CONVENTIONAL FARMING Men started farming about 12,000 years ago and gradually transformed its techniques. Farming in the 20th century In the past century, farming has been characterised by productivity, the replacement of human labour by mechanisation, and the use of synthetic fertilisers, pesticides, and selective . These have, however, raised the questions of water pollution, genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and negative environmental effects. For this reason, new approaches to agriculture and natural resources have been looked for, and while conventional farming is still prevalent in most developed countries, reaching high levels of productivity and efficiency, new methods are progressing rapidly. enhanced breeding ONLINE RESOURCES The perfect agricultural sisterhood The enclosure system Main features of conventional farming Conventional farming systems vary from farm to farm and from country to country. However, shared characteristics are: the extensive use of synthetic chemicals (herbicides, fertilisers and pesticides) used to increase crop growth and productivity ; genetically modified ; 1 crops rapid technological innovation; large capital investment; large-scale farms; high- crops ; yield 2 high labour efficiency. MORE According to a report by Coldiretti on Eurostat data relating to the period between 2011 and 2019, sales of pesticides have dropped by about 1/3 in the last decade in Italian agriculture, which therefore ranks as the greenest in Europe. 1 DO Find out what company is the world leader in the genetic modification of seeds. 2 Negative effects Though these techniques maximise the potential yield of crops, they usually environmental health and biodiversity. These are the top negative consequences: disregard the soil is compacted by the use of heavy machinery, and this causes ; water-logging synthetic fertilisers are often applied in excessive quantities and therefore pollute the under these agricultural areas; groundwater the long-term use of chemicals may be responsible for pollution, desertification, and the presence of insecticides in food; the massive of antibiotics to in order to control and infections has led to the development of new bacteria which are antibiotic-resistant and potentially harmful both to animals and meat-consumers; administration livestock diseases the practice of focusing on a uniform crop (monocropping) in order to reduce labour costs and simplify can decrease soil fertility, have an impact on biodiversity and make crops susceptible to pathogens. harvesting