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Agriculture
Agriculture is the method of producing food, feed, fiber and other preferred products by the farming of certain plants and the raising of domesticated animals (livestock). The carry out of agriculture is also known as "farming", while scientists, inventors and others devoted to improving farming methods and implements are also said to be engage in agriculture.
More people in
the world are implicated in agriculture as their primary economic activity than
in any other, yet it only accounts for four percent of the world's GDP.
Overview
Agriculture can refer to survival agriculture, the production of enough food
to meet just the needs of the farmer/agriculturalist and his/her family. It
may also refer to industrial agriculture, (often referred to as factory farming)
long prevalent in developed nations and increasingly so elsewhere, which consists
of obtaining financial income from the cultivation of land to yield produce,
the commercial raising of animals (animal husbandry), or both.
Agriculture is also short for the study of the practice of agriculture—more formally known as agricultural science. Agricultural students are identified (sometimes derisively) as "Aggies".Increasingly, in adding up to food for humans and animal feeds, agriculture produce goods such as cut flowers, ornamental and nursery plants, timber or lumber, fertilizers, animal hides, leather, industrial chemicals (starch, sugar, ethanol, alcohols and plastics), fibers (cotton, wool, hemp, and flax), fuels (methane from biomass, biodiesel) and both legal and illegal drugs (biopharmaceuticals, tobacco, marijuana, opium, cocaine). Genetically engineered plants and animals produce specialty drugs.
In the Western world, the use of gene manipulation, better management of soil nutrients, and improved weed control has greatly increased yields per unit area. At the same time, the use of mechanization has decreased labour requirements. The rising world generally produces lower yields, having less of the latest science, capital, and technology base.Modern agriculture depends heavily on engineering and technology and on the biological and physical sciences. Irrigation, drainage, conservation and sanitary engineering, each of which is important in successful farming, are some of the fields requiring the specialized information of agricultural engineers.
Agricultural chemistry deals with other vital farming concerns, such as the application of fertilizer, insecticides (see Pest control), and fungicides, soil makeup, analysis of agricultural products, and nutritional needs of farm animals.Plant breeding and genetics contribute additionally to farm productivity. Advanced seed engineering has allowed strains of seed to become ideal in every farming situation. Seeds can now germinate faster and adapt to shorter growing seasons in different climates. Present-day seed can resist the spraying of pesticides that kill all green-leaf plants. Hydroponics, a method of soilless gardening in which plants are grown in chemical nutrient solutions, may help meet the need for greater food production as the world's population increases.
The packing, processing, and marketing of agricultural products are closely interrelated activities also influenced by science. Methods of quick-freezing and dehydration have increased the markets for farm products (see Food preservation; Meat packing industry).
Mechanization, the outstanding characteristic of late 19th and 20th century agricultural evolution, has eased much of the backbreaking toil of the farmer. More significantly, mechanization has enormously increased farm efficiency and productivity (see Agricultural machinery). Animals, including horses, mules, oxen, camels, llamas, alpacas, and dogs; however, are still used to cultivate fields, harvest crops and transport farm products to markets in many parts of the world.
Airplanes, helicopters, trucks and tractors are used in agriculture for seeding, spraying operations for insect and disease control, Aerial topdressing, transporting perishable products, and fighting forest fires. Radio and television disseminate vital weather reports and other information such as market reports that concern farmers. Computers have become an essential tool for farm management.
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