PART 2

• Top agricultural countries


  • India
  • Argentina
  • China
  • Brazil
  • Philippines
  • Australia
• China


  • The Yellow River region and the Yangtze River region were the origins of agricultural development
  • Used no chemical fertilizers or pesticides for most of its history
• Traditional crops in China

  • Legume crops
  • Crop rotations and intercropping
  • Terracing and the use of diverse crop varieties
  • Human, animal, and crop wastes
• China's agricultural history


  Venerable history of traditional and ecological farming practices stretching back at least 4,000 years
• Development of agricultural technology in ancient China

  1. Tangible tools

  2. Technological theories

  3. Practices
• The development of agricultural technology in ancient China was an extremely slow process
• Approximately 130 major technologies were initiated during the Neolithic Period in China
• There was a gradual increase in technologies, with approximately 200 technologies during earlier periods (before 800 BC) in China
• During this period, there were few developments, mainly stone and wooden tools for slash-and-burn farming in China
• Steel-making techniques in China

  • Rakes
  • Shovels
  • Sickle
  • Specifically designed for sowing, trenching, cultivation, weeding, transplanting, and crop processing in paddy fields
  • Higher demand for irrigation in paddy fields addressed by increasing development of irrigation infrastructure
• Past diet in China

  Rich people ate grains like rice, wheat, and millet. People ate wheat in the form of dumplings, pancakes or noodles, and rice.
• Present agricultural policies in China

  • Household responsibility system
  • Removed agricultural taxes and fees
  • Reform of the rural land system
• China is responsible for creating roughly 20% of the world's foods, making it the largest agricultural economy globally
• In 2018, the Chinese government launched a program aimed at testing the innovative capabilities of the agricultural industry
• Brazil


  • Zero Tillage Conservation Agriculture was key to success, generating agricultural, environmental, and societal benefits
  • Applying lime to treat highly acidic soils, and seed varieties suited for warmer climate and unique soil
  • These developments opened millions of acres to crop production that had only been used for grazing previously
• Main crops in Brazil

  • Soybean products
  • Corn
  • Coffee
  • Orange juice
• Factors contributing to competitiveness and growth of agrifood sector in Brazil

  • Relative macroeconomic stability after 1994
  • Significant reductions in government intervention and trade barriers
• Challenges for agricultural producers in Brazil

  • Exchange rate volatility
  • Lack of clearly defined property rights to land
  • Regulatory framework concerning research and marketing of GMOs
  • Poor infrastructure
  • Decline in government spending
• Evolution of agricultural policies in Brazil

  • 1960s and 1970s - country started to urbanize as many rural poor migrated to large cities
  • 1995 - Under Cardoso administration, approximately 500,000 new family farms were settled in expropriated land
• Impact of increased foreign direct investment (FDI) by large, private agribusinesses in Brazil

  • Displaced domestic competitors
  • Increased industry concentration
  • Eliminated many medium and small companies
• Treating the EU as one trading entity, Brazil is the third largest net exporter of agricultural products in the world in value terms after the U.S. and EU
• Agriculture in the Philippines

  • Important part of the economy, employing 23% of the Filipino workforce
  • Rice is an important agricultural crop and many countries import rice and products from the Philippines
• Major agricultural systems in the Philippines

  • Lowland irrigated farming
  • Rainfed farming
  • Upland farming
• Major agricultural products in the Philippines

  • Rice
  • Coconuts
  • Corn
  • Sugarcane
  • Bananas
  • Pineapples
  • Mangoes
  • Coffee
  • Tobacco
• Secondary crops in the Philippines

  • Peanut
  • Garlic
  • Cabbage
  • Rubber
  • Cassava
  • Onion
  • Eggplant
  • Cotton
• Australia


  • Official Name: Commonwealth of Australia
  • Capital: Canberra
  • Climate: Generally arid to semiarid; temperate in south and east; tropical in north
  • Located in Southern hemisphere
  • 2,988,902 square miles (7,741,220 square kilometers)
  • 1/3 Agricultural land
  • 7th agricultural producing country
• In 1788, the first European settlers brought agrotechnology which radically changed the dominant practices in Australia
• Main crops in Australia

  • Wheat, barley, canola, cotton, fruits, sugarcane, vegetables, and rice
• Livestock in Australia


  • Sheep and Cattle - Sheep: use for wool and meat. Cattle: for meat and dairy products or milk
  • One of the world's largest producers of wool
• Farming systems in Australia

  • Broadacre
  • Dairy and livestock farming
  • Viticulture
  • Horticulture
• Agricultural practices in Australia

  • Rotating crops
  • Planting cover crops
  • Reducing or eliminating tillage
  • Indoor vertical farming
  • Farm automation
• Technologies used in farming in Australia

  • Harvest Automation
  • Autonomous Tractors
  • Seeding and Weeding Robotics
  • Drone
  • GPS
• Integrated Pest Management is applied in Australia to keep pest population under control while minimizing the use of chemical pesticide
• Agricultural challenges in Australia

  • Water scarcity
  • Desert and semi-arid
  • Poor quality of soil
• Importance of agriculture in Australia

  • Food security
  • Leading global exporter
  • Contributes 3% to GDP every year
• Importance of agriculture


  • Main source of raw materials
  • Important to international trade
  • Plays a big role in a nation's revenue
  • Provides employment
  • Crucial to country development
  • Can help heal the environment
  • Goes hand-in-hand with war
  • Source of our food supply
  • Reflects our future
• Broadacre


  Running a farming operation with livestock or crops that are more suitable to large scale production
• Dairy and livestock farming

  Raising animals such as cows, goats, and cattle to produce milk and meat for human consumption
• Viticulture


  Cultivation of grapes to produce wine
• Horticulture


  The discipline of growing improving and commercializing flowers, fruits, vegetables, and plants for decorative purposes