La agricultura (abarca cultivar, ranching, y tender de huertas y de viñedos) es
la producción del alimento, de la alimentación, de la fibra, del combustible y
de otras mercancías por levantar sistemático de plantas y de animales. Agri es
del ager latino, significando “un campo”, y la cultura es del cultura latino,
significando la “cultivación” en el sentido terminante de la labranza del suelo.
Una lectura literal de la palabra inglesa rinde: labranza del suelo de un campo.
En uso moderno, la agricultura de la palabra cubre todas las actividades esenciales
para la producción del alimento/de la alimentación/de la fibra, incluyendo todas
las técnicas para levantar y “procesar” el ganado. La agricultura está también
brevemente para el estudio de la práctica de agricultura-más conocido formalmente
como agronomía. La historia de la agricultura es un elemento importante de la
historia humana, pues el progreso agrícola ha sido un factor crucial en cambio
socioeconómico mundial, incluyendo el abundancia-edificio y las especializaciones
militaristic consideradas raramente en el cazador-gatherer cultura-cuando los
granjeros hicieron capaces de producir el alimento más allá de las necesidades
de sus propias familias, otros en la tribu/la nación/el imperio fueron liberadas
para dedicarse a las ambiciones y a las empresas con excepción de la adquisición
del alimento. los 42% de los trabajadores del mundo se emplean en la agricultura,
haciéndote en gran medida la ocupación más común. Sin embargo, la producción agrícola
explica menos el de 5% del producto grueso del mundo (un agregado de todos los
productos internos brutos). [1] Descripción El término “que cultiva” cubre la
amplia gama de prácticas agrícolas. En un final del espectro está el granjero
de la subsistencia, que cultiva un área pequeña con las entradas limitadas del
recurso, y produce solamente bastante alimento para resolver las necesidades de
su familia. En el otro extremo está la agricultura intensiva comercial, incluyendo
agricultura industrial. El tal cultivar implica campos y/o números grandes de
animales, de las entradas grandes del recurso (pesticidas, fertilizantes, etc.),
y de un de alto nivel de la mecanización. Estas operaciones procuran generalmente
maximizar renta financiera del grano, del producto, o del ganado. La agricultura
moderna extiende bien más allá de la producción tradicional del alimento para
los piensos del ser humano y. Otras mercancías de la producción agrícola incluyen
la madera, fertilizantes, animal ocultan, forran con cuero, los productos químicos
industriales (almidón, azúcar, etanol, alcoholes y plásticos), las fibras (algodón,
lanas, cáñamo, y lino), los combustibles (metano de la biomasa, biodiesel), las
flores del corte, las plantas ornamentales y del cuarto de niños, los pescados
tropicales y los pájaros para el comercio del animal doméstico, y las drogas legales
e ilegales (biopharmaceuticals, tabaco, marijuana, opio, cocaína). El vigésimo
siglo consideró cambios masivos en práctica agrícola, particularmente en química
agrícola y en la mecanización. La química agrícola incluye el uso del fertilizante
químico, de los insecticidas químicos (véase el control de parásito), y de los
fungicidas químicos, del maquillaje del suelo, del análisis de productos agrícolas,
y de necesidades alimenticias de los animales del campo. Hasta e incluyendo los
años 70, la salida superficial del fertilizante y los pesticidas eran un crecimiento
y un problema incontrolado. Mirando fijamente áspero en el an o 80, muchas naciones
occidentales, pincharon por docenas de grupos ambientales de la acción, comenzaron
a poner controles en ejecución eficaces en la contaminación agricultura-relacionada,
y la revolución verde separó muchas de las ventajas de la química agrícola a las
granjas a través del mundo, sin la contaminación extrema que las acompañó originalmente.
La mecanización también enormemente ha aumentado eficacia y productividad de la
granja en la mayoría de las regiones del mundo, especialmente bajo la forma de
tractor y varias ginebras (cortos para el “motor”) como la ginebra de algodón,
las prensas semiautomáticas y las trilladoras (véase la maquinaria agrícola).
Otros cambios recientes en agricultura incluyen hydroponics, la crianza de planta,
el hibridación, la manipulación del gene, una gerencia mejor de los alimentos
del suelo, y control mejorado de la mala hierba. La ingeniería genética ha rendido
las cosechas que tienen capacidades más allá de los de plantas naturales, tales
como producciones y resistencia más altas de la enfermedad. Las semillas modificadas
germinan más rápidamente, y se pueden crecer así en un área de crecimiento extendida.
La ingeniería genética de plantas ha probado polémico, particularmente en el caso
de las plantas herbicida-resistentes. Los ingenieros pueden desarrollar las plantas
para la irrigación, el drenaje, la conservación y la ingeniería sanitaria, particularmente
importantes en las áreas normalmente áridas que confían en la irrigación constante,
y en granjas de la escala grande. El embalaje, el proceso, y la comercialización
de productos agrícolas son actividades de cerca relacionadas también influenciadas
por la ciencia. Los métodos de quick-freezing y la deshidratación han aumentado
los mercados para los productos de la granja (véase la preservación de alimento
y la industria del embalaje de la carne). Los animales, incluyendo caballos, las
mulas, bueyes, camellos, llamas, alpacas, y perros, son de uso frecuente cultivar
campos, cosechar cosechas y transportar productos de la granja a los mercados.
La agricultura animal no sólo refiere a los animales de crianza y que levantan
para la carne o cosechar los productos animales (como la leche, los huevos, o
las lanas) sobre una base continua, solamente la crianza y el cuidado de la especie
para el trabajo y el compañerismo. Los aeroplanos, los helicópteros, los carros,
los tractores, y las cosechadoras se utilizan en la agricultura occidental para
sembrar, rociando operatio ns for insect and disease control, harvesting, aerial
topdressing and transporting perishable products. Radio and television disseminate
vital weather reports and other information such as market reports that concern
farmers. Computers have become an essential tool for farm management. Ploughing
rice paddies with water buffalo, in Indonesia.According to the National Academy
of Engineering in the United States, agricultural mechanization is one of the
20 greatest engineering achievements of the 20th century. Early in the century,
it took one American farmer to produce food for 2.5 people. Today, due to advances
in agricultural technology, a single farmer can feed over 130 people.[2] This
comes at a cost, however. A large energy input, often from fossil fuel, are required
to maintain such high levels of output. In recent years, some aspects of intensive
industrial agriculture have been the subject of increasing discussion. The widening
sphere of influence held by large seed and chemical companies, meat packers and
food processors has been a source of concern both within the farming community
and for the general public. Another issue is the type of feed given to some animals
that can cause bovine spongiform encephalopathy in cattle. There has also been
concern because of the disastrous effect that intensive agriculture has on the
environment. In the US, for example, fertilizer has been running off into the
Mississippi for years and has caused a dead spot in the Gulf of Mexico, where
the Mississippi empties. Intensive agriculture also depletes the fertility of
the land over time, potentially leading to desertification. A field of ripening
barleyThe patent protection given to companies that develop new types of seed
using genetic engineering has allowed seed to be licensed to farmers in much the
same way that computer software is licensed to users. This has changed the balance
of power in favor of the seed companies, allowing them to dictate terms and conditions
previously unheard of. The Indian activist and scientist Vandana Shiva argues
that these companies are guilty of biopiracy. Soil conservation and nutrient management
have been important concerns since the 1950s, with the most advanced farmers taking
a stewardship role with the land they use. However, increasing contamination of
waterways and wetlands by nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus are concerns
that can only be addressed by "enlightenment" of farmers and/or far stricter law
enforcement in many countries. Increasing consumer awareness of agricultural issues
has led to the rise of community-supported agriculture, local food movement, "Slow
Food", and commercial organic farming. Ancient origins Developed independently
by geographically distant populations, systematic agriculture first appeared in
Southwest Asia in the Fertile Crescent, particularly in modern-day southern Iraq
and Syria. Around 9500 BC, proto-farmers began to select and cultivate food plants
with desired characteristics. Though there is evidence of earlier sporadic use
of wild cereals, it was not until after 9500 BC that the eight so-called founder
crops of agriculture appear: first emmer and einkorn wheat, then hulled barley,
peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chick peas and flax. By 7000 BC, small-scale agriculture
reached Egypt. From 7000 BC the Indian subcontinent saw farming of wheat and barley,
attested by archaeological excavation at Mehrgarh in Balochistan. By 6000 BC,
mid-scale farming was entrenched on the banks of the Nile River. About this time,
agriculture was developed independently in the Far East, with rice, rather than
wheat, as the primary crop. Chinese and Indonesian farmers went on to domesticate
mung, soy, azuki and taro. To complement these new sources of carbohydrates, highly
organized net fishing of rivers, lakes and ocean shores in these areas brought
in great volumes of essential protein. By 5000 BC, the Sumerians had developed
core agricultural techniques including large scale intensive cultivation of land,
mono-cropping, organized irrigation, and use of a specialized labour force, particularly
along the waterway now known as the Shatt al-Arab, from its Persian Gulf delta
to the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates. Domestication of wild aurochs and
mouflon into cattle and sheep, respectively, ushered in the large-scale use of
animals for food/fiber and as beasts of burden. The shepherd joined the farmer
as an essential provider for sedentary and semi-nomadic societies. Maize, manioc,
and arrowroot were first domesticated in the Americas as far back as 5300 BC.[1]
The potato, tomato, pepper, squash, several varieties of bean, Canna, tobacco
and several other plants were also developed in the New World, as was extensive
terracing of steep hillsides in much of Andean South America. In later years,
the Greeks and Romans built on techniques pioneered by the Sumerians but made
few fundamentally new advances. The Greeks and Macedonians struggled with very
poor soils, yet managed to become dominant societies for years. The Romans were
noted for an emphasis on the cultivation of crops for trade. Sumerian Harvester's
sickle, 3000 BCE. Baked clay. Field Museum. [edit] Agriculture in the Middle Ages
During the Middle Ages, Muslim farmers in North Africa and the Near East developed
and disseminated agricultural technologies including irrigation systems based
on hydraulic and hydrostatic principles, the use of machines such as norias, and
the use of water raising machines, dams, and reservoirs. Muslims also wrote location-specific
Farming manuals, and were instrumental in the wider adoption of crops including
sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, and
saffron. Muslims also brought lemons, oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical
crops such as bananas to Spain. [edit] Renaissance to present day A tractor ploughing
an alfalfa fieldThe invention of a three field system of crop rotation during
the Middle Ages, and the importation of the Chinese-invented moldboard plow, vastly
improved agricultural efficiency. After 1492, a global exchange of previously
local crops and livestock breeds occurred. Key crops involved in this exchange
included the tomato, maize, potato, cocoa, tobacco, and coffee going from the
New World to the Old, and, primarily, several varieties of wheat and spice going
from the Old World to the New. The most important animal exportation was that
of the horse from the Old World to the New. Although not usually a food animal,
the horse (including donkeys and ponies) quickly filled essential production roles
on the farm. By the early 1800s, agricultural techniques, implements, seed stocks
and cultivars had so improved that yield per land unit was many times that seen
in the Middle Ages. With the rapid rise of mechanization in the late 19th and
20th centuries, particularly in the form of the tractor, farming tasks could be
done with a speed and on a scale previously impossible. These advances have led
to efficiencies enabling certain modern farms in the United States, Argentina,
Israel, Germany, and a few other nations to output volumes of high quality produce
per land unit at what may be the practical limit. Agricultural output in 2005In
2005, China was the largest producer of agricultural output with almost one-sixth
world share followed by the EU, India and the USA, reports the International Monetary
Fund.
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