Encouraging Economic DevelopmentĪgriculture impacts global trade because it’s tied to other sectors of the economy, supporting job creation and encouraging economic development. However, delays in shipping crops could also be detrimental to regions expecting shipment, limiting availability of products on store shelves and affecting livelihoods. In this example, Iowa benefited from a competitive standpoint. Delays in shipping agricultural products from a Los Angeles port can create problems in China, and vice versa, impacting the global supply chain.įor example, sales of soybean crops from Iowa skyrocketed in 2021 due to various factors including delays in South American crop shipments, according to the Iowa Soybean Association. Importing and exporting goods such as agricultural products requires shipping methods such as ocean freight, rail, and trucking. Another example is resins: plant products used in various industrial applications, such as adhesives, coatings, and paints used in construction. Corn, for example, is used to produce foods and serves as a foundation for ethanol, a type of fuel. However, many raw materials derive from agriculture - from lumber for construction materials to herbs for adding flavor to food. Nonagricultural raw materials include steel, minerals, and coal. Without access to raw materials, manufacturers can’t make products. Raw materials are a core building block of the global economy. Source: The Balance Small Business.īack To Top Why Is Agriculture Important?Ī key to why agriculture is important to business and society is its output - from producing raw materials to contributing to the global supply chain and economic development. agricultural production, according to The Balance Small Business, and a necessary commodity for the clothing sector.Īgriculture impacts society in many ways, including: supporting livelihoods through food, habitat, and jobs providing raw materials for food and other products and building strong economies through trade. It combines the creativity, imagination, and skill involved in planting crops and raising animals with modern production methods and new technologies.Īgriculture is also a business that provides the global economy with commodities: basic goods used in commerce, such as grain, livestock, dairy, fiber, and raw materials for fuel. What Is Agriculture?Īgriculture is the practice of cultivating natural resources to sustain human life and provide economic gain. While there’s been a global decline in agricultural jobs - from 1 billion in 2000 to 883 million in 2019, according to employment indicators from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - agriculture remains the second-highest source of employment (26.7% of total work).
For example, since 2000, the agricultural growth rate in Sub-Saharan Africa has surpassed that of any other region in the world (approximately 4.3% annually), contributing to the region’s economic gains, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). However, agriculture also provides opportunities for economic equity and helps people prosper around the world.
Despite agriculture’s importance, the Economic Policy Institute reports that farmworkers are among the lowest-paid workers in the U.S. It also contributes $7 trillion to the U.S. Why is agriculture important? It helps sustain life by providing the food we need to survive. Agriculture also encompasses raising livestock industrial forestry and fishing and agricultural support services, such as agricultural equipment repair and trucking operations. Census Bureau’s North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), crop farming is just one element of the Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing, and Hunting sector. When people think of agriculture, they often envision crop farming: soil and land preparation and sowing, fertilizing, irrigating, and harvesting different types of plants and vegetation.
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