AGRICULTURE

BY:
ACOSTA, JOANA MAIKO
CANONIGO, KAREN KAYE
LESACA, ANGELU
BSA 2-1

What is
AGRICULTURE?

In relation to crop farming and livestock farming

agriculture may be defined as:
The art and science of growing plants and other crops and the raising of animals for food, other
human needs, or economic gain.

HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE

Thehistory ofagricultureis the story of humankind's

development and cultivation of processes for
producing food, feed,fiber,fuel, and other goods by
the systematic raising ofplantsandanimals. Prior to
the development of plant cultivation, human beings
werehunters and gatherers.

The knowledge and skill of learning to

care for thesoil and growth of plants
advanced the development of
humansociety, allowing clans
andtribesto stay in one location
generation after
generation.Archaeologicalevidence
indicates that such developments occurred
10,000 or more years ago.

Origins of agriculture
Agriculture is believed to have been developed
at multiple times in multiple areas. By
7000B.C.E., sowing and harvesting reached
Mesopotamia and there, in the super fertile soil
just north of thePersian Gulf,Sumerian ingenuity
systematized it and scaled it up. By
6000B.C.E.farming was entrenched on the
banks of the Nile River. About this time,
agriculture was developed independently in the
Far East, probably in China, with rice rather than
wheat as the primary crop.

Ancient
Egyptianfarmer
Intensive
farming allows a much greater
density of population than can be supported
by hunting and gathering, and allows for the
accumulation of excess product for offseason use, or to sell/barter.
Sumerian agriculture

(The "Fertile Crescent" of the Middle

East)
InSumer, barley was the main
crop, butwheat,
flax,dates,apples,plums,,
andgrapes,were grown as well.
While Mesopotamia was blessed
with flooding from the Tigris and
Euphrates rivers that helped
cultivate plant life, the salt
deposits under the soil, made it

Aztec and Maya agriculture

Agriculture in Mesoamerica dates to
the Archaic period of Mesoamerican
chronology (8000-2000B.C.E.).

TheAztecswere some of the most innovative farmers

of the ancient world, and farming provided the entire
basis of their economy. The land around Lake Texcoco
was fertile but not large enough to produce the amount
of food needed for the population of their expanding
empire. The Aztecs developedirrigationsystems,
formed terraced hillsides, and fertilized their soil.
However, their greatest agricultural technique was
thechi Nampaor artificial islands also known as
"floating gardens."

Roman agriculture

By the fifth century Greece had started using crop

rotation methods and had large estates while farms in
Rome were small and family owned.
Roman agriculture reached its height of productivity
and efficiency during the late republic and early
empire.

Agriculture in the Middle Ages

The Muslims introduced what was to become an agricultural revoluti

based on four key factors:

Development of a sophisticated system ofirrigationusing

machines such as norias (newly invented water raising
machines), dams and reservoirs.
The adoption of a scientific approach to farming enabled
them to improve farming techniques derived from the
collection and collation of relevant information throughout
the whole of the known world
Incentives based on a new approach to land
ownership and laborers' rights, combining the
recognition of private ownership and the rewarding
of cultivators with a harvest share commensurate
with their efforts.
The introduction of new crops transformed private
farming into a new global industry exported
everywhere

18TH and 19th CENTURY

Threshing machine
Agricultural production across
the world doubled four times
between 1820 and 1975.

Atractorsloughinganalfalfafield

CONTRIBUTIONS OF
AGRICULTURE TO THE ECONOMY

MAIN SOURCE OF LIVELIHOOD

According

to economist Gerardo
Sicat, The more underdeveloped
an economy is, the more it is
dependent primarily on
agriculture
Agriculture is the main source of
livelihood among Filipinos.
The October 2003 Labor Force
Survey recorded that 37% of the
labor force is involved among
agriculture.

A SOURCE OF FOOD AND RAW

MATERIALS
Agriculture

supplies the countrys food

needs. Agricultural products such as
rice, fish, vegetables, fruits and meat
sustain the needs of the population.

A MARKET FOR THE PRODUCTS

OF OTHER INDUSTRIES
Those

involved in agriculture
spend part of their income on
machinery, fertilizers, clothing,
and more. Increased income
could lead them to demand
more of such products, and in
the process hike the income of
the industrial sector.

A SOURCE OF FOREIGN
EARNINGS
Agricultural

products being
exported to other countries bring
much-needed foreign currency.
These foreign earnings are in turn
used to purchase goods needed
by the economy but are not
produced locally.

Problems in the Agricultural

Sector

Problems related to natural

resources
Deforestation
Soil

erosion
Pollution
Global warming

Other major problems

Uneconomical

farm size
Inadequate farm facilities
Traditional farming
Increase in population
Lack of government support
Unstable prices of agricultural
products

PROGRAMS OF THE
GOVERNMENT

Ginintuang Masaganang
Ani Program
This

program is focuses on achieving

food security and poverty alleviation.
Such plans and programs aim to
ensure food security by increasing
productivity in irrigated areas.
The program envisions a modernized
and productive agriculture and fishery
sector, and being able to provide food
at prices affordable to all.

MAUNLAD NA NIYUGAN TUGON

SA KAHIRAPAN PROGAM
Through

this program, modal

farms are organized in the
different coconut-producing
regions to help small coconut
farmers have an adequate
food supply and at the same
time, increases their average
gross annual income.

UNLAD ABAKA MASA PROGRAM

This

program aims to assure an

adequate supply of abaca fiber,
improve the quality of the fiber
and effect significant technology
transfer.

IRRIGATION DEVELOPMENT
PROGRAM
This

program aims to support the

national food production program
through improvements in the
irrigations system.

COCONUT FARMER FOOD

ACCESS PROGRAM
This

program was launched to

help coconut farmers cope with
the effects of low copra prices.