MODULE 1

Agriculture: A Necessity For Modern Life

In a brief summary of this module you will be learning about what agriculture is, where it is, and how important it is.

SECTION 1 Agriculture:
As a means of producing food and as an industry.

In this section you will learn about the ways people define agriculture, it's interaction with the rest of society, and it's importance in the past and present.

Lesson 1 What is Agriculture ?

The dictionary definition : agriculture n. farming; the raising of crops and livestock; the science or art of cultivating the ground.[< Latin agricultura < ager: field + cultura: cultivation] or something similar depending on the dictionary used.
Another definition comes from Dr. T. Ball, University of Winnipeg "Agriculture is the utilization of the natural resources of the land to produce a secure food supply."

Agriculture also includes forestry, which will, to a lesser degree will be included in the course. Plantations and orchards are a part of agriculture.

What is farming ? There are probably as many definitions as there are farms. For the purpose of this course, a farmer is a person who makes a living in whole or in part from growing plants and/or animals on either ranches, orchards and plantations. "Farmers" can be peasants and land owner as both are very involved with the agricultural process.

Traditionally, farmers produced enough food and fibre to feed and clothe themselves and their family. In good years there would be surplus to sell or trade. This works out well if several crops were grown with some doing well in one region and others doing better in another region close by. This did not always happen and shortages have always plagued farmers and consumers. This has led to methods of storing food for times of shortage. In many parts of the world the main portion of the population is engaged in farming on a direct level where they are mainly producing food for their families.
In Canada, the United States, Europe and other industrialized nations this is not the case. In Canada 3% of the population is engaged in farming and the number is decreasing. Increasingly the rest of the world is following the industrialized nations example and changing farms into larger units with fewer farmers. This is not always the best way to go about reducing hunger and increasing the quality of life. Change in the way a society does agriculture changes the society itself. A look at the history of agriculture in lessons 3, 4 and 5 will demonstrate this point.

Agricultural Business

In Canada and other industrial nations, farming supports agricultural industries and businesses. There are an integral and important part of farming even though they are not directly involved in tilling the soil. These businesses provide resources, equipment, marketing, transporting and storing produce. The people involved in agricultural business are counted with farmers, as those who are engaged in agriculture.
It is true that one farmer can successfully operate l000 acres (408 hectares) of land by himself or herself, but he needs the following: several tractors and other specialized pieces of equipment, the fuel and lubricants to run the equipment, parts for repair, a shop to repair the equipment in, tools to repair the equipment with, a parts dealer to sell him spare parts, the knowledge to repair the equipment, seed, chemicals and fertilizers,and research

Definition of Marketing: "It (food marketing) is both a physical distribution and an economic bridge designed to facilitate the movement and exchange of commodities from the farm to the fork." (Marketing of Agricultural Products 5th Ed.)
Richard L. Kohls and Joseph N. Uhl, Macmillan Pulbishing Co. Ltd.

Interdependence of farmers and non-farmers (consumers)

One farmer by himself does not operate 1000 acres (408 hectares) of farm land by himself or herself. He is dependent on many other specialized businesses.

"Some economists remark that an old saying has been turned around: instead of one farmer feeding fifty persons, it takes fifty persons to keep one farmer operating. Although perhaps injurious to farmers' pride, that quip emphasizes the mutual interdependence between farmers and their urban neighbours."
(Will the Bounty End?)

"Improved productivity in all sectors of the food system has greatly increased food production and lowered food prices over the past 50 years. Much of this increased efficiency is due to farmers. Each Manitoba farm now feeds 250 people, five times as many as 50 years ago. In addition, food prices have not increased as much as wages in Manitoba, so a consumer only has to work half as long now as he or she did 50 years ago to buy Manitoba produced meat, milk, eggs, bread and vegetables. In 1991, Manitoban's spent only one tenth of their disposable income in food stores." (Gov't pamphlet. Manitoba Agricultural Review l99l) If we did not grow food here, the price would probably increase.

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