Farming: Cultivation of Crops and Animal Husbandry for Food and Raw Materials

Farming is the practice of growing crops and raising animals to produce food and other raw materials used by people. It is a central activity within agriculture and differs from wild food gathering because it involves deliberate planting, breeding and land management.

Early beginnings

People began to cultivate plants and tame animals several thousand years ago during the period known as the Neolithic. This change from a mobile lifestyle to one based on settled life came as many groups reduced or stopped nomadic hunting and instead became permanent settlers in villages and towns. Alongside this shift came the domestication of species that could be farmed reliably.

Where farming first developed

Archaeological and genetic evidence point to regions in and around the Fertile Crescent as one of the earliest places where systematic farming took root. The Fertile Crescent includes river valleys such as the Nile Valley and parts of Mesopotamia, as well as areas of the eastern Mediterranean. Modern states that cover parts of this ancient zone include Iraq, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Lebanon, Israel, and Egypt.

Some of the first plants grown deliberately by people were staples such as wheat and barley. Early farmers probably combined intentional planting with continued use of wild foods for a long transitional period.

Why people took up farming

There is no single agreed explanation for why farming began. Climate and soil conditions may have made certain areas more suitable for growing food, encouraging people to stay in one place. Over time, managed cultivation could support far more people on the same area of land than a community of hunter-gatherers could, making settled food production attractive for growing communities.

Long-term effects

The adoption and spread of farming enabled denser human settlements and played a major role in the gradual growth of the human population. It also changed social organization, technology, and land use patterns — developments that set the stage for cities and many other features of later societies.