History of agriculture

The first evidence of human cultivation of edible grasses dates to 21,000 BC, long before the invention of the wheel or the rise of cities. These early farmers, known as the Ohalo II people, lived on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and collected wild grains that would eventually become the foundation of civilization. While hunter-gatherers had been eating wild grains for over 100,000 years, the transition to deliberate planting was a slow, complex process that began in the Levant around 9500 BC. This period saw the emergence of the eight Neolithic founder crops: emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chickpeas, and flax. These crops did not appear overnight; they were the result of thousands of years of selective pressure, first by nature and later by human hands. The domestication of these plants was not a single event but a gradual shift in how humans interacted with their environment, driven by climate change and the need for stable food sources after the last ice age. The development of agriculture was not a sudden leap but a slow evolution from foraging to farming, with wild stands of plants being harvested and eventually planted in a more controlled manner. This transition allowed for the formation of permanent settlements, which in turn led to the development of complex societies and the rise of civilizations.

The Global Garden

Agriculture did not begin in one place and spread outward; it emerged independently in at least eleven distinct regions across the Old and New Worlds. In the Americas, the domestication of maize from wild teosinte began around 7000 BC in southern Mexico, creating a crop that would eventually feed billions. The potato, domesticated in the Andes between 8000 BC and 5000 BC, became a staple for the Inca Empire, while cassava was cultivated in the Amazon Basin by 7000 BC. In Africa, sorghum and pearl millet were domesticated in the Sahel region by 3000 BC, and yams were cultivated in West Africa, forming the basis of the Yam Belt. The domestication of animals also occurred independently in different regions; pigs were domesticated in Mesopotamia around 11,000 years ago, while cattle were domesticated from the wild aurochs in modern Turkey and India around 8500 BC. The horse was domesticated in the Pontic steppe around 4000 BC, and camels were domesticated much later, perhaps around 3000 BC. These independent centers of origin created a diverse range of agricultural systems, each adapted to its local environment. The development of agriculture in these regions was not uniform; some areas, like the Fertile Crescent, developed irrigation systems early on, while others, like the Eastern United States, relied on complex systems of companion planting such as the Three Sisters. The global spread of agriculture was a testament to human ingenuity and adaptability, as different cultures developed unique solutions to the challenges of farming in their specific environments.

Common questions

When did the first evidence of human cultivation of edible grasses appear?

The first evidence of human cultivation of edible grasses dates to 21,000 BC. These early farmers, known as the Ohalo II people, lived on the shores of the Sea of Galilee and collected wild grains that would eventually become the foundation of civilization.

Where did agriculture emerge independently across the Old and New Worlds?

Agriculture emerged independently in at least eleven distinct regions across the Old and New Worlds. In the Americas, the domestication of maize from wild teosinte began around 7000 BC in southern Mexico, while the potato was domesticated in the Andes between 8000 BC and 5000 BC.

What were the eight Neolithic founder crops developed in the Levant?

The eight Neolithic founder crops include emmer wheat, einkorn wheat, hulled barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chickpeas, and flax. These crops emerged around 9500 BC as the result of thousands of years of selective pressure driven by climate change and the need for stable food sources after the last ice age.

How did the British Agricultural Revolution increase agricultural productivity?

The British Agricultural Revolution increased agricultural productivity through new practices like enclosure, mechanization, four-field crop rotation, and selective breeding. Wheat productivity rose from 15 bushels per acre in 1720 to around 30 bushels by 1840, enabling unprecedented population growth to 5.7 million in 1750.

When did the Green Revolution take place and who led the initiatives?

The Green Revolution was a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives between the 1940s and the late 1970s. The initiatives were led by Norman Borlaug and credited with saving over a billion people from starvation through the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains.

What caused the European Potato Failure and how many people died in Ireland?

The European Potato Failure was a disastrous crop failure from disease that resulted in widespread famine and the death of over one million people in Ireland alone. This event occurred after the potato became a staple crop throughout Europe by the late 1700s, leading to a dependence that caused the failure.

The Rise of Empires

The Bronze Age witnessed the intensification of agriculture in civilizations such as Mesopotamian Sumer, ancient Egypt, and the Indus Valley civilization. In Sumer, farmers grew barley and wheat, relying on irrigation canals from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers to support large cities. The first ploughs appeared in pictographs from Uruk around 3000 BC, and seed-ploughs that funneled seed into the ploughed furrow appeared on seals around 2300 BC. Ancient Egypt, indebted to the Nile River and its dependable seasonal flooding, built an empire on the basis of great agricultural wealth. Egyptians were among the first peoples to practice agriculture on a large scale, starting in the pre-dynastic period from the end of the Paleolithic into the Neolithic, between around 10,000 BC and 4000 BC. The Indus Valley civilization developed irrigation by around 4500 BC, leading to more thoroughly planned settlements which used drainage and sewers. In ancient China, the Qimin Yaoshu of AD 535, written by Jia Sixie, provided a comprehensive guide to agriculture, covering land preparation, seeding, cultivation, orchard management, forestry, and animal husbandry. The Chinese also innovated the hydraulic-powered trip hammer by the 1st century BC, which was used to pound, decorticate, and polish grain. The Roman Empire built upon techniques originally pioneered by the Sumerians, with a specific emphasis on the cultivation of crops for trade and export. The Romans laid the groundwork for the manorial economic system, involving serfdom, which flourished in the Middle Ages. The farm sizes in Rome were divided into three categories: small farms from 18 to 88 iugera, medium-sized farms from 80 to 500 iugera, and large estates called latifundia over 500 iugera. The Romans had four systems of farm management: direct work by the owner and his family, slaves doing work under the supervision of slave managers, tenant farming or sharecropping, and situations in which a farm was leased to a tenant.

The Medieval Turn

The Middle Ages saw further improvements in agriculture, with monasteries spreading throughout Europe and becoming important centers for the collection of knowledge related to agriculture and forestry. The manorial system allowed large landowners to control their land and its laborers, in the form of peasants or serfs. By AD 900, developments in iron smelting allowed for increased production in Europe, leading to developments in the production of agricultural implements such as ploughs, hand tools, and horse shoes. The carruca heavy plough improved on the earlier scratch plough, with the adoption of the Chinese mouldboard plough to turn over the heavy, wet soils of northern Europe. This led to the clearing of northern European forests and an increase in agricultural production, which in turn led to an increase in population. At the same time, some farmers in Europe moved from a two-field crop rotation to a three-field crop rotation in which one field of three was left fallow every year. This resulted in increased productivity and nutrition, as the change in rotations permitted nitrogen-fixing legumes such as peas, lentils, and beans. Watermills were introduced by the Romans, but were improved throughout the Middle Ages, along with windmills, and used to grind grains into flour, to cut wood, and to process flax and wool. Crops included wheat, rye, barley, and oats. Peas, beans, and vetches became common from the 13th century onward as a fodder crop for animals and also for their nitrogen-fixing fertilizing properties. Crop yields peaked in the 13th century, and stayed more or less steady until the 18th century. Though the limitations of medieval farming were once thought to have provided a ceiling for the population growth in the Middle Ages, recent studies have shown that the technology of medieval agriculture was always sufficient for the needs of the people under normal circumstances, and that it was only during exceptionally harsh times, such as the terrible weather of 1315, 17, that the needs of the population could not be met.

The Modern Machine

Between the 17th century and the mid-19th century, Britain saw a large increase in agricultural productivity and net output, known as the British Agricultural Revolution. New agricultural practices like enclosure, mechanization, four-field crop rotation to maintain soil nutrients, and selective breeding enabled an unprecedented population growth to 5.7 million in 1750, freeing up a significant percentage of the workforce, and thereby helped drive the Industrial Revolution. The productivity of wheat went up from 15 bushels per acre in 1720 to around 30 bushels by 1840, marking a major turning point in history. Advice on more productive techniques for farming began to appear in England in the mid-17th century, from writers such as Samuel Hartlib, Walter Blith, and others. The main problem in sustaining agriculture in one place for a long time was the depletion of nutrients, most importantly nitrogen levels, in the soil. To allow the soil to regenerate, productive land was often let fallow and, in some places, crop rotation was used. The Dutch four-field rotation system was popularized by the British agriculturist Charles Townshend in the 18th century. The system (wheat, turnips, barley, and clover) opened up a fodder crop and grazing crop allowing livestock to be bred year-round. The use of clover was especially important as the legume roots replenished soil nitrates. The mechanization and rationalization of agriculture was another important factor. Robert Bakewell and Thomas Coke introduced selective breeding and initiated a process of inbreeding to maximize desirable traits from the mid-18th century, such as the New Leicester sheep. Machines were invented to improve the efficiency of various agricultural operations, such as Jethro Tull's seed drill of 1701 that mechanized seeding at the correct depth and spacing, and Andrew Meikle's threshing machine of 1784. Ploughs were steadily improved, from Joseph Foljambe's Rotherham iron plough in 1730 to James Small's improved Scots Plough metal in 1763. In 1789, Ransomes, Sims & Jefferies was producing 86 plough models for different soils. Powered farm machinery began with Richard Trevithick's stationary steam engine, used to drive a threshing machine, in 1812. Mechanization spread to additional farm uses throughout the 19th century. The first petrol-driven tractor was built in America by John Froelich in 1892.

The Chemical Age

Since 1900, agriculture in the developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as human labor has been replaced by mechanization, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, and selective breeding. The Haber-Bosch process allowed the synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields. It was first patented by German chemist Fritz Haber. In 1910, Carl Bosch, while working for German chemical company BASF, successfully commercialized the process and secured further patents. In the years after World War II, the use of synthetic fertilizer increased rapidly, in sync with the increasing world population. The Green Revolution was a series of research, development, and technology transfer initiatives between the 1940s and the late 1970s. It increased agriculture production around the world, especially from the late 1960s. The initiatives, led by Norman Borlaug and credited with saving over a billion people from starvation, involved the development of high-yielding varieties of cereal grains, expansion of irrigation infrastructure, modernization of management techniques, distribution of hybridized seeds, synthetic fertilizers, and pesticides to farmers. Synthetic nitrogen, mined rock phosphate, pesticides, and mechanization have greatly increased crop yields in the early 20th century. Increased supply of grains has also led to cheaper livestock. Further, global yield increases were experienced later in the 20th century when high-yield varieties of common staple grains such as rice, wheat, and corn were introduced as a part of the Green Revolution. The Green Revolution exported the technologies (including pesticides and synthetic nitrogen) of the developed world to the developing world. Although the Green Revolution significantly increased rice yields in Asia, yield leveled off. The genetic yield potential has increased for wheat, but the yield potential for rice has not increased since 1966, and the yield potential for maize has barely increased in 35 years. It takes only a decade or two for herbicide-resistant weeds to emerge, and insects become resistant to insecticides within about a decade, delayed somewhat by crop rotation.

The Future Field

Modern agriculture has raised social, political, and environmental issues including overpopulation, water pollution, biofuels, genetically modified organisms, tariffs, and farm subsidies. In response, organic farming developed in the twentieth century as an alternative to the use of synthetic pesticides. For most of its history, agriculture has been organic, without synthetic fertilizers or pesticides, and without GMOs. With the advent of chemical agriculture, Rudolf Steiner called for farming without synthetic pesticides, and his Agriculture Course of 1924 laid the foundation for biodynamic agriculture. Lord Northbourne developed these ideas and presented his manifesto of organic farming in 1940. This became a worldwide movement, and organic farming is now practiced in many countries. The number of people involved in farming in industrial countries fell radically from 24 percent of the American population to 1.5 percent in 2002. The number of farms also decreased, and their ownership became more concentrated; for example, between 1967 and 2002, one million pig farms in America consolidated into 114,000, with 80 percent of the production on factory farms. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74 percent of the world's poultry, 43 percent of beef, and 68 percent of eggs are produced this way. Famines however continued to sweep the globe through the 20th century. Through the effects of climatic events, government policy, war, and crop failure, millions of people died in each of at least ten famines between the 1920s and the 1990s. Collectively farming was widely practiced in the Soviet Union, the Eastern Bloc countries, China, and Vietnam, starting in the 1930s in the Soviet Union; one result was the Soviet famine of 1932, 33. Another consequence occurred during the Great Leap Forward in China initiated by Mao Tse-tung that resulted in the Great Chinese Famine from 1959 to 1961 and ultimately reshaped the thinking of Deng Xiaoping. The future of agriculture remains uncertain, as the world faces the challenges of feeding a growing population while addressing the environmental and social impacts of modern farming practices.