Which of the following developments helps to explain the change in agriculture depicted in the graph?

Question: Which of the following developments helps to explain the change in agriculture depicted in the graph?

The graph below shows the percentage of land used for agriculture in different regions of the world from 1961 to 2016. As you can see, there is a clear trend of decreasing agricultural land in most regions, except for Africa and Oceania. What are some of the factors that contribute to this change in land use? Let's explore some possible explanations in this blog post.

One of the main drivers of the decline in agricultural land is the increase in urbanization. As more people move to cities, they need less land for farming and more land for housing, infrastructure, and services. Urbanization also reduces the rural labor force and increases the demand for food imports. According to the World Bank, the percentage of people living in urban areas rose from 34% in 1960 to 56% in 2019, and is projected to reach 68% by 2050.

Another factor that influences the change in agricultural land is the improvement in agricultural productivity. Thanks to advances in technology, innovation, and research, farmers can produce more food with less land, water, and inputs. For example, the use of fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, mechanization, biotechnology, and genetic engineering has increased crop yields and reduced crop losses. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the global average cereal yield increased from 1.4 tonnes per hectare in 1961 to 3.9 tonnes per hectare in 2019.

A third factor that affects the change in agricultural land is the impact of environmental degradation and climate change. Agriculture is both a cause and a victim of these phenomena, as it contributes to deforestation, soil erosion, water pollution, biodiversity loss, greenhouse gas emissions, and desertification, but also suffers from droughts, floods, pests, diseases, and extreme weather events. These factors reduce the availability and quality of land for agriculture and force farmers to abandon or relocate their farms. According to the FAO, about 33% of the world's land is moderately to highly degraded due to erosion, salinization, compaction, acidification, and chemical pollution.

In conclusion, the change in agriculture depicted in the graph can be explained by a combination of social, economic, technological, and environmental factors that affect the supply and demand of land for farming. These factors vary across regions and time periods, but generally result in a decrease in agricultural land use. However, this does not mean that agriculture is less important or less challenging than before. On the contrary, agriculture still plays a vital role in food security, poverty reduction, and sustainable development, and faces many new opportunities and threats in the 21st century.

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