Agriculture

is the science, art and practice of cultivating plants

and livestock.

Agriculture

was the key development

in the rise of sedentary human civilization,

whereby farming of domesticated species

created food

surpluses that enabled people to live in cities.

The history of agriculture

began thousands of years ago.

After gathering wild grains

beginning at least 105,000 years ago,

nascent farmers

began to plant them

around 11,500 years ago.

Pigs,

sheep, and

cattle

were domesticated over 10,000 years ago.

Plants were independently cultivated

in at least 11 regions of the world.

Industrial agriculture

based on large-scale monoculture in the twentieth century

came to dominate agricultural

output, though about 2 billion

people still depended on subsistence agriculture.

Modern agronomy,

plant breeding, agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and

technological developments have sharply increased crop yields,

while causing widespread ecological and environmental damage.

Selective breeding

and modern practices

in animal husbandry

have similarly increased the output of meat,

but have raised concerns about animal welfare

and environmental damage.

Environmental issues

include contributions to

global warming,

depletion of

aquifers,

deforestation,

antibiotic resistance, and

growth hormones

in industrial meat production.

environmental degradation, such as

biodiversity loss,

desertification,

soil degradation and

global warming,

Genetically modified organisms

The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into

foods, fibers, fuels and raw materials

(such as rubber).

Food classes include

cereals (grains),

vegetables,

fruits,

oils,

meat,

milk,

fungi and

eggs.

Over one-third of the world's workers are employed in agriculture,

second only to the service sector,

although in recent decades,

the global trend of a decreasing number of agricultural workers continues,

especially in developing countries where smallholding is being overtaken by industrial agriculture

and mechanization.

Creating global sustainable food systems

which provides food security

with sustainable agriculture practices

is an international policy priority

articulated in Sustainable Development Goal

2: "Zero hunger", adopted by the United Nations in 2015.