WASHINGTON: The agriculture
dependent population of India grew by a whopping 50 per cent between 1980 and
2011, the highest for any country during this period, followed by China with 33
per cent, while that of the United States dropped by 37 per cent as a result of
large scale mechanization, a latest report has said.
"Between 1980 and 2011, the
economically active agricultural populations of China and India grew by 33 and
50 per cent, respectively, due to overall population growth," the
Worldwatch Institute said in its report on Wednesday.
"The economically active
agricultural population of the United States, on the other hand, declined by 37
per cent as a result of large-scale mechanization, improved crop varieties, fertilizers,
pesticides, and federal subsidies — all of which contributed to economies of
scale and consolidation in US agriculture," it said.
The global agricultural population
— defined as individuals dependent on agriculture, hunting, fishing, and forestry
for their livelihood — accounted for over 37 per cent of the world's population
in 2011, the most recent year for which data are available.
This is a decrease of 12 per cent
from 1980, when the world's agricultural and non-agricultural populations were
roughly the same size.
Although the agricultural
population shrunk as a share of total population between 1980 and 2011, it grew
numerically from 2.2 billion to 2.6 billion people during this period, writes
Worldwatch Senior Fellow Sophie Wenzlau in the Institute's latest Vital Signs
Online trend.
According to the report, between
1980 and 2011, Africa's agricultural population grew by 63 per cent, and its
non-agricultural population grew by 221 per cent.
Oceania's agricultural population
grew by 49 per cent, and its non-agricultural population grew by 65 per cent.
Asia's agricultural population grew
by 20 per cent, and its non-agricultural population grew by 134 per cent, it
said.
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