Agriculture is a set of techniques for cultivating the land intended to maximize the quality and quantity of the crop.
The word agriculture is of Latin origin Agri that indicates “field” and culture that is synonymous with “cultivated or cultivated”.
Agriculture, as we know it today, originates with the discovery of the plow in 3500 BC in Mesopotamia.
Those who study the techniques and applied sciences of agriculture are called agronomists or agronomists.
On the other hand, it is the farmer who works the land and who has the necessary knowledge to cultivate and renovate the soils.
Agriculture is considered, together with livestock and fisheries, activities of the primary economic sector as it is the basis of food and life in society. As a whole it is called the agricultural sector. On the other hand, the products of this sector are called agricultural products.
History of agriculture
There are traces that the origin of agriculture as a means of subsistence dates from the Neolithic period (12,000 to 4000 BC). In this sense, it is the discovery and use of the plow in 3,500 BC. in Mesopotamia, the greatest innovation in cultivation techniques that will give way to modern agriculture.
Types of agriculture
The types of agriculture are defined by their extension, their purpose, products used for cultivation and place. In this way the following types of agriculture can be defined:
- Intensive or modern agriculture: one that maximizes short-term productivity for commercial purposes.
- Extensive or traditional agriculture: respect the land breaks and seek to maintain crops following the natural cycles of the seasons.
- Organic or organic agriculture: rejects all synthetic and agro-toxic products for the cultivation of the land.
- Subsistence agriculture: they produce what is necessary for the subsistence of the family that cultivates this land.
- Urban agriculture: food trend that seeks to harvest in cities.
- Sustainable agriculture: watch over the environment and the renewal of natural resources.
Intensive agriculture
Intensive agriculture is another name for modern agriculture and is the one that seeks the greatest benefit from the land to increase its production. For this, the use of fertilizers and agrochemical pesticides, the mechanization of cropping systems and a greater number of crops without normal soil breaks are frequent.
Organic or organic farming
Organic, organic or biological agriculture seeks to minimize the use of non-renewable resources and promotes the use of fertilizers and pesticides of natural origin for the cultivation of the land.
In this sense, organic agriculture is also sustainable, since it is responsible and conscious in the care of the land and natural resources.
Sustainable agriculture
Sustainable agriculture is characterized by food production while conserving natural resources, biological diversity and cultural diversity.
This is achieved through the use of ecological, technical and social components that minimize excessive soil wear and protect the environment, characteristic of all sustainable development.
