Roles of agriculture. 1.

The role of agriculture in modern society Agriculture provides the basis of subsistence for the population by production of food and raw materials. Traditionally, the inhabitants of each country or region depended on the bread-basket filled by the farmers, i.e., everybody depended on agriculture and was interested in its fate. In recent times, regional and international trade have reduced the dependence on home agriculture, and the quantity of available food is less a function of the harvest than of the political decision on the amount of food imports.

To meet the requirements of the ever increasing population with its higher purchasing power, and this despite less and less manpower because of the high outmigration from rural areas, agriculture increased its outputs and productivity, a process which had consequences for the price of agricultural products. The more people live in the cities and have to buy food at the market, the more agricultural prices became a political issue. The interest of urban society in agriculture is an interest in low prices, and the request of the primary sector for price increases is a regular nuisance for the urban population.

The increase in output and productivity of agriculture could only be achieved by division of work and specialization. Today only part of the production process takes place on the farm, while, in addition, agriculture uses industrial products like fertilizer, pesticides, machinery and equipment, the services of the tertiary sector like banking, insurance etc. and hands its products over to other sectors for packing, processing, or distribution. Today, agriculture is deeply interwoven with other sectors of the economy. It cannot produce anymore without their inputs and services, and acts itself as a customer to these other sectors, thus providing work and income outside of agriculture.

These changes in agriculture had consequences for the agricultural population. Many people from rural areas migrated to the cities and filled the ranks of workers in the secondary and tertiary sectors. For the remaining rural population, agriculture changed from a way of life to a profession in which technical know-how plays an ever increasing role. Frequently, the structure and organization of the farm changed. New forms like part-time farming arose. In areas with very tiny holdings and poor soil, rural-urban migration reached the stage, where only the aged live in the village. Particularly under such conditions, the responsibility of agriculture for the preservation of nature adds to the roles it plays today.

The changes in agriculture briefly outlined here bring with them new tasks in training and research for colleges of agriculture. The process of agricultural production has become increasingly complex and requires therefore scientific help in research and extension. The need for optimizing the allocation of inputs has given agricultural economics importance, especially in the field of farm management. Necessary changes in the agrarian structure require special studies. The application of inputs in agriculture have created new tasks in fields like agricultural chemistry and engineering, and the processing of food has become a new area of specialization. Such a highly differentiated organization of agriculture requires professional associations. Finally, the provision of food for the population with so many contributors and interest-groups can be achievied only with a functioning marketing and distribution system as well as a sound agricultural policy. Agriculture Importance: Subsistence as well as Commercial reasons! For all these tasks, persons have to be trained, and research has to provide the necessary scientific basis. The changes in agriculture have broadened the role the colleges of agriculture have to play as training and research institutions. The importance of agricultural practices was further established when Organic food began as a small movement decades ago, with gardeners and farmers rejecting the use of conventional nonorganic practices. With the growth of the Organic food market now outpacing much of the food industry, many big companies have ventured into it. With the emergence of multi-national companies, and with the creation of a legal certification framework such as the Soil Association, there is every doubt that the very definition of organic food will change, making it more of a commercial activity than ever before!

In fact, modern agriculture has already undergone a sea-change from the ancient times. Today, the importance of agriculture lies in the fact that it is practiced both for subsistence as well as commercial reasons!

Agriculture: large scale employment to people

The concept of food security is fundamentally important, and for that reason, agriculture is important. The task of feeding its people has been perhaps the first priority of its rulers throughout history. As such, agriculture is considered to be the very basis of political and social stability of a nation since times immemorial. Moreover, the agricultural sector plays an important role in the sphere of providing large scale employment to people. Large and moderately large farms employ workers to undertake the various jobs relating to cultivation of crops and care of farm animals. In most of the countries of the world, agriculture still remains the biggest sector responsible for the employing and feeding a large percentage of the population. Agriculture is also important from the point of view of appraising the standard of a countrys development, based on the competence of its farmers. Poorly trained farmers cannot apply the advanced methods and new technologies.

The prominence of science and technology in the development of agriculture is quite clear from the words of Deng Xiaoping The development of agriculture depends first on policy, and second on science. There is neither any limit to developments in science and technology, nor to the role that they can play in the field of agricultural growth. Why is agriculture important? Agriculture is a very important activity for the survival of human beings on this earth. This is clearly reflected in the very basic fact that agriculture is one of the oldest activities of humankind. The term agriculture includes both the cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals. As the most profound resource, agriculture provides food, clothing and shelter to us. With the spread of knowledge of the most advanced implements, there has been immense progress in the spread of agriculture, as well as agricultural output. The use of agricultural machinery, scientific methods of farming and diversification of crops have improved the overall production of agricultural crops the world over.

Why is Agriculture Important: Machine Use Machines are used for all important farm operations like tilling, sowing, harvesting, sorting of fruits, etc. Most farmers prefer employing those laborers who are skillful, and who can operate upon their tractors, combines and harvesters. In fact, farmers are also ever so ready to try out every new development in the variety of crops, pesticides, fertilizers and the like.

The importance of agriculture also lies in the fact that it supports the export sector also most of the farmers in the United States produce largely for exports, as the soil produce is quite fertile, and coupled with modern technology, the returns are huge. Some of the major farm products are crops like rice, wheat, sugarcane, cotton, jute, tea, coffee and rubber which are produced in most parts of the world.

In countries that export surplus farm output, agriculture is all the more significant, and the agricultural production is fairly high. As the farmer gets a good profit, his financial position, especially in developed countries, is better than many other entrepreneurs. He is now able to purchase the latest machinery, use latest techniques of farming, buy new and improved hybrid varieties of seeds, and use the best fertilizers to increase productivity. Why is agriculture Important: Sustainable agriculture Sustainable agriculture is a new branch of science which has recently come up owing to the growing need for continual production of food. Sustainable agriculture deals with building up a well-organized bio friendly system which can yield a high food production every year without wasting the natural resources and harming the fertility of the land. No doubt it is important to produce food today, however, it is also important to see that todays food production does not bring drought tomorrow. The depletion of natural resources like food, water and fresh air can result in great calamities like droughts and famish.

So, what does sustainable agriculture mean? Simply put it deals in three aspects:

1. Ensuring that the demand for food is met today.

2. Making sure that the next generation is able to meet the demand for food, taking into account the growing problem of depleting natural resources like soil and water.

3. Ensuring that these natural resources like soil and water do not get depleted. he world population is growing by leaps and bounds. There are probably more mouths to feed than the food that is produced. The researches carried out in agriculture indicate that we need more than just crops to feed the ever growing population. We need agriculture which is sustainable.

Why is agriculture important? Its not something just about the present; its about the future as well. Many world areas which yielded great harvests in the pasts have now become deserts due to the incorrect practices of agriculture. Hence, what we really need is sustainable agriculture which can not only feed the present population but also provide for the future as well. How will we do this.? Stay tuned for next weeks answer. Agriculture is important for not only providing food but also for providing raw materials for other industries like textile, sugar, jute, vegetable oil and tobacco. Besides being an occupation for people, agriculture is also a way of living.

Most of the worlds customs and culture revolve around agriculture. A number of festivals and holidays around the world are in conjunction with reaping or harvesting or any other aspect of farming. It increases the supply of food and tax revenue to the government. Investable surplus is generated which further can be expanded to other industries and provides foreign exchange.