Kiringye is a village situated in the Lemera groupement within the Bafuliiru Chiefdom , which is part of Uvira Territory in the South Kivu Province in the eastern region of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The village is located at an elevation of 928 meters and is in close proximity to the localities of Luburule and Karenzu.
118-456: Agriculture is the main economic activity in the region. It provides local communities with self-sufficiency . Its fertile soil and favorable climate make it an ideal region for agricultural activities. Farmers grow various crops , including staple foods such as maize, beans, cassava, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and rice, as well as cash crops like coffee, tea and cocoa. Livestock farming , including cattle, sheep, and poultry. The area
236-787: A lord of the manor with a Roman Catholic church and priest. Thanks to the exchange with the Al-Andalus where the Arab Agricultural Revolution was underway, European agriculture transformed, with improved techniques and the diffusion of crop plants, including the introduction of sugar, rice, cotton and fruit trees (such as the orange). After 1492, the Columbian exchange brought New World crops such as maize, potatoes, tomatoes, sweet potatoes , and manioc to Europe, and Old World crops such as wheat, barley, rice, and turnips , and livestock (including horses, cattle, sheep and goats) to
354-466: A combination of labor supply and labor demand trends have driven down the share of population employed in agriculture. During the 16th century in Europe, between 55 and 75% of the population was engaged in agriculture; by the 19th century, this had dropped to between 35 and 65%. In the same countries today, the figure is less than 10%. At the start of the 21st century, some one billion people, or over 1/3 of
472-493: A fertilizer for crops. Natural rubber Rubber , also called India rubber , latex , Amazonian rubber , caucho , or caoutchouc , as initially produced, consists of polymers of the organic compound isoprene , with minor impurities of other organic compounds. Thailand , Malaysia , Indonesia , and Cambodia are four of the leading rubber producers. Types of polyisoprene that are used as natural rubbers are classified as elastomers . Currently, rubber
590-447: A fiber, sometimes called 'elastic', had significant value to the textile industry because of its excellent elongation and recovery properties. For these purposes, manufactured rubber fiber was made as either an extruded round fiber or rectangular fibers cut into strips from extruded film. Because of its low dye acceptance, feel and appearance, the rubber fiber was either covered by yarn of another fiber or directly woven with other yarns into
708-510: A form of assisted biological coagulation. Little care is taken to exclude twigs, leaves, and even bark from the lumps that are formed, which may also include tree lace. Earth scrap is material that gathers around the base of the tree. It arises from latex overflowing from the cut and running down the bark, from rain flooding a collection cup containing latex, and from spillage from tappers' buckets during collection. It contains soil and other contaminants, and has variable rubber content, depending on
826-752: A given strain, thereby increasing the elastic force constant and making the rubber harder and less extensible. Raw rubber storage depots and rubber processing can produce malodour that is serious enough to become a source of complaints and protest to those living in the vicinity. Microbial impurities originate during the processing of block rubber. These impurities break down during storage or thermal degradation and produce volatile organic compounds. Examination of these compounds using gas chromatography / mass spectrometry (GC/MS) and gas chromatography (GC) indicates that they contain sulfur, ammonia, alkenes , ketones , esters , hydrogen sulfide , nitrogen, and low-molecular-weight fatty acids (C2–C5). When latex concentrate
944-664: A hazardous industry, and farmers worldwide remain at high risk of work-related injuries, lung disease, noise-induced hearing loss , skin diseases, as well as certain cancers related to chemical use and prolonged sun exposure. On industrialized farms , injuries frequently involve the use of agricultural machinery , and a common cause of fatal agricultural injuries in developed countries is tractor rollovers . Pesticides and other chemicals used in farming can be hazardous to worker health , and workers exposed to pesticides may experience illness or have children with birth defects. As an industry in which families commonly share in work and live on
1062-444: A high use of inputs (water, fertilizer, pesticide and automation). It is practiced mainly in developed countries. From the twentieth century onwards, intensive agriculture increased crop productivity. It substituted synthetic fertilizers and pesticides for labor, but caused increased water pollution, and often involved farm subsidies. Soil degradation and diseases such as stem rust are major concerns globally; approximately 40% of
1180-432: A petroleum refinery or other natural incineration processes, is sometimes used as an additive to rubber to improve its strength, especially in vehicle tires. During vulcanization, rubber's polyisoprene molecules (long chains of isoprene) are heated and cross-linked with molecular bonds to sulfur, forming a 3-D matrix. The optimal percentage of sulfur is approximately 10%. In this form, the polyisoprene molecules orientation
1298-506: A piece of the material was extremely good for rubbing off pencil marks on paper, hence the name "rubber". It slowly made its way around England. In 1764, François Fresnau discovered that turpentine was a rubber solvent . Giovanni Fabbroni is credited with the discovery of naphtha as a rubber solvent in 1779. Charles Goodyear redeveloped vulcanization in 1839, although Mesoamericans had used stabilized rubber for balls and other objects as early as 1600 BC. South America remained
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#17328685828661416-435: A point where it shares properties of both; i.e., if it is heated and cooled, it is degraded but not destroyed. The final properties of a rubber item depend not just on the polymer, but also on modifiers and fillers, such as carbon black , factice , whiting and others. Rubber particles are formed in the cytoplasm of specialized latex-producing cells called laticifers within rubber plants. Rubber particles are surrounded by
1534-447: A positive note, the gender gap in access to mobile internet in low- and middle-income countries fell from 25 percent to 16 percent between 2017 and 2021, and the gender gap in access to bank accounts narrowed from 9 to 6 percentage points. Women are as likely as men to adopt new technologies when the necessary enabling factors are put in place and they have equal access to complementary resources. Agriculture, specifically farming, remains
1652-451: A significant amount of rubber. Gloves (medical, household, and industrial) and toy balloons were large consumers of rubber, although the type of rubber used is concentrated latex. Significant tonnage of rubber was used as adhesives in many manufacturing industries and products, although the two most noticeable were the paper and the carpet industries. Rubber was commonly used to make rubber bands and pencil erasers . Rubber produced as
1770-404: A significant decrease in genetic diversity and resources among livestock breeds, leading to a corresponding decrease in disease resistance and local adaptations previously found among traditional breeds. Grassland based livestock production relies upon plant material such as shrubland , rangeland , and pastures for feeding ruminant animals. Outside nutrient inputs may be used, however manure
1888-453: A single phospholipid membrane with hydrophobic tails pointed inward. The membrane allows biosynthetic proteins to be sequestered at the surface of the growing rubber particle, which allows new monomeric units to be added from outside the biomembrane, but within the lacticifer. The rubber particle is an enzymatically active entity that contains three layers of material, the rubber particle, a biomembrane and free monomeric units. The biomembrane
2006-485: A small area of forest is cleared by cutting and burning the trees. The cleared land is used for growing crops for a few years until the soil becomes too infertile, and the area is abandoned. Another patch of land is selected and the process is repeated. This type of farming is practiced mainly in areas with abundant rainfall where the forest regenerates quickly. This practice is used in Northeast India, Southeast Asia, and
2124-401: A wire that encircles the tree. This wire incorporates a spring so it can stretch as the tree grows. The latex is led into the cup by a galvanised "spout" knocked into the bark. Rubber tapping normally takes place early in the morning, when the internal pressure of the tree is highest. A good tapper can tap a tree every 20 seconds on a standard half-spiral system, and a common daily "task" size
2242-552: A year, or requiring irrigation. In all of these environments perennial crops are grown (coffee, chocolate) and systems are practiced such as agroforestry . In temperate environments, where ecosystems were predominantly grassland or prairie , highly productive annual farming is the dominant agricultural system. Important categories of food crops include cereals, legumes, forage, fruits and vegetables. Natural fibers include cotton, wool , hemp , silk and flax . Specific crops are cultivated in distinct growing regions throughout
2360-470: A yearly summit to discuss safety. Overall production varies by country as listed. The twenty largest countries by agricultural output (in nominal terms) at peak level as of 2018, according to the IMF and CIA World Factbook . Cropping systems vary among farms depending on the available resources and constraints; geography and climate of the farm; government policy; economic, social and political pressures; and
2478-442: Is 25 cm (vertical) bark consumption per year. The latex-containing tubes in the bark ascend in a spiral to the right. For this reason, tapping cuts usually ascend to the left to cut more tubes. The trees drip latex for about four hours, stopping as latex coagulates naturally on the tapping cut, thus blocking the latex tubes in the bark. Tappers usually rest and have a meal after finishing their tapping work and then start collecting
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#17328685828662596-571: Is a hybrid of a Chilean and a North American species, developed by breeding in Europe and North America. The indigenous people of the Southwest and the Pacific Northwest practiced forest gardening and fire-stick farming . The natives controlled fire on a regional scale to create a low-intensity fire ecology that sustained a low-density agriculture in loose rotation; a sort of "wild" permaculture . A system of companion planting called
2714-418: Is a natural polymer of isoprene (polyisoprene), and an elastomer (a stretchy polymer). Polymers are simply chains of molecules that can be linked together. Rubber is one of the few naturally occurring polymers and prized for its high stretch ratio, resilience, and water-proof properties. Other examples of natural polymers include tortoise shell , amber , and animal horn . When harvested, latex rubber takes
2832-415: Is between 450 and 650 trees. Trees are usually tapped on alternate or third days, although many variations in timing, length and number of cuts are used. "Tappers would make a slash in the bark with a small hatchet. These slanting cuts allowed latex to flow from ducts located on the exterior or the inner layer of bark ( cambium ) of the tree. Since the cambium controls the growth of the tree, growth stops if it
2950-626: Is both a cause of and sensitive to environmental degradation , such as biodiversity loss , desertification , soil degradation , and climate change , all of which can cause decreases in crop yield. Genetically modified organisms are widely used, although some countries ban them . The word agriculture is a late Middle English adaptation of Latin agricultūra , from ager 'field' and cultūra ' cultivation ' or 'growing'. While agriculture usually refers to human activities, certain species of ant , termite and beetle have been cultivating crops for up to 60 million years. Agriculture
3068-491: Is cut. Thus, rubber tapping demanded accuracy, so that the incisions would not be too many given the size of the tree, or too deep, which could stunt its growth or kill it." It is usual to tap a panel at least twice, sometimes three times, during the tree's life. The economic life of the tree depends on how well the tapping is carried out, as the critical factor is bark consumption. A standard in Malaysia for alternate daily tapping
3186-444: Is defined with varying scopes, in its broadest sense using natural resources to "produce commodities which maintain life, including food, fiber, forest products, horticultural crops, and their related services". Thus defined, it includes arable farming , horticulture, animal husbandry and forestry , but horticulture and forestry are in practice often excluded. It may also be broadly decomposed into plant agriculture , which concerns
3304-552: Is harvested mainly in the form of the latex from the Pará rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis ) or others. The latex is a sticky, milky and white colloid drawn off by making incisions in the bark and collecting the fluid in vessels in a process called "tapping". The latex then is refined into the rubber that is ready for commercial processing. In major areas, latex is allowed to coagulate in the collection cup. The coagulated lumps are collected and processed into dry forms for sale. Natural rubber
3422-438: Is held tightly to the rubber core by the high negative charge along the double bonds of the rubber polymer backbone. Free monomeric units and conjugated proteins make up the outer layer. The rubber precursor is isopentenyl pyrophosphate (an allylic compound), which elongates by Mg -dependent condensation by the action of rubber transferase. The monomer adds to the pyrophosphate end of the growing polymer. The process displaces
3540-556: Is low and strain results from small changes of bond lengths and angles: this caused the Challenger disaster , when the American Space Shuttle 's flattened o-rings failed to relax to fill a widening gap. The glass transition is fast and reversible: the force resumes on heating. The parallel chains of stretched rubber are susceptible to crystallization. This takes some time because turns of twisted chains have to move out of
3658-892: Is not cultivated widely in its native continent of South America because of the South American leaf blight , and other natural predators there. Rubber latex is extracted from rubber trees. The economic life of rubber trees in plantations is around 32 years, with up to 7 years being an immature phase and about 25 years of productive phase. The soil requirement is well-drained, weathered soil consisting of laterite , lateritic types, sedimentary types, nonlateritic red or alluvial soils. The climatic conditions for optimum growth of rubber trees are: Many high-yielding clones have been developed for commercial planting. These clones yield more than 2,000 kilograms per hectare (1,800 lb/acre) of dry rubber per year, under ideal conditions. Rubber production has been linked to deforestation. Rubber therefore
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3776-582: Is one of seven commodities included in the 2023 EU Regulation on Deforestation-free products (EUDR), which aims to guarantee that the products European Union (EU) citizens consume do not contribute to deforestation or forest degradation worldwide. In places such as Kerala and Sri Lanka, where coconuts are in abundance, the half shell of coconut was used as the latex collection container. Glazed pottery or aluminium or plastic cups became more common in Kerala-India and other countries. The cups are supported by
3894-449: Is produced by smallholders, who collect rubber from trees far from the nearest factory. Many Indonesian smallholders, who farm paddies in remote areas, tap dispersed trees on their way to work in the paddy fields and collect the latex (or the coagulated latex) on their way home. As it is often impossible to preserve the latex sufficiently to get it to a factory that processes latex in time for it to be used to make high quality products, and as
4012-529: Is produced from rubber, sulfuric acid is used for coagulation. This produces malodourous hydrogen sulfide. The industry can mitigate these bad odours with scrubber systems . Rubber is the polymer cis-1,4-polyisoprene – with a molecular weight of 100,000 to 1,000,000 daltons . Typically, a small percentage (up to 5% of dry mass) of other materials, such as proteins , fatty acids , resins , and inorganic materials (salts) are found in natural rubber. Polyisoprene can also be created synthetically, producing what
4130-438: Is returned directly to the grassland as a major nutrient source. This system is particularly important in areas where crop production is not feasible because of climate or soil, representing 30–40 million pastoralists. Mixed production systems use grassland, fodder crops and grain feed crops as feed for ruminant and monogastric (one stomach; mainly chickens and pigs) livestock. Manure is typically recycled in mixed systems as
4248-402: Is sometimes referred to as "synthetic natural rubber", but the synthetic and natural routes are distinct. Some natural rubber sources, such as gutta-percha , are composed of trans-1,4-polyisoprene, a structural isomer that has similar properties. Natural rubber is an elastomer and a thermoplastic . Once the rubber is vulcanized, it is a thermoset . Most rubber in everyday use is vulcanized to
4366-472: Is still random but they become aligned when the rubber is stretched. This sulfur vulcanization makes the rubber stronger and more rigid, but still very elastic. And through the vulcanization process, the sulfur and latex are meant to be totally used up in individual form. Natural rubber latex is shipped from factories in Southeast Asia , South America , and West and Central Africa to destinations around
4484-462: Is the Amazonian rubber tree ( Hevea brasiliensis ), a member of the spurge family , Euphorbiaceae . Once native to Brazil, the species is now pan-tropical. This species is preferred because it grows well under cultivation. A properly managed tree responds to wounding by producing more latex for several years. Congo rubber , formerly a major source of rubber, which motivated the atrocities in
4602-474: Is used extensively in many applications and products, either alone or in combination with other materials. In most of its useful forms, it has a large stretch ratio and high resilience and also is buoyant and water-proof. Industrial demand for rubber-like materials began to outstrip natural rubber supplies by the end of the 19th century, leading to the synthesis of synthetic rubber in 1909 by chemical means. The major commercial source of natural rubber latex
4720-583: The Fraunhofer Institute for Molecular Biology and Applied Ecology (IME) in Germany developed a cultivar of the Kazakh dandelion ( Taraxacum kok-saghyz ) that is suitable for commercial production of natural rubber. In collaboration with Continental Tires , IME began a pilot facility. Many other plants produce forms of latex rich in isoprene polymers, though not all produce usable forms of polymer as easily as
4838-494: The Indus Valley civilization . In China, from the 5th century BC, there was a nationwide granary system and widespread silk farming . Water-powered grain mills were in use by the 1st century BC, followed by irrigation. By the late 2nd century, heavy ploughs had been developed with iron ploughshares and mouldboards . These spread westwards across Eurasia. Asian rice was domesticated 8,200–13,500 years ago – depending on
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4956-496: The Mullins effect and the Payne effect and is often modeled as hyperelastic . Rubber strain crystallizes . Because there are weakened allylic C-H bonds in each repeat unit , natural rubber is susceptible to vulcanisation as well as being sensitive to ozone cracking . The two main solvents for rubber are turpentine and naphtha (petroleum). Because rubber does not dissolve easily,
5074-572: The Paleolithic , after 10,000 BC. Staple food crops were grains such as wheat and barley, alongside industrial crops such as flax and papyrus . In India , wheat, barley and jujube were domesticated by 9,000 BC, soon followed by sheep and goats. Cattle, sheep and goats were domesticated in Mehrgarh culture by 8,000–6,000 BC. Cotton was cultivated by the 5th–4th millennium BC. Archeological evidence indicates an animal-drawn plough from 2,500 BC in
5192-697: The Putumayo genocide . Between the 1880s–1913 Julio César Arana and his company that would become the Peruvian Amazon Company controlled the Putumayo river. W.E. Hardenburg, Benjamin Saldaña Rocca and Roger Casement were influential figures in exposing these atrocities. Roger Casement was also prominent in revealing the Congo atrocities to the world. Days before entering Iquitos by boat Casement wrote "'Caoutchouc
5310-504: The Tigris and Euphrates rivers and a canal system for irrigation. Ploughs appear in pictographs around 3,000 BC; seed-ploughs around 2,300 BC. Farmers grew wheat, barley, vegetables such as lentils and onions, and fruits including dates, grapes, and figs. Ancient Egyptian agriculture relied on the Nile River and its seasonal flooding. Farming started in the predynastic period at the end of
5428-557: The cytosol . In plants, isoprene pyrophosphate can also be obtained from the 1-deox-D-xyulose-5-phosphate/2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate pathway within plasmids. The relative ratio of the farnesyl pyrophosphate initiator unit and isoprenyl pyrophosphate elongation monomer determines the rate of new particle synthesis versus elongation of existing particles. Though rubber is known to be produced by only one enzyme, extracts of latex host numerous small molecular weight proteins with unknown function. The proteins possibly serve as cofactors, as
5546-613: The molecular clock estimate that is used – on the Pearl River in southern China with a single genetic origin from the wild rice Oryza rufipogon . In Greece and Rome , the major cereals were wheat, emmer, and barley, alongside vegetables including peas, beans, and olives. Sheep and goats were kept mainly for dairy products. In the Americas, crops domesticated in Mesoamerica (apart from teosinte) include squash, beans, and cacao . Cocoa
5664-536: The organic movement . Unsustainable farming practices in North America led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s. Pastoralism involves managing domesticated animals. In nomadic pastoralism , herds of livestock are moved from place to place in search of pasture, fodder, and water. This type of farming is practiced in arid and semi-arid regions of Sahara , Central Asia and some parts of India. In shifting cultivation ,
5782-528: The Amazon Basin. Subsistence farming is practiced to satisfy family or local needs alone, with little left over for transport elsewhere. It is intensively practiced in Monsoon Asia and South-East Asia. An estimated 2.5 billion subsistence farmers worked in 2018, cultivating about 60% of the earth's arable land . Intensive farming is cultivation to maximize productivity, with a low fallow ratio and
5900-547: The Americas. Irrigation , crop rotation , and fertilizers advanced from the 17th century with the British Agricultural Revolution , allowing global population to rise significantly. Since 1900, agriculture in developed nations, and to a lesser extent in the developing world, has seen large rises in productivity as mechanization replaces human labor, and assisted by synthetic fertilizers , pesticides, and selective breeding . The Haber-Bosch method allowed
6018-649: The Congo Free State for more information on the rubber trade in the Congo Free State in the late 1800s and early 1900s.) The rubber boom in the Amazon also similarly affected indigenous populations to varying degrees. Correrias, or slave raids were frequent in Colombia, Peru and Bolivia where many were either captured or killed. The most well known case of atrocities generated from rubber extraction in South America came from
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#17328685828666136-534: The Congo Free State , came from vines in the genus Landolphia ( L. kirkii , L. heudelotis , and L. owariensis ). Dandelion milk contains latex. The latex exhibits the same quality as the natural rubber from rubber trees . In the wild types of dandelion, latex content is low and varies greatly. In Nazi Germany , research projects tried to use dandelions as a base for rubber production, but failed. In 2013, by inhibiting one key enzyme and using modern cultivation methods and optimization techniques, scientists in
6254-568: The Paleolithic Levant, 23,000 years ago, cereals cultivation of emmer , barley , and oats has been observed near the sea of Galilee. Rice was domesticated in China between 11,500 and 6,200 BC with the earliest known cultivation from 5,700 BC, followed by mung , soy and azuki beans. Sheep were domesticated in Mesopotamia between 13,000 and 11,000 years ago. Cattle were domesticated from
6372-562: The Pará. Some of them require more elaborate processing to produce anything like usable rubber, and most are more difficult to tap. Some produce other desirable materials, for example gutta-percha ( Palaquium gutta ) and chicle from Manilkara species. Others that have been commercially exploited, or at least showed promise as rubber sources, include the rubber fig ( Ficus elastica ), Panama rubber tree ( Castilla elastica ), various spurges ( Euphorbia spp.), lettuce ( Lactuca species),
6490-479: The Three Sisters was developed in North America. The three crops were winter squash , maize, and climbing beans. Indigenous Australians , long supposed to have been nomadic hunter-gatherers , practiced systematic burning, possibly to enhance natural productivity in fire-stick farming. Scholars have pointed out that hunter-gatherers need a productive environment to support gathering without cultivation. Because
6608-786: The United Nations (FAO) posits that the roles and responsibilities of women in agriculture may be changing – for example, from subsistence farming to wage employment, and from contributing household members to primary producers in the context of male-out-migration. In general, women account for a greater share of agricultural employment at lower levels of economic development, as inadequate education, limited access to basic infrastructure and markets, high unpaid work burden and poor rural employment opportunities outside agriculture severely limit women's opportunities for off-farm work. Women who work in agricultural production tend to do so under highly unfavorable conditions. They tend to be concentrated in
6726-517: The United States is roughly 1.7 times more productive than it was in 1948. Agriculture employed 873 million people in 2021, or 27% of the global workforce, compared with 1 027 million (or 40%) in 2000. The share of agriculture in global GDP was stable at around 4% since 2000–2023. Despite increases in agricultural production and productivity, between 702 and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021. Food insecurity and malnutrition can be
6844-409: The amount of contaminants. Earth scrap is collected by field workers two or three times a year and may be cleaned in a scrap-washer to recover the rubber, or sold to a contractor who cleans it and recovers the rubber. It is of low quality. Latex coagulates in the cups if kept for long and must be collected before this happens. The collected latex, "field latex", is transferred into coagulation tanks for
6962-530: The annual work-related death toll among agricultural employees is at least 170,000, twice the average rate of other jobs. In addition, incidences of death, injury and illness related to agricultural activities often go unreported. The organization has developed the Safety and Health in Agriculture Convention, 2001 , which covers the range of risks in the agriculture occupation, the prevention of these risks and
7080-553: The available work force, were employed in agriculture. This constitutes approximately 70% of the global employment of children, and in many countries constitutes the largest percentage of women of any industry. The service sector overtook the agricultural sector as the largest global employer in 2007. In many developed countries, immigrants help fill labor shortages in high-value agriculture activities that are difficult to mechanize. Foreign farm workers from mostly Eastern Europe, North Africa and South Asia constituted around one-third of
7198-580: The central west coast and eastern central, early farmers cultivated yams, native millet, and bush onions, possibly in permanent settlements. In the Middle Ages , compared to the Roman period , agriculture in Western Europe became more focused on self-sufficiency . The agricultural population under feudalism was typically organized into manors consisting of several hundred or more acres of land presided over by
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#17328685828667316-488: The chief of Kiringye. The violence further escalated into the neighboring village of Lwiburule in South Kivu. Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture , and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization , whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that enabled people to live in
7434-467: The cities. While humans started gathering grains at least 105,000 years ago, nascent farmers only began planting them around 11,500 years ago. Sheep, goats, pigs, and cattle were domesticated around 10,000 years ago. Plants were independently cultivated in at least 11 regions of the world. In the 20th century, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monocultures came to dominate agricultural output. As of 2021 , small farms produce about one-third of
7552-468: The cultivation of useful plants, and animal agriculture , the production of agricultural animals. The development of agriculture enabled the human population to grow many times larger than could be sustained by hunting and gathering . Agriculture began independently in different parts of the globe, and included a diverse range of taxa , in at least 11 separate centers of origin . Wild grains were collected and eaten from at least 105,000 years ago. In
7670-529: The direct agricultural workforce and broader businesses that support the farms and farming populations. 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 , cooking oils , meat , milk , eggs , and fungi . Global agricultural production amounts to approximately 11 billion tonnes of food, 32 million tonnes of natural fibers and 4 billion m of wood. However, around 14% of
7788-656: The domestication of squash (Cucurbita) and other plants. Coca was domesticated in the Andes, as were the peanut, tomato, tobacco, and pineapple . Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 3,600 BC. Animals including llamas , alpacas , and guinea pigs were domesticated there. In North America , the indigenous people of the East domesticated crops such as sunflower , tobacco, squash and Chenopodium . Wild foods including wild rice and maple sugar were harvested. The domesticated strawberry
7906-407: The dry rubber produced. Latex that drips onto the ground, "earth scrap", is also collected periodically for processing of low-grade product. Cup lump is the coagulated material found in the collection cup when the tapper next visits the tree to tap it again. It arises from latex clinging to the walls of the cup after the latex was last poured into the bucket, and from late-dripping latex exuded before
8024-636: The fabric. Rubber yarns were used in foundation garments. While rubber is still used in textile manufacturing, its low tenacity limits its use in lightweight garments because latex lacks resistance to oxidizing agents and is damaged by aging, sunlight, oil and perspiration. The textile industry turned to neoprene (polymer of chloroprene ), a type of synthetic rubber, as well as another more commonly used elastomer fiber, spandex (also known as elastane), because of their superiority to rubber in both strength and durability. Rubber exhibits unique physical and chemical properties. Rubber's stress–strain behavior exhibits
8142-432: The farm itself, entire families can be at risk for injuries, illness, and death. Ages 0–6 may be an especially vulnerable population in agriculture; common causes of fatal injuries among young farm workers include drowning, machinery and motor accidents, including with all-terrain vehicles. The International Labor Organization considers agriculture "one of the most hazardous of all economic sectors". It estimates that
8260-477: The first technique for tapping trees for latex without causing serious harm to the tree. Because of his fervent promotion of this crop, he is popularly remembered by the nickname "Mad Ridley". Before World War II significant uses included door and window profiles, hoses, belts, gaskets, matting , flooring, and dampeners (antivibration mounts) for the automotive industry. The use of rubber in car tires (initially solid rather than pneumatic) in particular consumed
8378-430: The forests of New Guinea have few food plants, early humans may have used "selective burning" to increase the productivity of the wild karuka fruit trees to support the hunter-gatherer way of life. The Gunditjmara and other groups developed eel farming and fish trapping systems from some 5,000 years ago. There is evidence of 'intensification' across the whole continent over that period. In two regions of Australia,
8496-544: The form of latex, an opaque, white, milky suspension of rubber particles in water. It is then transformed through industrial processes to the solid form widely seen in manufactured goods. Natural rubber is reactive and vulnerable to oxidization, but it can be stabilized through a heating process called vulcanization. Vulcanization is a process by which the rubber is heated and sulfur , peroxide , or bisphenol are added to improve resistance and elasticity and to prevent it from oxidizing. Carbon black , which can be derived from
8614-422: The greater use of pesticides and fertilizers. Multiple cropping , in which several crops are grown sequentially in one year, and intercropping , when several crops are grown at the same time, are other kinds of annual cropping systems known as polycultures . In subtropical and arid environments, the timing and extent of agriculture may be limited by rainfall, either not allowing multiple annual crops in
8732-459: The higher-grade, technically specified block rubbers such as SVR 3L or SVR CV or used to produce Ribbed Smoke Sheet grades. Naturally coagulated rubber (cup lump) is used in the manufacture of TSR10 and TSR20 grade rubbers. Processing for these grades is a size reduction and cleaning process to remove contamination and prepare the material for the final stage of drying. The dried material is then baled and palletized for storage and shipment. Rubber
8850-441: The input of nutrients (fertilizer or manure ) and some manual pest control . Annual cultivation is the next phase of intensity in which there is no fallow period. This requires even greater nutrient and pest control inputs. Further industrialization led to the use of monocultures , when one cultivar is planted on a large acreage. Because of the low biodiversity , nutrient use is uniform and pests tend to build up, necessitating
8968-431: The international market spot price of a seemingly more profitable crop (for example palm oil ) surges in relation to rubber. For instance, during the 2020 and 2021 international COVID-19 pandemic , demand for rubber gloves surged, leading to a spike in rubber prices of about 30%. In addition to the pandemic, demand exceeded supply in part because long term plantations had been torn out and replaced with other crops over
9086-520: The latex sap. Charles Marie de La Condamine is credited with introducing samples of rubber to the Académie Royale des Sciences of France in 1736. In 1751, he presented a paper by François Fresneau to the Académie (published in 1755) that described many of rubber's properties. This has been referred to as the first scientific paper on rubber. In England, Joseph Priestley , in 1770, observed that
9204-402: The latex would anyway have coagulated by the time it reached the factory, the smallholder will coagulate it by any means available, in any container available. Some smallholders use small containers, buckets etc., but often the latex is coagulated in holes in the ground, which are usually lined with plastic sheeting. Acidic materials and fermented fruit juices are used to coagulate the latex –
9322-434: The latex-carrying vessels of the tree become blocked. It is of higher purity and of greater value than the other three types. 'Cup lumps' can also be used to describe a completely different type of coagulate that has collected in smallholder plantations over a period of 1–2 weeks. After tapping all of the trees, the tapper will return to each tree and stir in some type of acid, which allows the newly harvested latex to mix with
9440-416: The latex. There is growing concern for the future supply of rubber due to various factors, including plant disease, climate change, and the volatile market price of rubber. Producers of natural rubber are mostly small family-held plantations, often serving large industrial aggregators. High volatility in the price of rubber affects rubber plantation investment, and farmers may remove their rubber trees if
9558-443: The liquid "field latex" at about midday. The four types of field coagula are "cuplump", "treelace", "smallholders' lump", and "earth scrap". Each has significantly different properties. Some trees continue to drip after the collection leading to a small amount of "cup lump" that is collected at the next tapping. The latex that coagulates on the cut is also collected as "tree lace". Tree lace and cup lump together account for 10%–20% of
9676-469: The lower yield associated with organic farming and its impact on global food security . Recent mainstream technological developments include genetically modified food . By 2015, the agricultural output of China was the largest in the world, followed by the European Union, India and the United States. Economists measure the total factor productivity of agriculture, according to which agriculture in
9794-528: The main source of latex rubber used during much of the 19th century. The rubber trade was heavily controlled by business interests but no laws expressly prohibited the export of seeds or plants. In 1876, Henry Wickham smuggled 70,000 Amazonian rubber tree seeds from Brazil and delivered them to Kew Gardens , England. Only 2,400 of these germinated. Seedlings were then sent to India , British Ceylon ( Sri Lanka ), Dutch East Indies ( Indonesia ), Singapore , and British Malaya . Malaya (now Peninsular Malaysia )
9912-399: The material is finely divided by shredding prior to its immersion. An ammonia solution can be used to prevent the coagulation of raw latex. Rubber begins to melt at approximately 180 °C (356 °F). On a microscopic scale, relaxed rubber is a disorganized cluster of erratically changing wrinkled chains. In stretched rubber, the chains are almost linear. The restoring force is due to
10030-437: The philosophy and culture of the farmer. Shifting cultivation (or slash and burn ) is a system in which forests are burnt, releasing nutrients to support cultivation of annual and then perennial crops for a period of several years. Then the plot is left fallow to regrow forest, and the farmer moves to a new plot, returning after many more years (10–20). This fallow period is shortened if population density grows, requiring
10148-561: The plantation expanded to Karnataka , Tamil Nadu and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands of India. Today, India is the world's 3rd largest producer and 4th largest consumer of rubber. In Singapore and Malaya, commercial production was heavily promoted by Sir Henry Nicholas Ridley , who served as the first Scientific Director of the Singapore Botanic Gardens from 1888 to 1911. He distributed rubber seeds to many planters and developed
10266-414: The poorest countries, where alternative livelihoods are not available, and they maintain the intensity of their work in conditions of climate-induced weather shocks and in situations of conflict. Women are less likely to participate as entrepreneurs and independent farmers and are engaged in the production of less lucrative crops. The gender gap in land productivity between female- and male managed farms of
10384-589: The preparation of dry rubber or transferred into air-tight containers with sieving for ammoniation. Ammoniation, invented by patent lawyer and vice-president of the United States Rubber Company Ernest Hopkinson around 1920, preserves the latex in a colloidal state for longer periods of time. Latex is generally processed into either latex concentrate for manufacture of dipped goods or coagulated under controlled, clean conditions using formic acid. The coagulated latex can then be processed into
10502-400: The preponderance of wrinkled conformations over more linear ones. For the quantitative treatment see ideal chain , for more examples see entropic force . Cooling below the glass transition temperature permits local conformational changes but a reordering is practically impossible because of the larger energy barrier for the concerted movement of longer chains. "Frozen" rubber's elasticity
10620-422: The previously coagulated material. The rubber/acid mixture is what gives rubber plantations, markets, and factories a strong odor. Tree lace is the coagulum strip that the tapper peels off the previous cut before making a new cut. It usually has higher copper and manganese contents than cup lump. Both copper and manganese are pro-oxidants and can damage the physical properties of the dry rubber. Smallholders' lump
10738-440: The production of fish for human consumption in confined operations, is one of the fastest growing sectors of food production, growing at an average of 9% a year between 1975 and 2007. During the second half of the 20th century, producers using selective breeding focused on creating livestock breeds and crossbreeds that increased production, while mostly disregarding the need to preserve genetic diversity . This trend has led to
10856-544: The region to provide support to the Banyamulenge militia against the entrenched rule of Mobutu 's government. Notably, on 31 August 1997, Oscar Lugendo, the government spokesperson, reported that Zairean troops had killed three Rwandan soldiers and apprehended five others within the confines of Kiringye. Subsequently, during the Second Congo War , a massacre transpired on 6 August 1998, resulting in 13 deaths, including
10974-419: The related Scorzonera tau-saghyz , various Taraxacum species, including common dandelion ( Taraxacum officinale ) and Kazakh dandelion, and, perhaps most importantly for its hypoallergenic properties, guayule ( Parthenium argentatum ). The term gum rubber is sometimes applied to the tree-obtained version of natural rubber in order to distinguish it from the synthetic version. The first use of rubber
11092-477: The result of conflict, climate extremes and variability and economic swings. It can also be caused by a country's structural characteristics such as income status and natural resource endowments as well as its political economy. Pesticide use in agriculture went up 62% between 2000 and 2021, with the Americas accounting for half the use in 2021. The International Fund for Agricultural Development posits that an increase in smallholder agriculture may be part of
11210-844: The role that individuals and organizations engaged in agriculture should play. In the United States, agriculture has been identified by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health as a priority industry sector in the National Occupational Research Agenda to identify and provide intervention strategies for occupational health and safety issues. In the European Union, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work has issued guidelines on implementing health and safety directives in agriculture, livestock farming, horticulture, and forestry. The Agricultural Safety and Health Council of America (ASHCA) also holds
11328-474: The salaried agricultural workforce in Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal in 2013. In the United States of America, more than half of all hired farmworkers (roughly 450,000 workers) were immigrants in 2019, although the number of new immigrants arriving in the country to work in agriculture has fallen by 75 percent in recent years and rising wages indicate this has led to a major labor shortage on U.S. farms. Around
11446-439: The same size is 24 percent. On average, women earn 18.4 percent less than men in wage employment in agriculture; this means that women receive 82 cents for every dollar earned by men. Progress has been slow in closing gaps in women's access to irrigation and in ownership of livestock, too. Women in agriculture still have significantly less access than men to inputs, including improved seeds, fertilizers and mechanized equipment. On
11564-488: The solution to concerns about food prices and overall food security , given the favorable experience of Vietnam. Agriculture provides about one-quarter of all global employment, more than half in sub-Saharan Africa and almost 60 percent in low-income countries. As countries develop, other jobs have historically pulled workers away from agriculture, and labor-saving innovations increase agricultural productivity by reducing labor requirements per unit of output. Over time,
11682-400: The synthesis of ammonium nitrate fertilizer on an industrial scale, greatly increasing crop yields and sustaining a further increase in global population. Modern agriculture has raised or encountered ecological, political, and economic issues including water pollution , biofuels , genetically modified organisms , tariffs and farm subsidies , leading to alternative approaches such as
11800-564: The synthetic rate decreases with complete removal. More than 28 million tons of rubber were produced in 2017, of which approximately 47% was natural. Since the bulk is synthetic, which is derived from petroleum, the price of natural rubber is determined, to a large extent, by the prevailing global price of crude oil. Asia was the main source of natural rubber, accounting for about 90% of output in 2021. The three largest producers, Thailand , Indonesia, and Malaysia, together account for around 72% of all natural rubber production. Natural rubber
11918-435: The terminal high-energy pyrophosphate. The reaction produces a cis polymer. The initiation step is catalyzed by prenyltransferase , which converts three monomers of isopentenyl pyrophosphate into farnesyl pyrophosphate . The farnesyl pyrophosphate can bind to rubber transferase to elongate a new rubber polymer. The required isopentenyl pyrophosphate is obtained from the mevalonate pathway, which derives from acetyl-CoA in
12036-655: The transition from hunter-gatherer to agricultural societies indicate an initial period of intensification and increasing sedentism ; examples are the Natufian culture in the Levant , and the Early Chinese Neolithic in China. Then, wild stands that had previously been harvested started to be planted, and gradually came to be domesticated. In Eurasia, the Sumerians started to live in villages from about 8,000 BC, relying on
12154-632: The village emerged as a prominent agricultural nucleus, attracting interest through its successful farming practices and abundant harvests. In the early stages of the First Congo War , Kiringye served as a stronghold for the Alliance of Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Congo-Zaire ( Alliance des Forces Démocratiques pour la Libération du Congo-Zaïre ; AFDL). This alliance received support from soldiers from Rwanda and Burundi , who covertly infiltrated
12272-453: The way of the growing crystallites . Crystallization has occurred, for example, when, after days, an inflated toy balloon is found withered at a relatively large remaining volume. Where it is touched, it shrinks because the temperature of the hand is enough to melt the crystals. Vulcanization of rubber creates di- and polysulfide bonds between chains, which limits the degrees of freedom and results in chains that tighten more quickly for
12390-656: The wild aurochs in the areas of modern Turkey and Pakistan some 10,500 years ago. Pig production emerged in Eurasia, including Europe, East Asia and Southwest Asia, where wild boar were first domesticated about 10,500 years ago. In the Andes of South America, the potato was domesticated between 10,000 and 7,000 years ago, along with beans, coca , llamas , alpacas , and guinea pigs . Sugarcane and some root vegetables were domesticated in New Guinea around 9,000 years ago. Sorghum
12508-774: The world's agricultural land is seriously degraded. In recent years there has been a backlash against the environmental effects of conventional agriculture, resulting in the organic , regenerative , and sustainable agriculture movements. One of the major forces behind this movement has been the European Union , which first certified organic food in 1991 and began reform of its Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) in 2005 to phase out commodity-linked farm subsidies, also known as decoupling . The growth of organic farming has renewed research in alternative technologies such as integrated pest management , selective breeding, and controlled-environment agriculture . There are concerns about
12626-664: The world's food is lost from production before reaching the retail level. Modern agronomy , plant breeding , agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers , and technological developments have sharply increased crop yields , but also contributed to 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 climate change , depletion of aquifers , deforestation , antibiotic resistance , and other agricultural pollution . Agriculture
12744-523: The world's food, but large farms are prevalent. The largest 1% of farms in the world are greater than 50 hectares (120 acres) and operate more than 70% of the world's farmland. Nearly 40% of agricultural land is found on farms larger than 1,000 hectares (2,500 acres). However, five of every six farms in the world consist of fewer than 2 hectares (4.9 acres), and take up only around 12% of all agricultural land. Farms and farming greatly influence rural economics and greatly shape rural society , affecting both
12862-481: The world, women make up a large share of the population employed in agriculture. This share is growing in all developing regions except East and Southeast Asia where women already make up about 50 percent of the agricultural workforce. Women make up 47 percent of the agricultural workforce in sub-Saharan Africa, a rate that has not changed significantly in the past few decades. However, the Food and Agriculture Organization of
12980-442: The world. As the cost of natural rubber has risen significantly and rubber products are dense, the shipping methods offering the lowest cost per unit weight are preferred. Depending on destination, warehouse availability, and transportation conditions, some methods are preferred by certain buyers. In international trade, latex rubber is mostly shipped in 20-foot ocean containers. Inside the container, smaller containers are used to store
13098-621: The world. Production is listed in millions of metric tons, based on FAO estimates. Animal husbandry is the breeding and raising of animals for meat, milk, eggs , or wool , and for work and transport. Working animals , including horses, mules , oxen , water buffalo , camels, llamas, alpacas, donkeys, and dogs, have for centuries been used to help cultivate fields, harvest crops, wrangle other animals, and transport farm products to buyers. Livestock production systems can be defined based on feed source, as grassland-based, mixed, and landless. As of 2010 , 30% of Earth's ice- and water-free area
13216-652: Was by the indigenous cultures of Mesoamerica . The earliest archeological evidence of the use of natural latex from the Hevea tree comes from the Olmec culture, in which rubber was first used for making balls for the Mesoamerican ballgame . Rubber was later used by the Maya and Aztec cultures: in addition to making balls, Aztecs used rubber for other purposes, such as making containers and to make textiles waterproof by impregnating them with
13334-621: Was domesticated by the Mayo Chinchipe of the upper Amazon around 3,000 BC. The turkey was probably domesticated in Mexico or the American Southwest. The Aztecs developed irrigation systems, formed terraced hillsides, fertilized their soil, and developed chinampas or artificial islands. The Mayas used extensive canal and raised field systems to farm swampland from 400 BC. In South America agriculture may have begun about 9000 BC with
13452-548: Was domesticated in the Sahel region of Africa by 7,000 years ago. Cotton was domesticated in Peru by 5,600 years ago, and was independently domesticated in Eurasia. In Mesoamerica , wild teosinte was bred into maize (corn) from 10,000 to 6,000 years ago. The horse was domesticated in the Eurasian Steppes around 3500 BC. Scholars have offered multiple hypotheses to explain the historical origins of agriculture. Studies of
13570-736: Was first called 'india rubber,' because it came from the Indies, and the earliest European use of it was to rub out or erase. It is now called India rubber because it rubs out or erases the Indians." In India , commercial cultivation was introduced by British planters, although the experimental efforts to grow rubber on a commercial scale were initiated as early as 1873 at the Calcutta Botanical Garden . The first commercial Hevea plantations were established at Thattekadu in Kerala in 1902. In later years
13688-712: Was later to become the biggest producer of rubber. In the early 1900s, the Congo Free State in Africa was also a significant source of natural rubber latex, mostly gathered by forced labor . King Leopold II's colonial state brutally enforced production quotas due to the high price of natural rubber at the time. Tactics to enforce the rubber quotas included removing the hands of victims to prove they had been killed. Soldiers often came back from raids with baskets full of chopped-off hands. Villages that resisted were razed to encourage better compliance locally. (See Atrocities in
13806-570: Was predominantly inhabited by Fuliiru and Vira agriculturists , as well as some Mbuti pygmies . It constituted an integral part of the Bafuliru Chiefdom , which exerted its authority over diverse regions within the Uvira Territory. During the 1980s, the village gained recognition for its flourishing agricultural sector, which exerted a significant influence on the regional economy. Renowned for its fertile terrain and propitious climate,
13924-584: Was used for producing livestock, with the sector employing approximately 1.3 billion people. Between the 1960s and the 2000s, there was a significant increase in livestock production, both by numbers and by carcass weight, especially among beef, pigs and chickens, the latter of which had production increased by almost a factor of 10. Non-meat animals, such as milk cows and egg-producing chickens, also showed significant production increases. Global cattle, sheep and goat populations are expected to continue to increase sharply through 2050. Aquaculture or fish farming,
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