Progress in farming

Progress in farming: This fact would have surprised most economists of the early 19th century, who feared that the limited supply of land in the populated areas of Europe would determine that continent’s ability to feed its growing population. Their fear was based on the so-called law of diminishing returns: that under given conditions an increase in the amount of labour and capital applied to a fixed amount of land results in a less than proportional increase in the output of food. This principle is a valid one, but what the classical economists could not foresee was the extent to which the state of the arts and the methods of production would change. Some of the changes occurred in agriculture; others occurred in other sectors of the economy but had a major effect on the supply of food.

In looking back upon the history of the more developed countries, one can see that agriculture has played an important part in the process of their enrichment. For one thing, if development is to occur, agriculture must be able to produce a surplus of food to maintain the growing nonagricultural labour force. Since food is more essential for life than are the services provided by merchants or bankers or factories, an economy cannot shift to such activities unless food is available for barter or sale in sufficient quantities to support those engaged in them. Unless food can be obtained through international trade, a country does not normally develop industrially until its farm areas can supply its towns with food in exchange for the products of their factories.

Economic development also requires a growing labour force. In an agricultural country most of the workers needed must come from the rural population. Thus agriculture must not only supply a surplus of food for the towns, but it must also be able to produce the increased amount of food with a relatively smaller labour force. It may do so by substituting animal power for human power or by gradually introducing labour-saving machinery.

Agriculture may also be a source of the capital needed for industrial development to the extent that it provides a surplus that may be converted into the funds needed to purchase industrial equipment or to build roads and provide public services.

For these reasons a country seeking to develop its economy may be well advised to give a significant priority to agriculture. Experience in the developing countries has shown that agriculture can be made much more productive with the proper investment in irrigation systems, research, fertilizers, insecticides, and herbicides.

Fortunately, many advances in applied science do not require massive amounts of capital, although it may be necessary to expand marketing and transportation facilities so that farm output can be brought to the entire population.

One difficulty in giving priority to agriculture is that most of the increase in farm output and most of the income gains are concentrated in certain regions rather than extending throughout the country. The remaining farmers are not able to produce more and actually suffer a disadvantage as farm prices decline. There is no easy answer to this problem, but developing countries need to be aware of it; economic progress is consistent with lingering backwardness, as can be seen in parts of southern Italy or in the Appalachian area of the United States.

The kidney removes wastes from the body by separating them from the blood and forming urine. In this process many substances are  ….
Some physiological  characteristics, such as the mechanisms that regulate the acidity of the blood or its sugar level, are adequate ….
Progeria is an extremely rare disease of early childhood characterized by many of the superficial aspects of aging, such as ….
Agis IV was  born c. 263 BC and died 241 BC He was a Spartan king (244–241) who failed in his attempt to reform Sparta’s economic and political …..
The most outstanding psychological features of aging are the impairment in short-term memory and the lengthening of
Agis II was king of Sparta after about 427 BC who commanded all operations of the regular army during most of the ….
Agis III was a Spartan king from 338–331 who rebelled unsuccessfully against Alexander the Great. He died in 331 BC..
Agitprop,  abbreviated from Russian agitatsiya propaganda (agitation propaganda), is a  political strategy in which the techniques of agitation and propaganda ….
Aglauros, in Greek mythology, is the eldest daughter of the Athenian king Cecrops. Aglauros died with her sisters by leaping in fear ….
Agnano is a volcanic crater in  Napoli provincia, Campania regione,  southern Italy. It is situated in the Campi Flegrei  ….
Agnathan are any of the class Agnatha of primitive, jawless fishes that includes the lampreys and hagfishes (order Cyclostomata), as well …
Giovanni Agnelli was born on March 12th, 1921 in  Turin, Italy and died on January 24th, 2003 also in Turin …
Umberto Agnelli was born on November 1st, 1934 at Lausanne, Switzerland. he is an Italian automotive executive and grandson of Giovanni …
Agnes Of Poitou was born c. 1024 AD and died on  December 14th, 1077 in Rome [Italy]. She was also called …
Agnes Scott College is a private institution of higher education for women in Decatur, Georgia, U.S. A liberal arts college allied ..
Saint Agnes flourished in the 4th century in  Rome,Italy. She was virgin and patron saint of girls, who is one of the most celebrated Roman martyrs. …
Maria Gaetana Agnesi was born on May 16th, 1718 in  Milan, Habsburg crown land [now in Italy] and died on January 9th 1799 also in Milan ….
Spiro T.Agnew was born on November 9th 1918 in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. and died on September 17th, 1996 at Berlin, Maryland. His full ….
Agni  (Sanskrit: “Fire”) is a fire-god of the Hindus, second only to Indra in the Vedic mythology of ancient India. He is equally the fire  ..
Shiv Narayan Agnihotri was born in 1850 nearKānpur inIndia and died in 1923 inLahore [now inPakistan]. He was the Hindu founder of an atheistic …..

 

Agriculture and economic development

Agriculture and economic development: As a country develops economically, the relative importance of agriculture declines.The primary reason for this was shown by the 19th-century German statistician Ernst Engel, who discovered that as incomes increase the proportion of income spent on food declines. For example, if a family’s income were to increase by 100 percent, the amount it would spend on food might increase by 60 percent; if formerly its expenditures on food had been 50 percent of its budget, after the increase they would amount to only 40 percent of its budget. It follows from this that, as incomes increase, a smaller fraction of the total resources of society is required to produce the amount of food demanded by the population.

. Agasias flourished in the 1st century BC in  Ephesus [now in Turkey] . He was a sculptor of Ephesus, known for his “Borghese Warrior,” a statue of … And just see this  The Adelphi University is a private, co-educational Institution…Louis Agassiz was born on  May 28th, 1807 at Motier, Switzerland and died on  December 14th, 1873 in….. In 1846 Louis  Agassiz visited the United States for the general purpose of studying natural history and geology there but … Adelaer was born on December 16th 1622, in Brevik, Norway and died on November 5th, 1675, in Copenhagen, Denmark … The Adelaide River is a river in north-western Northern Territory, Australia, rising in the hills west of Brock’s …  Saint Adelaide was born in the year 931 and died on feast day December 16th 999 in Seltz, Alsace …  Adelantado (Spanish: “one who goes before”), is representative of the kings of Castile (Spain) who in the early European …. Adelard Of Bath flourished in the 12th century AD. He was an English Scholastic philosopher and early interpreter of Arabic scientific knowledge … The Adélie Coast, also called Adélie Land, is part of the coast of Wilkes Land in eastern Antarctica, extending from Claire Coast   …..  Adamsite is, in chemical warfare, a sneeze gas developed by the United States and used during World War I. Adamsite is an arsenical … George Ade was born on February 9th 1866 in Kentland, Indiana, U.S.A. and died on May 16th, 1944, in Brook, Indiana ….  Adela was born, it is thought, around the year 1062 and died in 1137 …..  Because  Louis Agassiz was beyond question one of the ablest, wisest, and best informed of the biologists …  Alexander Agassiz was born on December 17th, 1835 at  Neuchâtel in Switzerland. He died on March 27th, 1910, at sea ….  Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz was born on December 5th, 1822 in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. She died on June 27th, 1907 at Arlington Heights ….  Lake Agassiz is the largest of the ice-marginal lakes that once covered what are now parts of Manitoba, Ontario, and Saskatchewan in Canada ….  The Agate Fossil Beds National Monument is a natural “depository” of an extinct animal community on the Niobrara River in north-western Nebraska …..   Agateware, in pottery, is 18th-century ware of vari-coloured clay, with an overall marbled effect. It was sometimes called solid agate to distinguish … James Agate was born on September 9th, 1877 T  Pendleton in Lancashire, England. He died on June 6th, 1947 in London. He was ….…

Agricultural economics

Agricultural economics is the study of the allocation, distribution,and utilization of the resources used, along with the commodities produced, by farming. Agricultural economics plays a role in the economics of development, for a continuous level of farm surplus is one of the wellsprings of technological and commercial growth.

Agriculture is the source of livelihood for more than half of the world’s population. In some countries more than four-fifths of the inhabitants support themselves by farming, while in the more industrialized countries the proportion ranges much lower—to less than 3 percent in both the United States and Great Britain. In general one can say that, when a large fraction of a nation’s population depends on agriculture for its livelihood, average incomes are low. This does not mean that a nation is poor because most of its population is engaged in agriculture; it is closer to the truth to say that because a country is poor most of its people must rely upon agriculture for a living.

And more to read The Adangme  And here’s something to read  Michel Adanson  And here’s something to peruse  Adapa (0092 login) Agathias was born c. 536 AD in Myrina, Aeolis, Asia Minor and died c. 582 AD. He was a Byzantine poet and author of a history, covering part  …. And look at this  Adat is the name for the customary law   Moreover, take a look at this  Adaptation is,  in biology  And see this  Adat is the name for the customary   And more to look at  Kareen Fleur Adcock   And more to read  The Adda River And here’s something to read  Charles Addams   And here’s something to peruse  Jane Addams And look at this  Addax, (species Addax nasomaculatus), …. Moreover, take a look at this  the adder is any of several venomous snakes ….And see this Fleur Adcock  was born on February 10th 1934 in Papakura, New Zealand …  Addis Ababa, also spelled Addis Abeba, is the capital and largest city of Ethiopia. It is located on a well-watered plateau …And more to read  Addison is a county in western Vermont …. And here’s something to read  Christopher Addison was 1st Viscount, Baron Addison Of  Stallingborough … And here’s something to peruse   Addison Disease is also called hypocortisolism or chronic adrenal insufficiency And look at this   Joseph Addison was born on May 1st, 1672 in Milston, Wiltshire, England…… Moreover, take a look at this  Thomas Addison was born in April 1793 at Longbenton, Northumberland…. And see this   the-addition-reaction is any of a class of chemical reactions in which an  atom or group…..

An Acacia

An acacia is any of about 800 species of trees and shrubs comprising a genus (Acacia) in the mimosa family (Mimosaceae) and native to tropical and subtropical regions of the world, particularly Australia (there called wattles) and Africa. Acacias’ distinctive leaves take the form of small, finely divided leaflets that give the leaf stalk a feathery or fern-like (i.e., pinnate) appearance. In many Australian and Pacific species, the leaflets are suppressed or absent altogether, and the leaf stalks (petioles) are flattened and perform the physiological functions of leaves. The leaf stalks may be vertically arranged and bear thorns or sharp spines at their base. Acacias are also distinguished by their small, often fragrant flowers, which are arranged in compact globular or cylindrical clusters. The flowers are usually yellow but occasionally white and have many stamens apiece, giving each one a fuzzy appearance.

About 600 species are native to Australia and various Pacific Ocean islands, with the rest native to either Africa or the Americas. Acacias are especially numerous on the plains of southern and eastern Africa, where they are well-known landmarks on the veld and savanna.

Several acacia species are important economically. A. senegal, native to the Sudan region in Africa, yields true gum arabic, a substance used in adhesives, pharmaceuticals, inks, confections,and other products. The bark of most acacias is rich in tannin, which is used in tanning and in dyes, inks, pharmaceuticals, and other products. The babul tree (A. arabica), of tropical Africa and across Asia, yields both an inferior type of gum arabic and a tannin that is extensively used in India. Several Australian acacias are valuable sources of tannin, among them the golden wattle (A. pycnantha), the green wattle (A. decurrens), and the silver wattle (A. dealbata).

A few acacias produce valuable timber, among them the Australian blackwood (A. melanoxylon); the yarran (A. ho malophylla), also of Australia; and A. koa of Hawaii. Sweet acacia (A. farnesiana) is native to the southwestern United States. Many of the Australian species have been widely introduced elsewhere as cultivated small trees valued for their spectacular floral displays.

And here’s something to read   Hannah Adams  And here’s something to peruse  Henry Adams And look at this   Herbert Baxter Adams   Moreover, take a look at this  John Adams And see this  John Couch Adams And more to look at  John Quincy Adams  And more to read  Leonie  Adams And here’s something  to read   Louisa  Adams  And here’s something to peruse  Marian Adams And look at this   Maude  Adams Moreover, take a look at this  Robert Adams ….   Roger Adams was born on January 2nd, 1889 in Boston, USA and died on July 6th, 1971 in Champaign, Illinois, U.S.A.  …  Samuel Adams was born September 27th 1722 in Boston, USA and died on October 2nd, 1803 also in Boston …  Samuel Hopkins Adams was born on January 26th, 1871 at  Dunkirk, New York, U.S.A. He died on  November 15th, 1958 in Beaufort, South Carolina. …. Walter Adams was born on Decemer 20th 1876 in Syria. He died on May 11th, 1956 at  Pasadena, Calififornia, U.S.A. He was an  …  William Adams was born in 1564 at  Gillingham in Kent, England. He died on May 16th, 1620, in Japan. He was a navigator, merchant-a …………And look at this 0087 Adams, William Taylor    Moreover, take a look at this  Adana    Agarwālā  is an important mercantile caste in India, belonging to that group of merchants, bankers, landowners, and shopkeepers that are called Bania  … Joy and George Adamson were  wife-and-husband  conservationists who pioneered the movement to preserve African wildlife ……………..