattle were often reared extensively in upland areas. Fell farming is the farming of fells, a fell being an area of unculti ...
* List of documentary films about agriculture
* Pharming (genetics)
* Remote sensing
* Subsistence economy
A subsistence economy is an economy directed to basic subsistence (the provision of food, clothing, shelter) rather than to the market. Henceforth, "subsistence" is understood as supporting oneself at a minimum level. Often, the subsistence econo ...
* Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is farming in sustainable ways meeting society's present food and textile needs, without compromising the ability for current or future generations to meet their needs. It can be based on an understanding of ecosystem ser ...
* Vertical farming
* Vegetable farming
Vegetable farming is the growing of vegetables for human consumption. The practice probably started in several parts of the world over ten thousand years ago, with families growing vegetables for their own consumption or to trade locally. At fir ...
References
Cited sources
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External links
Food and Agriculture Organization
United States Department of Agriculture
Agriculture
material from the World Bank Group
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