general

definition of agriculture

It is designated by the term of agricultural To that human activity that is oriented both to the cultivation of the field and to the raising of animals, that is, it is closely related to agriculture and livestock. We must emphasize that both activities belong to what is called the primary activity of the economy.

It belongs to the primary activity of the economy

By the way, it is worth clarifying that the primary activities within an economy are those that are associated with the exploitation of natural resources and whose function is precisely the generation of raw materials such as meat and crops, both issues facilitated by agricultural activity, of course.

In contrast to these, the secondary activities of the economy appear, which are those associated with industry and the transformation of raw materials. Finally, the tertiary sector is the one corresponding to services and that does not involve manufacturing or artisan work, as the two previous cases, but rather demands mental or intellectual work from its actors, among others we can mention tourism, the development of programs IT, investment, consulting.

Now, having clarified the part of the economy to which agriculture belongs and returning to the concept we are dealing with, we will say that the name has been coined from the combination of two other terms: agriculture (cultivation of land to grow food) and livestock, which somehow turn out to be the main activities that those who carry out this activity carry out.

So, whoever carries out an agricultural activity is because they are engaged in agriculture or livestock.

What are agriculture and livestock?

Agriculture is the tillage or cultivation of the land and includes all those jobs related to the treatment of the soil and the planting of vegetables. To a large extent, agricultural tasks are destined to the production of food and the obtaining of vegetables, fruits, cereals, vegetables, among others.

And by his side, Livestock, as well as agriculture, is a very, very old economic activity that consists of raising animals for later use. According to the livestock species that is worked, different derived products will be obtained: meat, milk, eggs, leather, wool, honey, among others.

The most important livestock are cattle, pigs and sheep, although in some regions, these can be surpassed by goats and horses.

Both activities, agriculture and livestock, are closely linked and nurture each other. The cattle provide manure, which is used as fertilizer for pastures and crops and these are used to feed the animals.

Meanwhile, the advances that this activity has presented over the years are largely due to the work that several scientists have done. For example, among them and one of the most important has been Louis Pasteur to whom is owed the possibility of milk pasteurization so that in this way it can be better preserved; He also contributed his contributions to the manufacture of pesticides, demonstrating the bacterial origin of the fermentations and discovering the anaerobic bacteria.

Main activity and economic engine in many nations

And we cannot ignore that both constitute today and since time immemorial fundamental economic activities of some nations and that they allow the economic development and progress of the countries that practice them.

They also turn out to be activities of essential relevance for the nutritional sustainability of human beings around the world, not just their own, and that is why some of those responsible for the activity become exporters par excellence.

There are countries like Argentina that have a wide agricultural field to exploit and that turns out to be the main economic activity and the one that contributes the highest percentage of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to the nation. In the last century, this great preponderance that Argentina had acquired in this regard led to the nickname of "granary of the world" applied to it, which many like to apply to it today.

This also occurs in other neighboring countries to Argentina and on the African continent.

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