Correct Answer: (e) None of the above/More than one of the above
Solution:Efficient irrigation, quality seeds, use of pesticides and use of fertilizers all of these are important to increase productivity in agriculture. Hence, the correct answer is option (e). Productivity can be measured at many different levels. For instance, the production systems of a single farm, a multi-farm cooperative, a region, a country or even the planet can all be measured based on agricultural productivity. On a country level, agricultural productivity growth measures agricultural exports versus imports. A government that can sustain a higher level of agricultural exports supports a more robust economic growth rate, becomes more competitive globally, and maintains more sustainable food prices for its population.
The "Green Revolution" of the 1960s and 70s was the most recent period of significant growth in agricultural productivity as the use of chemically-based fertilizers and pesticides plus rapid advancements in plant breeding allowed farmers to boost their production rates significantly, meeting the food demands of growing populations while lessening the need on land use, labor and other resources.
In recent years, farmers in developed countries have experienced a slower productivity growth rate because their agricultural output levels are already so high. Simply put, farmers in countries like the U.S. and U.K. are already farming using highly efficient practices making it difficult to improve upon their already high farm productivity rates. But at the same time, farmers in developing regions of the world, like Asia, with already comparatively low agricultural productivity rates due to slower adoption of technological innovation, are seeing slowdowns in the growth of their productivity rates mainly due to the adverse effects of greenhouse gases inducing climate change weather extremes.
