Agriculture 2016
Agriculture 2016
Agriculture 2016
Agriculture
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Agriculture is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fiber, biofuel, medicinal plants and other
products used to sustain and enhance human life.[1] Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human
civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization. The
study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its
development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. Industrial agriculture based
on large-scale monoculture farming has become the dominant agricultural methodology.
Modern agronomy, plant breeding, agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and technological developments have in
many cases sharply increased yields from cultivation, but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and
negative human health effects. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output
of meat, but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other Fields in Záhorie (Slovakia) – a typical
chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production. Genetically modified organisms are an increasing component of Central European agricultural region
agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management are increasingly
becoming global issues that are fostering debate on a number of fronts. Significant degradation of land and water resources,
including the depletion of aquifers, has been observed in recent decades, and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of
agriculture on global warming are still not fully understood.
The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include
cereals (grains), vegetables, fruits, oils, meats and spices. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include
lumber and bamboo. Other useful materials are also produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels and
ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. Over one third of the world's workers are employed in agriculture,
second only to the service sector, although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased Domestic sheep and a cow (heifer) pastured
significantly over the past several centuries. together in South Africa
Contents
◾ 1 Etymology and terminology
◾ 2 History
◾ 3 Agriculture and civilization
◾ 4 Types of agriculture
◾ 5 Contemporary agriculture
◾ 6 Workforce
◾ 6.1 Safety
◾ 7 Agricultural production systems
◾ 7.1 Crop cultivation systems
◾ 7.1.1 Crop statistics
◾ 7.2 Livestock production systems
◾ 8 Production practices
◾ 9 Crop alteration and biotechnology
◾ 9.1 Genetic engineering
◾ 10 Environmental impact
◾ 10.1 Livestock issues
◾ 10.2 Land and water issues
◾ 10.3 Pesticides
◾ 10.4 Climate change
◾ 10.5 Sustainability
◾ 11 Agricultural economics
◾ 12 Agricultural science
◾ 13 List of countries by agricultural output
◾ 14 Energy and agriculture
◾ 14.1 Mitigation of effects of petroleum shortages
◾ 15 Policy
◾ 16 See also
◾ 17 References
◾ 18 Further reading
◾ 19 External links
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 2 of 12
History
Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa. At least 11 separate
regions of the Old and New World were involved as independent centers of origin.[7] Wild grains were collected and
eaten from at least 105,000 years ago.[8] Pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 15,000 years ago.[9] Rice was
domesticated in China between 13,500 and 8,200 years ago, followed by mung, soy and azuki beans. Sheep were
domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago.[10] From around 11,500 years ago, the eight
Neolithic founder crops, emmer and einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax were
cultivated in the Levant. Cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan
some 10,500 years ago.[11] In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years
ago, along with beans, coca, llamas, alpacas, 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,[12] and was independently domesticated in Eurasia at an unknown
time. In Mesoamerica, wild teosinte was domesticated to maize by 6,000 years ago.[13] A Sumerian harvester's sickle made from baked clay
(c. 3000 BC)
In the Middle Ages, both in the Islamic world and in Europe, agriculture was transformed with improved techniques and
the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees such as the orange to Europe
by way of Al-Andalus.[14][15] After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, sweet potatoes and manioc to Europe, and Old World
crops such as wheat, barley, rice and turnips, and livestock including horses, cattle, sheep and goats to the Americas.[16] Irrigation, crop rotation, and fertilizers were
introduced soon after the Neolithic Revolution and developed much further in the past 200 years, starting with the British Agricultural Revolution. Since 1900, agriculture in
the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labor has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by
synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding. The Haber-Bosch method allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing
crop yields.[17][18] Modern agriculture has raised political issues including water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies, leading to
alternative approaches such as the organic movement.[19][20]
Ancient Egyptians, whose agriculture depended exclusively on the Nile, deified the river, worshipped, and exalted it in a great hymn.[22] The Chinese imperial court issued
numerous edicts, stating: "Agriculture is the foundation of this Empire."[23] Egyptian, Mesopotamian, Chinese, and Inca Emperors themselves plowed ceremonial fields in
order to show personal example to everyone.[24]
Ancient strategists, Chinese Guan Zhong[25] and Shang Yang[26] and Indian Kautilya,[27] drew doctrines linking agriculture with military power. Agriculture defined the limits
on how large and for how long an army could be mobilized. Shang Yang called agriculture and war the One.[28] In the vast human pantheon of agricultural deities[29] there are
several deities who combined the functions of agriculture and war.[30]
As the Neolithic Agricultural Revolution produced civilization, the modern Agricultural Revolution, begun in Britain (British Agricultural Revolution), made possible the
Industrial civilization. The first precondition for industry was greater yields by less manpower, resulting in greater percentage of manpower available for non-agricultural
sectors.[31]
Types of agriculture
Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In nomadic pastoralism, 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.[32]
In shifting cultivation, a small area of a forest is cleared by cutting down all the trees and the area is burned. The land is then used for
growing crops for several years. When the soil becomes less fertile, the area is then 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.[33]
Reindeer herds form the basis of
Subsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere. It is intensively pastoral agriculture for several Arctic
practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia.[34] and Subarctic peoples.
In intensive farming, the crops are cultivated for commercial purpose i.e., for selling. The main motive of the farmer is to make profit,
with a low fallow ratio and a high use of inputs. This type of farming is mainly practiced in highly developed countries.[35][36]
Contemporary agriculture
In the past century, agriculture has been characterized by increased productivity, the substitution of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, water pollution, and farm
subsidies. In recent years there has been a backlash against the external environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic and sustainable agriculture
movements.[19][37] One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union, which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common
Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies,[38] also known as decoupling. The growth of organic farming has renewed research in
alternative technologies such as integrated pest management and selective breeding. Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 3 of 12
In 2007, higher incentives for farmers to grow non-food biofuel crops[39] combined with other factors, such as over development of
former farm lands, rising transportation costs, climate change, growing consumer demand in China and India, and population growth,
[40]
caused food shortages in Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Mexico, as well as rising food prices around the globe.[41][42] As of
December 2007, 37 countries faced food crises, and 20 had imposed some sort of food-price controls. Some of these shortages resulted
in food riots and even deadly stampedes.[43][44][45] 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. They in part base this on
the experience of Vietnam, which went from a food importer to large food exporter and saw a significant drop in poverty, due mainly
to the development of smallholder agriculture in the country.[46]
Disease and land degradation are two of the major concerns in agriculture today. For example, an epidemic of stem rust on wheat
caused by the Ug99 lineage is currently spreading across Africa and into Asia and is causing major concerns due to crop losses of 70%
or more under some conditions.[47] Approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[48] In Africa, if current Satellite image of farming in
trends of soil degradation continue, the continent might be able to feed just 25% of its population by 2025, according to United Nations Minnesota
University's Ghana-based Institute for Natural Resources in Africa.[49]
Agrarian structure is a long-term structure in the Braudelian understanding of the concept. On a larger scale the agrarian structure is
more dependent on the regional, social, cultural and historical factors than on the state’s undertaken activities. Like in Poland, where
despite running an intense agrarian policy for many years, the agrarian structure in 2002 has much in common with that found in 1921
soon after the partitions period.[50]
In 2009, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States,
according to the International Monetary Fund (see below). 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.[51]
Workforce
Infrared image of the above farms.
As of 2011, the International Labour Organization states that approximately one billion people, or over 1/3 of the available work force,
are employed in the global agricultural sector. Agriculture constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in Various colors indicate healthy crops
(red), flooding (black) and unwanted
many countries employs the largest percentage of women of any industry.[52] The service sector only overtook the agricultural sector as
pesticides (brown).
the largest global employer in 2007. Between 1997 and 2007, the percentage of people employed in agriculture fell by over four
percentage points, a trend that is expected to continue.[53] The number of people employed in agriculture varies widely on a per-
country basis, ranging from less than 2% in countries like the US and Canada to over 80% in many African nations.[54] In developed countries, these figures are significantly
lower than in previous centuries. During the 16th century in Europe, for example, between 55 and 75 percent of the population was engaged in agriculture, depending on the
country. By the 19th century in Europe, this had dropped to between 35 and 65 percent.[55] In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%.[54]
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, 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.[56] Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can also be hazardous to worker health,
and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects.[57] 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.[58] Common causes of
fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor vehicle-related accidents.[58]
The International Labour Organization considers agriculture "one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors."[52] It estimates that Rollover protection bar on a Fordson
the annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs. In addition, tractor
[59]
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.[52]
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.[60][61]
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.[62] 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,
Rice cultivation in Bihar, India requiring the input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure) and some manual pest control. 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 monocultures, 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.[61] 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.[62]
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, highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system.[62]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 4 of 12
Crop statistics
Important categories of crops include cereals and pseudocereals, pulses (legumes), forage, and fruits and vegetables. Specific crops are
cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout the world. In millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimate.
Top agricultural products, by crop types Top agricultural products, by individual crops
(million tonnes) 2004 data (million tonnes) 2011 data
Cereals 2,263 Sugar cane 1794
Vegetables and melons 866 Maize 883 The Banaue Rice Terraces in Ifugao,
Roots and tubers 715 Rice 722 Philippines
Animals, including horses, mules, oxen, water buffalo, camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, 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.
Livestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless.[64] As of 2010, 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 Ploughing rice paddy fields with
cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases. Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are water buffalo, in Indonesia
[65]
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.[66]
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.[67]
Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland, rangeland, and pastures for feeding ruminant
animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This
An ox-pulled plough in India
system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30 – 40 million
[62]
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.[64]
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(OECD) member countries. Synthetic fertilizers are more heavily relied upon for crop production and manure utilization becomes a challenge as
well as a source for pollution.[64] 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.[65] Some of the practices used in commercial livestock production, including the usage of
growth hormones, are controversial.[68]
Production practices
Farming is the practice of agriculture by specialized labor in an area primarily devoted to agricultural processes, in service of a
dislocated population usually in a city.
Tillage is the practice of plowing soil to prepare for planting or for nutrient incorporation or for pest control. Tillage varies in intensity
from conventional to no-till. 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 CO2, and reduces the abundance and
diversity of soil organisms.[69][70] Road leading across the farm allows
machinery access to the farm for
Pest control includes the management of weeds, insects, mites, and diseases. Chemical (pesticides), biological (biocontrol), mechanical
production practices
(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.[71]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 5 of 12
Nutrient management includes both the source of nutrient inputs for crop and livestock production, and the method of utilization of manure produced by livestock. Nutrient
inputs can be chemical inorganic fertilizers, manure, green manure, compost and mined minerals.[72] Crop nutrient use may also be managed using cultural techniques such as
crop rotation or a fallow period.[73][74] 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.
Water management is needed where rainfall is insufficient or variable, which occurs to some degree in most regions of the world.[62] 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.[75] Agriculture represents 70% of freshwater use worldwide.[76]
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.[77]
"Payment for ecosystem services (PES) can further incentivise efforts to green the agriculture sector. This is an approach that verifies values and rewards the benefits of
ecosystem services provided by green agricultural practices."[78] "Innovative PES measures could include reforestation payments made by cities to upstream communities in
rural areas of shared watersheds for improved quantities and quality of fresh water for municipal users. Ecoservice payments by farmers to upstream forest stewards for
properly managing the flow of soil nutrients, and methods to monetise the carbon sequestration and emission reduction credit benefits of green agriculture practices in order to
compensate farmers for their efforts to restore and build SOM and employ other practices."[78]
Domestication of plants has, over the centuries increased yield, improved disease resistance and drought tolerance, eased harvest and
improved the taste and nutritional value of crop plants. Careful selection and breeding have had enormous effects on the characteristics Tractor and chaser bin
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.[80][81]
The Green Revolution popularized the use of conventional hybridization to sharply increase yield by creating "high-yielding varieties". 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,
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).[82][83][84]
Genetic engineering
Genetically modified organisms (GMO) are organisms 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 utilize 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.[85] For some, GMO crops cause food safety and food
labeling concerns. Numerous countries have placed restrictions on the production, import or use of GMO foods and crops, which have been put in place due to concerns over
potential health issues, declining agricultural diversity and contamination of non-GMO crops.[86] Currently a global treaty, the Biosafety Protocol, 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.[87]
Herbicide-resistant seed has a gene implanted into its genome that allows the plants to tolerate exposure to herbicides, including glyphosates. 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.[88] 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.[89][90] 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.[91]
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 protect plants from damage by insects.[92] 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.[93]
Environmental impact
Agriculture, as implemented through the method of farming, imposes external costs upon society through pesticides, nutrient runoff, excessive water usage, loss of natural
environment and assorted other problems. A 2000 assessment of agriculture in the UK determined total external costs for 1996 of £2,343 million, or £208 per hectare.[94] A
2005 analysis of these costs in the USA concluded that cropland imposes approximately $5 to 16 billion ($30 to $96 per hectare), while livestock production imposes $714
million.[95] 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.[94][95] In 2010, the International Resource Panel of the United Nations Environment
Programme published a report assessing the environmental impacts of consumption and production. The study found that agriculture and food consumption are two of the
most important drivers of environmental pressures, particularly habitat change, climate change, water use and toxic emissions.[96] The 2011 UNEP Green Economy report
states that "[a]gricultural operations, excluding land use changes, produce approximately 13 per cent of anthropogenic global GHG emissions. This includes GHGs emitted by
the use of inorganic fertilisers agro-chemical pesticides and herbicides; (GHG emissions resulting from production of these inputs are included in industrial emissions); and
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 6 of 12
fossil fuel-energy inputs.[78] "On average we find that the total amount of fresh residues from agricultural and forestry production for
second- generation biofuel production amounts to 3.8 billion tonnes per year between 2011 and 2050 (with an average annual growth
rate of 11 per cent throughout the period analysed, accounting for higher growth during early years, 48 per cent for 2011–2020 and an
average 2 per cent annual expansion after 2020)."[78]
Livestock issues
A senior UN official and co-author of a UN report detailing this problem, Henning Steinfeld, said "Livestock are one of the most
significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems".[97] 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 CO2 equivalents. By comparison, all transportation emits 13.5% of the CO2. It
produces 65% of human-related nitrous oxide (which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2,) and 37% of all human-
induced methane (which is 23 times as warming as CO2.) 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 feedcrops.[98] Through deforestation and land degradation, livestock is also driving reductions in biodiversity. Water pollution in a rural stream due
Furthermore, the UNEP states that "methane emissions from global livestock are projected to increase by 60 per cent by 2030 under
to runoff from farming activity in
[78]
current practices and consumption patterns." New Zealand
Land transformation, the use of land to yield goods and services, is the most substantial way humans alter the Earth's ecosystems, and is considered the driving force in the
loss of biodiversity. Estimates of the amount of land transformed by humans vary from 39 to 50%.[99] Land degradation, the long-term decline in ecosystem function and
productivity, is estimated to be occurring on 24% of land worldwide, with cropland overrepresented.[100] The UN-FAO report cites land management as the driving factor
behind degradation and reports that 1.5 billion people rely upon the degrading land. Degradation can be deforestation, desertification, soil erosion, mineral depletion, or
chemical degradation (acidification and salinization).[62]
Eutrophication, excessive nutrients in aquatic ecosystems resulting in algal blooms and anoxia, leads to fish kills, loss of biodiversity, 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 and phosphorus)
runoff and leaching from agricultural land. These nutrients are major nonpoint pollutants contributing to eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems.[101]
Agriculture accounts for 70 percent of withdrawals of freshwater resources.[102] 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.[103] 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.[104] 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.[105]
Pesticides
Pesticide use has increased since 1950 to 2.5 million short tons annually worldwide, yet crop loss from pests has remained relatively constant.[106] The World Health
Organization estimated in 1992 that 3 million pesticide poisonings occur annually, causing 220,000 deaths.[107] Pesticides select for pesticide resistance in the pest population,
leading to a condition termed the "pesticide treadmill" in which pest resistance warrants the development of a new pesticide.[108]
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'.[109][110] However, critics argue that a trade-off between the
environment and a need for food is not inevitable,[111] and that pesticides simply replace good agronomic practices such as crop rotation.[108] The UNEP introduces the Push
–pull agricultural pest management technique which involves intercropping that uses plant aromas to repel or push away pests while pulling in or attracting the right insects.
"The implementation of push-pull in eastern Africa has significantly increased maize yields and the combined cultivation of N-fixing forage crops has enriched the soil and
has also provided farmers with feed for livestock. With increased livestock operations, the farmers are able to produce meat, milk and other dairy products and they use the
manure as organic fertiliser that returns nutrients to the fields."[78]
Climate change
Climate change has the potential to affect agriculture through changes in temperature, rainfall (timing and quantity), CO2, solar radiation and the interaction of these elements.
[62]
Extreme events, such as droughts and floods, are forecast to increase as climate change takes hold.[112] Agriculture is among sectors most vulnerable to the impacts of
climate change; water supply for example, will be critical to sustain agricultural production and provide the increase in food output required to sustain the world's growing
population. Fluctuations in the flow of rivers are likely to increase in the twenty-first century. Based on the experience of countries in the Nile river basin (Ethiopia, Kenya
and Sudan) and other developing countries, depletion of water resources during seasons crucial for agriculture can lead to a decline in yield by up to 50%.[113]
Transformational approaches will be needed to manage natural resources in the future.[114] For example, policies, practices and tools promoting climate-smart agriculture will
be important, as will better use of scientific information on climate for assessing risks and vulnerability. Planners and policy-makers will need to help create suitable policies
that encourage funding for such agricultural transformation.[115]
Agriculture in its many forms can both mitigate or worsen global warming. Some of the increase in CO2 in the atmosphere comes from the decomposition of organic matter in
the soil, and much of the methane emitted into the atmosphere is caused by the decomposition of organic matter in wet soils such as rice paddy fields,[116] as well as the
normal digestive activities of farm animals. Further, wet or anaerobic soils also lose nitrogen through denitrification, releasing the greenhouse gases nitric oxide and nitrous
oxide.[117] Changes in management can reduce the release of these greenhouse gases, and soil can further be used to sequester some of the CO2 in the atmosphere.[116]
Informed by the UNEP, "[a]griculture also produces about 58 per cent of global nitrous oxide emissions and about 47 per cent of global methane emissions. Cattle and rice
farms release methane, fertilized fields release nitrous oxide, and the cutting down of rainforests to grow crops or raise livestock releases carbon dioxide.[118] Both of these
gases have a far greater global warming potential per tonne than CO2 (298 times and 25 times respectively)."[78]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 7 of 12
There are several factors within the field of agriculture that contribute to the large amount of CO2 emissions. The diversity of the sources ranges from the production of
farming tools to the transport of harvested produce. Approximately 8% of the national carbon footprint is due to agricultural sources. Of that, 75% is of the carbon emissions
released from the production of crop assisting chemicals.[119] Factories producing insecticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers are a major culprit of the greenhouse gas.
Productivity on the farm itself and the use of machinery is another source of the carbon emission. Almost all the industrial machines used in modern farming are powered by
fossil fuels. These instruments are burning fossil fuels from the beginning of the process to the end. Tractors are the root of this source. The tractor is going to burn fuel and
release CO2 just to run. The amount of emissions from the machinery increase with the attachment of different units and need for more power. During the soil preparation
stage tillers and plows will be used to disrupt the soil. During growth watering pumps and sprayers are used to keep the crops hydrated. And when the crops are ready for
picking a forage or combine harvester is used. These types of machinery all require additional energy which leads to increased carbon dioxide emissions from the basic
tractors.[120] The final major contribution to CO2 emissions in agriculture is in the final transport of produce. Local farming suffered a decline over the past century due to
large amounts of farm subsidies. The majority of crops are shipped hundreds of miles to various processing plants before ending up in the grocery store. These shipments are
made using fossil fuel burning modes of transportation. Inevitably these transport adds to carbon dioxide emissions.[121]
Sustainability
Some major organizations are hailing farming within agroecosystems as the way forward for mainstream agriculture. Current farming methods have resulted in over-stretched
water resources, high levels of erosion and reduced soil fertility. According to a report by the International Water Management Institute and UNEP,[122] there is not enough
water to continue farming using current practices; therefore how critical water, land, and ecosystem resources are used to boost crop yields must be reconsidered. The report
suggested assigning 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.[123]
Technological advancements help provide farmers with tools and resources to make farming more sustainable.[124] New technologies have given rise to innovations like
conservation tillage, a farming process which helps prevent land loss to erosion, water pollution and enhances carbon sequestration.[125]
According to a report by the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI),[77] 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, IFPRI 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.
Agricultural economics
Agricultural economics refers to economics as it relates to the "production, distribution and consumption of [agricultural] goods and services".[126] 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.[127] 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[128] to the European feudal system of manorialism.[129] 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 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 from producers (farmers) and consumers, and may have negative implications for rural communities.[130]
National government policies can significantly change the economic marketplace for agricultural products, in the form of taxation, subsidies, tariffs and other measures.[131]
Since at least the 1960s, a combination of import/export restrictions, exchange rate policies and subsidies have affected farmers in both the developing and developed world.
In the 1980s, it was clear that non-subsidized farmers in developing countries were experiencing 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 were put into place that limited agricultural tariffs, subsidies and other
trade restrictions.[132]
However, as of 2009, there was still a significant amount of policy-driven distortion in global agricultural product prices. The three agricultural products with the greatest
amount of trade distortion were sugar, milk and rice, mainly due to taxation. Among the oilseeds, sesame had the greatest amount of 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.[133] 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.[134] Unprocessed commodities (i.e. corn, soybeans, cows) are generally graded
to indicate quality. The quality affects the price the producer receives. Commodities are generally reported by production quantities, such as volume, number or weight.[135]
Agricultural science
Agricultural science is a broad multidisciplinary field of biology that encompasses the parts of exact, natural, economic and social sciences that are used in the practice and
understanding of agriculture. (Veterinary science, but not animal science, is often excluded from the definition.)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 8 of 12
(09) Argentina 59
51
(10) Japan 47
(11) Egypt 47
(12) Thailand 47
(13) Russia 46
(14) Australia 43
(15) Mexico 42
(16) France 41
(17) Italy 39
(18) Spain 37
(19) Vietnam 36
(20) Iran
The twenty largest countries by agricultural output in 2015, according to the IMF and CIA World Factbook.
Modern or industrialized agriculture is dependent on fossil fuels in two fundamental ways: 1. direct consumption
on the farm and 2. indirect consumption to manufacture inputs used on the farm. Direct consumption includes the Agriculture and food system share (%) of total energy
use of lubricants and fuels to operate farm vehicles and machinery; and use of gasoline, liquid propane, and consumption by three industrialized nations
electricity to power dryers, pumps, lights, heaters, and coolers. American farms directly consumed about 1.2 Agriculture Food
Country Year
exajoules (1.1 quadrillion BTU) in 2002, or just over 1% of the nation's total energy.[138] (direct & indirect) system
Indirect consumption is mainly oil and natural gas used to manufacture fertilizers and pesticides, which accounted United Kingdom[139] 2005 1.9 11
[140]
for 0.6 exajoules (0.6 quadrillion BTU) in 2002. [138]
The natural gas and coal consumed by the production of United States 2002 2.0 14
nitrogen fertilizer can account for over half of the agricultural energy usage. China utilizes mostly coal in the Sweden[141] 2000 2.5 13
production of nitrogen fertilizer, while most of Europe uses large amounts of natural gas and small amounts of coal.
According to a 2010 report published by The Royal Society, agriculture is increasingly dependent on the direct and
indirect input of fossil fuels. Overall, the fuels used in agriculture vary based on several factors, including crop, production system and location.[142] The energy used to
manufacture farm machinery is also a form of indirect agricultural energy consumption. 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 gradually declined over the past 30 years.[138] Food systems encompass not
just agricultural production, but also 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.[143][140]
In the event of a petroleum shortage (see peak oil for global concerns), organic agriculture can be more attractive than conventional
practices that use petroleum-based pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Some studies using modern organic-farming methods have
reported yields equal to or higher than those available from conventional farming.[145] In the aftermath of the fall of the Soviet Union,
with shortages of conventional petroleum-based inputs, Cuba made use of mostly organic practices, including biopesticides, plant-
based pesticides and sustainable cropping practices, to feed its populace.[146] However, organic farming may be more labor-intensive
and would require a shift of the workforce from urban to rural areas.[147] The reconditioning of soil to restore organic matter lost during
the use of monoculture agriculture techniques is important to provide a reservoir of plant-available nutrients, to maintain texture, and
to minimize erosion.[148]
M. King Hubbert's prediction of
It has been suggested that rural communities might obtain fuel from the biochar and synfuel process, which uses agricultural waste to world petroleum production rates.
provide charcoal fertilizer, some fuel and food, instead of the normal food vs. fuel debate. As the synfuel would be used on-site, the Modern agriculture is totally reliant
process would be more efficient and might just provide enough fuel for a new organic-agriculture fusion.[149][150] on petroleum energy[144]
It has been suggested that some transgenic plants may some day be developed which would allow for maintaining or increasing yields while requiring fewer fossil-fuel-
derived inputs than conventional crops.[151] The possibility of success of these programs is questioned by ecologists and economists concerned with unsustainable GMO
practices such as terminator seeds.[152][153] While there has been some research on sustainability using GMO crops, at least one prominent multi-year attempt by Monsanto
Company has been unsuccessful, though during the same period traditional breeding techniques yielded a more sustainable variety of the same crop.[154]
Policy
Agricultural policy 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 (especially water policy), research and development, and market access for domestic commodities (including relations with global
organizations and agreements with other countries).[155] Agricultural policy can also touch on food quality, 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.[156]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 9 of 12
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
contributions. Political action groups, including those interested in environmental issues and labor unions, also provide
influence, as do lobbying organizations representing individual agricultural commodities.[157] The Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO) leads international efforts to defeat hunger and provides a forum for the
negotiation of global agricultural regulations and agreements. Dr. 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.[158]
See also
◾ Aeroponics
◾ Agricultural engineering
◾ Agricultural value chain From a Congressional Budget Office report
◾ Agroecology
◾ Agroforestry
◾ Building-integrated agriculture
◾ Contract farming
◾ Corporate farming
◾ Crofting
◾ Crop
◾ Ecoagriculture
◾ Feed additive
◾ Food security
◾ Hill farming
◾ List of documentary films about agriculture
◾ Pharming (genetics)
◾ Remote sensing
◾ Subsistence economy
◾ Vertical farming
References
1. Safety and health in agriculture. International Labour Organization. 1999. pp. 77–. 19. Philpott, Tom (19 April 2013). "A Brief History of Our Deadly Addiction to Nitrogen
ISBN 978-92-2-111517-5. Retrieved 13 September 2010. Fertilizer". Mother Jones. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
2. Chantrell, Glynnis, ed. (2002). The Oxford Dictionary of Word Histories. Oxford 20. "Ten worst famines of the 20th century". Sydney Morning Herald. 15 August 2011.
University Press. p. 14. ISBN 0-19-863121-9. 21. H. G. Wells (1914). World Set Free. Macmillan. p. 194.
3. Ulrich G. Mueller; Nicole M. Gerardo; Duur K. Aanen; Diana L. Six; Ted R. Schultz 22. Ancient Egyptian Literature: A Book of Readings, (ed. Miriam Lichtheim, Berkeley &
(December 2005). "The Evolution of Agriculture in Insects". Annual Review of Ecology, Los Angeles & London: University of California Press, 1975, vol I, p 205-209).
Evolution, and Systematics. 36: 563–595. 23. Han Agriculture: The Foundation of Early Chinese Agrarian Economy, 206 BC – AD
doi:10.1146/annurev.ecolsys.36.102003.152626. 220, (ed. Cho-yun Hsu, Seattle & London: University of Washington Press, p 169-170).
4. "Definition of Agriculture". State of Maine. Retrieved 6 May 2013. 24. Guan Zhong, Guanzi: Economic Dialogues in Ancient China, (trs. Po-fu Tan, & Kuang-
5. Committee on Forestry Research, National Research Council (1990). Forestry wen Wen, Connecticut: New Heaven, 1954, p 174); Samuel Noah Kramer, History
Research: A Mandate for Change. National Academies Press. pp. 15–16. ISBN 0-309- Begins at Sumer: Thirty-Nine Firsts in Man's Recorded History, New York: University
04248-8. of Pennsylvania Press, 1953, p 96-97; Rafael Karsten, A Totalitarian State of the Past:
6. Budowski, Gerardo (1982). "Applicability of agro-forestry systems". In MacDonald, The Civilization of the Inca Empire in Ancient Peru, Helsingforce: Academic Bookstore,
L.H. Agro-forestry in the African Humid Tropics. United Nations University. ISBN 92- 1949, p 93, 181.
808-0364-6. Retrieved 17 March 2016. 25. Guanzi: Economic Dialogues in Ancient China, (trs. Po-fu Tan, & Kuang-wen Wen,
7. Larson, G.; Piperno, D. R.; Allaby, R. G.; Purugganan, M. D.; Andersson, L.; Arroyo- Connecticut: New Heaven, 1954, p 94, 129-130, 156-157, 362).
Kalin, M.; Barton, L.; Climer Vigueira, C.; Denham, T.; Dobney, K.; Doust, A.N.; 26. The Book of the Governor of the Shang Region,( tr. L. S. Perelomov, Moscow: Nauka,
Gepts, P.; Gilbert, M. T. P.; Gremillion, K. J.; Lucas, L.; Lukens, L.; Marshall, F. B.; 1993, p 153).
Olsen, K.M.; Pires, J.C.; Richerson, P.J.; Rubio De Casas, R.; Sanjur, O.I.; Thomas, 27. Arthashastra, (tr. T. N. Ramaswamy, London: Asia Publishers, 1962, p 126, 128).
M.G.; Fuller, D.Q. (2014). "Current perspectives and the future of domestication 28. One chapter Shang Yang titled "Reflections on the One," The Book of the Governor of
studies". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 111 (17): 6139. the Shang Region, (p 150).
doi:10.1073/pnas.1323964111 . 29. Category:agricultural deities; Category:agricultural gods
8. Harmon, Katherine (17 December 2009). "Humans feasting on grains for at least 30. The Mesopotamian Lahmu; the Hittite goddess of Arinna, and the Roman Janus. From
100,000 years". Scientific American. Retrieved 28 August 2016. Lahmu derive two Hebrew words—warfare (lehima) and bread (lehem).
9. Nelson, Sarah M. (1998). Ancestors for the Pigs. Pigs in prehistory. University of 31. Barrington Moore, Social Origins of Democracy and Dictatorship, (London: Penguin
Pennsylvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology. Books, 1967, p 429; Shepard B. Clough & Richard T. Rapp, European Economic
10. Ensminger, M.E.; Parker, R.O. (1986). Sheep and Goat Science (Fifth ed.). Interstate History: The Economic Development of Western Civilization, (London & Sydney:
Printers and Publishers. ISBN 0-8134-2464-X. McGraw-Hill, 1968, p 258).
11. McTavish, E.J.; Decker, J.E.; Schnabel, R.D.; Taylor, J.F. & Hillis, D.M. (2013). "New 32. Blench, Roger (2001). Pastoralists in the new millennium (PDF). FAO. pp. 11–12.
World cattle show ancestry from multiple independent domestication events". Proc. 33. "Shifting cultivation". Survival International. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110: E1398–406. doi:10.1073/pnas.1303367110. PMC 3625352 34. Waters, Tony (2007). The Persistence of Subsistence Agriculture: life beneath the level
. PMID 23530234. of the marketplace. Lexington Books.
12. Broudy, Eric (1979). The Book of Looms: A History of the Handloom from Ancient 35. Encyclopaedia Britannica's definition of Intensive Agriculture
Times to the Present. UPNE. p. 81. ISBN 978-0-87451-649-4. (http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9042533)
13. S. Johannessen and C. A. Hastorf (eds.) Corn and Culture in the Prehistoric New World, 36. BBC School fact sheet on intensive farming
Westview Press, Boulder, Colorado. (http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/biology/livingthingsenvironment/4foodandsu
14. Watson, Andrew M. (1974). "The Arab Agricultural Revolution and Its Diffusion, 700- 37. Scheierling, Susanne M. (1995). "Overcoming agricultural pollution of water: the
1100". The Journal of Economic History. 34 (1): 8–35. challenge of integrating agricultural and environmental policies in the European Union,
15. National Geographic (2015). Food Journeys of a Lifetime. National Geographic Society. Volume 1". The World Bank. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
p. 126. ISBN 978-1-4262-1609-1. 38. "CAP Reform". European Commission. 2003. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
16. Crosby, Alfred. "The Columbian Exchange". The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American 39. Smith, Kate; Edwards, Rob (8 March 2008). "2008: The year of global food crisis". The
History. Retrieved 11 May 2013. Herald. Glasgow.
17. Janick, Jules. "Agricultural Scientific Revolution: Mechanical" (PDF). Purdue 40. "The global grain bubble". The Christian Science Monitor. 18 January 2008. Retrieved
University. Retrieved 24 May 2013. 26 September 2013.
18. Reid, John F. (2011). "The Impact of Mechanization on Agriculture". The Bridge on 41. "The cost of food: Facts and figures". BBC. 16 October 2008. Retrieved 26 September
Agriculture and Information Technology. 41 (3). 2013.
42. Walt, Vivienne (27 February 2008). "The World's Growing Food-Price Crisis". Time.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 10 of 12
43. Watts, Jonathan (4 December 2007). "Riots and hunger feared as demand for grain sends 80. Stadler, L. J.; Sprague, G.F. (15 October 1936). "Genetic Effects of Ultra-Violet
food costs soaring" (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/dec/04/china.business), Radiation in Maize: I. Unfiltered Radiation" (PDF). Proceedings of the National
The Guardian (London). Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. US Department of Agriculture and
44. Mortished, Carl (7 March 2008)."Already we have riots, hoarding, panic: the sign of Missouri Agricultural Experiment Station. 22 (10): 572–578.
things to doi:10.1073/pnas.22.10.572. PMC 1076819 . PMID 16588111. Archived (PDF) from
come?" (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/environment/article3500975.ece), The the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 11 October 2007.
Times (London). 81. Berg, Paul; Singer, Maxine (15 August 2003). George Beadle: An Uncommon Farmer.
45. Borger, Julian (26 February 2008). "Feed the world? We are fighting a losing battle, UN The Emergence of Genetics in the 20th century. Cold Springs Harbor Laboratory Press.
admits" (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2008/feb/26/food.unitednations), ISBN 978-0-87969-688-7.
The Guardian (London). 82. Ruttan, Vernon W. (December 1999). "Biotechnology and Agriculture: A Skeptical
46. "Food prices: smallholder farmers can be part of the solution". International Fund for Perspective" (PDF). AgBioForum. 2 (1): 54–60.
Agricultural Development. Retrieved 24 April 2013. 83. Cassman, K. (5 December 1998). "Ecological intensification of cereal production
47. "Wheat Stem Rust – UG99 (Race TTKSK)". FAO. Retrieved 6 January 2014. systems: The Challenge of increasing crop yield potential and precision agriculture".
48. Sample, Ian (31 August 2007). "Global food crisis looms as climate change and Proceedings of a National Academy of Sciences Colloquium, Irvine, California.
population growth strip fertile University of Nebraska. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved
land" (https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2007/aug/31/climatechange.food), 11 October 2007.
The Guardian (London). 84. Conversion note: 1 bushel of wheat = 60 pounds (lb) ≈ 27.215 kg. 1 bushel of maize =
49. "Africa may be able to feed only 25% of its population by 2025". Mongabay. 14 56 pounds ≈ 25.401 kg
December 2006. Archived from the original on 27 November 2011. Retrieved 15 July 85. "20 Questions on Genetically Modified Foods". World Health Organization. Retrieved
2016. 16 April 2013.
50. M. Pietrzak, D. Walczak. 2014. The Analysis of the Agrarian Structure in Poland with 86. Whiteside, Stephanie (28 November 2012). "Peru bans genetically modified foods as US
the Special Consideration of the Years 1921 and 2002, Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural lags". Current TV. Archived from the original on 24 March 2013. Retrieved 7 May
Science, Vol 20, No 5, pp. 1025, 1038. (http://www.agrojournal.org/20/05-03.pdf) 2013.
51. "Agricultural Productivity in the United States". USDA Economic Research Service. 5 87. Shiva, Vandana (2005). Earth Democracy: Justice, Sustainability, and Peace.
July 2012. Retrieved 22 April 2013. Cambridge, MA: South End Press.
52. "Safety and health in agriculture". International Labour Organization. 21 March 2011. 88. Kathrine Hauge Madsen; Jens Carl Streibig. "Benefits and risks of the use of herbicide-
Retrieved 24 April 2013. resistant crops". Weed Management for Developing Countries. FAO. Retrieved 4 May
53. "Services sector overtakes farming as world's biggest employer: ILO". The Financial 2013.
Express. Associated Press. 26 January 2007. Retrieved 24 April 2013. 89. "Farmers Guide to GMOs" (PDF). Rural Advancement Foundation International.
54. "Labor Force – By Occupation". The World Factbook. Central Intelligence Agency. Retrieved 16 April 2013.
Retrieved 4 May 2013. 90. Brian Hindo (13 February 2008). "Report Raises Alarm over 'Super-weeds' ".
55. Allen, Robert C. "Economic structure and agricultural productivity in Europe, 1300 Bloomberg BusinessWeek.
–1800" (PDF). European Review of Economic History. 3: 1–25. 91. Ozturk; et al. (2008). "Glyphosate inhibition of ferric reductase activity in iron deficient
56. "NIOSH Workplace Safety & Health Topic: Agricultural Injuries". Centers for Disease sunflower roots". New Phytologist. 177: 899–906. doi:10.1111/j.1469-
Control and Prevention. Retrieved 16 April 2013. 8137.2007.02340.x.
57. "NIOSH Pesticide Poisoning Monitoring Program Protects Farmworkers". Centers for 92. "Insect-resistant Crops Through Genetic Engineering". University of Illinois. Retrieved
Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved 15 April 2013. 4 May 2013.
58. "NIOSH Workplace Safety & Health Topic: Agriculture". Centers for Disease Control 93. Kimbrell, A. (2002). Fatal Harvest: The Tragedy of Industrial Agriculture. Washington:
and Prevention. Retrieved 16 April 2013. Island Press.
59. "Agriculture: A hazardous work". International Labour Organization. 15 June 2009. 94. Pretty, J; et al. (2000). "An assessment of the total external costs of UK agriculture".
Retrieved 24 April 2013. Agricultural Systems. 65 (2): 113–136. doi:10.1016/S0308-521X(00)00031-7.
60. "Analysis of farming systems". Food and Agriculture Organization. Retrieved 22 May 95. Tegtmeier, E.M.; Duffy, M. (2005). "External Costs of Agricultural Production in the
2013. United States" (PDF). The Earthscan Reader in Sustainable Agriculture.
61. Acquaah, G. 2002. Agricultural Production Systems. pp. 283 – 317 in "Principles of 96. International Resource Panel (2010). "Priority products and materials: assessing the
Crop Production, Theories, Techniques and Technology". Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle environmental impacts of consumption and production". United Nations Environment
River, NJ. Programme. Archived from the original on 24 December 2012. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
62. Chrispeels, M.J.; Sadava, D.E. 1994. "Farming Systems: Development, Productivity, 97. "Livestock a major threat to environment". UN Food and Agriculture Organization. 29
and Sustainability". pp. 25 – 57 in Plants, Genes, and Agriculture. Jones and Bartlett, November 2006. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 24 April
Boston, MA. 2013.
63. "Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAOSTAT)". Archived 98. Steinfeld, H.; Gerber, P.; Wassenaar, T.; Castel, V.; Rosales, M.; de Haan, C. (2006).
from the original on 18 January 2013. Retrieved 2 February 2013. "Livestock's Long Shadow – Environmental issues and options" (PDF). Rome: U.N.
64. Sere, C.; Steinfeld, H.; Groeneweld, J. (1995). "Description of Systems in World Food and Agriculture Organization. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 June 2008.
Livestock Systems – Current status issues and trends". U.N. Food and Agriculture Retrieved 5 December 2008.
Organization. Retrieved 8 September 2013. 99. Vitousek, P.M.; Mooney, H.A.; Lubchenco, J.; Melillo, J.M. (1997). "Human
65. Thornton, Philip K. (27 September 2010). "Livestock production: recent trends, future Domination of Earth's Ecosystems". Science. 277 (5325): 494–499.
prospects". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B. 365 (1554): 2853–2867. doi:10.1126/science.277.5325.494.
doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0134 . 100. Bai, Z.G.; D.L. Dent; L. Olsson & M.E. Schaepman (November 2008). "Global
66. Stier, Ken (19 September 2007). "Fish Farming's Growing Dangers". Time. assessment of land degradation and improvement: 1. identification by remote
67. P. Ajmone-Marsan (May 2010). "A global view of livestock biodiversity and sensing" (PDF). FAO/ISRIC. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
conservation – GLOBALDIV". Animal Genetics. 41 (supplement S1): 1–5. 101. Carpenter, S.R.; N.F. Caraco; D.L. Correll; R.W. Howarth; A.N. Sharpley & V.H. Smith
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2052.2010.02036.x. (1998). "Nonpoint Pollution of Surface Waters with Phosphorus and Nitrogen".
68. "Growth Promoting Hormones Pose Health Risk to Consumers, Confirms EU Scientific Ecological Applications. 8 (3): 559–568. doi:10.1890/1051-0761(1998)008
Committee" (PDF). European Union. 23 April 2002. Retrieved 6 April 2013. [0559:NPOSWW]2.0.CO;2. hdl:1808/16724 .
69. Brady, N.C. and R.R. Weil. 2002. Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils. 102. Molden, D. (ed.). "Findings of the Comprehensive Assessment of Water Management in
Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. Agriculture" (PDF). Annual Report 2006/2007. International Water Management
70. Acquaah, G. 2002. "Land Preparation and Farm Energy" pp.318 – 338 in Principles of Institute. Retrieved 6 January 2014.
Crop Production, Theories, Techniques and Technology. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle 103. Li, Sophia (13 August 2012). "Stressed Aquifers Around the Globe". New York Times.
River, NJ. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
71. Acquaah, G. 2002. "Pesticide Use in U.S. Crop Production" pp.240 – 282 in Principles 104. "Water Use in Agriculture". FAO. November 2005. Archived from the original on 13
of Crop Production, Theories, Techniques and Technology. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle June 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
River, NJ. 105. "Water Management: Towards 2030". FAO. March 2003. Archived from the original on
72. Acquaah, G. 2002. "Soil and Land" pp.165 – 210 in Principles of Crop Production, 10 May 2013. Retrieved 7 May 2013.
Theories, Techniques and Technology. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. 106. Pimentel, D.; T.W. Culliney; T. Bashore (1996). "Public health risks associated with
73. Chrispeels, M.J.; Sadava, D.E. 1994. "Nutrition from the Soil" pp.187 – 218 in Plants, pesticides and natural toxins in foods". Radcliffe's IPM World Textbook. Retrieved
Genes, and Agriculture. Jones and Bartlett, Boston, MA. 7 May 2013.
74. Brady, N.C.; Weil, R.R. 2002. "Practical Nutrient Management" pp.472 – 515 in 107. WHO. 1992. Our planet, our health: Report of the WHO commission on health and
Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle environment. Geneva: World Health Organization.
River, NJ. 108. Chrispeels, M.J. and D.E. Sadava. 1994. "Strategies for Pest Control" pp.355 – 383 in
75. Acquaah, G. 2002. "Plants and Soil Water" pp.211 – 239 in Principles of Crop Plants, Genes, and Agriculture. Jones and Bartlett, Boston, MA.
Production, Theories, Techniques and Technology. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, 109. Avery, D.T. (2000). Saving the Planet with Pesticides and Plastic: The Environmental
NJ. Triumph of High-Yield Farming. Indianapolis, IN: Hudson Institute.
76. Pimentel, D.; Berger, D.; Filberto, D.; Newton, M.; et al. (2004). "Water Resources: 110. "Center for Global Food Issues". Center for Global Food Issues. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
Agricultural and Environmental Issues". BioScience. 54 (10): 909–918. 111. Lappe, F.M., J. Collins, and P. Rosset. 1998. "Myth 4: Food vs. Our Environment" pp.
doi:10.1641/0006-3568(2004)054[0909:WRAAEI]2.0.CO;2 . 42 – 57 in World Hunger, Twelve Myths, Grove Press, New York.
77. International Food Policy Research Institute (2014). "Food Security in a World of 112. Harvey, Fiona (18 November 2011). "Extreme weather will strike as climate change
Growing Natural Resource Scarcity". CropLife International. Retrieved 1 July 2013. takes hold, IPCC warns". The Guardian.
78. UNEP, 2011, Towards a Green Economy: Pathways to Sustainable Development and 113. "Report: Blue Peace for the Nile" (PDF). Strategic Foresight Group. Retrieved 20 August
Poverty Eradication, www.unep.org/greeneconomy 2013.
79. "History of Plant Breeding". Colorado State University. 29 January 2004. Retrieved 114. "World: Pessimism about future grows in agribusiness".
11 May 2013. 115. "SREX: Lessons for the agricultural sector". Climate & Development Knowledge
Network. Retrieved 24 May 2013.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 11 of 12
116. Brady, N.C. and R.R. Weil. 2002. "Soil Organic Matter" pp. 353 – 385 in Elements of 137. Robert W. Herdt (30 May 1997). "The Future of the Green Revolution: Implications for
the Nature and Properties of Soils. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ. International Grain Markets" (PDF). The Rockefeller Foundation. p. 2. Retrieved
117. Brady, N.C. and R.R. Weil. 2002. "Nitrogen and Sulfur Economy of Soils" pp. 386 – 16 April 2013.
421 in Elements of the Nature and Properties of Soils. Pearson Prentice Hall, Upper 138. Schnepf, Randy (19 November 2004). "Energy use in Agriculture: Background and
Saddle River, NJ. Issues" (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Congressional Research Service. Retrieved
118. Foley, Jonathan (May 2014). "A Five-Step Plan to Feed The World". National 26 September 2013.
Geographic. 139. Rebecca White (2007). "Carbon governance from a systems perspective: an
119. Hillier, Jonathon; C. Hawes; G. Squire; A. Hilton (2009). "The carbon footprints of food investigation of food production and consumption in the UK" (PDF). Oxford University
crop production". International Journal of Agricultural Sustainability. 7 (2): 107–118. Center for the Environment. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 July 2011.
doi:10.3763/ijas.2009.0419. 140. Patrick Canning; Ainsley Charles; Sonya Huang; Karen R. Polenske; Arnold Waters
120. Lal, Rattan (2004). "Carbon emission from farm operations". Environmental (2010). "Energy Use in the U.S. Food System". USDA Economic Research Service
International. 30 (7): 981–990. doi:10.1016/j.envint.2004.03.005. Report No. ERR-94. United States Department of Agriculture.
121. West, T.O.; G. Marland (2002). "Net carbon flux from agricultural ecosystems: 141. Wallgren, Christine; Höjer, Mattias (2009). "Eating energy—Identifying possibilities for
methodology for full carbon cycle analyses". Environmental Pollution. 116 (3): 439 reduced energy use in the future food supply system". Energy Policy. 37 (12): 5803
–444. doi:10.1016/s0269-7491(01)00221-4. –5813. doi:10.1016/j.enpol.2009.08.046. ISSN 0301-4215.
122. Boelee, E., ed. (2011). "Ecosystems for water and food security". IWMI/UNEP. 142. Jeremy Woods; Adrian Williams; John K. Hughes; Mairi Black; Richard Murphy
Retrieved 24 May 2013. (August 2010). "Energy and the food system". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal
123. Molden, D. "Opinion: The Water Deficit" (PDF). The Scientist. Retrieved 23 August Society. 365 (1554): 2991–3006. doi:10.1098/rstb.2010.0172 .
2011. 143. Martin Heller; Gregory Keoleian (2000). "Life Cycle-Based Sustainability Indicators for
124. Safefood Consulting, Inc. (2005). "Benefits of Crop Protection Technologies on Assessment of the U.S. Food System" (PDF). University of Michigan Center for
Canadian Food Production, Nutrition, Economy and the Environment". CropLife Sustainable Food Systems. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
International. Retrieved 24 May 2013. 144. "World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists". The
125. Trewavas, Anthony (2004). "A critical assessment of organic farming-and-food Independent. 14 June 2007.
assertions with particular respect to the UK and the potential environmental benefits of 145. Barry Estabrook (December 5, 2011). "Organic Can Feed the World". The Atlantic.
no-till agriculture". Crop Protection. 23 (9): 757–781. Retrieved 14 July 2016.
doi:10.1016/j.cropro.2004.01.009. 146. "Cuban Organic Farming Experiment". Harvard School of Public Health. Retrieved
126. "Agricultural Economics". University of Idaho. Archived from the original on 1 April 15 April 2013.
2013. Retrieved 16 April 2013. 147. Strochlic, R.; Sierra, L. (2007). "Conventional, Mixed, and "Deregistered" Organic
127. Runge, C. Ford (June 2006). "Agricultural Economics: A Brief Intellectual Farmers: Entry Barriers and Reasons for Exiting Organic Production in
History" (PDF). Center for International Food and Agriculture Policy. p. 4. Retrieved California" (PDF). California Institute for Rural Studies. Retrieved 15 April 2013.
16 September 2013. 148. Alexandra Bot and José Benites (2005), The importance of soil organic matter: Key to
128. Conrad, David E. "Tenant Farming and Sharecropping". Encyclopedia of Oklahoma drought-resistant soil and sustained food production, FAO Soils Bulletin, 80, Food and
History and Culture. Oklahoma Historical Society. Retrieved 16 September 2013. Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
129. Stokstad, Marilyn (2005). Medieval Castles. Greenwood Publishing Group. 149. P. Read (2005). "Carbon cycle management with increased photo-synthesis and long-
ISBN 0-313-32525-1. Retrieved 17 March 2016. term sinks" (PDF). Geophysical Research Abstracts. 7: 11082.
130. Sexton, R.J. (2000). "Industrialization and Consolidation in the US Food Sector: 150. Greene, Nathanael (December 2004). "How biofuels can help end America's energy
Implications for Competition and Welfare". American Journal of Agricultural dependence". Biotechnology Industry Organization.
Economics. 82 (5): 1087–1104. doi:10.1111/0002-9092.00106. 151. Srinivas (June 2008). "Reviewing The Methodologies For Sustainable Living". 7. The
131. Peter J. Lloyd; Johanna L. Croser; Kym Anderson (March 2009). "How Do Agricultural Electronic Journal of Environmental, Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Policy Restrictions to Global Trade and Welfare Differ across Commodities?" (PDF). 152. R. Pillarisetti; Kylie Radel (June 2004). "Economic and Environmental Issues in
Policy Research Working Paper #4864. The World Bank. pp. 2–3. Retrieved 16 April International Trade and Production of Genetically Modified Foods and Crops and the
2013. WTO". 19 (2). Journal of Economic Integration: 332–352.
132. Kym Anderson; Ernesto Valenzuela (April 2006). "Do Global Trade Distortions Still 153. Conway, G. (2000). "Genetically modified crops: risks and promise". 4(1): 2.
Harm Developing Country Farmers?" (PDF). World Bank Policy Research Working Conservation Ecology.
Paper 3901. World Bank. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 16 April 2013. 154. "Monsanto failure". New Scientist. 181 (2433). London. 7 February 2004. Retrieved
133. Peter J. Lloyd; Johanna L. Croser; Kym Anderson (March 2009). "How Do Agricultural 18 April 2008.
Policy Restrictions to Global Trade and Welfare Differ across Commodities?" (PDF). 155. Lindsay Hogan; Paul Morris (October 2010). "Agricultural and food policy choices in
Policy Research Working Paper #4864. The World Bank. p. 21. Retrieved 16 April Australia" (PDF). Sustainable agriculture and food policy in the 21st century: challenges
2013. and solutions. Australian Bureau of Agricultural and Resource Economics – Bureau of
134. Glenys Kinnock (24 May 2011). "America's $24bn subsidy damages developing world Rural Sciences: 13. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
cotton farmers". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 April 2013. 156. "Agriculture: Not Just Farming ...". European Union. Retrieved 22 April 2013.
135. "Agriculture's Bounty" (PDF). May 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013. 157. Ikerd, John (2010). "Corporatization of Agricultural Policy". Small Farm Today
136. "World oil supplies are set to run out faster than expected, warn scientists". The Magazine.
Independent. 14 June 2007. Archived from the original on 21 October 2010. Retrieved 158. Jowit, Juliette (22 September 2010). "Corporate Lobbying Is Blocking Food Reforms,
14 July 2016. Senior UN Official Warns: Farming Summit Told of Delaying Tactics by Large
Agribusiness and Food Producers on Decisions that Would Improve Human Health and
the Environment". The Guardian. London.
Further reading
◾ Alvarez, Robert A (2007). "The March of Empire: Mangos, Avocados, and the Politics of Transfer". Gastronomica. 7 (3): 28–33. doi:10.1525/gfc.2007.7.3.28.
◾ Bolens, L. (1997). "Agriculture" in Selin, Helaine (ed.), Encyclopedia of the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine in Non-Western Cultures. Kluwer Academic
Publishers, Dordrecht/Boston/London, pp. 20 – 22.
◾ Collinson, M. (ed.) A History of Farming Systems Research. CABI Publishing, 2000. ISBN 978-0-85199-405-5
◾ Jared Diamond, Guns, germs and steel. A short history of everybody for the last 13,000 years, 1997.
◾ Mazoyer, Marcel; Roudart, Laurence (2006). A history of world agriculture: from the Neolithic Age to the current crisis. Monthly Review Press, New York. ISBN 978-
1-58367-121-4
◾ Watson, A.M. (1983). Agricultural Innovation in the Early Islamic World, Cambridge University Press.
External links
◾ Official website (http://www.fao.org/home/en/) of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations
◾ Official website (http://www.usda.gov/wps/portal/usda/usdahome) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)
◾ Official website (http://www.ars.usda.gov/main/main.htm) of the USDA's Agricultural Research Service
◾ Agriculture Research Guide (http://ucblibraries.colorado.edu/govpubs/us/agritop.htm) from the Government Information Library of the University of Colorado, Boulder
◾ Agriculture (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/agriculture) material from the World Bank Group
◾ "Agriculture collected news and commentary". The New York Times.
◾ environment/farming "Agriculture collected news and commentary" Check |url= value (help). The Guardian.
Categories: Agriculture Agronomy Anthropology Archaeology Drinks Food industry Harvest Ranchers
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016
Agriculture - Wikipedia Page 12 of 12
◾ Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy. Wikipedia® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agriculture 12/31/2016