Agriculture is the oldest and mostthe most common branch of material production. Since its earliest times, its purpose was to provide people with food. It came to replace hunting and gathering. In addition, in our time, the world's agriculture serves as a solid raw material base for the food and light industries. Agriculture has its own characteristics, which are associated with the seasonality of production and the decisive influence of natural conditions on the structure of industries and their location. Also, the world's agriculture largely depends on the quality of soils and the size of areas, because land is the main means of production and the main subject of labor.
In different countries and regions of the worldagricultural production is very diverse. At the same time, all these types can be distinguished in two main types: commodity production and consumer production. In developed countries, world agriculture is characterized by a sharp predominance of commodity production. For its development, mechanization and chemicalization, the newest methods of selection and advanced biotechnologies are used there. Practically in all natural zones of the world plant cultivation is developed. It is not only there, where natural conditions do not allow: highlands, arctic deserts and tundra. Half of all cultivated land is taken up by crops. The largest grain producers, accounting for more than half of the world's cereal harvest, are countries such as China and the United States, India and Russia. Among other major producers are Canada, France, Ukraine, Brazil and Indonesia.
Among the world's agricultural cropsmost of all produces wheat, rice and corn, accounting for 80% of the gross harvest of cereals. Almost everywhere in the world is widespread livestock. But the bulk of production is concentrated in countries located in the temperate zone, since the location of all livestock sectors depends directly on the food base. World livestock production is divided into three main branches: cattle breeding, pig breeding and sheep breeding. The largest amount of livestock production is produced by cattle, while the largest cattle population is in the Far East and Latin America.
The main directions in cattle breeding are associated withfeatures of the food base. Milk production is more characteristic in densely populated areas of North America and Europe. Meat and milk cattle breeding is widespread in the temperate natural zone of the forest and forest-steppe zones. A purely meat cattle breeding is more typical in arid regions of the subtropical and temperate belt. Among the countries that have the largest number of cattle are India and Brazil, the USA and China, Russia and Argentina. Production of pigs is less dependent on natural conditions, so it is widespread almost everywhere. The only areas of the world where there is practically no pig production are Muslim countries, where this area of agriculture is banned for religious reasons.
Most concentrated pig productionnear large cities and densely populated areas, as well as in areas where potatoes and beets are grown. Therefore, it plays a very important role in suburban agriculture. Almost half of the world pig population is in China. Other important countries in this industry are the USA, Russia, Germany and Brazil. The world's agriculture also plays an important role in sheep breeding. It prevails in those countries where there are extensive pastures. The undoubted leader in world sheep breeding is Australia.
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