CHAPTER 1
Introduction
Global Agriculture Industry Agriculture makes a diverse contribution to the economy across the world and plays a crucial role in the life of an economy. Agriculture is an industry that has been associated with the production of essential food and crops for decades. Despite a very significant growth in food production over the past half-century, one of the most significant challenges facing society today is how to feed an expected population of over nine billion people by the year 2050. The industry employs more than one billion people and produces $1.3 trillion dollars’ worth of food annually (Sustainable Agriculture, 2017). It is considered to be the backbone of our economic system. Agriculture is a consistent source
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There are several trends within the agriculture industry causing it to progress. Advance technology (production, information, transportation), increasing reliance on information, importance of controlling economic resources, understanding how to direct human resources, understanding consumer demand, recognizing the integration of businesses, identifying the impact of concerns about the environment, food safety, food availability and food cost and appreciating the implication of globalizations are all trends that increasing the production of agriculture (Trends in Agriculture — Agricultural Law and Management, n.d.) In order to continue to be an advancing industry they must have valuable leaders within the field of …show more content…
By the year 2050 population is expected to increase to over 9 billion people. This means that income and food demand will grow exponentially. The agriculture industry is far beyond successful and it continues to evolve daily. Agriculture is more than farming and ranching. The agriculture industry is comprised of food, energy, fiber and it is ever changing.
According to the U.S. Census of Agriculture, in 1951 President George Washington write to farmers requesting information on land values, crop acreage, crop yields, livestock, prices and taxes. This gave an overview of how much money should be allocated locally and nationally for farm programs, extension service projects, research, soil conservation programs and land grant institutions (U.S. Census of
The 1920’s were the singularly most influential years of farming in our country. The loss of farms following the war, and new agricultural practices resulted in the dawn of modern agriculture in our country. The shift from small family to big corporation during this time is now the basis for how our society deals with food today. Traditional farming in the 1920’s underwent a series of massive transitions following WWI as the number of farms decreased and the size of farms increased.
By exploring the past and its threats to human populations, the global modern mythology of sustainable agriculture can begin to be narrowed down as to the how and why rural communities may or may not have benefited from agricultural sustainability. By describing the dynamic analysis in the livelihoods of developing countries, the historical changes that had occurred in rural communities, can be understood. Halberg and Müller stated that globally “The world’s population was about 7 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow much more. The expected growth is highest in parts of the world that are vulnerable to hunger and adverse climate condit...
In this essay, the effects of climate change on agriculture and how to manage it shall be discussed. Climate change has and will greatly affect agriculture. As time progresses, the effects of climate change will worsen and become detrimental. Mendelsohn and Dinar (2009:1) state,” if future climate scenarios lead to a widespread reduction in food supply, there could be massive problems with hunger and starvation”. Climate change is a change in global climate patterns which is mainly caused by the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by fossil fuels. The writer chose this topic because climate change is a global problem that will pose a threat to people’s lives around the world and must be dealt with sooner than later.
There are many problems confronting our global food system. One of them is that the food is not distributed fairly or evenly in the world. According “The Last Bite Is The World’s Food System Collapsing?” by Bee Wilson, “we are producing more food—more grain, more meat, more fruits and vegetables—than ever before, more cheaply than ever before” (Wilson, 2008). Here we are, producing more and more affordable food. However, the World Bank recently announced that thirty-three countries are still famine and hungers as the food price are climbing. Wilson stated, “despite the current food crisis, last year’s worldwide grain harvest was colossal, five per cent above the previous year’s” (Wilson, 2008). This statement support that the food is not distributed evenly. The food production actually increased but people are still in hunger and malnutrition. If the food were evenly distributed, this famine problem would’ve been not a problem. Wilson added, “the food economy has created a system in w...
Agriculture is the science and practice of producing crops and livestock. The primary aim of agriculture is to use the land to produce more abundantly to feed and clothe the world at the same time protecting it from deterioration or misuse. Humans had to improve agriculture as they became more dependent on food, creating a solitary evolutionary connection between plants and animals (Campbell and Reece, 2001). In this day and age, so many people have forgotten the authentic premises of survival. It is easy for some to believe that the grocery stores produce food and clothing is produced by shopping centers. These inaccurate presumptions are being made due to the lack of knowledge of how agriculture truly works. There are also significant differences in the levels of understanding between rural and urban communities.
As the global population continues to rise, the amount of food needed to feed the people will increase as well. Two types of agriculture systems have been the backbone for crop production for decades if not centuries: conventional and organic agriculture— both methods could not be any more different. Conventional agriculture, a method that uses synthetic chemical pesticides, technologies or additives, and practices that are unsustainable is the leading producer for our food. On the other side of spectrum, organic agriculture generally, performed in a much smaller scale, does not use synthetic chemicals and utilize methods that are environmentally sound. Most conventional
With the rise as with the technology, challenges for farmers are growing too as earlier growers had to have knowledge in agronomics, risk management, marketing their products and it has become even more competitive with the surge in new precision agricultural practices and products. The growers have to tone their IT skills in order to run their day to day life, analyze the enormous amount of data to optimize the operations and be up to date with the current trends and the competition in the market.
The developed world’s love affair with local/organic farming (peasant farming as Collier describes it) has decreased food production worldwide because it does not use the land efficiently enough as with commercial agriculture companies. It also requires government subsidies that large commercial farming companies do not necessarily need. By increasing commercial farming, the world food supply will inevitably increase over a short period.
The developments that arose out of the Enclosure Movement and the Industrial Revolution have shaped how we farm today. Farmers today produce large amounts of crops for great numbers of people. New tools and technologies, including genetically modified foods, are being developed to further advance these farming practices. Therefore, it can be said that the world is going through another Industrial Revolution, one that could last for many years to come.
Our world is growing! Growing in population, that is, but the resources are staying the same. To help with the growth of the population that will be happening in the 21st century, science and agriculture need to work hand-in-hand. They need to stand together to make a break through together, to ensure that everyone has food on their plate. We need to work to have larger yields with the land we have.
Our first solution is New Delhi, India. India's wheat and rice production can be increased by over 60 percent, sugarcane production by 41 per cent and cotton production by 73 per cent. The best part of this solution is that we don’t have to cut down trees or forests or we don’t even have to increase farm area! Basically, in over 157 countries, including India farms are not producing their capacities. Most importantly, in India, a study found that in wheat, the current yield was 2.49 tonnes per hectare (tph) while it could go up to 3.98 tph if proper fertilizer and water is provided. Similarly, rice yield could increase from 2.88 tph to 4...
Sustainable agriculture integrates three main goals--environmental health, economic profitability, and social and economic equity. A variety of philosophies, policies and practices have contributed to these goals. People in many different capacities, from farmers to consumers, have shared this vision and contributed to it.
Agriculture has always been one of the pillars that our nation’s economy depends upon. As this industry grows and expands agriculture is not just farming. There’s so many different occupations that are involved with the industry that aren’t out in the fields produces food and fiber. With such an evolving industry, education is key to make sure everyone is up to speed with the newest knowledge and technology. Agricultural education, plays a huge role in educating the people within the industry along with people that benefit from it.
People have depended on agriculture for years as the primary source of getting food. We have developed all kinds of ways to manipulate nature so what we can produce higher yield crops, more nutritious crops, bigger crops, crops that withstand cold, and farming equipment that allows us to manufacture these crops with relative ease. Why then are there five billion people being malnourished and forty thousand children dying each day from hunger? It seems as though world hunger is more a result of the lack of distributing the food properly than the lack of quantity. agriculture has turned into a high profit business and biotech companies like Monsanto are constantly trying to come up with better and more efficient ways of farming. Are they doing this to try to solve the world hunger crisis, or merely to make a profit?
The growth of the world’s population has led to a growth in animal agriculture, because as population grows, the need for food does as well. Animal agriculture is the use of animal farms to produce animal products that are then consumed by the general public. As agribusiness expands, issues such as the need for farm insurance and animal rights have received more awareness. Modern day industrialism is being applied to animal agriculture in developed nations such as the United States and Canada. Farm Foundation, a nonprofit organization focused on research in agribusiness and improving the economy through agriculture, claims that “the North American livestock industry is expected to