For other uses, see Agriculture (disambiguation).Natural place of agricultureFields in Záhorie, Slovakia, a typical agricultural region in Central Europe. Domestic sheep and a cow (heifer) grazed together in South Africa is the cultivation and breeding of animals, plants and fungi for food, fibre, biofuels, medicinal plants and other products used to sustain and enhance life.[1] Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby the breeding of domesticated species created food surpluses that fueled the development of civilization. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. The history of agriculture by man dates back thousands of years and its development has been guided and defined by very different climates, cultures and technologies; industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture has become the dominant agricultural method. Although it is generally understood to denote the practices of humans, other animals, for example mushroom-growing ants, have also been found to engage in agriculture. Modern agronomy, plant breeding, agricultural chemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers and technological developments have in many cases significantly increased crop yields, but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative health effects human. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased meat production, but have raised concerns about animal welfare, environmental damage (such as massive draining of resources such as water and feed fed to animals , global warming, destruction of the rainforest, leftover waste products being abandoned) and the health effects of antibiotics, growth hormones, artificial additives and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production. Genetically modified organisms represent a growing component of agriculture, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water resources management are increasingly becoming global issues that fuel debate on numerous fronts. Significant degradation of land and water resources, including aquifer depletion, has been observed in recent decades, and the effects of global warming on agriculture and agriculture on global warming are not yet fully understood. However, entomophagy would solve most of the early problems. problems and may begin to gain popularity among Western society.[2] Major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into food, fiber, fuel and raw materials. Specific foods include grains (grains), vegetables, fruits, oils, meats, and spices. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and linen. Raw materials include timber and bamboo. Plants also produce other useful materials, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfumes, biofuels, and ornamental products such as nursery plants with cut flower sand. Over a third of the world's workers are employed in the agricultural sector, second only to the service sector, although the proportion of agricultural workers in developed countries has declined significantly over the past few centuries. The word agriculture is a Late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra, from ager, "field", and cultūra, "cultivation" or "growing". Agriculture usually refers to human activities, although it is also observed in some species of ants, termites, and beetles.