A Short History of Agriculture

Prior to the modernisation of agriculture, the basic techniques of captivating animals & planting seeds for future usage goes as far back as to early humans, who would employ entrapment of animals - a temporary measure accompanying a 'feast or famine' lifestyle. These actions can be dated back to 9800BC where people of Shanidar Kudistan were domesticating sheep and planting wheat - actions which seem to reflect the initiation of intensive food gathering, which Brothwell (1975) notes that this arose mainly in the East during this period.

The initial approaches were to remove seeds from before consumption, then plant the seeds in the same area. Fallow and irrigation fields soon followed due to the greater demand for fields with greater fertility, with irrigation being a result of some cultures being forced to try to farm normally arid areas, involving the trapping and storing of water that occurs in a short period of time. This coincided with the beginning of slash & burn, where fields were set on fire to produce ash to enrich the soil. However, it is from the 16th century onwards that saw the agricultural world take an important and scientific turn.

Europe was cut off from Asia and the Middle East due to Turkish control, and new economic measures influenced agriculture, as continued wars consumed capital and human resources. The first systematic attempts to control pests thrived in the 17th & 18th century, with the production of resistant plant varieties being cultivated. Fundamental improvements in transportation & technology (such as the James Watt’s steam engine) undoubtedly contributed to the growth of agriculture during this period, as greater roads, canals and the introduction of rail lines allowed farmers to reach suppliers and to market their produce over a greater area The 19th century saw the beginning of fertiliser usage, with the first fertiliser factory opening in 1843.

Post WWII saw the birth of the green revolution - spawning selective breeding of crops & intensive cultivation methods, both which contributed to the ‘baby boom’ and saw US agriculture, as described by John P. Reganold et al (1990), become the envy of the world. The Haber Bosch revolutionised the way man could obtain and use fertilisers, and nitrogen became extensively used post WWII (which as we’ll see later has some detrimental effects) to support the rapidly accelerating population. In the 20th Century, steam, gasoline, diesel and electric power came into wider use, which coincided with chemical fertilisers being manufactured in great quantities. This is reflected in a more recent publication, Asthana & Kumar 2008, who focus on how India, originally an agrarian economy, became self-sufficient - mainly due to the availability and accessibility of the Green Revolution Principles, which aimed for higher yields, adequate artificial fertilization and education of farmers. The 1980s onwards has seen the incorporation of high technology farming, compromising hybrids for wheat, rice and other grains. The continuous intensive use of fertilisers (mainly nitrogen & phosphate) has seen the production of more food per capita, which has allowed the global population to accelerate in growth - leading to greater urban populations & fossil fuel consumption, producing an increase in CO2 & N2O atmospheric concentrations (Steffen et al 2007).

However - despite these fundamental & required agricultural necessities that have taken place over the past few centuries to feed mankind, what are the detrimental & environmentally damaging effects of agriculture? How has feeding mankind also produced major concerns for the way of life for humanity but most importantly in this blog how has it led to the development of sustainable agriculture? The next post tells all...