Republic of the Philippines

CARCAR CITY COLLEGE

Luanluan Street, Poblacion I, Carcar City, Cebu
Tel # 487-0063/487-9077
carcarcitycollege.edu.ph

Subject : Introduction to Agriculture Discussion No.1-2 : Midterm

Class Schedule : BSA 1C 01:00 – 02:30 PM MW Module 1
BSA 1D 09:00 – 12:00 PM F WK Aug 14-19
BSA 1C 01:00 – 02:30 PM TTh Aug 21-25
BSA 1D 02:30 – 04:00 PM TTh

Topic/s : Introduction to Agriculture

Objectives :

Describe the Dairy

production industry
in the Philippines
2. Illustrate the
reproductive Parts
of a dairy Cattle
3. Explain the Dairy
cattle management
including the
management on
how to
improve and
establish pasture
4. Develop different
preparations of
 Silage
5. Identify the basic
terminologies of
dairy cattle
productio
At the end of this weekly module, you must have:
a. outlined the historical development and evolution of world agriculture;
b. compared the developmental trend of Philippine agriculture; and
c. created a chronological scenario on the evolution of agriculture to modern

1.. ACTIVITIES
Welcome to the First Semester of the Academic Year 2023-2024!

I. ACTIVITY

II. ABSTRACTION

TOPIC

1 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF WORLD

AGRICULTURE

Concept of Agriculture
The word “agriculture” has been derived from two Latin words:
Ager- means land or field
Cultura- means cultivation
The production of crops for economic purpose by cultivating soil.
The branch of applied science which deals with production,
improvement, protection, processing, marketing of crops and animals
by proper utilization of natural resources. The natural resources are
soil, sunlight, air, water, temperature etc.
 The science, art and a business of producing crops and livestock for
economic purposes.

Agriculture as a Science?
It utilizes all modern technologies developed on scientific principles
such as improvement/ breeding, crop production, crop protection,
economics to maximize the yield and profit.
Agriculture as an Art?
It embraces knowledge of the way to perform the operations of the
farm in a skillful manner. It involves physical and mental skill.
Agriculture as a Business?
Agriculture as a business aims at maximum net return through the
management of land, labor, water and capital employing the
knowledge of various science for production of food, feed fiber and
fuel.
Commercialized to run as a business through mechanization.
What is a crop?
Is an organism grown and harvested for obtaining yield, which has
economic value. E.g., rice, fish, cattle, poultry, etc.

BRANCHES OF AGRICULTURE
Plant Sciences- Deals with economic plants’., rice, jute, potato etc.
▪ Horticulture
▪ Agronomy
▪ Forestry
Animal husbandry- Deals with animal production, e.g., cattle, buffalo,
goat, poultry etc.
Veterinary -Deals with the diseases and treatments of animal.
Fisheries- Deals with pisciculture (rearing and managing fishes).
Agricultural engineering- Deals with farm mechanization.
Agricultural economics- Deals with economic management and
marketing of agricultural products.
Agro-forestry- Deals with integrated crop and forest plants production.
Agricultural engineering- Deals with farm mechanization Concept of
Agriculture

EVOLUTION OF AGRICULTURE

1. Primary/ Primitive Stage

Human being came on the earth.
People were helpless and nomad and they had no houses.
They were always afraid of wild animals.
They used to take shelter together in the cave, earth-hole and branch of trees to escape themselves from
the wild animals.
They had no idea about food and crop production and used to live on natural fruits and roots.

2. Hunting/ Old Stone stage

People had learned to save themselves from the wild animals by throwing large sized stones to those
animals.
 They learned to make arms by breaking large sized stones for hunting. They used to eat flesh of wild
animals.
Gradually, women used to collect fruits and roots from near households. Thus, they started to eat fruits and
roots by flesh of wild animals. Women started to wear animal skin.
3. Fire and New Stone Stage
People were able to make fire and prepare improved arms. They got the idea of making fire when they used
to break the large sized stones into small pieces.
They were able to make sharp and pointed arms by rubbing one stone with another.
People learned to burn the flesh of wild animals and thus started to eat burnt flesh. Thus, gradually the
insecure condition of the people was changed.
4. Animal Domestication/ Husbandry Stage
At that stage, men became expert in hunting wild animals.
They used to hunt more than one animal and ate them as per requirement.
Excess and gentle animals were kept for future use. Thus, animal domestication was started. Less stronger
animals like cattle, goat, sheep, dog, etc. were domesticated first.
Women and children used to take care and manage feed for those animals. Thus, animal husbandry was
started first.
They used to eat natural fruits and roots and did not know how to produce them. So, people used to move
from one location to another for their own food and animal feed.
5. Crop Production Stage
After thousands of years, people wanted to settle down in a permanent site, as nomad life was unbearable.
People observed that plants come up from maize seeds kept on the graveyard. Probably women by her
intrinsic insight nurtured the sprouts to harvest near households. Thus, women are the pioneers of
agriculture.
Then people started to use fire and digging land by sticks to prepare garden plots in which they would grow
small grains.
They started cultivation by pointed sticks and branches of trees.

IMPORTANCE OF AGRICULTURE
Agriculture is directly or indirectly contributing in many sectors of our basic needs or livelihoods which are
described under following heads:
1. Food is required for normal growth and energy of the body.
2. Clothes- agriculture provides us fiber to make clothes. In the world, 70% of the fiber comes from
cotton (Gossypium spp.). Other sources are jute, wool, silk, natural fiber etc., which are also
obtained from agriculture.
3. Houses
People gradually felt the necessity of making houses to escape themselves from wild animals, rain,
sunshine, cyclone etc. Maximum housing materials are the products of agriculture. Such as,
timber, bamboo, straw, rope etc.
4. Industry- Agriculture provides raw materials in different industries.
Medicine Industry
Paper Industry
Rubber Industry
Soap, Candle, and Paint Industry
Perfume Industry
Beverage Industry
Bakery
Sugar Industries
Narcotic
Leather Industry
5. Fuel
Fuel of brick fields (timber, jute-stick, dry leaves etc.). Coal, petrol and gasses are obtained from
plant materials.
Biodiesel is one of the new ideas where diesel can be obtained from plant named Jatropha.
6. Earning source
People take agriculture directly or processing of agricultural products as an occupation and thus earn
money.
Around 62% people are directly engaged in agriculture where most of the people are related to crop
enterprises.
Agriculture still employs about 47.5% of total employment of the country.
7. Foreign Currency
Some agricultural products directly or in processed condition are exported and thus earned foreign
currency.
Such as, rice, jute, wheat, tomato, frozen fish, vegetables etc.
8. International Relationship
 By exporting and importing of agricultural commodities a country can establish a good relation with
the foreign countries.
9. Revenue Income
From the rent and taxes of agricultural land, agricultural products, government can earn revenue
income.
Agriculture contributes around 19.29% of total GDP in Bangladesh where crops plants alone
contribute 13.44%.
10. Natural Beauty
Flower, ornamental grasses and plants bring natural beauty, which is the contribution of agriculture.
Such as, roses, jasmine etc.
11. Environmental Balance
Plants liberate O2 and animals liberate CO2 to the atmosphere and thus the gaseous concentration
of the atmosphere is balanced. Agriculture helps in environmental balance by producing plants and
animals.

BEGINNINGS OF EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCE

Many suggest that the beginnings of experimental science started with the work of da Vinci, Galileo
and Newton in astronomy and the physical sciences. Their innovative findings caused a resurgence in
botanical research. Some of the
early botanical and horticultural studies included the following:

Theophrastus (377-288 BC)- was a student of Aristotle and considered to be most significant Greek
horticulturist. He was the first to suggest that roots were responsible for absorbing nutrients. He also
discovered that root pruning encouraged flowering and subsequent fruiting.

Varro (116-20 BC)- developed postharvest storage techniques for fruits.

Dioscorides (AD 40-90)- wrote the authoritative book De Materia Medica which describes roots,
stems, leaves and flowers.

Robert Hooke (1635-1703)- found that living things were made of cells, which lead to the study of cytology.

Rudolph Camerarius (1665-1721)- demonstrated sexuality in plants, thereby providing the start of genetics.

Linnaeus (1707-1778) – developed a simple yet elegant system for the classification of plants called
binomial nomenclature.

Charles Darwin (1809-1882)- better known for his book Origin of Species, also wrote the Power of
Movement in Plants, in which if he described plants’ movement in response to light (phototropism) and
gravity (gravitropism).

Gregor Mendel (1822-1884)- laid the foundation for the science of genetics. Mendel’s work with peas
showed the characteristics of dominant and recessive traits.

Andrew J. Downing (1815-1852)- was the first great American landscape gardener.

Liberty H. Bailey (1858-1954)- is the modern counterpart to Linnaeus.

TOPIC

2 HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND EVOLUTION OF WORLD

AGRICULTURE

Agriculture in the Philippines - Statistics & Facts

The Philippines is primarily an agricultural country with a large portion of Filipinos living in rural areas and
supporting themselves through agricultural activities.

Key Agricultural Subsectors

 Due to its terrain and tropical climate condition, farming and fisheries have been the largest
agricultural sub-sectors in the Philippines. Crop production, particularly of sugarcane, palay or rice,
coconut, and bananas were among the highest nationwide and were also among the top export products.
In recent years, fruits and nuts, along with animal or vegetable fats and oils contributed the largest share of
the total agricultural exports of the country. In terms of livestock, hog, cattle, and goat were the country’s
major products while chicken and duck were the leading poultry products.

On the other hand, the fisheries sector, which is composed of three subsectors: commercial, municipal, and
aquaculture, reflected slow growth in recent years. The export value of principal fishery products from the
country had also been fluctuating over the past decade as the volume of production decreases. Among the
main contributing factors were climate change and the practice of uncontrolled and unsustainable
overfishing.

Challenges in the Agriculture Sector

The slow growth of the agricultural sector in the Philippines had been attributed to the rampant
conversion of arable lands to residential subdivisions, industrial parks, and resorts. Of the 30 million
hectares of land area, only one-third is used for agricultural activities. On top of that, the country’s
geographical location makes it volatile to natural disasters such as flooding and drought, further
contributing to the decrease in production. Investments in technology and innovation are necessary steps
to diversify and transform the country’s agricultural output, along with increased production support and
improved policies that prioritize the needs of farmers.

Philippines is still primarily an agricultural country.

Most citizens still live in rural areas and support themselves through agriculture.
4 sub-sectors of agriculture: farming, fisheries, livestock, and forestry.
Country’s most agricultural crops: rice, corn, coconut, sugarcane, banana, pineapple, coffee,
mangoes, tobacco and abaca.
Secondary crops; peanut, cassava, camote, garlic, onion, cabbage, eggplant, calamansi, rubber,
and cotton.
Export countries: USA, Japan, Europe, and ASEAN countries.
Export products: coconut oil and other products, fruits and vegetables, banana, prawns.
Imported products: unmilled wheat and meslin, oilcake and other soybean residues, malt and malt
flour, urea, flour, meals and pellets of fish, soybeans and whey.

Concerns/ Problems of Agriculture

rampant conversion of agricultural land for commercial uses;
farmer’s continued reliance on chemical-based fertilizers or pesticides;
environmental damage (water pollution, coral reef destruction, forest destruction);
lacks funding of critical projects i.e., irrigation systems;

III. ASSESSMENT

A. Short Response Test. Please answer briefly and concisely the following questions. Please be
guided by the rubrics below.

Areas of 3 2 1
Assessment
Ideas Ideas are very organized Ideas are too general Ideas are vague or unclear
and consistent
Organization Organized beg/mid/end Some organization; No organization; lack
attempt at a beg/mid/end beg/mid/end
Perception Writing shows a clear Writing shows adequate Writing shows little
understanding understanding understanding

1. What are the branches of Agriculture? Explain each and give examples.

B. List down five (5) challenges/ problems in the Philippine Agriculture sector and give possible solutions
to address the
problem.
C. Matching Type: Match the following scientist that corresponded to their contribution in the development
of agriculture.

IV. APPLICATION

Students will be grouped and must able to create a video presentation on the chronological scenario on the
evolution of agriculture to modern agriculture. Please be guided by the rubrics attached. (Instructor
will discuss this section next week)

Congratulations! You have successfully accomplished your first module.

V. REFERENCES

Arteca, R. N. 2015. Introduction to Horticultural Science 2nd edition. Australia: Cengage Learning.
https://www.statista.com/topics/5744/agriculture-industry-in-the-philippines/#dossierKeyfigures
Sharma, R.K., Bhoi, S.K., Pandey, N., Shinde, S. & Pandey, V.K. 2012. Agriculture At a Glance, An
Enhanced Competition Explorer. New Delhi: Daya Publishing House. pg.2-3

Prepared by:

ARNOLD CAPIN VALLESER MSc

Instructor

Checked by:

Noe B. Mejasco, MSc

Program Head, BSA

DOLLY ANN D. CARACA, EdD (CAR)

Director, Quality Assurance and General Education

Approved:

LEONARDO E. LACOSTALES, PhD

Dean for Academic Affairs