The economic development of a nation is dependent on many factors, one of which is agriculture. To those who are unaware, agriculture is the science of growing crops and raising livestock. In layman’s terms, farming.
In Australia, the agricultural sector supplies numerous crops like wheat, coarse grains, and oilseeds. It also supports around 17.2% of the workforce, which is equivalent to over 1.6 million jobs. Moreover, in 2017, it was reported that gross value of Australian farm production amounted to $60 billion. The persistent growth that this sector experiences has led to it contributing 3% to the country’s total gross domestic product.
Considering how influential agriculture is to Australia, we can only assume that it makes as much of an impact, if not more, in other nations.
As time passes, we will only continue to see the growth of various agricultural sectors worldwide. However, this progress made is not without issues.
Depending on the location, some farmers may cite the lack of funding that will help them acquire farming equipment such as pallet bins and forward bin tippers. Others may say they have encountered a lack of land to use.
It should be noted, however, that these issues are only the tip of the iceberg. Among the biggest problems agriculture has to face nowadays are the ever-increasing population and climate change.
This might be news to many of us. Moreover, those of us who live in highly urbanised cities may not even be aware of the extent to which agriculture affects our daily lives. So, how much does agriculture and our farmers’ work affect our daily lives?
Food
Perhaps the biggest impact that farming us mundane people is the food we put on the table.
Healthy or not, locally sourced or imported, the produce, meat, and other snack foods that we intake on the daily is the direct product, or uses some materials that the people in the agricultural sector diligently worked for.
Beauty and Fashion
Agriculture does not only yield produce meant for consumption. They are often used in other industries as well, like the popular beauty and fashion industries.
In recent times, the worsening state of our planet has called for the creation of organic products. As the name suggests, beauty items are made from ingredients that are grown without the presence of genetically modified organisms and synthetic fertilizers.
On the other hand, the fashion industry has also greatly benefited from the agricultural sector. Those of us who use genuine leather as well as clothing made from fibres, such as cashmere, wool, and cotton, are quite familiar with these benefits.
It should be noted, though, that fashion has negatively impacted agriculture in the past. Fortunately, modern innovations like regenerative agriculture has made sustainable fashion possible.
Other items that we have agriculture to thank for are gasoline, which is comprised of ethanol, a corn-derived oil; wooden furniture, the by-product of agroforestry a sub-part of agriculture; and cleaning materials, most of which have soy or corn bits.
Considering the massive influence that agriculture has on our everyday living, it is important that we keep ourselves up to date on what is happening in the sector since its downfall will no doubt affect how we go about our lives.
