Revolution
Agricultural calendar, c. 1470, from a manuscript of Pietro de
Crescenzi
In the Middle Ages, compared to the Roman period, agriculture in Western Europe became more
focused on self-sufficiency. The agricultural population under feudalism was typically organized into
manors consisting of several hundred or more acres of land presided over by a lord of the manor with a
Roman Catholic church and priest.[82]
Thanks to the exchange with the Al-Andalus where the Arab Agricultural Revolution was underway,
European agriculture transformed, with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including
the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees (such as the orange).[83]
After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet
potatoes, and manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips, and
livestock (including horses, cattle, sheep and goats) to the Americas.[84]
Irrigation, crop rotation, and fertilizers advanced from the 17th century with the British Agricultural
Revolution, allowing global population to rise significantly. Since 1900, agriculture in developed nations,
and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as mechanization
replaces human labor, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding. The Haber-
Bosch method allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly
increasing crop yields and sustaining a further increase in global population.[85][86]
Modern agriculture has raised or encountered ecological, political, and economic issues including water
pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs and farm subsidies, leading to alternative
approaches such as the organic movement.[87][88] Unsustainable farming practices in North America led to
the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.[89]
Types
Reindeer herds form the basis of pastoral agriculture for several
Arctic and Subarctic peoples.
Harvesting wheat with a combine harvester accompanied by a
tractor and trailer
Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In nomadic pastoralism, herds of livestock are
moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water. This type of farming is practiced in
arid and semi-arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India.[90]
Spreading manure by hand in Zambia
In shifting cultivation, a small area of forest is cleared by cutting and burning the trees. The cleared land
is used for growing crops for a few years until the soil becomes too infertile, and the area is abandoned.
Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated. This type of farming is practiced mainly in
areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly. This practice is used in Northeast
India, Southeast Asia, and the Amazon Basin.[91]
Subsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport
elsewhere. It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia.[92] An estimated 2.5 billion
subsistence farmers worked in 2018, cultivating about 60% of the earth's arable land.[93]
Intensive farming is cultivation to maximize productivity, with a low fallow ratio and a high use of inputs
(water, fertilizer, pesticide and automation). It is practiced mainly in developed countries. [94][95]
Contemporary agriculture
Status
Suitability for agriculture of land around the
world (US Department of Agriculture, 1998) Recent trends of
employment in agriculture (including forestry and fishing) by region
From the twentieth century onwards, intensive agriculture increased crop productivity. It substituted
synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, but caused increased water pollution, and often involved
farm subsidies. Soil degradation and diseases such as stem rust are major concerns globally;[96]
approximately 40% of the world's agricultural land is seriously degraded.[97][98] In recent years there has
been a backlash against the environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic,
regenerative, and sustainable agriculture movements.[87][99] One of the major forces behind this
movement has been the European Union, which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of
its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies,[100] also
known as decoupling. The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies
such as integrated pest management, selective breeding,[101] and controlled-environment agriculture.[102]
[103]
There are concerns about the lower yield associated with organic farming and its impact on global
food security.[104] Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food.[105]
Development of agricultural output of China in 2015 US$ since
1961
By 2015, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union,
India and the United States.[106] Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture,
according to which agriculture in the United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in
1948.[107]
Agriculture employed 873 million people in 2021, or 27% of the global workforce, compared with 1 027
million (or 40%) in 2000. The share of agriculture in global GDP was stable at around 4% since 2000–
2023.[108]
Despite increases in agricultural production and productivity,[109] between 702 and 828 million people
were affected by hunger in 2021.[110] Food insecurity and malnutrition can be the result of conflict,
climate extremes and variability and economic swings.[109] It can also be caused by a country's structural
characteristics such as income status and natural resource endowments as well as its political economy.
[109]
Pesticide use in agriculture went up 62% between 2000 and 2021, with the Americas accounting for half
the use in 2021.[108]
The International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in smallholder agriculture
may be part of the solution to concerns about food prices and overall food security, given the favorable
experience of Vietnam.[111]
Workforce
