Agriculture in Europe - Essay Example

243August Assignment Agriculture forms a part of most of Europe’s livelihood; the open spaces, fertile land, forestry and animals provide for excellent scope in the field of agriculture and development and have contributed significantly towards the rise of gross domestic product as well. Some of the main crops grown include apples, cotton, grapes and wines, potatoes, olives, sugar, tobacco and rye; sheep and fish form an important aspect of farming in the United Kingdom and in Norway; moreover, tulips, sunflower seeds, and timber are other products that are grown and exported to other countries. Since Europe consists of the world famous country sides, laden with rich and fertile soil as well as a history of popularity in the farming sector, a great portion of the revenue for people also depends on farming. As a continent, Europe is almost as big as the whole of the United States of America and thus the size of the land that they possess is almost the same; however the agricultural production carried out in Europe is much larger as compared to the whole of the United States of America. As compared to other countries in Europe, Spain has a very dry climate thus requiring a great amount of water facilities and irrigation in order to grow crops. Spain and Italy together produce almost half of Europe’s olive oil and wine. Pears are also grown there and exported to other countries. (Iglesias, Ana, Luis Garrote, Marta Moneo, and Sonia Quiroga) Almost 35% of the area of land in France has been set aside for agriculture depicting the country’s need for and dedication towards the sector. Most of France’s exports including grapes, wines and sunflower seeds go to the United States of America. Germany and Switzerland are countries that need to import their food items from other countries because they focus mainly on the industrial and not the agricultural sector. Thus, more of their workforce is involved in the tertiary sector. Switzerland however has engaged itself a great deal in poultry and dairy farming, being one of the largest producers and exporters of dairy products and rearing of animals like sheep for wool. Iceland undergoes an extreme climate; almost no heat reaches the country and thus it has engaged itself mainly in rearing fish; cod being the largest produce. It exports cod to almost all parts of the world. Countries like Czech Republic and Austria are self-sufficient in terms of producing and consuming agriculture due to the large amount of land devoted to farming. Poland on the other hand, produces a great deal of food crops however not enough to feed its own population due to the irregular sizes of farms and the lack of fertile land in a uniform manner. Only about 19% of the people in Poland are engaged in agriculture because the country lacks proper industrial equipment as well as facilities to increase the number in the primary sector. (Utah State University) If there is one country that has significantly reduced its agricultural production, or to rephrase, faced a decline in the amount of agricultural production due to external hazards, it is Belarus. The country suffered the Chernobyl disaster and thus the nuclear fumes spread toxic fumes and wastes to the soil making it thoroughly infertile in this part of Europe. Since the year 1986 when the disaster struck, the arable land in the country faced a decline of almost 10% also contaminating the soil as well as the water present towards the southern part of the country. Yugoslavia is a self-sufficient country but at the same time, the country does not produce anything to be exported elsewhere. Furthermore, it is completely dependent on farming; i.e. its economy is almost fully based in the primary sector because most people are engaged in farming and they tend to produce and consume everything personally, from food to clothing. Macedonia, Bulgaria, Greece and Turkey are some of the largest producers and exporters of agriculture in Europe. Turkey has almost 46% of its workforce engaged in the agricultural sector followed by Macedonia at 36%. Bulgaria and Greece have almost 20% if not more of its workforce engaged in agricultural production. (Utah State University) It must be noted that Europe’s intake on imports is very high as well because in the year 2003 itself, it imported agricultural products worth at least $6.1 billion from the United States of America. At the same time, Europe produces some of the finest agricultural products including dairy and other crops used for clothing etc. However, Europe rears a great deal of livestock which have been causing issues of concern with respect to the environment. Due to the rise in production of modern animals as well as rearing them for production has been causing an increase in solid liquid as well as gaseous emissions causing a harmful impact on the environment. (Environmental Impact of Livestock Farming in Europe) Ground water in many parts of the continent have been contaminated due to excessive application of manure which contains nitrogen and phosphorous. Furthermore, the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere referred to as bio-aerosols from exhaust fans and industrial equipments have caused problems to the quality of air. It could be said that the economy of Europe on the whole has boosted because of agricultural production but the environmental impact of agriculture has lessened the quality of air, water, soil as well as aspects of the biodiversity present in the country. The European Union however has managed to counter this issues extremely well - the EU has begun to promote organic farming and not only does this form of farming help in protecting the environment but it also involves an increase in production and thus heightening the level of agricultural production and helping the economy to continue developing further. Organic farming involves a procedural method; farmers are trained well in order to engage in the same and the goal is to protect the environment ultimately – the inputs of farming are regulated as well as specific measurements are taken for the required level of inputs in order to calculate the effects on the environment and thus mitigate anything hazardous. It has been found after a close observation on organic farming, that it has actually benefited not only the environment but also the government in managing the amount of finance and investment in the sector. The ecosystem present in many parts of the continent has improved greatly, because a higher diversity of wildlife is able to sustain itself because of the decline in contamination of soil, water and air. Farmers are able to be more responsive and respect the flora and fauna around their lands and farms. Furthermore, organic farming is able to better retain the fertility of the soil and make it richer for crop production. This is because a great deal of organic matter is being used instead of farmers relying on pesticides and fertilizers and thus less harm is being caused to both the crops produced as well as the soil. Soil erosion has also lessened because of organic farming according to research. As discussed earlier, both ground as well as surface water has been affected greatly due to agricultural production. However, with the introduction of organic farming, the detrimental effects to the environment have decreased leading the water to be much purer. The number of pollutants in the water decrease due to the lack of fertilizers and pesticides as well. The environmental impact that conventional farming methods have on the air are alarming due to the emission of a large number of greenhouse gases. This however has met a decrease due to the adoption of organic farming because of air contamination due to pesticides is much lesser due to organic methods. The treatment of waste material and proper facilities in farming will further help to reduce the air pollutants. For example, a number of industries that process the crops and get them ready for consumption emit harmful gases into the air. Even though these industries assist farming and agriculture in Europe greatly because of their advanced methods of processing and manufacturing, they deplete the quality of air and thus they need to be well treated before emitting harmful gases into the air. Organic farming assists in not processing foodstuff and this thus reduces the depletion of quality of air. (Stolze, M., A. Piorr, A. Haring, and S. Dabbert) Other factors that include the betterment of the environment include proper regulation and management of farm inputs and outputs, understanding the level of efficiency of various farming methods, taking proper care of animals and reaching out for not only their welfare but also their effect towards the environment and thus taking care of their needs and their produce; keeping an account of the quality of agriculture hence produced and understanding how the same affects the economy of the continent of Europe. To conclude with, a summary of the effects of agriculture on the economy as well as the environment of Europe has been further discussed; The economy of Europe is one of the most booming economies in the world and it must be understood that agricultural production being so high in almost all the countries within the continent is what has helped in this rise through the years. Europe has always been one of the continents laden with fertile lands and country sides however the engagement of a great portion of the economy in agriculture is what has led to the rise in production as well as the great amount of exports to the rest of the world. Most countries present within Europe have managed to retain a high ranking in agricultural production as well as the gross domestic product due to the adoption of various techniques into the field of agriculture as well as the devotion towards farming of crops and rearing of animals in an advanced manner. The farming sector does not form a part of simply the primary sector but also the secondary as well as the tertiary. This is because not only do the countries farm and grow crops and other materials but also through training and investment have been able to engage in proper marketing as well as export of crops. Agriculture is taught as a subject in schools and colleges and students partake a keen interest in studying the subject as compared to countries like India where agriculture production is considered to be a job of the poor. (Stolze, M., A. Piorr, A. Haring, and S. Dabbert) Farming and agriculture comes at a cost – even though the production ultimately provides for goods to be exported as well as consumed within the country, a great amount of wastes are also produced in the process. Animals tend to give rise to wastes like faeces which if not properly disposed off, harm the environment. They often mix with water bodies, contaminating not only the water but also subsequently the soil. Furthermore, fertilizers and pesticides are often applied to the crops in order to boost production; however they tend to release anti-oxidants into the atmosphere causing issues and decreasing the quality of air. The effluents given out in the atmosphere due to agricultural production have been causing problems to air, water, soil, biodiversity as well as to human beings and thus efforts must be taken in order to ensure that there is a distance between farms and residential areas; that the wastes excreted are properly disposed off so as to not create problems for other animals, humans or degrade the quality of soil and water; and more importantly, proper government assistance in the form of agricultural engineers as well as trained farmers have been provided in order to decrease this problem. Works Cited Iglesias, Ana, Luis Garrote, Marta Moneo, and Sonia Quiroga. "Impacts of Climate Change in Agriculture in Europe. PESETA-Agriculture Study." JRC Scientific and Technical Reports (2009): n. pag. Print. Utah State University, ed. "European Agriculture." Agriculture in the Classroom. N.p.: n.p., n.d. N. pag. Www.agclassroom.org/ut. Web. 23 Aug. 2012. . "Environmental Impact of Livestock Farming in Europe : Summary." Environmental Impact of Livestock Farming in Europe : Summary. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Aug. 2012. . Stolze, M., A. Piorr, A. Haring, and S. Dabbert. "The Environmental Impacts of Organic Farming in Europe." Organic Farming in Europe 6 (n.d.): n. pag. Print. Read More