Introduction to Agriculture

Agriculture refers to the production of goods through the raising of domesticated animals and the growing of plants and fungi. The term comes from the Latin agricultura, from ager (field) and cultura (tillage of the soil).

The history of agriculture has played a major role in human history, as agricultural progress has been a crucial factor in worldwide socio-economic change. When farmers became capable of producing food beyond the needs of their own families, others in their society were freed to devote themselves to projects other than food acquisition. Historians and anthropologists have long argued that the development of agriculture made civilisation possible.

Agriculture encompasses a wide variety of specialties, although the pastoral herding of livestock on rangeland and the cultivation of crops on arable land remain at its foundation. Modern agronomy, plant breeding, pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry such as intensive pig farming have similarly increased the output of meat.

The major agricultural products include:

• Foods (e.g. cereals, vegetables, fruits, and meat)
• Fuels (biofuels such as methane from biomass, ethanol, and biodiesel)
• Fibres (e.g. cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax)
• Raw materials (e.g. lumber and bamboo)
• Ornamental products (e.g. flowers and nursery plants)

In 2007, approximately 33% of the world's workers were employed in agriculture. Despite this, agricultural production accounts for less than 5% of the gross world product. The relative significance of farming has dropped steadily since the beginning of industrialisation, and in 2003, the services sector overtook agriculture as the economic sector employing the most people worldwide for the first time in history.