Agriculture, for decades, had been associated with the production of basic food crops.

Agriculture and farming were synonymous so long as farming was not commercialized. But as the process of economic development accelerated, many more other occupations allied to farming came to be recognized as a part of agriculture. At present, agriculture besides farming includes forestry, fruit cultivation, dairy, poultry, mushroom, bee keeping, arbitrary, etc. Today, marketing, processing, distribution of agricultural products etc. are all accepted as a part of modern agriculture. Thus, agriculture may be defined as the production, processing, marketing and distribution of crops and livestock products. According to Webster's Dictionary, "agriculture is the art or science of production of crops and livestock on farm." Importance of Agriculture Agriculture plays a crucial role in the life of an economy. It is the backbone of our economic system. Agriculture not only provides food and raw material but also employment opportunities to a very large proportion of population. The following facts clearly highlight the importance of agriculture in this country. 1. Source of Livelihood: In India the main occupation of our working population is agriculture. About 70 per cent of our population is directly engaged in agriculture. In advanced countries, this ratio is very small being 5 per cent in U.K., 4 per cent in USA., 16 per cent in Australia, 14 per cent in France, 21 per cent in Japan and 32 per cent in USSR. This high proportion in agriculture is due to the fact that the non-agricultural activities have not been developed to absorb the rapidly growing population. 2. Contribution to National Income: Agriculture is the premier source of our national income. According to National Income Committee and C.S.O., in 1960-61, 52 per cent of national income was contributed by agriculture and allied occupations. In 1976-77, this sector alone contributed 42.2 per cent while in 1981-82, its contribution was to the tune of 41.8 per cent. In 2001-02, it contributed around 32.4 per cent of national income. This was further reduced to 28 per cent in 1999-2000. Contrary to this, the proportion of agriculture in U.K. is only 3.1, in USA it is 3 percent, 2.5 per cent in Canada, 6 per cent in Japan, 7.6 per cent in Australia. The mere conclusion of all this is that more developed a country the smaller is the contribution of agriculture in national output. 4. Importance in International Trade:

It is the agricultural sector that feeds country's trade. Agricultural products like tea, sugar, rice, tobacco, spices etc. constitute the main items of exports of India. If the development process of agriculture is smooth, export increases and imports are reduced considerably. Thus, it helps to reduce the adverse balance of payments and save our foreign exchange. This amount can be well utilized to import other necessary inputs, raw-material, machinery and other infrastructure which is otherwise useful for the promotion of economic development of the country. 6. Source of Raw Material: Agriculture has been the source of raw materials to the leading industries like cotton and jute textiles, sugar, tobacco, edible and non-edible oils etc. All these depend directly on agriculture. Apart from this, many others like processing of fruits and vegetables, dal milling, rice husking, gur making also depend on agriculture for their raw material. According to United Nations Survey, the industries with raw material of agricultural origin accounted for 50 per cent of the value added and 64 per cent of all jobs in the industrial sector. 8. Contribution to Foreign Exchange Resources: Agricultural sector constitutes an important place in the country's export trade. According to an estimate, agricultural commodities like jute, tobacco, oilseeds, spices, raw cotton, tea and coffee accounted for about 18 per cent of the total value of exports in India. This shows that agriculture products still continue to be significant source of earning foreign exchange. 9. Vast Employment Opportunities: The agricultural sector is significant as it provides greater employment opportunities in the construction of irrigation projects, drainage system and other such activities. With the fast growing population and high incidence of unemployment and disguised unemployment in backward countries, it is only agriculture sector which provides more employment chances to the labour force. In this way, significance of agriculture emerges more and more. 13. Basis of Economic Development: Prof. Nurkse has laid sufficient emphasis on the improvement of agriculture for a balanced growth of an economy. The development of agriculture provides necessary capital for the development of other sectors like industry, transport and foreign trade. In fact, a balanced development of agriculture and industry is the need of the day. From the above, explanation it may be concluded that agriculture occupies an important place in the development of an economy. It is in fact, a pre-condition for economic up liftment.

The Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country despite the plan to make it an industrialized economy by 2000. Most citizens still live in rural areas and support themselves through agriculture. The country's agriculture sector is made up of 4 subsectors: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry (the latter 2 sectors are very small), which together employ 39.8 percent of the labor force and contribute 20 percent of GDP. The country's main agricultural crops are rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, bananas, pineapple, coffee, mangoes, tobacco, and abaca (a banana-like plant). Secondary crops include peanut, cassava, camote (a type of rootcrop), garlic, onion, cabbage, eggplant, calamansi (a variety of lemon), rubber, and cotton. The year 1998 was a bad year for agriculture because of adverse weather conditions. Sector output shrank by 8.3 percent, but it posted growth the following year. Yet, hog farming and commercial fishing posted declines in their gross revenues in 1999. The sector is burdened with low productivity for most of its crops. The Philippines exports its agricultural products around the world, including the United States, Japan, Europe, and ASEAN countries (members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). Major export products are coconut oil and other coconut products, fruits and vegetables, bananas, and prawns (a type of shrimp). Other exports include the Cavendish banana, Cayenne pineapple, tuna, seaweed, and carrageenan. The value of coconut-product exports amounted to US$989 million in 1995 but declined to US$569 million by 2000. Imported agricultural products include unmilled wheat and meslin, oilcake and other soybean residues, malt and malt flour, urea, flour, meals and pellets of fish, soybeans and whey. One of the most pressing concerns of the agricultural sector is the rampant conversion of agricultural land into golf courses, residential subdivisions, and industrial parks or resorts. In 1993 the nation was losing irrigated rice lands at a rate of 2,300 hectares per year. Small land-holders find it more profitable to sell their land to developers in exchange for cash, especially since they lack capital for seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and wages for hiring workers to plant and harvest the crops. Another concern is farmers' continued reliance on chemical-based fertilizers or pesticides that have destroyed soil

productivity over time. In recent years however, farmers have been slowly turning to organic fertilizer, or at least to a combination of chemical and organic inputs. Environmental damage is another major concern. Coral-reef destruction, pollution of coastal and marine resources, mangrove forest destruction, and siltation (the clogging of bodies of water with silt deposits) are significant problems. The agriculture sector has not received adequate resources for the funding of critical programs or projects, such as the construction of efficient irrigation systems. According to the World Bank, the share of irrigated crop land in the Philippines averaged only about 19.5 percent in the mid-1990s, compared with 37.5 percent for China, 24.8 percent for Thailand, and 30.8 percent for Vietnam. In the late 1990s, the government attempted to modernize the agriculture sector with the Medium Term Agricultural Development Plan and the Agricultural Fisheries Modernization Act. The fisheries sector is divided into 3 sub-sectors: commercial, municipal, and aquaculture (cultivation of the natural produce of bodies of water). In 1995, the Philippines contributed 2.2 million tons, or 2 percent of total world catch, ranking it twelfth among the top 80 fish-producing countries. In the same year, the country also earned the distinction of being the fourth biggest producer of seaweed and ninth biggest producer of world aquaculture products. In 1999 the fisheries sector contributed P80.4 billion at current prices, or 16 percent of gross value added in agriculture. Total production in 1999 reached 2.7 million tons. Aquaculture contributed the most, with 949,000 tons, followed closely by commercial fishing with 948,000 tons, and municipal fisheries with 910,000 tons. Domestic demand for fish is substantial, with average yearly fish consumption at 36kg per person compared to a 12kg figure for consumption of meat and other food products.