| Why is agriculture important? The concept of | | | | most of the times, and stocked and used later. In |
| 'food security' is fundamentally important, and for | | | | fact, some thinkers opine that people have begun |
| that reason, agriculture is important. The task of | | | | to adopt 'batch processing' and 'stocking' in |
| feeding its people has been perhaps the first | | | | manufacturing, as a result of the practices from |
| priority of its rulers throughout history. As such, | | | | agricultural thinking. Before industrialization, people |
| agriculture is considered to be the very basis of | | | | with the biggest stocks of food and other supplies |
| political and social stability of a nation since times | | | | were considered more stable, and they were able |
| immemorial. | | | | to face challenges of nature without having to |
| Moreover, the agricultural sector plays an | | | | starve. |
| important role in the sphere of providing large | | | | So important is the role of agriculture that new |
| scale employment to people. Large and | | | | concepts keep 'cropping up' to give the traditional |
| moderately large farms employ workers to | | | | activity a modern turn. One such new concept |
| undertake the various jobs relating to cultivation | | | | the world is raving about these days is - the |
| of crops and care of farm animals. In most of the | | | | importance of 'organic farming'. There is evidence |
| countries of the world, agriculture still remains the | | | | that, apart from their numerous other benefits, |
| biggest sector responsible for the employing and | | | | organic farms are more sustainable and |
| feeding a large percentage of the population. | | | | environmentally sound, giving agriculture a new |
| Agriculture is also important from the point of | | | | dimension. |
| view of appraising the standard of a country's | | | | The importance of agricultural practices was |
| development, based on the competence of its | | | | further established when 'Organic food' began as a |
| farmers. Poorly trained farmers cannot apply the | | | | small movement decades ago, with gardeners and |
| advanced methods and new technologies. The | | | | farmers rejecting the use of conventional |
| prominence of science and technology in the | | | | non-organic practices. With the growth of the |
| development of agriculture is quite clear from the | | | | Organic food market now outpacing much of the |
| words of Deng Xiaoping - | | | | food industry, many big companies have ventured |
| The development of agriculture depends first on | | | | into it. With the emergence of multi-national |
| policy, and second on science. There is neither any | | | | companies, and with the creation of a legal |
| limit to developments in science and technology, | | | | certification framework such as the Soil |
| nor to the role that they can play in the field of | | | | Association, there is every doubt that the very |
| agricultural growth'. | | | | definition of organic food will change, making it |
| Though agriculture often plays a contributory role | | | | more of a commercial activity than ever before! |
| in the 'Gross Domestic Product' - GDP - of most | | | | In fact, modern agriculture has already undergone |
| countries, it nevertheless requires a substantial | | | | a sea-change from the ancient times. Today, the |
| boost from both the local and the international | | | | importance of agriculture lies in the fact that it is |
| community. | | | | practiced both for subsistence as well as |
| Agriculture is traditionally based on bulk | | | | commercial reasons! |
| manufacturing. Harvesting is done once a season, | | | | |