All of the processes which we use to cultivate crops to feed livestock for human consumption are categorised as agricultural activities in this context. Industrial processes also make use of crops; for example, palm oil is found in a wide range of products ranging from cooking oil to beauty products, sugar cane waste is converted into biogas, and cotton is used in textile production. Farm animals are raised for meat, eggs, and dairy, and also for leather and wool production, among other things. Livestock is also used as a source of labour.
Agriculture Activities
Agricultural activities are defined as income-producing activities or uses that are characterised by the crop cultivation, not all of which are restricted to floral, fruits and veggies, vegetation, graze, and wood; and farming or raising livestock activities or uses that are connected to livestock farming, fish farming, and often game and fish propagation.Activities that are undertaken to convert a land area into farmland use really aren’t considered to be part of a continuing operation.
Types of Agriculture activities
There are many multiple kinds of agricultural activities carried out all over the world.It is split into groups based on the type of crop cultivated, the size of cultivation, the severity of agriculture, the level of mechanisation, livestock combinations, and the manner in which farm produce is distributed.
1.Subsistence Farming:Land holdings are small and dispersed, and primitive tools are used to cultivate the land.Farmer poverty prevents them from using chemical fertilizer and high yielding varieties of seeds to the extent that they should in their fields.
2.Shifting Agriculture:The first step in this type of practice is the clearing of a portion of forest land, which is accomplished by cutting down forests and burning the trunks and branches of trees.Immediately following clearing of the land, crops are planted for 2 – 3 years before the land is neglected due to a decrease in the soil nutrients.The farmers then relocate to new locations, and the cycle is repeated once more.
3.Plantation Agriculture:Rubber, tea, coffee, cocoa, spices, coconut, and fruit crops such as apples, grapes, oranges, and other citrus fruits are grown as a single crop.This is also a capital-intensive industry that necessitates strong managerial abilities, specialized know, advanced industrial equipment, fertilisers, irrigation, and transportation infrastructure to be successful.Plantation agriculture is a type of agriculture that is focused on exports. The majority of the agricultural production in agriculture have a cycle time of even more than two years, making them ideal for long-term storage.
4.Intensive Farming:Farmer use of fertilisers and pesticides is widespread in regions in which irrigation has been made possible. A high yielding variety of seeds has also been introduced to their land. Through the use of machines in various farming processes, they have mechanised agriculture.
5.Mixed and Multiple Agriculture:Mixed farming refers to the practise of cultivating crops while also raising animals at the same time.The term “‘Multiple farming’ is the technique of growing a wide range of crops in proximity to each other in order to maximise yield.
Non agricultural activities
Non-farming activities include any and all activities that are not related to agriculture. Non-farming activities, on the other hand, can be defined in two ways that are distinct from one another. The very first method is associated with the area wherein the activities take place, which should primarily be an assigned rural area in the first instance. The linkage criteria approach is the second method of approaching the problem.
Examples of non agricultural activities
Non-farming activities are any operations in which people can participate that are not related to agriculture. Non-farming activities include anything that is not related to agriculture. The following are examples of non-farming activities carried out in such a modern village:
- Dairy: People are involved in feeding their livestock with a variety of grasses and selling the milk they produce in the surrounding villages to make a living.
- Small Scale Industries: People can begin production units on a limited scale, which entails the use of rudimentary production methods. For example, smashing sugarcane and preparation it into jaggery are both tasks that can be completed with little effort
- Transport: By providing basic services like rickshaws, taxis, milk vans, water tankers, and other similar vehicles, many people can benefit from the increase in demand for efficient transportation facilities.
- Small-scale retailing: Villagers can buy a wide range of goods from urban distributors and resell them in their communities.
- Cottage industries: Because cottage industries could be started by anyone, including women, they represent a lucrative employment opportunity for everyone. In most cases, it can be satisfied with the most basic raw materials that are readily available in a person’s environment.
Agricultural activities lead to eutrophication
Eutrophication is defined as the moderate increase in initial amount of phosphorus, nitrogen, as well as other nutrient cycling in an aging aquatic ecosystem, such as a pond. Increases in the organic content which can be eliminated into nutrients result in natural productivity gains or fertility of an ecosystem.
Dead zones, toxic algal blooms, and fish kills are all caused by eutrophication, a process called when the environment is becoming more rich in nutrients, raising the amount of vegetation and algae growth in coastal and estuarine waters. Eutrophication is a process that has been around for thousands of years.
Agricultural practices and the application of fertilisers and pesticides both give back to the formation of nutrients. The nutrients are carried by rainwater into rivers and groundwater, which then flow into lakes and oceans when their concentrations reach dangerously high levels and the soil is no longer able to absorb them.
Agriculture is responsible for the vast majority of water pollution because of the too much use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, which eventually leach into underground water as well as drain into freshwater bodies. Transformation in Physical and chemical properties of water as a result of agricultural activities is detrimental to the aquatic ecosystem.
Conclusion
For developing countries, agriculture is regarded as the backbone of the economic system because of its importance to the economy and its role in food production. Agriculture has been associated with increased formation of essential food crops for many decades. Dairy, fruit, forestry, poultry, beekeeping, and arbitrary farming are all part of the current farming era, among other things.Like all other parts of the economy, it is going through a period of economic liberalization, which will bring about significant changes in society, legal, structural, productive, and supply structures.Eutrophication occurs once the landscape becomes richer in nutrients than it originally was. In marine environments such as lakes, this can pose a problem due to the possibility of causing algal blooms. A common practise in farming is the use of fertilisers, which can cause runoff into nearby water bodies, increasing the amount of nutrients present.