Chapter 1 - Historical Agriculture

Development

Historical Development of Agriculture•Agri is most widely distributed eco activity on earth surface. It is result of a

combined action of a complex of phy, social, eco, techno, and cultural conditions of an area.•It means: Cultivation of Plants, and Raising of livestock.

•Agri is oldest and most important occupation of man.

•The history of mankind dates back to more than a million year.

Historical Development of Agriculture•Historical development of agriculture dates back to 10,000 years.

•But it was the stone age (Paleolithic) that man became an expert hunter and gatherer.

•Nevertheless, his life was largely a search for food; his camp sites were temporary and starvation was a constant threat.

•Thus, farming was perhaps, developed to make the supply of food

more regular and assured by selecting certain plant and animal species and taking special care of them.

Historical Development of Agriculture •The concept of origin of agriculture is an old phenomenon.

•But, it seems to be a relatively recent innovation when viewed in terms of the historical dev of mankind because man has been a hunter and gatherer for the greater part of his existence.

•In the Neolithic period, man could break out of the invisible links that had kept him obedient to nature for such a longer period when FIRE was discovered which is the most momentous event in human pre-history.

Historical Development of Agriculture Hence, the discovery of fire and the development of agriculture are the two innovations that form the basis of civilization.•The use of fire in improving pasture, clearing the forest , undoubtedly preceded the beginnings of agriculture•Firstly, Man was Hunter, Gatherer then Tiller of soil.

•Whether domestication of plants and animals was started altogether or at different points of times is a matter or controversy but majority supports their simultaneous origin.

Historical Development

•Agriculture has a long history during which numerous spatio-temporal changes have taken place.•However, the origin of agriculture probably took place between 12,000 to 14,000 BP (Before Present, 1950 as counting year), when man began the great transition period from hunter to tiller.

Historical Development of Agri.

•Various stage models have been built to explain the different stages of dev from Gatherer and Hunter to Modern Suit Case Farmer.

•Man in his beginning led a very hard life and he had to face tough struggling time battle through different climatic and non-climatic hazards.

Historical Development of Agri.

•Varro explains that perhaps 50,000 yrs ago, man sustained on those things which he liked and the virgin earth produced spontaneously.•Gradually, he became pastoral and began to pluck fruits from trees and also began to store them for subsequent use.•Perhaps sheep was the first animal to be domesticated.

Historical Development of Agri.

•Each successive step was an improvement over the preceding one. It has developed differently depending upon the physio-socio-eco conditions of the area.

•It is a known fact that evolution of agri had taken place independently and in isolation as the wild varieties of plants from which crops have been domesticated.

•In short, the “ Food Producing Revolution” was a process and not an event in that it developed both gradually and at the same time followed different emphases and sequences according to differing local conditions in diff parts of world.

Historical Development of Agri

•Historical dev of Agri can be categorized in diff time periods:1.The Pre- historic period2.The Early Historic Period3.The Pre-medieval Period4.The Medieval Period5.The Neo-modern Period6.The Modern Period

1.The Pre-Historic Period•One of the majors events in human history is the transition from Hunting – Gathering of fruits to permanent Agriculture.

•Different theories have been put before for agri origin and various views for place of origin no authentic evidence can be seen so far.

•Leaving aside the controversary of the origin of agri, the early cultivators were partially cultivating cereal grain particularly wheat and barley with domesticating and hunting of animals.

•The contribution of domesticated plants and animals slowly increased and by about 7000 B.C wheat and barley provided more than 9/10 of the total weight of plant food in some of the regions.

•Subsequently, a no of plants were added i.e. Flax, peas, lentil, etc.

The Pre-Historic Period•By the 10,000 B.C., In most of the parts of South – West Asia and Eastern Mediterranean people who relied much upon Hunting, Fishing, and Food Gathering during the long spell of pre – historic time began to reap wild barley and wild wheat with sickles and curved knives.•They used to keep some surplus grains in storage pits or bins, for unforeseen deficit periods. •The earliest farmers had simple methods of grinding with stones, mullers for the processing of various grains and nuts.

The Pre-Historic Period•Archaeological evidences regarding earliest agri in Hunan, Shensi and Shansi and in Thailand (Spirit cave, Banyan valley and Non Nok Tha) suggest rice culture to gather with domestication of pigs and later cattle.•During fourth millennium B.C. Farmers started cultivation of Banana, Yam, sugarcane, vinegrapes etc.• Domestication of sheep, goats and cattle which are believed to have come from South western and Central Asia.

The Pre-Historic Period•And they used to provide wool and milk in addition to a substantial amount of meat.

•A complex pattern of socio-eco R/ship among various communities developed and by the seventh millennium B.C.

The Pre-Historic Period•The earliest farmers had a simple method of grinding with stones, mullers for processing of various nuts, grains and seeds.

•Knives, sickle blades of flint for reaping the grain crops were very common implements.

•Gradually, the ox – drawn plough was adopted which brought a significant change in agri.

•Subsequently, various new varieties of crops legumes, cotton, small seed flax, oilseed plants, onion

•Various varieties of fruits like almonds, pears, walnuts, strawberries, grapes, apricots were also added and widely cultivated.

2. The Early - Historic Period•The wheel was invented and found for the first time near about 3000 B.C. in Southern USSR and sold wooden wheels gave rise to carts which speeded up transportation of various agri & non- agri goods. •Major advancement in agri came with dev of irrigation. Irrigated farming began to be practised and to this effect perennial canals began to be dug and waters managed to be stored in reservoirs.•During 3000 – 2500 BC, in Egypt large irrigation systems developed upon which its culture was based.

The Early Historic Period•The artesian well and dev of great canal systems were the great achievements of the time.•Farmer commonly grew wheat, barley and cotton with camels, buffaloes, sheep, goats etc.

The Early Historic Period•Around 2000 BC, man discovered

how to ride a horse, probably it began first in nomad tribes in Central Asia, Afghanistan and beyond.•Same time, Buffalo and Chicken were brought under domestication especially in South Asia.•Rapid pop growth stimulated further dev of agri.•Acco to Kosambi, most efficient Hunting and food gathering can hardly support one person per sq km.

3. The Pre-Medieval Period•Continuous growth of pop and improved eco conditions emerged from better agri farming and turned into cities.

•Process of dispersal and diffusion of various crops have been taken place i.e. Ragi & Bajra which were indigenous to Africa were cultivated in South India near about 1500 BC. •These crops reached India via South-West Asia. In the first millennium BC, rice, cotton, sugarcane were commonly grown along with the other crops in Mesopotamia.

•Agri changes took place in the succeeding Iron age after discovery of iron near about 1000 BC.

•After Iron plough , large areas of heavier soils were brought under cultivation in most parts of world.

The Pre-Medieval Period•First evidence of Rice being grown in Lower Ganga plain and delta margins dates back only to 700 BC.•New scientific devices brought many more improvements in agri landuse.•Large estates organised by Govt agencies came into existence and gradually they became dominant in most parts of classical world.•These large estate (Latifundia) were controlled by big landlords who were engaging slave labour.

The Neo-Modern Period•The Spanish and Portuguese were pioneers in introducing Mediterranean crops – grapes, fig, vine, olive and citrus fruits.

•Sugarcane and Bananas were introduced by Portuguese by early 16th century which flourished in Cuba, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Peru and later in West Indies.

•Subsequent improvements and dev took place in their cultivation particularly after the arrival of sugarcane planters from Southern Asia and Africa.

The Neo-Modern Period•The slave trades led to exchange of crops among Brazil, Indies, West Africa.•Coffee widely spread in 18th century in Brazil, Sao Paulo, Bolivia and Rio de Janeiro.•Similarly various grains and root crops diffused from New Old to diff countries of Old world.•Cotton diffused from Mexico to USA and South American countries

The Neo-Modern Period

- Most of the crops of New World came via Europe. - They adopted new ideas, crops, plants from their discovery.-Maize, Chilles, Tomatoes and sweet potatoes were introduced in 16th century with new tech of their cultivation.-Intra-regional exchange of crops ie from South-East Asia diffused in South and South –West Asia.-Techniques were simple and primitive.

The Neo-Modern Period•In 16th century, horse drawn harrows and rollers were invented .•Most of technological advances in farming were directed towards ploughing of land. •In Canada, USA, labour shortage prompted the search for harvesting equipments.•By 18th century, specialisation in agri took place. Cattle used to be domesticated for meat or milk.

The Neo-Modern Period•So, agri was subsistence – oriented and dominated by cereals production. •At the end of this period, 3 major trends emerged especially in Europe– 1. Reduction in Fallow land,– 2. Consolidation of land– 3. Increase in importance of livestock in agri.

•Apart from that colonial agri established, dev of plantation farming in tropical region .

5. The Modern Period•In this period, Industrial Rev brought a tremendous changes in agri.•In the beginning, it created a market for agri products i.e. Cotton, Wool Rubber, Jute as raw material. •It provided several basic agri inputs directly and indirectly, attracting them towards industries creating necessity for mechanisation of agri.•Industrial Rev brought a major change in agri, i.e. Iron and Steam power was utilised for farming i.e. Ploughing.•Stem plough was capable of ploughing 10 times the area that horse could plough in a day.

5. The Modern Period•The use of tractor became popular during the inter – war period in USA and after IInd WW in Europe.•In 1930, the Power Harvester was introduced in Europe. •In 1931, the tractor was equipped with a diesel engine which enabled the machine to work under all conditions•Besides these, several other agri machines and tools were introduced i.e. weeder, leveller, sprayer etc. Which were instrumental in agri dev.

The Modern Period•Dev in the means of transport is another factor for increasing agri dev.•With improvement in transport sector and reduction of fares, it was not possible to increase commercialisation of agri in 19th century at world level.•This transportation dev helps in diffusion of agri innovations and take raw material to market and bring inputs to fields.•Chemical fertilisers and HYV seeds brought a major change in agri.•During this period, agri became industrialised.• Farmers began to get almost all their inputs i.e. Agri implements, fertilisers, pesticides, energy inputs.

The Modern Period•But the level of agri dev was not attained all over the world uniformly, as Developed nations were got more dev while Africa, Asia and Latin American countries were benefitted lesser, so agri productivity in these regions is also low.

•In the later part of 20th century, the big pop size pressurised for rapid dev of agri in developing countries.

•So, vertical and horizontal development in agri took place for meeting the needs.

•With the dev of agri science and tech, the farming now becoming a business . There is reorientation of agri economy from Subsistence to Market based.

Conclusion•In the past 5 decades, there have been spectacular advances in dev of agri.

•Man has changed the old landscape with plants and animals to a such a degree that at present it is hard to believe that hunting and gathering would ever have been a possible way of life.

•Man - Pastoralist – Farmer - Villager – Townsman.

•Agri started about 12000 yrs ago, he used more than 3000 species of plants for his food out of which 150 cultivated at present.

•The diffusion of knowledge of the cultivation by plough and manure to restore soil fertility gave a great help to agri dev.

Conclusion•Primitive forms of agri with simple hand tools disappeared and plough cultivation with draught animals gained much importance.•Upto 1600 AD, there were very little differences in agri productivity but it increase after this.•It was Western world that first experienced industrialisation which provided new inputs .•Agri faced problems of Shortage(Low Productivity) and Surplus(High Productivity)