Role of agriculture in economic development

Agriculture is derived from two latin words’Ager’ or’Agri’ means field/soil & cultura means cultivation. Agriculture is an applied science which includes all the aspects of crops production including horticulture, Fisheries, livestock rearing, forestry etc. Agriculture is defined as an art, science & business of producing crops & livestock for economic purpose.

Agriculture plays a major role in economic growth & development. A strong agricultural economy brings social progress by increasing, productivity, employment & income.

Agriculture is the source of our food supply. Arguably the most important aspect of Agriculture is that it’s the source of the world’s food supply. The basic needs for human survival, food, shelter & clothing are all dependent on agriculture for their production. Raw materials such as crops for food, silk for cloth & wood for shelter, all come from agriculture which are used in various agro based small scale & large scale industries. Agriculture sector is the sole provider of all type of food like wheat, rice, corn, Sugarcane, vegetables & fruits etc to the population engaged in various sector of Agriculture sector also provides food to those animals that provide milk, cheese, butter & meat to population to maintain efficiency.

Agriculture makes its contribution to economic development in following ways:by providing food & raw materials to non agricultural sector of the economy by creating demand for goods produced in non agricultural sectors.Thus agriculture can make significant contribution to economic development by earning foreign exchange required for importing industrial raw materials & capital goods required for expanding industries.The lack of foreign exchange acts as a great constraints on the growth process.In this way we can say that agriculture is the backbone of the economy.

Writer: Pramila Thapa Magar (Student, BSc Ag, IAAS, Paklihawa Campus)