• What is the agricultural sector?
• Characteristics of the agricultural sector
• Activities of the agricultural sector
• Agricultural sector products
• Environmental impact of the agricultural sector

We explain what the agricultural sector is, what its characteristics and products are. In addition, its environmental impact.

The agricultural sector is the union of the agricultural sector and the livestock sector.

What is the agricultural sector?

Between the sectors that make up the economy, it is understood by agricultural sector that is dedicated to obtaining raw material of plant and animal origin, intended for the food industry either manufacturing.

In other words, the agricultural sector belongs to the so-called primary sector (obtaining raw materials) from the economy, and consists of the union of agricultural sector (raw materials of plant origin) and the livestock or livestock sector (raw materials of animal origin). To the latter are usually added the fish farming sector (raw materials from fishing) and the beekeeping sector (raw materials from bee farming).

All economic activities known to humans, the agricultural sector encompasses the two oldest: the farming and the cattle raising. These activities have accompanied humanity since time immemorial, and played a fundamental role in the history of civilization, giving our ancestors the opportunity to undertake a sedentary life and abandon nomadism.

Today, the agricultural sector is essential for supporting developed economies, although progress towards industrialization tends to subtract much protagonism from agriculture.

However, the rural sectors of society are still dedicated to agricultural activities, with the help of tools, knowledge and technologies that greatly facilitate your processes.Agricultural activity is the main responsible for the generation of food in the entire world.

Characteristics of the agricultural sector

Broadly speaking, the agricultural sector is characterized by:

• It operates mainly in rural areas, that is, outside cities and large urban centers.
• It is an ancestral sector in the history of humanity, which throughout history has adapted to new technologies and available knowledge to increase its profit margins. productivity.
• It is the main food generator of the entire economy circuit, although its products may also be intended for other manufacturing industries to obtain non-edible processed products: hides, fibers, organic matter, etc.
• Both livestock and agriculture can be extensive or intensive: the first type occupies large areas of land, has low yields and also has a low ecological impact; while the second type occupies smaller extensions of land, obtains a high yield from them and rapidly deprives the soil of nutrients.

Activities of the agricultural sector

The agricultural sector produces everything from ready-to-eat vegetables to biochemicals.

Different types of economic activities take place in the agricultural sector, all linked to the rural environment, such as:

Activities of the agricultural sector. Those linked to obtaining raw material of plant origin, either in open-air crops, or in greenhouses and hydroponic crops. Such as:

• The cultivation of fruits and vegetables, such as tomatoes, onions, carrots, apples, pears, potatoes, lettuce, arugula and a gigantic etcetera.
• Obtaining grains, cereals and seeds, such as beans, chickpeas, peas, corn, wheat, hops, peanuts, walnuts, hazelnuts, among many other crops.
• The cultivation of flowers and non-edible plants, intended for gardening, decoration or industrial processing to obtain vegetable fibers, biochemical substances and other ingredients.
• The development of activities to support agriculture, such as obtaining natural fertilizers, the transfer and/or initial processing of the merchandise.

Activities of the livestock sector. Those that involve the selective breeding of domestic animals, as well as their milking, slaughter and exploitation of various kinds. Such as:

• The exploitation of cattle or cattle, that is, the breeding and slaughter of cows, bulls, oxen and other similar ruminants.
• The exploitation of sheep and goats, that is, the breeding and slaughter of sheep, rams, goats and goats.
• The exploitation of pigs, that is, the breeding and slaughter of pigs and pigs.
• The exploitation of domestic poultry, that is, the raising and slaughtering of hens, chickens, turkeys and other domestic edible birds.
• The exploitation of other domestic animals, that is, the breeding and slaughter of camels, alpacas, llamas, vicuñas, guinea pigs, etc.
• Beekeeping, that is, the breeding and exploitation of bees, to obtain waxes, jellies and honey.
• The development of activities to support livestock, such as selective breeding (crosses), the transfer of animals, etc.

Agricultural sector products

The agricultural sector is responsible for the production of a huge and diverse set of products, which can be classified as:

• Food products, that is, intended for the food industry. In this case, the food goes to an intermediate stage where it is processed and distributed for consumption directly from the people.

Examples of food products are fruits, vegetables, legumes and seeds, which require at most packaging to reach the consumer, or even the cuts of red and white meat supplied by the slaughterhouse to the marketing chains directly (butcher shops and supermarkets). .

• Industrial products, intended for different fields of the manufacturing industry. In this case, it is normal for the product to serve as an input to a industry of secondary sector which in turn produces a new product, intended for other intermediate industries or for direct consumption by the population.

Examples of agricultural industrial products are animal hides, vegetable fibers and cotton, all usable as raw material by the textile industry or footwear; or also the sugar cane that must be processed to obtain the sugar, which in turn is then refined and packaged before it can be distributed to its different consumers: the people who buy sugar for their homes, the bakeries that make and sell sweets, or the same food industry that sweetens soft drinks and other consumer products with sugar.

Environmental impact of the agricultural sector

Ruminants release methane and other polluting gases.

The agricultural sector may have a greater or lesser environmental impact, depending on the methods used to obtain its raw materials, but in general it is considered one of the main responsible for the pollution of the contemporary world, along with the various industries.

Agriculture, to begin with, has a tremendous impact on soil degradation when it comes to intensive monoculture, without crop rotation that allows the soil to recover.But, in the opposite case, the large extensions of land necessary for extensive agricultural production often imply deforestation and the destruction of natural habitats to obtain arable land.

In addition, agriculture has a huge impact on water consumption: about ⅔ of the total water used daily by human beings is used to irrigate crops, and in many cases, once used, these waters run off into rivers and seas. dragging with it fertilizers and agrochemicals that, in turn, are enormously polluting.

For its part, livestock is responsible for large emissions of carbon-rich gases into the atmosphere, a consequence of the accumulation of herds of ruminants, since these animals release methane and other gases during digestion. In general, the agricultural sector is responsible for almost half of the greenhouse gases that humanity releases into the atmosphere daily.