This chapter examines the changes that have occurred in farming over the past 10,000 years and which continue today. Agriculture and food play an important role in the economic systems of all countries and regions. Indeed, crop and animal domestication — integral to the practices of farming — were essential for the development of human civilizations. Agricultural systems in different regions of the world differ in their productivity, and in the modern world, scientific and technological discoveries are responsible for many of those differences. Whereas modern science-driven agriculture is highly productive, especially in developed countries, a billion smallholder farmers in developing countries are confined to small farms where productivity is low and where they produce just enough food to supply themselves with the bare essentials of life.
