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History of agriculture

History of agriculture

• GOOD we had food to survive

• Agriculture was too much labor intensive then came a revolution by change in machinery

• Result

• Agricultural productivity soared

Variety of food

Made available

Ecnomicconditions got

better

Living standards increased

Populations increased

Need of cultivating

more land for agriculture

• So more and more land was cleared to increase agriculture.

• But the rate was not high as the population was not too much.

This brought newer technologies with It

World population grew from 1.6 to > 7 BILLION

Agriculture which was on 7% land in 1700 covered > 40% land area now

The world needs to produce more food than ever before

Industrializaiton

Post-Industrializaiton

Need to intensify agriculture

Obligation for farmingIntensify agricultural

production

To produce more crop

and livestock

With less land and

water and small carbon

foot print

Land, water and

resources

b/w agriculture, industry and urbanization

Through large scale

commercial farming

Harsh competition for scarcer

What is agricultural intensification?

Just another name for modern industrial farming

K. Marx

• “the concentration of capital upon the same plot ratherthan its distribution among several adjoining pieces” of land (K. Marx and F. Engels, Soch., 2nd ed., vol. 25, part 2, p. 227)

Lenin pointed out that

• intensification of agriculture is “not some accidental,local, casual phenomenon, but one that is common to allcivilized countries” (Poln. sobr.soch., 5th ed.,vol. 27, p. 168).

Agriculture intensification may occur as a result of :

Increase in the gross

output in fixed proportions due to inputs

expanding proportionately, without

technological changes

Technical progress that raises

land productivity

shift towards more valuable

outputs

Agriculture intensification

is based on:

protectingplant mechanization

in

agriculture

and animal

husbandry

developingirrigation and land

Replacing

low-yield plantingsby high-yield

large

complexes

and factories for

agricultural products

extensive

use of automation

andelectronics

developingintensive

cultivatedand

technicalcrops

Economics of

agriculture

Increasing

mineral and organic fertilizer

Green revolution

• Agriculture intensification came to be known as green revolution

• The Green Revolution was essentially a package of inputs (fertilizer, high yielding seed varieties, pesticides, mechanization etc.) which were designed to lead

to agricultural intensification

•

Green Revolution

• Credit of green revolution is

attributed to NORMAN BORLAUG

• Spread worldwide in the 1950 and 1960

• The plants produced were high yield varieties

Impacts of green revolution

Fertilizers made GR possible – HYV produced now

cannot grow successfully without the help of fertilizers

GR brought irrigation techniques – now water can be stored and Send to drier areas putting more land into

agriculture

Pesticides were used to protect the plants

Tractors and other modern techniques were employed along with

Production of genetically modified plants resistant to environmental stress

Green Revolution has forever changed the way agriculture is conducted

worldwide, benefiting the people of many nations in

need of increased food production.

significance

• Agricultural intensification itself is usually conceived of as a positive process; something that agricultural systems should be encouraged towards.

• However, there may be negative effects of intensification - both in terms of the quantity of livelihoods, and the quality of those livelihoods

• while there may be negative effects on the sustainability (environmental, economic etc.) of those livelihoods.

Merits and Demerits of Intensified Agriculture

Merits of intensified agriculture

1. Increased level of macro nutrients in soil

2. Increased level of Plant Production

3. Increased organic matter content in soil

4. Decreased land use pressure

5. Affordable food outputs

Appropriate application of chemical

fertilizers, increased the N, P, and K

nutrients in the soil, resulting in enhanced

soil quality.

Increased level of macro nutrients in soil

Wheat

RiceMaize

Intensified agriculture has also increased the level of plant production by introducing a

number of faster growing HYV’s ( High Yielding Variety) allow an

extra crop to be grown every year.

Increased level of Plant Production

Increased organic matter content in soil

Intensified agriculture has also increased the level of plant production

which ultimately increases the amount of crop residues that can be returned to the

soil to enhance soil organic matter content.

Crop residue provides:

Soil cover

Reduce soil erosion

Maintain the soil organic matter content

Increases the soil organic matter content

Decreased land use pressure

• Agricultural activities has been intensified mostly on the more productive, relatively level soils,

where risk from erosion are not too high.

• So, the need for expanding onto more fragile lands has been minimized.

• It preserves the soil quality and other related environmental aspects.

With the introduction of intensive farming, farm products such as vegetables, fruits, and poultry

products have become less expensive.

Affordable food outputs

Merits in Pakistan's perspective

• Intensified agriculture leads to a greater, grain and rice production

in Pakistan.

• Multiple cropping would increase gross national product (GNP) of

country.

Pakistan become food self-sufficient and even make modest exports

by late 1980s.

Per capita caloric intake increases by 20% from 1980s-2000s.

DEMERITS OF INTENSIFIED AGRICULTURE

Demerits

• Micronutrient deficiencies

• Increased soil acidification

• Excessive nutrients as pollutants

• Salinization

• Role of pesticides & insecticides

• Role of herbicides

• Unhealthy diet

• Plant diseases

• Reduce biodiversity

• Concentrated animal-feeding operations

Micronutrients removed in the bumper harvests are usually not replaced by

standard N-P-K fertilizers, so micronutrients deficiencies may appear, decreasing the

soil quality.

Micronutrient deficiencies

Intensified agriculture also come-up with heavy use of nitrogen fertilizers,

may leads to increased soil acidification, resulting in decreased

soil quality.

Increased soil acidification

In intensive agricultural activities, N and P usually

applied in the quantities, far in excess of plants uptake.

When these nutrients level built-up in soil, the excessive

nutrients act as pollutants and becomes a part of runoff,

drainage water.

Excessive nutrients as pollutants

Salinization

All irrigation water contains dissolved salts derived as it

passed over and through the land, and rain water also

contains some salts.These salt get deposited into the soil, decreasing the soil quality

and making it unfit for agricultural activities.

Role of pesticides & insecticides

Insecticides and pesticides used in

intensified agricultural activities adversely affect the

soil quality.

These broad spectrum

organochemicalsthreatened the

biological integrity of soil ecosystem.

Some soil treated decades ago with high

level copper and arsenic containing insecticides , still

contain toxic level of these chemicals

Persistent and relatively mobile herbicides in soil have created major

water pollution problem.Intensive use of herbicides may leads to reduce bio-diversity and resilience of the above and below ground soil

communities.

Role of herbicides

Unhealthy diet

Intensified agricultural activities have focused primarily on cereal crops, provides

about half of world’s calories.Less attention has been paid to the pulses (beans, peas etc.), fruits and vegetables. It

creates health problems, as leafy vegetables rich in proteins, micro-nutrients

and essential vitamins.

Monoculture system usually results in a decline in biological productivity mainly because of:

Build-up of pathogensAllelochemicals

Micronutrient deficiency

Plant diseases

Reduce Biodiversity

Chemical intensive, monoculture system results in:

Reduced genetic diversity within crops

Reduced bio-diversity of soil microorganism

Reduced bio-diversity of soil macro-organism

Nitrogen

Phosphorous

Pathogens

Growth accelerating hormones

Antibiotics

In concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), they remove plant

products from wide areas and concentrate them into a production

factory.

Factory waste often pollute the surrounding soil and water systems with

N, P, pathogens, growth accelerating hormones and antibiotics.

Concentrated animal-feeding operations

Plant biodiversity and agriculture intensification

Genetically Modified Crops

• Different new crop varieties have been introduced due to advancement in agriculture (Intensified agriculture).These are formed by inducing some modifications in the genetic material of existing crops varieties.

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Properties of GMCs

High yield crops

Better response to fertilizers

Greater grain size

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Cold resistance

Pest resistance

High starch

Herbicides resistance3/18/2015

Polyester gene addition

Improved sweetness

Improved eating quality

Better taste

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GMCs use in the world2010 2011 2012 GMCs

USA 66.8 69 69.5 Maize,Soyabean,cotton, Papaya, Squash, Sugarbeet

Brazil 25.4 30.3 36.6 Soyabeen , Maize Cotton

Argentina 22.9 23.7 23.9 Soyabeen , Maize Cotton

Canada 8.8 10.4 11.6 Canola,Maize,Soyabean, Sugarbeat

India 9.4 10.6 10.8 Cotton

China 3.5 3.9 4 Cotton, papaya, poplar tomato, sweet pepper.

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• After World War II, when human populationrapidly increased, the intensified agricultureprovided the food security for this boom inpopulation.This proved wrong the predictionsof many experts about starvation of humansand ultimately death.

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World Scenario

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On average, across all

crops grown in the US.

over 90% of the varieties

grown 100 years ago are

no longer in commercial

production or maintained

in major seed storage

facilities

In the Philippines, where

small farmers once

cultivated thousands of

traditional rice varieties,

just two Green

Revolution varieties

occupied 98% of the

entire rice growing area

in the mid-1980s.

Before intensification of agriculture in China, farmers were growing 10,000 varieties of wheat.

Today, 90% of these varieties have disappeared, with only a handful of high yielding wheat variety.

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• According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, approximately 75 percent of the earth’s plant genetic resources are extinct, with another third of plant biodiversity expected to disappear by 2050.

• Crop genetic resources are being wiped out at the rate of 1-2% every year.

• Tropical forests are falling at a rate of just under 1% per annum.

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Extinct plants species

• Pouteria stenophylla

• Galapagos Amaranth

• Myrcia skeldingii

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Cont:

• Indian Monocarp Palm

• Yunnan Malva

• Pallasana Spurge

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Some endangered medicinal plants Sr:No Plants name Medicinal use

1. Blood root plant Treatment of skin disorders and cancer

3. Ginseng root as a soothing agent for coughs, gastrointestinal ailments, and skin irritations.

4. Black cohosh treat a variety of conditions including colds, pain, rheumatism,

5. Alovera Treatment of burns and wounds

6. foxglove Heart failure treatment

7. Monetery pine Full of Antioxidants may protect against age-related decline in mental abilities

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Cont: Sr.No Plants name Medicinal use

8. Oplopanax species Infection cure, diabetes and tuberculosis treatment

9. Autumn crocus Cancer and gout treatment

10. Camphor tree Rheumatic pain relief

11. Cinchona species Malaria and heart- disease treatment

12. Hoodia plant Weight loss

13. Opium poppy Pain relief, cough suppression

14. Xi shu tree Ovarian and lung cancer treatment3/18/2015

Some endangered medicinal plants.

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Some other endangered plants

• Echinacea paradoxa

• Glandularia tampensis

• Heliconia angusta

• Acacia koaia -

• Acampe longifolia

• Guaiacum officinale

• Guaiacum santum -

• Lycaste ciliata

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Echinacea paradoxa

Heliconiaangusta

Acacia koaia

Lycaste ciliata

Guaiacum santum

Argyroxiphiumsandwicense

Pakistan Scenario

• A number of plant species in the country have become extinct while many more are on the verge of extinction.

• Unfortunately no critical work has been done on threatened plants of Pakistan

580-650 flowering plant species (i.e. 12%) are expected to be threatened.

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Extinct plant species in Pakistan

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Asparagus gharoensis (Sindh)

Scaveola plumererii (Sindhcoast)

Allium gilgiticum (Gilgit)

Arabidopsis brevicaulis(Hunza valley)

Saxifraga duthei (Baltistan)

Taraxacum chitralicum(Chitral)

Cont:

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Sonneratia caseolaris (Indus delta)

Nepeta schinidii (Chitral)

Bruguiera gymnorrhiza (Indus delta)

Cousinia matifeldei (Chitral)

Scaveola taccada (Sindhcoast)

Pedicularis caeruleoalbescens(Chitral)

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Asparagus gharoensisScaevola plumieri Arabidopsis

brevicaulis

Sonneratia caseolarisBruguiera gymnorrhiza

Allium gilgiticum

Reasons of declining plant diversity

Beginning in the 1960s and 1970s, the Green Revolution introduced high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat to the developing world, replacing thousands of farmers' traditional crop varieties and their wild relatives on a massive scale. The same process continues today. New, uniform plant varieties are replacing farmer's traditional varieties -and the traditional ones are becoming extinct.

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• Pests have became more resistant against the pesticides and their efficiency to target the crops has been increased. Ultimately traditional crops are more vulnerable to these pests.

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• On the other hand excessive use of pesticides has also killed the natural predator of pests causing more damage to crops than past.

• Due to the lake of gene banks efficiency in the best operating order to preserve different plants genes.

• Pakistan lacks a botanical survey department, as it exists in many regional countries, including India, and a book on the status of its flora.

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• Wildlife habitat declined with the advent of row-to-row tillage and the adoption of a monoculture system that eliminates crop rotation and leads to loss in plants diversity.

• Wetland clearance for agricultural purposes.

• Almost 80% wetland has been cleared for agricultural purposes.

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Recall

• AI can be defined by three major ways:

increasing yields per hectare

increasing cropping

intensity (i.e. two or more

crops) per unit of land

changing land use from low value crops or

commodities to those that

receive higher market prices

AI: a driver of biodiversity loss during last decades

Reasons include:

Conversion of complex natural ecosystems to simplified managed

ecosystems

intensification of resource use

application of more agrochemicals

a generally higher input and output

Agronomically important, high-intensity pastures in Germany lost around half

of the plant species in post-war Europe and are now extremely species

poor

seed density in arable soils steeply decreased

from 1900 onwards

Recent AI also includes GMCs, which offer new

opportunities for increased yields in the

coming decades, but also risk side-effect

species losses are because of both deterministic (by agricultural expansion)

and stochastic processes (by habitat fragmentation)

decline of biodiversity may affect ecosystem functioning and yield

In Centrral Europe, nature reserves are anthropogenic and

endangered by AI

Insecticide applications in rice fields of south and Southeast Asia causing

removal of predators thus pest resurgence

the impact of AI on biodiversity is not uniform and some groups of species are more affected than

others

In Western Europe, AI effects on plants, beetles and birds. Examples

In another study use of insecticides and fungicides had consistent negative effects on biodiversity in Europe

Impact on farmland birds and aquatic specie

reduces the number of flowers and plant diversity

In the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, nutrient enrichment mainly from fertilizer use in the Mississippi Basin has accounted

for the world’s largest hypoxic or dead zone

Sunstainable intensification

The goal of sustainable

intensification is

increase food production

from existing farmland

Minimisepressure on

the environment

Increasing demand for food from growing global

Populaion

It is a response to

challenges of

In short supply,

Over exploited

Used unsustainably.

In a world where land,

water, energy and other

outputs are

Sustainable intensification

•Main purpose is to meet rising food demand due to population increase using fewer resources and through efficient

use of new technologies Drip irrigation,

sprinklers, no-till beneficial

making productive

use of human capital in the

form of knowledge

social capital to resolve common landscape problemsThis system is less vulnerable to shocks and stresses

Socio-economic intens..

Building social capital, human

capital, sustainable livelihoods

Ecological intens..

Intercropping, IPM, O.F

Genetic intens..

Higher yields, improving nutrition,

resilience to pests, diseases

& CC

Examples China: focus is on achieving both high crop productivity and high resource use efficiency ensuring food security and env. Sustainability•this system has been successfully tested and demonstrated•policies for sustainable intensification in cultivated land are also proposed by govt.

AI in Africa: benefits for 10.39 million farmers and their families and improvements on approximately 12.75 million ha•Multiplicative food outputs, high yield/ha•Still more gaps to be filled (finance, collaboration among partners, political leadership)

Europe is the most intense agriculture producing

country and also

employing AI

Need of integrated polices and correlation among all

sectors Detailed

assessment and understanding of AI impacts is imp

Globally 4000 plants and

animals threatened due to

AI

Rare and arable species are

highly sensitive to AI

Low intensity mngt. Tech imp

Link between agriculture and climate change

No doubt,

Agriculture is seriously effected by climate change

But;

It also contributes to the problem at the first place

• Researchers argue that, with the right practices and incentives, smallholder farmers can boost productivity and help beat climate change.

• Any efforts to ‘intensify’ food production must be matched by a concerted focus on making it ‘sustainable.’ Failing to do so will undermine our capacity to continue producing food in the future

Any