Civilization began with agriculture, our nomadic ancestors settled down once they started growing their own food. Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the cultivation of plants, animals, and other forms of life on the land. As of 2006, 45 percent of the world’s population is employed in agriculture. However, the relative importance of agriculture has decreased since the beginning of industrialization. Although agriculture employs a third of the world’s population, agricultural products account for less than 5 percent of the world’s gross product.
Agriculture is important not only to provide food, but also to provide raw materials for other industries, such as textiles, sugar, jute, vegetable oil, and tobacco. Apart from being an occupation for people, farming is also a way of life. Most of the world’s customs and cultures revolve around agriculture. A number of festivals and holidays around the world are related to the harvest or any other aspect of agriculture. Increases food supply and tax revenue for the government. An “investable surplus” is generated which can be spread further into other industries and provides foreign exchange.
Due to the apparent abundance of food due to cultivation, transportation and storage technologies; modern human beings have overlooked the fundamental dependency on agriculture. Agriculture provides nutrition, which is a key determinant of health; alleviates poverty and individual sustenance. Some other benefits are:
o Water: agricultural crops are the largest users of fresh water. Forests hold the groundwater that we draw for our everyday uses. Breeding affects the health of coastal waters.
o Energy: Wood is an important source of fuel and energy. Modern biomass plants are growing rapidly in most countries. These provide clean energy and also help economic growth.
o Health: agriculture provides nutrition to human beings. We cannot live on meat, milk and poultry for more than 2 days without consuming grains or vegetables or fruits. Imagine what the lack of agriculture could do to us.
o Biodiversity: ecological balances are maintained, modified or destroyed solely by agriculture. These are essential to sustain the development and health of our planet.
o Climatic changes: the reduction of agricultural growth negatively affects the climate. Extreme events and ecological dysfunction will ultimately affect our planet and the human race.
It is a vicious circle where environmental degradation affects agricultural productivity and agricultural practices affect the environment. To conclude, agriculture, agricultural science and technology help reduce hunger, improve livelihoods and increase economic growth.
Indigenous and local agricultural practices must be used in conjunction with scientific research and development. There should be coordination of international scientific programs to improve agriculture and agricultural products. Policies and technologies that lead to the sustainable use of natural resources must be shared internationally. It is imperative to alleviate hunger and seek the causes of food insecurity and the degradation of natural resources. The productivity of crops, livestock and fisheries must increase in a socially and environmentally sustainable way that is acceptable to both farmers and consumers. Agriculture is an important aspect of any society for its social, economic and environmental growth.