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Agriculture (a term which encompasses farming and ranching) is the process of producing food, feed, fiber, fuel and other goods by the systematic raising of plants and animals. Agri is from Latin ager, meaning "a field", and culture is from Latin cultura, meaning "cultivation" in the strict sense of tillage of the soil. A literal reading of the English word yields: tillage of the soil of a field. In modern usage, the word agriculture covers all activities essential to food/feed/fiber production, including all techniques for raising and processing livestock. Agriculture is also short for the study of the practice of agriculture—more formally known as agricultural science. The history of agriculture is a major element of human history, as agricultural progress has been a crucial factor in worldwide socio-economic change, including the specialization of human activity: when farmers became capable of producing food beyond the needs of their own families, others in the tribe/nation/empire were freed to devote themselves to activities other than food acquisition. 42% of the world's laborers are employed in agriculture, making it by far the most common occupation. However, agricultural production accounts for less than 5% of the Gross World Product (an aggregate of all Gross Domestic Products). |
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