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Importance of agriculture

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There is certainly no doubt about the fact that civilization not only in the United Kingdom but in fact all around the world started with agriculture. After our ancestors started focusing on agriculture for their livelihood and earning, human society as a whole was changed afterwards forever without any measure of speculations for sure.

As a result of agriculture, villages as well as towns developed along with an overall better understanding of art, science as well as knowledge which continued to improve since then with every passing day.

Even, now, the 21st century with all the technological developments and advancements all around the globe cannot deny the importance of agriculture. Given below are few important points which will help you better understand the importance of agriculture and farming:

a. In the current hi-tech age of globalization and developments in all fields of life, people still rely on agricultural products in a variety of ways such as nutrition, source of energy, fiber and so on.

b. Another highly significant point as far as the importance of agriculture is concerned is that it is a major economic driver. It is equally important for individual livelihood, poverty eradication as well as overall growth of the state. According to a survey, it contributes between 40 to 80% of the gross development product of majority of the countries located in the continent of Africa.

c. Moreover, one cannot also deny the fact that agriculture also contributes a great deal towards a healthy biosphere.

d. Real food security can only be ensured with the help of agriculture even in today’s modern world without any question.

The above mentioned points are few of the many factors that clearly indicate the importance of agriculture even in the current age of developments and advancements. In case, you still need to know more regarding the importance of agriculture, then UK Business Directory is surely one such platform where you can get awareness regarding any issue and can further broaden up your horizon for sure.

Practical Paleo Guide – The Caveman Way

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Practical Paleo Guide – The Caveman Way

That’s right you are taking a journey back to the stone age. To be more exact, the Paleolithic Era, long for Paleo. Why is the caveman visualized as such a strong, viril, healthy hunter? Well he ate Protein, and anything else he could find to put in his mouth that wouldn’t kill him and hopefully would taste good.

Modern day man is bombarded with a plethora of diet options. Many diets discourage large amounts of meat intake, restrict carbohydrates, or focus largely on fruits and vegetables. The Paleo diet, however, is unique because it is based on the diet of the very first humans.

The Paleo Diet is also referred to as the Hunter Gatherer Diet because it consists of food that can be hunted (such as meat or seafood) and gathered (such as fruits, nuts, vegetables, etc.). Which translates to running down his source of protein and killing it – Great Exercise combined with healthy fresh food. Unlike man today who jumps in his car, drives to the closest fast food source and gobbles down a couple Hamburgers, Fries and Shake. No exercise and food loaded with preservatives, fillers and who knows what else. Essentially, the Paleo diet takes the diet used by early humans prior to tractors or farm animals and applies it to modern-day foods.

The core principle of the Paleo Diet is that humans are genetically suited to eat the foods that our ancestors consumed. A concise, to the point definition, the Paleo diet imitates the foods that every single human on earth consumed before the rise of agriculture. The Paleo diet contains foods that have very high nutritional value, such as lean meats, seafood, fruits, and vegetables. And NO, you don’t have to run down your prey and kill it or spear fish in the nearest body of water. Wow, isn’t that great. However we do suggest other means of exercise more suited to modern man. The diet also shuns food ingredients that were created after the agriculture revolution, such as grains, dairy products, sugar, and salt because these products can lead to an increase in weight and a higher chance of developing health problems such as diabetes.

It is no wonder that athletes are fans of the Paleo Diet because of its high protein content. Some foods that are basic to the diet are meat, chicken, fish, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. Paleolithic man would like you to keep these fundamentals in mind when choosing which vegetables to eat. You should look for root vegetables, but make sure to stay away from potatoes and sweet potatoes. One reason these foods are healthy for you is because they are free of additives, which most modern men now know are proven to be harmful to your health.

UN Water Mandate Receives Key Endorsement

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Olam International, a leading global processor of food ingredients with agricultural projects in Africa, has publicly endorsed the c-e-o water mandate of the u-n global compact. The mandate is a public-private initiative that helps companies develop and implement sustainable water policies and practices. The announcement came as the world observed World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden.

Olam International said the supply, quality and reliability of water resources are under pressure and the need to adapt to the impact of climate change is increasing.

The signing of the mandate underscores the companys commitment to vigorously and publicly address global water issues regarding agriculture and food supply.

If you reflect that water when you look at it as a hundred per cent value, 97-percent of water would be regarded as salty ocean water, two per cent is actually frozen, so were left with a one per cent marker of water basically for consumption and use in agriculture, explained Chris Brett, Olams head of sustainability, who added, and we split that one per cent, we get to point seven per cent for agriculture, just point three per cent is fresh water for basically human consumption.

Given this he stressed that water is a key issue for them when they see the way people are going to compete for water in the future. As a result the company made a public commitment to use water in more resourceful ways.

Making that commitment is not just a driver for change internally, or a driver for respect in use of water, as a resource, but it is also to communicate to all of our partners how serious we take water on the agenda, said Brett.

He gave an example of success that they were having with irrigation going into their vegetable supply chains in California. The method of irrigation that decreases the use of water is called more crop per drop. It proved to be such a success that it was applied to other Olam operations.

For example we are now undertaking irrigation of rice, and irrigation of coffee plantations in places like Tanzania and Zambia. As a global company we are transferring learning, noted Brett.

The sustainability expert said over the last two years Olam has been measuring its water footprint and communicating that measurement to the public.

He added as a leader in addressing the challenges of water supply, they hope others will follow them in the pursuit of water rationalization and use in agriculture.

Modern Agricultural Techniques In India.

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India is primarily an agriculture country dating back to more than ten thousand years. Today, India ranks the second largest in agricultural output worldwide. Agriculture contributes approximately 33 percent of the Gross Domestic Product and round about 70 percent of Indian population is engaged in agriculture sector. Most of the agricultural outputs including wheat, tea, coffee, cotton etc are exported to foreign countries contributing about 8.56 percent of India?s exports. About 43 per cent of geographical land is used for agricultural activity. India accounts world?s number one country in sugarcane and stood second rank in rice output.

Modern Agricultural Techniques:

With years of practice in agriculture there have been new inventions and modern techniques adopted by farmers in agriculture To spread and encourage knowledge of agriculture among the youth generation, government has even launched new programmes and courses with specialization in agriculture Modern Agricultural comprises of improved farming techniques and the using of irrigation and high-yield grains resulting into increased production. The main drawback is being the inadequate monsoon, which accounts a crucial role in influencing agricultural production in India since most of the cropped area even now does not have any assured irrigation. Although measures are being undertaken by government authorities to eradicate the inadequacy of monsoon by introducing water dams and river project for effective irrigation.

In fact, India is facing the biggest challenge of producing enough food grains to cater the increasing population of India. Hence measures are been taken to expand farmland area and with quality grains the farmers are now able to produce double output in the same amount of land.

Farmers have adopted modern improved irrigation techniques that have the potential to increase agricultural production with improved farming techniques in areas that rely on monsoon also could improve yield. Moreover, improving the use of fertilizer, especially on rain fed land, also would help to increase the production. Government of India is trying a variety of plans and strategies with sophisticated water management techniques replacing the traditional farming practices.

Developing Innovation In Uk Agriculture

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Consumers would welcome anything that helps keep the weekly grocery prices under control as food prices continue to rise while incomes stagnate.

Farmers, also, have come under increasing pressure from volatile prices for their crops, the efforts of suppliers to keep prices low in the shops and the increasingly uncertain global weather.

At the same time they are asked to farm sustainably to protect the environment, produce more natural, chemical free food and equally to improve the yield from their land to meet the food needs of a larger global population.

In the UK, some East Anglian organic grain farmers have recently joined together in a contract with a company that needed a regular supply of food for its organically-reared pigs.

As one farmer said, it is very difficult to assess the market supply and demand particularly in the organic market and the arrangement they reached had several benefits.

It meant both buyer and sellers were no longer susceptible to the vagaries of the market and to stablise the prices right through to the retailer and share the costs. It also made it possible to make the whole supply chain from land to pig meat traceable and to reduce the carbon footprint by supplying to a local buyer.

It worked because all those involved knew each other and were in the same area, but there is no reason why the model could not be used by other farmers both in the UK and overseas.

Research in East Agnlia is also being carried out to identify the different genetic characteristics in various grain seeds. The aim is to find those that are better for growing in an area of increasing drought and are better protected against the new plant diseases that might arise. Cross breeding, for example, could then be used to produce a resilient variety suited to the local climate.

Other research that has been going on, mainly in the USA has been in providing better crop and land protection in a more natural way, as a substitute for the many now-discredited older generation of chemical fertilisers.

The range of innovations includes biopesticides, biofungicides and yield enhancers that are developed from natural sources and leave minimal residues in the land and in the crop. They will also help farmers to meet the growing demand for natural foods with less waste and less loss of the nutrition in their land

These new low-chem agricultural products are subject to careful testing and licensing before they are allowed onto the market and this can be an expensive and lengthy process, taking up to eight years in some cases because regulation is not yet standardised across individual countries, so they may need to be licensed separately in several places.

There are signs, however, that more effort is being put into innovation in the various aspects of food production to respond to the concerns of consumers on both price and food quality.

Copyright (c) 2011 Alison Withers