The agricultural industry forms a large part of the economy of any country. Agriculture has always been considered the basic form of an industry where large numbers of natural resources are used to form more intricate and complex products.
The agricultural industry forms the base of every country’s economy. While some excel in it, others are still lagging behind. There are various procedures involved in agriculture. Some of the common activities in the agricultural industry include planning of crops, harvesting of crops, rearing of animals, livestock feeding grazing, etc.
A very essential activity in the agricultural industry is preparing the soil so that it gives maximum returns in the form of a good harvest. All the hard work that goes into plowing and seeding a field is deemed a complete waste if the harvest is not good. Horticulture is the industry and science that deals with plant cultivation and how to prepare the soil to plant appropriate seeds that would later yield good crops.
Good knowledge of Horticulture, the services related to horticulture, managing the labor force, landscaping services, farmer’s welfare, veterinary services are all very essential when it comes to the agricultural industry.
In the early days, the industry was dominated by labor work and nearly every procedure involved in agriculture was done manually. However, in recent times, the invention of new machines and other advanced technology, manual labor has been diminished and replaced with the latest machines and gadgets. This not only decreases the cost involved in agriculture, but it also saves time and the work is done more efficiently. Every day new technologies are being invented to improve the competence of the various operation that takes place in the agricultural industry.
Biotechnology has assisted in improving the quality of various crops by leaps and bounds. However, it all depends on the choice of the consumers as consumers, more often than not, opt for natural food. Recent surveys reveal that rice growers could incur a huge loss in spite of the fact that transgenic rice is produced at a cheaper rate as compared to conventional rice.
Agriculture is not only limited to the growth of vegetable and grain crops. It also includes flowers and fruits. Florist, greenhouses, nurseries, aquaculture, orchards, etc are all a huge part of the rapidly growing agricultural industry.
The agricultural industry is influenced by a lot of external factors like weather conditions, soil fertility, etc. While some soils and weather conditions are favorable to growing a certain kind of crop, others may not be the same. This is the main reason why different places are famous for growing different varieties of crops.
The production of dairy products, wine, tobacco, mushroom, eggs, etc is also part of this industry, along with livestock feeding, grazing, etc. Farmers play the most important role in this industry as they form the very foundation of any agricultural industry. Without farmers, this industry would not have existed. They are one of the most influential factors in the agricultural industry as it is affected by the price of commodities that are produced by these farmers.
