Question

Explain how the use of technology in agriculture can improve productivity and employment in 300 words

Answer 1

Agriculture is a field where modern technology can severely increase yields of crops, increase the speed at which crops grow, and increase the speed at which crops can be harvested, requiring fewer man hours to complete a harvest. First, to increase crop yields, farmers can acquire genetically modified crops. While over time, humans have been able to breed crops to grow bigger and bigger, genetically modified crops are a much quicker solution to get bigger yields. The DNA of a seed is modified so corn for example can grow bigger, but there is the possible downside of mutation. As for the speed at which crops grow, genetic modification is also the answer. Finally, to increase the speed at which crops can be harvested, farmers use several tools, depending on the crops they are harvesting. For corn, farmers use grain combines, vehicles that separate the grain from its stalks. For cranberries, farmers fill the field with water, causing them to rise, and they use mechanical pickers to get them. Simply put, depending on the job at hand, a machine probably exists to complete that job. This decreases the time spent harvesting crops, and therefore decreases the amount of employment required to complete a harvest.