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HISTORY OF AGRICULTURE
The word agriculture came from the Latin word ager, "a field" and
cultura, "cultivation". In the beginning, there was no food production. The ancient
people subsisted on food gathering, hunting, and fishing. They wandered from
place to place searching for food. Clearly, there were no permanent human
settlements that time. It was a nomadic society.
Agriculture was first discovered in Southeast Asia, Middle East, and Latin
America. People in the Middle East raised wheat and barley around 6000 B.C..
The region was greatly instrumental in spreading the knowledge of agriculture in
Asia and Europe. The discovery of agriculture ended their wanderings, and
began the development of civilization. Permanent and stable societies were
organized. Economic, political, cultural, social, ang religious institutions emerged.
However, still many agricultural villages have until the modern age remained
primitive. In fact not a few of them even deteriorated because of disease. Their
people died without the benefit of medical services. In addition, they were
exploited by more powerful and civilized races.
The methods of farm production have not changed much in the poor
countries. They are still using primitive techniques of production which are mostly
done by men and animals. They lack irrigation facilities so they depend only on
rain water which means they can only farm during rainy seasons. Their
production outputs are very low which are not even enough to feed their own
people. In the case of the United States, only 4 percent of its population are
engaged in agriculture. And yet, its agriculture can supply not only the needs of
American people but also poor people of other counties. In short, American
Agriculture is very efficient because it is using technology. However, technology
is not only the factor for such productivity. Other, factors include the attitudes and
values of the farmers land ownership government policies, and peace and order.
(i) Very expensive to procure and maintain (ii) Highly technical to use (iii) Cannot
be used in small farm holdings (iv) Cannot be used in some soils. (v) Cannot be
used for some crops like yam.
become the stepping stone for our economic recovery. The first economic priority
of the national government is the development of an efficient agriculture.
CAPITALIST AGRICULTURE
CORPORATE FARMING
Corporate farming is a term used to describe companies that own or
influence farms and agricultural practices on a large scale. This includes not only
corporate ownership of farms and selling of agricultural products, but also the
roles of these companies in influencing agricultural education, research, and
public policy through funding initiatives and lobbying efforts.
Our country has been a traditional rice importer. In view of the global food
crises, our government undertook several programs to increase our rice
production. One of these was corporate farming. The government has
encouraged corporations with at least 500 employees to engage in rice
production and other crops. The big corporations like San Miguel Corporation
and Meralco have been very successful in their corporate farming. They have
extended money, management, materials, and technology to the poor farmers
who have been reduced to mere farm workers. Profits go to the giant
corporations.
Another criticism against corporate farming is that it is the opposite of land
reform. Under the agrarian reform program of the government, a tenant could
only acquire a maximum of irrigated 3 hectares and unirrigated 5 hectares of rice
and corn land (P.D. No. 27). But not all landless farmers have been given lands
by the government. In fact, there are thousands of landless rural workers. They
work only during planting, and harvesting seasons on daily-wage basis or
equivalent in palay. And yet, the Marcos government granted corporations
including multinational corporations vast tracts of land for a period of 50 years.
AGRIBUSINESS CORPORATION
http://joeleebass.hubpages.com/hub/17-problems-of-agricultural-development
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_farming
http://encyclopedia2.thefreedictionary.com/Agriculture
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/agribusiness.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agribusiness
Fajardo, Feliciano R., ECONOMICS, Third Edition, Rex Book Store, Inc., 1995,
pp.266-276
INDUSTRIALIZATION
The process in which a society or country (or world) transforms itself from a
primarily agricultural society into one based on the manufacturing of goods and
services. Individual manual labor is often replaced by mechanized mass
production and craftsmen are replaced by assembly lines. Characteristics of
industrialization include the use of technological innovation to solve problems as
opposed to superstition or dependency upon conditions outside human control
such as the weather, as well as more efficient division of labor and economic
growth.
SIGNIFICANCE OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
benefits, aside from the forces of demand and supply. Moreover, the
supply of agricultural products is not stable. Natural calamities can easily
reduce the supply of agricultural products, and so with export earnings.
This is not the case for industrial products.
3. To provide more employment. Industrialization creates more jobs and
therefore absorbs those who are jobless or underemployed in the rural
areas. Industrialization means more factories. Farmers during the slack
seasons can do some part-time jobs in processing plants in their own
communities.
4. To extend markets for local raw materials. Local manufacturing industries
need raw materials. Agricultural products and by-products will be fully
used by factories. Such products will be processed for both personal and
industrial consumption.
ADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
(i) Centre of economic life shifted from the villages to cities and towns where the
factories were situated.
(ii) Urban (cities) and rural (villages) life became dependent upon one another.
Isolated life of self-sufficient villages came to an end.
(iii) Men became free to develop their capabilities in areas other than farming.
(iv) It brought countries and people together. There was an international awareness among people because developments in one country influenced the others.
(v) The aristocracy and nobility with their feudal ideas were replaced by the newly
rich middle class capitalists (bourgeoisie) who also became politically powerful.
(vi) Better transport, communications and mechanized goods made life comfortable for man.
DISADVANTAGES OF INDUSTRIALIZATION
(i) Cities became crowded, smoky, with problems of slums, housing, sanitation,
accidents and epidemics.
(ii) Women and child labor was badly exploited.
(iii) Workers suffered from long working hours, low wages, and unemployment,
unsafe conditions of work, with no rights to vote strike or form trade unions.
(iv) Society became divided into rich and poor, the 'Haves' and the 'Have- Nots'.
(v) It led to wars of imperialism and colonization.
better to develop agriculture and industry at the same time. Such balanced
approach produces more economic benefits. However, in the case of the poor
countries, it is not economically possible. The simultaneous balanced
development of the agricultural and industrial sectors requires huge funds which
the poor countries do not have. Furthermore, the values and institutions
pervading in said places are usually not yet suitable to industrial development.
Evidently, it takes a much longer time to have meaningful changes in values and
institutions such as the efficiency of government operations, the competence and
integrity of management, and so forth.
References:
Informations:
http://www.investopedia.com/terms/i/industrialization.asp#ixzz3a5iVyTuO
https://www.scribd.com/doc/259041230/Industrialization-Revised
http://www.preservearticles.com/201107159157/what-were-the-advantages-anddisadvantages-of-industrialization.html
Fajardo, Feliciano R., ECONOMICS, Third Edition, Rex Book Store, Inc., 1995,
pp.306-310
Pictures:
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