Development of agriculture

1. Read the text and decide which paragraphs are about these subjects:

· the green revolution

· agribusiness

· crops for the future

· nomadic way of life

1. In very early times people did not know how to grow crops nor did they have domestic animals. They lived entirely by hunting and gathering. This meant they gathered wild plants they found to be safe to eat, and also hunted wild animals including birds and fish for food. As the edible (good to eat) wild plantations of an area was quickly used up, and as the wild animal life was soon either killed off or frightened away, early people had to move around in order to get their food supply. Such a way of life is described as nomadic.

As time went by, people learned how to domesticate wild animals, and so became livestock breeders. They also learned to cultivate plants, and so became crop-growers. In only a few remote and difficult environments people continue to practice the hunting and gathering way of life.

2. To produce food, people have long depended on the natural resources of their environments. But during the 1960's, scientists in Mexico and the USA developed new varieties of wheat, while scientists in Japan, Taiwan and Philippines developed new varieties of rice. These new varieties were better able to survive poor weather conditions. They also produced higher yields. Most important they grew more quickly making it possible for farmers to grow at least one extra crop during the growing season. This was the beginning of the green revolution. The new " miracle seeds " made it possible for the supply of food to grow at a faster rate than the number of people. For example, India, which until the 1960s had suffered frequent food shortages, became self-sufficient in cereals.

Despite its successes, the green revolution has not benefited everyone. The new seeds required a great deal of fertilizers to get the best results. Chemical fertilizers are expensive, and many farmers could not afford them. One more drawback (disadvantage) of the new varieties of rice is that they need irrigation. This is a problem because many of the poorest parts of the world, such as Ethiopia, depend on rain-fed agriculture. Finally, farmers must buy seeds every year as the seeds from these cereals are infertile. Feeding more than 6 billion people on the earth is no easy task. In many parts of the world food still remain a problem. Some people believe that the world population eventually will outgrow the food supply. Others are more hopeful pointing to scientific research currently under way to find ways of growing more food.

3. Another way to raise farm production is to expand the use of crops grown today and to cultivate new crops. Soybeans, for example, may become an important source of protein in the future.

Farmers also are experimenting with other new crops. Channel millet is a grain found in the Australian desert that needs only one watering to produce a crop. The high-protein winged bean, which grows wild in Southeast Asia, grows easily and improves soil fertility. The prickly pear, a nutritious cactus, grows in desert regions.

Aquaculture also is a kind of agriculture. Aquaculture consists of raising fish in ponds and coastal areas. Farmers raise catfish, trout, and salmon in artificial ponds and lakes. Oysters and shellfish develop in special beds built in shallow coastal water. Aquaculture already has succeeded in increasing the supply of fish. Farmers in the People's Republic of China, for example, have large numbers of fish from artificial ponds each year.

Many scientists also believe that world food supplies can be increased through genetic engineering. Using genetic engineering scientists transfer certain genes from one plant or animal to another. Scientists foresee a time in the near future when plants can be specially “designed” to be high in protein and other nutrients and to resist frost or repel damaging insects.

4. In addition to local climatic and soil conditions, crops grown or animals reared are influenced by local market opportunities and government policies. Modern large-scale highly efficient farming, based on scientific and business principles, known as agribusiness. It is a part of an integrated food system which extends all the way from agricultural suppliers to food manufacturers and supermarkets. Usually several farms belong to a single family business, though each one is run separately. Being part of a large business enterprise can reduce the costs. For instance buying fertilizer and pesticides in bulk (in large amounts) is cheaper; machinery can be shared between several farms. Crop yields are high because inputs of agrochemicals (fertilizers and pesticide and capital equipment) are high.