3.3. Agricultural Development

Agricultural Development refers to efforts made to increase farm production in order to meet the growing demand of increasing population.

Agricultural development is about improving how much food we can produce on farms. As the population grows, there is a greater need for food. Therefore, farmers and governments work together to find ways to grow more crops and raise more animals to feed everyone.

Think of it like a bakery that starts small. Initially, they bake a few dozen loaves of bread. As more customers come in, they need to bake more bread to satisfy everyone. They might buy bigger ovens, or use better ingredients, or even hire more bakers to increase their production.

This can be achieved in many ways such as increasing the cropped area, the number of crops grown, improving irrigation facilities, use of fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds. Mechanisation of agriculture is also another aspect of agricultural development.

To increase the amount of food produced, farmers can take several steps. They can plant on more land (cropped area), grow multiple crops each year, make their watering systems (irrigation) more efficient, use special nutrients (fertilizers), and select seeds that produce better crops (high yielding variety seeds). Additionally, using machines instead of just manual labor also helps increase production, making work easier and faster.

Imagine upgrading a home kitchen. If a family wants to cook more meals quickly, they might buy a bigger stove, a food processor, or even install better plumbing for water access. Each upgrade helps them make dinner faster and for more people.

The ultimate aim of agricultural development is to increase food security.

Food security means that all people have access to enough nutritious food at all times. This is the main goal of agricultural development – ensuring that as more people are born and live longer, there is enough food for everyone. It involves not just growing more food, but also making sure it is healthy and available to everyone who needs it.

Picture a community pantry that aims to have enough food for every family in town. They work to gather food donations and make sure everyone knows they can come and get the food. Their goal is for no one to go hungry, no matter what.

Agriculture has developed at different places in different parts of the world. Developing countries with large populations usually practice intensive agriculture where crops are grown on small holdings mostly for subsistence. Larger holdings are more suitable for commercial agriculture as in USA, Canada and Australia.

In different countries, agriculture is practiced in various ways. In developing countries, many farmers grow enough food primarily for their own families, often on small pieces of land. This is called subsistence farming. In contrast, in developed countries like the USA, farming is often on larger pieces of land (holdings) and focuses on selling crops in markets (commercial agriculture). This means they grow more food than just what they need for themselves.

Consider a small local garden where a family grows vegetables for their meals – that’s like intensive agriculture in a developing country. Meanwhile, a large farm that grows corn or wheat to sell in grocery stores represents commercial agriculture in a developed country.

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