Prehistoric Agriculture Overview

Prehistoric Agriculture

• Humans began domesticating plants and animals ~10,000 years ago to increase food security, making their food supply more accessible and predictable.
• Agriculture marked the shift from hunting & gathering to raising food.
• This shifted human behavior, ceasing the chase for food to instead farming it.
• The birth of agriculture was the moment humans stopped chasing food and started raising it.

Defining Agriculture

• Agriculture is cultivating the soil, growing crops, and raising livestock (farming).
• Activities include tillage, dairying, production, cultivation, growing, harvesting of any agricultural product, and the raising of livestock or poultry.
• Agriculture is the art of cultivating the soil, growing crops and raising livestock.

Agriculture's Importance

• Essential for human survival; enables cities, industries, and other societal structures.
• Employs a significant portion of the global workforce (45% in most countries, >80% in some Asian & African regions).
• Developed nations prioritize innovation and environmental sustainability in agriculture, aiming to minimize their environmental footprint.
• Agriculture is crucial for supporting cities, universities, factories and offices.

Traditional vs. Modern Agriculture

• Traditional agriculture:

  • Relies on available land, rainfall, seeds, methods, and power resources.
  • Employs conventional practices for tillage, sowing, harvest, and pest control.
  • Heavily influenced by environmental conditions, e.g. using bullocks for ploughing and rainwater for irrigation.
  • Lower yields, often impacted by pest infestations.
  • Characterized by low-input husbandry.
  • Uses traditional and old agricultural techniques.
  • Often characterized by lower crop yield due to factors such as environmental conditions and pest infestations.

• Modern agriculture:

  • Utilizes advanced equipment & technology for higher yields.
  • Employs scientific methods, including pesticides, agronomy, plant breeding, and hormones, increasing output rapidly.
  • Higher yields, but with potential concerns about reduced nutritional value.
  • Uses modern equipment and technology for cultivation.
  • Characterized by high-input husbandry.

• Organic farming:

  • Emerging practice using natural fertilisers and pesticides.
  • Focuses on healthier, safer produce.

Types of Agricultural Practices

• Commercial Farming:

  • Large-scale production of crops like wheat & rice for profit, using modern methods and equipment.
  • Examples: Prairies in the US & Canada; Rice farms in Punjab & Haryana.
  • Crops are grown on large fields to gain profit.
  • Modern methods, labor and machinery are commonly used for large-scale production.

• Intensive Farming:

  • High output from small land areas using advanced machinery & technology.
  • Common in densely populated regions.
  • Examples: Livestock farming in New Zealand's Canterbury Plains, pig farming in Denmark, rice cultivation in Southeast Asia.

• Extensive Farming:

  • Low input (labour, fertilisers, money) on large areas of land.
  • Typical in thinly populated areas.
  • Examples: Argentina & Peru.

• Subsistence Farming:

  • Small-scale agriculture for direct family/community consumption.
  • Predominant in rural developing countries.
  • Highly reliant on natural resources (animal manure, land, etc.).
  • Often uses seeds from previous harvests and relies on traditional techniques with limited scientific methods like crop rotation.
  • Practiced in rural areas of developing nations.
  • Extremely dependent on animals for resources.
  • Using simple tools for land preparation, weeding, and harvesting.

• Shifting Cultivation (Slash-and-Burn):

  • Clearing forest land to cultivate crops, using ashes as fertilizer.
  • Moving to new land as soil fertility declines.
  • Common in forested regions of South America, Africa, and Asia.
  • Examples: Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia, Nigeria, Senegal, and Indonesia.
  • Farmers clear land by cutting and burning trees, then cultivate crops on the cleared land.
  • Soil fertility deteriorates requiring relocating to a new plot.

• Plantation Agriculture:

  • Commercial farming focused on large-scale production of a single crop on plantations.
  • High capital investment, labor, and machinery.
  • Common in tropical regions with high temperatures and rainfall.
  • Examples: rubber, cotton, coffee, tea, pineapple, sugar cane, jute.
  • A type of commercial farming using large areas.
  • Characterized by scientific methods focused on large-scale production and specialization in a single crop.
  • Normally intended for export.

• Terrace Farming:

  • Cultivating crops on level terraces built into mountain slopes.
  • Prevents soil erosion and water loss.

• Nomadic Herding:

  • Moving with livestock to find pasture in arid/semi-arid regions.

Types of Subsistence Farming

• Intensive Subsistence Farming:

  • Cultivating small plots with intensive labor to maximize yield.
  • Multiple crops per year in favorable climates using polyculture.
  • Utilizes manure and traditional irrigation.
  • Common in India, China, Vietnam, Cambodia, Mexico, and Peru.
  • Traditional subsistence farming.
  • The most common method used is polyculture farming, which is characterized by combining different type of crops in one field.

• Extensive Subsistence Farming:

  • Generating low produce from large tracts of land.
  • Minimizes environmental impact with limited chemical use.
  • Produce is generally healthier and of higher quality.

Food Crops

• Plants grown for human or animal consumption, sometimes for sale.
  • Geographic factors influence crop success in a region.
  • Examples: grains (corn, wheat, rice), fruits, vegetables, pulses.
  • Grains (wheat, rice, corn) account of ~60% of harvested land worldwide.
  • Any plant grown for consumption by humans or animals, potentially also for sale.
  • Factors like climate, soil, location and trade influence crop cultivation.
• Plants intentionally cultivated and cared for, used primarily for food.

Cash Crops

• Cultivated primarily for profit.
• Examples: sugar cane, oilseeds, cotton, expensive medicinal plants (opium, marijuana, coca).
• Used as raw materials in numerous industries, like fruit processing, textile, and medicinal.
  • Grown primarily for monetary gain, not direct food consumption.
  • Used widely as raw materials in various industries.
  • Examples range from commercially grown fruits to high-demand medicinal raw materials (opium, marijuana, coca).

Commercial Farming

• Maximizing profits by producing crops like cocoa and coffee on large scale.
• Modern techniques, machinery, labour, and significant investments.
• Critical practices include land preparation, pest management, and use of inputs like pesticides.
• Widely used in developed regions like Europe and North America.
  • Focused on profit maximization.
  • Employing modern techniques and significant investments.

Plantation Farming

• Large-scale, commercial agriculture for profit, often specializing in a single crop, typically a cash crop.
• Introduced by the British in the 19th century.
• Predominant in tropical regions with high temperatures and rainfall.
• Characterized by scientific methods, specialization, and export focus.
• A form of commercial farming for single-crop profit maximization in large scale.
• Introduced during the 19th century.
• Commonly practiced in tropical regions featuring high temperatures and rainfall.

Agriculture and Economic Development

• Agriculture is foundational for many developing economies.
• Agricultural surplus leads to exports and generates national income, often making up over 50%.
• Provides employment and income.
• Supplies raw materials to various industries.
• Development in agriculture fuels economic progress and improves living standards. Agricultural development can also indirectly support the development in other sectors, leading to construction of dams for water storage and hydroelectric power, boosting industrial growth.
  • Essential to developing economies, generating national income through exports and employment.

Modern vs. Traditional Agriculture

• Traditional: Manual sowing, traditional tools, and often low input using animal waste as fertilizer, often producing healthier crops but lower yields.
• Modern: Machinery, scientific methods, high input, often reduced labor needs, potentially impacting crop health or quality, but high yields.
• Traditional agriculture is characterized by manual sowing, traditional tools, low input, and lower yields. Modern agriculture utilizes machinery, scientific methods, high input, and reduced labor needs, leading to increased yields.

Green Revolution

• Increased crop production (especially wheat and rice) through new seeds, pesticides, and improved agricultural techniques (High Yield Variety seeds, chemical fertilisers,pesticides, assured irrigation facilities).
• Significantly impacted developing countries, reducing famines and increasing food production.
• Focused on incorporating western farming practices into Asian agriculture, utilizing resources available in Asian countries, and funded by organizations such as the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations.
• Led to increased food production, increased farm employment, and income for farmers and farm laborers.
• This strategy led to exporting agricultural output, improving India's creditworthiness and encouraging the construction of dams to harness monsoon water, which in turn boosted industrial growth.
• Led to higher use of water, fertilisers, and pesticides, increasing the capital intensity of agriculture.
• Traditional Indian agriculture, which was historically self-sufficient, transitioned to a more market-oriented production, aiming for agricultural products to be sold.
  • Increased crop production through new seeds, pesticides, and improved techniques.
  • Significantly impacted developing countries and led to fewer famines.
  • Transformed Asian agriculture, leveraging existing resources and receiving funding from organizations like the Rockefeller and Ford Foundations.
  • Led to increased food production, employment, and farm incomes, boosting exports and improving a country's credit rating.

Explore the evolution of agriculture from hunting and gathering to modern farming practices. Understand the role of agriculture in human survival, societal development, and the contrast between traditional and modern methods. Delve into the significance of agriculture in global employment and environmental sustainability.