866 million work in agriculture

Today, some 866 million people work in agriculture - more than a quarter of the global work force - who have added US$3.6 trillion to the economy.Compared to 2000, those figures represent a 78% increase in economic value, produced by 16% fewer people, with Africa posting double that pace of growth.This is according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO) annual statistical yearbook.It comprises of hundreds of pages of organised data covering themes from agricultural employment, agrifood trade, fertiliser and pesticide use around the world as well as environmental and climate factors.It covers more than 245 countries and territories, including Namibia.According to the report, some 4.74 billion hectares of the planet’s surface is agricultural land, including meadows, pastures and crops. “That figure is down 3% from 2000, but down six times as much in per capita terms, with Africa again in the lead.”Crop productionThe production of primary crops, such as sugarcane, maize, wheat and rice, grew by 52% from 2000 to 2020 to reach 9.3 billion tonnes, it said. Vegetable oil production increased by 125% over that period, with palm oil output growing by 236%. Meat output - led by chicken - grew by 45%, while the growth rate for fruits and vegetables was 20% or below.“Sugarcane is the world’s largest crop by volume, with 1.9 billion tonnes annually. Maize is next at 1.2 billion tonnes,” it said. Global food exports have risen to US$1.42 trillion, up by a factor of 3.7 since 2000.Meanwhile, worldwide, the largest food-exporting countries in gross terms are the United States of America, the Netherlands and China. The largest exporters in net terms were Brazil, by far, followed by Argentina and Spain. The largest net importing countries were China, Japan and the United Kingdom.Getting hotterThe report further noted that the average temperature in 2021 was 1.44°C hotter than the average from 1951 to 1980. Europe has had the highest temperature change, followed by Asia, with Oceania reporting by far the least change.The report added that greenhouse gas emissions on agricultural land declined by 4% between 2000 and 2020, with 70% of them generated within the farm gate.“Cattle and sheep meat account for most carbon dioxide emissions, with cattle averaging 50 times more than chicken. The emission intensity of cereals is much lower, although rice emits more than five times more than wheat and coarse grains.”According to the report, the rate of greenhouse gas emissions changes significantly across regions, reflecting large differences in efficiencies of production. For instance, the emission intensity of cattle meat in Africa is almost four times as great as in Europe.

866 million work in agriculture

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Republikein 2025-12-17

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866 million work in agriculture

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