Econ 102

Interactive No. 6 (Final Term)

Instruction: Discuss your answers comprehensively in 500 words only.

(70 points)

1. The sectors of the economy play a very important role in our life. Discuss the
relevance and connection of agricultural sector and industrial sectors.

Agriculture is an important sector of the economy. Agriculture provides food grains,

fibers, edible oils, and fats to meet our nutritional needs. It produces fertilizer for crops
and supplies raw material for industries e.g., jute, cotton, etc. It is also a source of
income generation for the rural population through various activities like the cultivation
of cash crops, vegetable farming, etc.

The industrial sector takes raw materials from agriculture and produces goods and
services for people to meet their demands. Industries become profit-making units only
by the process of manufacturing. The products made from agriculture are food, clothing,
and shelter for ordinary people. These sectors have an interdependence where each
one depends on the other.

The agricultural sector has a connection with the industrial sector. Agriculture is the
basis of life; without agriculture, there can be no society or economy. Without
agriculture, there can be no industry.

This is very important to acknowledge. There will be no industrial

exportation/importation without a food surplus produced in the agricultural sector.
Industry either uses agriculture as its input or exports as its output. Throughout the
world, it has been documented that industries need raw materials from primary sources
and not secondary sources such as scrap metals.

The economic transformation of the agricultural sector and the transformation of its
economy to an industrial nation are measured by their export earnings. A country with a
large population can only be economically important if it has a big agricultural
production to meet the needs of its people and earn money from international trade.

The economic transformation of agriculture is dependent on, and very closely related
to, changes in technological levels particularly in the following three areas:
1. machinery for planting;

2. machinery for harvesting, various types of harvesting equipment, and self-propelled

combines;

3. processing methods such as threshing, grading, drying, cleaning, and packing or

preserving food products.

At present, there is a strong relationship between agriculture and the industrial

sector. Moreover, there is a close relationship between the agricultural revolution and
the industrial revolution.

The agricultural revolution has helped to drive industry; that is, in order to
develop industries, farmers need to produce more food so they can concentrate on
producing for other sectors of society rather than eat what they produce. It, therefore,
goes without saying that the new agricultural technology has fueled industrial
development in many countries, improved social well-being, and helped people lead
longer lives.

With the introduction of mechanization into agriculture, farmers have increased

their output and they have a surplus to export. Once again, exporting helps to further
fuel industry – those industries that import raw materials/importation, or manufacturing
industries that produce for other sectors of society.

During the agricultural revolution, farming has undergone tremendous changes in

its strategies and technologies. In agriculture, there are not only changes in technology
and strategy but also changes in political structures around the ownership,
management, or use of land. The different types of land ownerships have had varying
impacts on production systems and their outcomes.