Agriculture, also called farming or husbandry, is the cultivation of animals, plants,fungi, and other life forms [1] for

food, fiber, biofuel, drugs and other products used to sustain and enhance human life. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the development of civilization. The study of agriculture is known as agricultural science. The history of agriculture dates back thousands of years, and its development has been driven and defined by greatly different climates, cultures, and technologies. However, all farming generally relies on techniques to expand and maintain the lands that are suitable for raising domesticated species. For plants, this usually requires some form of irrigation, although there are methods of dryland farming; pastoral herding on rangelandis still the most common means of raising livestock. In the developed world, industrial agriculture based on large-scale monoculture has become the dominant system of modern farming, although there is growing support for sustainable agriculture (e.g.permaculture or organic agriculture). Until the Industrial Revolution, the vast majority of the human population labored in agriculture. Pre-industrial agriculture was typically subsistence agriculture in which farmers raised most of their crops for their own consumption instead of cash crops for trade. A remarkable shift in agricultural practices has occurred over the past century in response to new technologies, and the development of world markets. This also led to technological improvements in agricultural techniques, such as the Haber-Bosch method for synthesizing ammonium nitrate which made the traditional practice of recyclingnutrients with crop rotation and animal manure less necessary. Modern agronomy, plant breeding, agrochemicals such as pesticides and fertilizers, and technological improvements have sharply increased yields from cultivation, but at the same time have caused widespread ecological damage and negative human health effects. Selective breeding and modern practices in animal husbandry have similarly increased the output of meat, but have raised concerns about animal welfare and the health effects of the antibiotics, growth hormones, and other chemicals commonly used in industrial meat production. Genetically Modified Organisms are an increasing component of agriculture today, although they are banned in several countries. Agricultural food production and water management is targeted as an increasingly global issue that is fostering debate on a number of issues. Significant degradation of land and water resources, including the depletion of aquifers, has been seen in recent decades, and the effects of global warming on agriculture and of agriculture on global warming are still not fully known. The major agricultural products can be broadly grouped into foods, fibers, fuels, and raw materials. Specific foods include cereals(grains), vegetables, fruits, oils, meat and spices. Fibers include cotton, wool, hemp, silk and flax. Raw materials include lumber andbamboo. Other useful materials are produced by plants, such as resins, dyes, drugs, perfume, biofuels and ornamental products such as cut flowers and nursery plants. Over one third of the world's workers are employed in agriculture, second only to the services sector, although the percentages of agricultural workers in developed countries has decreased significantly over the past several centuries. Agricultural practices such as irrigation, crop rotation, fertilizers, pesticides and thedomestication of livestock were developed long ago, but have made great progress in the past century. The history of agriculture has played a major role in human history, as agricultural progress has been a crucial factor in worldwide socio-economic change.Division of labour in agricultural societies made commonplace specializations rarely seen in hunter-gatherer cultures, which allowed the growth of towns and cities, and the complex societies we call civilizations. When farmers became capable of producing food beyond the needs of their own families, others in their society were freed to devote themselves to projects other than food acquisition. Historians and anthropologists have long argued that the development of agriculture made civilization possible. [7] The total world populationprobably never exceeded 15 million inhabitants before the development of agriculture. According to Jared Diamond, the costs of agriculture were: "the average daily number of work hours increased, nutrition deteriorated, [8] infectious disease and body wear increased, and lifespan shortened."

Prehistoric origins[edit source | editbeta]

Forest gardening, a plant-based food production system, is thought to be the world's oldest agroecosystem. Forest gardens originated in prehistoric times along jungle-clad river banks and in the wet foothills of monsoon regions. In the gradual process of a family improving their immediate environment, useful tree and vine species were identified, protected and improved whilst undesirable species were eliminated. Eventually superior foreign species were selected and [10] incorporated into the family's garden.
[9]

Neolithic[edit source | editbeta]

Further information: Neolithic Revolution

Threshing of grain in ancient Egypt

The Fertile Crescent of the West Asia first saw the domestication of animals, starting the Neolithic Revolution. Between 10,000 and 13,000 years ago, the ancestors of modern cattle, sheep, goats and pigs were domesticated in this area. The gradual transition from wild harvesting to deliberate cultivation happened independently in several areas around the [11] globe. Agriculture allowed for the support of an increased population, leading to larger societies and eventually the development of cities. It also created the need for greater organization of political power (and the creation of social stratification), as decisions had to be made regarding labor and harvest allocation and access rights to water and land. Agriculture bred immobility, as populations settled down for long periods of time, which led to the accumulation of material [12] goods. Early Neolithic villages show evidence of the ability to process grain, and the Near East is the ancient home of the ancestors ofwheat, barley and peas. There is evidence of the cultivation of figs in the Jordan Valley as long as 11,300 years ago, and cereal (grain) production in Syria approximately 9,000 years ago. During the same period, farmers in China began to [11] farm rice and millet, using man-made floods and fires as part of their cultivation regimen. Fiber crops were domesticated as early as food crops, with China domesticating hemp, cotton being developed independently in Africa and South America [13] and the Near East domesticating flax. The use of soil amendments, including manure, fish, compost and ashes, appears to have begun early, and developed independently in several areas of the world, including Mesopotamia, the Nile Valley and [14] eastern Asia.

Roman harvesting machine

Squash was grown in Mexico nearly 10,000 years ago, while maize-like plants, derived from the wild teosinte, began to be [11] seen at around 9,000 years ago. The derivation of teosinte into modern corn was slow, however, and it took until 5,500 to 6,000 years ago to turn into what we know today as maize. It then gradually spread across North America and was the major [15] crop of Native Americans at the time of European exploration. Beanswere domesticated around the same time, and together these three plants formed theThree Sisters nutritional foundation of many native populations in North and Central [16] America. Combined with peppers, these crops provided a balanced diet for much of the continent. Grapes were first grown for wineapproximately 8,000 years ago, in the Southern Caucasus, and by 3000 BC had spread to the Fertile Crescent, the [17] Jordan Valley and Egypt. Agriculture advanced to Europe slightly later, reaching the northeast of the continent from the east around 4000 BC. The idea that agriculture spread to Europe, rather than independently developing there, has led to two main hypotheses. The first is a "wave of advance", which holds that agriculture traveled slowly and steadily across the continent, while the second, [18] "population pulse" theory, holds that it moved in jumps. Also around 6000 years ago, horses first began to be domesticated in the Eurasian steppes. Initially used for food, it was quickly discovered that they were useful for field work [19] and carrying goods and people. Around 5,000 years ago, sunflowers were first cultivated in North America, while South [11] America's Andes region was developing the potato. A minor center of domestication, the indigenous people of the eastern US appear

INDUSTRIAL
Historical development and future prospects[edit source | editbeta]
Main article: History of agriculture The birth of industrial agriculture more or less coincides with that of the Industrial Revolution in general. The identification of nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus (referred to by the acronym NPK) as critical factors in plant growth led to the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers, making possible more intensive types of agriculture. The discovery ofvitamins and their role in animal nutrition, in the first two decades of the 20th century, led to vitamin supplements, which in the 1920s allowed certain livestock to be raised indoors, reducing their exposure to adverse natural elements. The discovery of antibiotics andvaccines facilitated raising livestock in concentrated, controlled animal feed operations by reducing diseases caused by crowding. Chemicals developed for use in World War II gave rise to synthetic pesticides. Developments in shipping networks and technology have made long-distance distribution of agricultural produce feasible. Agricultural production across the world doubled four times between 1820 and 1975 to feed a global population of one [2] billion human beings in 1800 and 6.5 billion in 2002. During the same period, the number of people involved in farming
[1]

dropped as the process became more automated. In the 1930s, 24 percent of the American population worked in agriculture compared to 1.5 percent in 2002; in 1940, each farm worker supplied 11 consumers, whereas in 2002, each [2] worker supplied 90 consumers. The number of farms has also decreased, and their ownership is more concentrated. In the U.S., four companies kill 81 percent of cows, 73 percent of sheep, 57 percent of pigs, and produce 50 percent of chickens, [3] cited as an example of "vertical integration" by the president of the U.S. National Farmers' Union. In 1967, there were one [4] million pig farms in America; as of 2002, there were 114,000, with 80 million pigs (out of 95 million) killed each year on [2] factory farms, according to the U.S. National Pork Producers Council. According to the Worldwatch Institute, 74 percent of [5] the world's poultry, 43 percent of beef, and 68 percent of eggs are produced this way. According to Denis Avery of the agribusiness funded Hudson Institute, Asia increased its consumption of pork by 18 million [6] tons in the 1990s. As of 1997, the world had a stock of 900 million pigs, which Avery predicts will rise to 2.5 billion pigs by [6] 2050. He told the College of Natural Resources at the University of California, Berkeley that three billion pigs will thereafter [7] be needed annually to meet demand. He writes: "For the sake of the environment, we had better hope those hogs are [6] raised in big, efficient confinement systems."

[citation needed]

British agricultural revolution[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: British Agricultural Revolution The British agricultural revolution describes a period of agricultural development in Britain between the 16th century and the mid-19th century, which saw a massive increase in agricultural productivity and net output. This in turn supported unprecedented population growth, freeing up a significant percentage of the workforce, and thereby helped drive the Industrial Revolution. How this came about is not entirely clear. In recent decades, historians cited four key changes in agricultural practices, enclosure, mechanization, four-field crop rotation, and selective breeding, and gave credit to a [8] relatively few individuals.

Challenges and issues[edit source | editbeta]

See also: Agricultural policy, Agribusiness, and Factory farming The challenges and issues of industrial agriculture for global and local society, for the industrial agriculture sector, for the individual industrial agriculture farm, and for animal rights include the costs and benefits of both current practices and [9][10] proposed changes to those practices. This is a continuation of thousands of years of the invention and use of technologies in feeding ever growing populations. [W]hen hunter-gatherers with growing populations depleted the stocks of game and wild foods across the Near East, they were forced to introduce agriculture. But agriculture brought much longer hours of work and a less rich diet than huntergatherers enjoyed. Further population growth among shifting slash-and-burn farmers led to shorter fallow periods, falling yields and soil erosion. Plowing and fertilizers were introduced to deal with these problems - but once again involved longer hours of work and degradation of soil resources(Boserup, The Conditions of Agricultural Growth, Allen and Unwin, 1965, expanded and updated in Population and Technology, Blackwell, 1980.). While the point of industrial agriculture is lower cost products to create greater productivity thus a higher standard of living as measured by available goods and services, industrial methods have side effects both good and bad. Further, industrial agriculture is not some single indivisible thing, but instead is composed of numerous separate elements, each of which can be modified, and in fact is modified in response to market conditions, government regulation, and scientific advances. So the question then becomes for each specific element that goes into an industrial agriculture method or technique or process: What bad side effects are bad enough that the financial gain and good side effects are outweighed? Different interest groups not only reach different conclusions on this, but also recommend differing solutions, which then become factors in changing [9][10] both market conditions and government regulations.

Agriculture in India
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Several festivals relate to Agriculture in India. Holi - the festival of colours - is celebrated across India as the coming of spring. It is celebrated with bonfires, meeting friends and strangers, playful painting each other with colours.

Agriculture in India has a significant history. Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2009, about 50% of the total workforce.[1][2] The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the country's broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India.
Contents
[hide]

1 Overview 2 History

o o

2.1 Agriculture and colonialism 2.2 Indian agriculture since 1947

3 Irrigation 4 Accomplishments 5 Problems

5.1 Farmer suicides

6 Initiatives 7 Maps 8 See also 9 Bibliography 10 References 11 External links

Overview[edit source | editbeta]

Per 2010 FAO world agriculture statistics, India is the world's largest producer of many fresh fruits and vegetables, milk, major spices, select fresh meats, select fibrous crops such as jute, several staples such as millets and castor oil seed. India is the second largest producer of wheat and rice, the world's major food staples.[3] India is also the world's second or third largest producer of several dry fruits, agriculture-based textile raw materials, roots and tuber crops, pulses, farmed fish, eggs, coconut, sugarcane and numerous vegetables. India ranked within the world's five largest producers of over 80% of agricultural produce items, including many cash crops such as coffee and cotton, in 2010.[3] India is also one of the world's five largest producers of livestock and poultry meat, with one of the fastest growth rates, as of 2011.[4] One report from 2008 claimed India's population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and wheat. [5] Other recent studies claim India can easily feed its growing population, plus produce wheat and rice for global exports, if it can reduce food staple spoilage, improve its infrastructure and raise its farm productivity to those achieved by other developing countries such as Brazil and China.[6][7] In fiscal year ending June 2011, with a normal monsoon season, Indian agriculture accomplished an all-time record production of 85.9 million tonnes of wheat, a 6.4% increase from a year earlier. Rice output in India also hit a new record at 95.3 million tonnes, a 7% increase from the year earlier.[8] Lentils and many other food staples production also increased year over year. Indian farmers, thus produced about 71 kilograms of wheat and 80 kilograms of rice for every member of Indian population in 2011. The per capita supply of rice every year in India is now higher than the per capita consumption of rice every year in Japan. [9] India exported around 2 million metric tonnes of wheat and 2.1 million metric tonnes of rice in 2011 to Africa, Nepal, Bangladesh and other regions around the world.[8]

Aquaculture and catch fishery is amongst the fastest growing industries in India. Between 1990 and 2010, Indian fish capture harvest doubled, while aquaculture harvest tripled. In 2008, India was the world's sixth largest producer of marine and freshwater capture fisheries, and the second largest aquaculture farmed fish producer. India exported 600,000 metric tonnes of fish products to nearly half of all the world's countries.[10][11][12] India has shown a steady average nationwide annual increase in the kilograms produced per hectare for various agricultural items, over the last 60 years. These gains have come mainly from India's green revolution, improving road and power generation infrastructure, knowledge of gains and reforms.[13] Despite these recent accomplishments, agriculture in India has the potential for major productivity and total output gains, because crop yields in India are still just 30 % to 60% of the best sustainable crop yields achievable in the farms of developed as well as other developing countries.[14] Additionally, losses after harvest due to poor infrastructure and unorganised retail cause India to experience some of the highest food losses in the world. [15][16]

History[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: History of agriculture in India The invention of agriculture is one of the great revolution of human history. It includes the food production and domestication which led to significant changes in human society, population increase and biological changes. However, this revolution is best demonstrated at Margaretha (Period-I Neolithic period) in which the sense of the revolution ultimately set the platform for the rise of urbanisation in the Indian Subcontinent.[17] In the period of the Neolithic revolution (roughly 8000-5000 BCE.), agriculture was far from the dominant mode of support for human societies. But those who adopted it, have survived and increased, and passed their techniques of production to the next generation. This transformation of knowledge was the base of further development in agriculture.[18] Vedic literature provides some of the earliest written record of agriculture in India. Rigveda hymns, for example, describes plowing, fallowing, irrigation, fruit and vegetable cultivation. Other historical evidence suggests rice and cotton were cultivated in the Indus Valley, and plowing patterns from the Bronze Age have been excavated at Kalibangan in Rajasthan.[19] Bhumivargaha, another ancient Indian Sanskrit text, suggested to be 2500 years old, classifies agricultural land into twelve categories: urvara (fertile), ushara (barren), maru (desert), aprahata (fallow), shadvala (grassy), pankikala (muddy), jalaprayah (watery), kachchaha (land contiguous to water), sharkara (full of pebbles and pieces of limestone), sharkaravati (sandy), nadimatruka (land watered from a river), and devamatruka (rainfed). Some archaeologists believe rice was a domesticated crop along the banks of the Indian river ganges in the sixth millennium BC. So were species of winter cereals (barley, oats, and wheat) and legumes (lentil and chickpea) grown in Northwest India before the sixth millennium BC. Other crops cultivated in India 3000 to 6000 years ago, include sesame, linseed, safflower, mustards, castor, mung bean, black gram, horse gram, pigeonpea, field pea, grass pea (khesari), fenugreek, cotton, jujube, grapes, dates, jackfruit, mango, mulberry, and black plum. Indian peasants had also domesticated cattle, buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs and horses thousands of years ago. Some scientists claim agriculture in India was widespread in the Indian peninsula, some 30005000 years ago, well beyond the fertile plains of the north. For example, one study reports twelve sites in the southern Indian states of Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh providing clear evidence of agriculture of pulses (Vigna radiata and Macrotyloma uniflorum), millet-grasses (Brachiaria ramosa and Setaria verticillata), wheats (Triticum diococcum, Triticum durum/aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare), hyacinth bean (Lablab purpureus), pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum), finger millet (Eleusine coracana), cotton (Gossypium sp.), linseed (Linum sp.), as well as gathered fruits of Ziziphus and two Cucurbitaceae.[20][21] Some claim Indian agriculture began by 9000 BP as a result of early cultivation of plants, and domestication of crops and animals.[22] Settled life soon followed with implements and techniques being developed for agriculture.[23][24] Double monsoons led to two harvests being reaped in one year.[25] Indian products soon reached the world via existing trading networks and foreign crops were introduced to India.[25][26] Plants and animalsconsidered essential to their survival by the Indianscame to be worshiped and venerated.[22]

The middle ages saw irrigation channels reach a new level of sophistication in India and Indian crops affecting the economies of other regions of the world under Islamic patronage.[27][28] Land and water management systems were developed with an aim of providing uniform growth.[29][30] Despite some stagnation during the later modern era the independent Republic of India was able to develop a comprehensive agricultural programme.[31][32]

Agriculture and colonialism[edit source | editbeta]

Over 2500 years ago, Indian farmers had discovered and begun farming many spices and sugarcane. It was in India, between the sixth and fourth centuries BC, that the Persians, followed by the Greeks, discovered the famous reeds that produce honey wit hout bees being grown. These were locally called , pronounced as saccharum (). On their return journey, the Macedonian

soldiers carried the "honey bearing reeds," thus spreading sugar and sugarcane agriculture.[33][34] People in India had also invented, by about 500 BC, the process to produce sugar crystals. In the local language, these crystals were called khanda ( the source of the word candy.[35] Prior to 18th century, cultivation of sugar cane was largely confined to India. A few merchants began to trade in sugar - a luxury and an expensive spice in Europe until the 18th century. Sugar became widely popular in 18th-century Europe, then graduated to becoming a human necessity in the 19th century all over the world. This evolution of taste and demand for sugar as an essential food ingredient unleashed major economic and social changes. Sugarcane does not grow in cold, frost-prone climate; therefore, tropical and semitropical colonies were sought. Sugarcane plantations, just like cotton farms, became a major driver of large and forced human migrations in 19th century and early 20th century - of people from Africa and from India, both in millions - influencing the ethnic mix, political conflicts and cultural evolution of various Caribbean, South American, Indian Ocean and Pacific island nations.[36][37] The history and past accomplishments of Indian agriculture thus influenced, in part, colonialism, first slavery and then slavery-like indentured labor practices in the new world, Caribbean wars and the world history in 18th and 19th centuries.[38][39][40][41][42] ), which is

Indian agriculture since 1947[edit source | editbeta]

Over 50 years since its independence, India has made immense progress towards food security. Indian population has tripled, but food-grain production more than quadrupled: there has thus been substantial increase in available food-grain per capita. Prior to the mid-1960s India relied on imports and food aid to meet domestic requirements. However, two years of severe drought in 1965 and 1966 convinced India to reform its agricultural policy, and that India could not rely on foreign aid and foreign imports for food security. India adopted significant policy reforms focused on the goal of foodgrain self-sufficiency. This ushered in India's Green Revolution. It began with the decision to adopt superior yielding, disease resistant wheat varieties in combination with better farming knowledge to improve productivity. The Indian state of Punjab led India's green revolution and earned itself the distinction of being the country's bread basket.[43] The initial increase in production was centred on the irrigated areas of the Indian states of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. With both the farmers and the government officials focusing on farm productivity and knowledge transfer, India's total foodgrain production soared. A hectare of Indian wheat farms that produced an average of 0.8 tonnes in 1948, produced 4.7 tonnes of wheat in 1975 from the same land. Such rapid growths in farm productivity enabled India to become self-sufficient by the 1970s. It also empowered the smallholder farmers to seek further means to increase food staples produced per hectare. By 2000, Indian farms were adopting wheat varieties capable of yielding 6 tonnes of wheat per hectare.[6][44]

With agricultural policy success in wheat, India's Green Revolution technology spread to rice. However, since irrigation infrastructure was very poor, Indian farmer innovated with tube-wells, to harvest ground water. When gains from the new technology reached their limits in the states of initial adoption, the technology spread in the 1970s and 1980s to the states of eastern India Bihar,[Orissa] and West Bengal. The lasting benefits of the improved seeds and new technology extended

principally to the irrigated areas which account for about one-third of the harvested crop area. In the 1980s, Indian agriculture policy shifted to "evolution of a production pattern in line with the demand pattern" leading to a shift in emphasis to other agricultural commodities like oilseed, fruit and vegetables. Farmers began adopting improved methods and technologies in dairying, fisheries and livestock, and meeting the diversified food needs of India's growing population. As with Rice, the lasting benefits of improved seeds and improved farming technologies now largely depends on whether India develops infrastructure such as irrigation network, flood control systems, reliable electricity production capacity, all season rural and urban highways, cold storage to prevent food spoilage, modern retail, and competitive buyers of produce from the Indian farmer. This is increasingly the focus of Indian agriculture policy. India's agricultural economy is undergoing structural changes. Between 1970 and 2011, the GDP share of agriculture has fallen from 43 to 16%. This isn't because of reduced importance of agriculture, or a consequence of agricultural policy. This is largely because of the rapid economic growth in services, industrial output, and non-agricultural sectors in India between 2000 to 2010.

Irrigation[edit source | editbeta]

Main article: Irrigation in India Irrigation in India refers to the supply of water from Indian rivers, tanks, wells, canals and other artificial projects for the purpose of cultivation and agricultural activities. In country such as India, 64 % of cultivated land is dependent on monsoons.[1] The economic significance of irrigation in India is namely, to reduce over dependence on monsoons, advanced agricultural productivity, bringing more land under cultivation, reducing instability in output levels, creation of job opportunities, electricity and transport facilities, control of floods and prevention of droughts.[45]

Accomplishments[edit source | editbeta]

As of 2011, India had a large and diverse agricultural sector, accounting, on average, for about 16% of GDP and 10% of export earnings. India's arable land area of 159.7 million hectares (394.6 million acres) is the second largest in the world, after the United States. Its gross irrigated crop area of 82.6 million hectares (215.6 million acres) is the largest in the world. India has grown to become among the top three global producers of a broad range of crops, including wheat, rice, pulses, cotton, peanuts, fruits, and vegetables. Worldwide, as of 2011, India had the largest herds of buffalo and cattle, is the largest producer of milk, and has one of the largest and fastest growing poultry industries.[46] The following table presents the twenty most important agricultural products in India, by economic value, in 2009. Included in the table is the average productivity of India's farms for each produce. For context and comparison, included is the average of the most productive farms in the world and name of country where the most productive farms existed in 2010. The table suggests India has large potential for further accomplishments from productivity increases, in increased agricultural output and agricultural incomes.[47][48]

Agriculture in India, largest crops by economic value

[49]

Economic value

Unit price

Average yield, India (2010)

World's most productive farms [47] (2010)

Rank Produce

(2009 prices, US$) (US$ / kilogram) (tonnes per hectare)

[50]

(tonnes per hectare)

[51]

Country

Rice

$38.42 billion

0.27

3.3

10.8

Australia

Buffalo milk

$24.86 billion

0.4

1.7

[52]

1.9

[52]

Pakistan

Cow milk

$17.13 billion

0.31

1.2

[52]

10.3

[52]

Israel

Wheat

$12.14 billion

0.15

2.8

8.9

Netherlands

Mangoes

$9 billion

0.6

6.3

40.6

Cape Verde

Sugar cane

$8.92 billion

0.03

66

125

Peru

Bananas

$8.38 billion

0.28

37.8

59.3

Indonesia

Cotton

$8.13 billion

1.43

1.6

4.6

Israel

Fresh Vegetables $5.97 billion

0.19

13.4

76.8

USA

10

Potatoes

$5.67 billion

0.15

19.9

44.3

USA

11

Tomatoes

$4.59 billion

0.37

19.3

524.9

Belgium

12

Buffalo meat

$4 billion

2.69

0.138

[52]

0.424

[52]

Thailand

13

Soyabean

$3.33 billion

0.26

1.1

3.7

Turkey

14

Onions

$3.17 billion

0.21

16.6

67.3

Ireland

15

Chicken Meat

$3.12 billion

0.64

10.6

20.2

Cyprus

16

Chick peas

$3.11 billion

0.4

0.9

2.8

China

17

Okra

$3.07 billion

0.35

7.6

23.9

Israel

18

Cattle Meat

$2.93 billion

0.83

13.8

[53]

24.7

[53]

Jordan

19

Eggs

$2.80 billion

2.7

0.1

[52]

0.42

[52]

Japan

20

Beans

$2.57 billion

0.42

1.1

5.5

Nicaragua

Advertising media selection

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Advertising media selection is the process of choosing the most cost-effective media for advertising, to achieve the required coverage and number of exposures in a target audience.
Contents
[hide]

1 Performance

o o o

1.1 Frequency 1.2 Spread 1.3 Media Buyers

2 Types of Media and Their Characteristics

o o o o o o

2.1 Press 2.2 Television 2.3 Radio 2.4 Cinema 2.5 Internet/Web Advertising 2.6 Mobile Advertising

3 Audience Research 4 Advertising-free media 5 Advertising media scheduling

o o o

5.1 Continuity 5.2 Flighting (or "bursting") 5.3 Pulsing

6 References

Performance[edit source | editbeta]

This is typically measured on two dimensions: frequency and spread.

Frequency[edit source | editbeta]

To maximize overall awareness, the advertising must reach the maximum number of the target audience. There is a limit for the last few percent of the general population who don't see the main media advertisers use. These are more expensive to reach. The 'cumulative' coverage cost typically follows an exponential curve. Reaching 90 percent can cost double what it costs to reach 70 percent, and reaching 95 percent can double the cost yet again. In practice, the coverage decision rests on a balance between desired coverage and cost. A large budget achieves high coveragea smaller budget limits the ambitions of the advertiser.

1. FrequencyEven with high coverage, it is insufficient for a target audience member to have just one 'Opportunity To See' (OTS) the advertisement. In traditional media, around five OTS are believed required for a reasonable impact. To build attitudes that lead to brand switching may require more. To achieve five OTS, even in only 70 percent of the overall audience, may require 20 or 30 peak-time transmissions of a commercial, or a significant number of insertions of press advertisements in the national media. As these figures suggest, most consumers simply don't see the commercials that often (whereas the brand manager, say, sees every one and has already seen them many times before their first transmission, and so is justifiably bored). The life of advertising campaigns can often extend beyond the relatively short life usually expected. Indeed, as indicated above, some research shows that advertisements require significant exposure to consumers before they even register. As David Ogilvy long ago recommended, "If you are lucky enough to write a good advertisement, repeat it until it stops selling. Scores of good advertisements have been discarded before they lost their potency."

Spread[edit source | editbeta]

More sophisticated media planners also look at the 'spread' of frequencies. Ideally all of the audience should receive the average number of OTS. Those who receive fewer are insufficiently motivated, and extra advertising is wasted on those who receive more. It is, of course, impossible to achieve this ideal. As with coverage, the pattern is weighted towards a smaller number of heavy viewers, for examplewho receive significantly more OTS, and away from the difficult last few percent. However, a good media buyer manages the resulting spread of frequencies to weigh it close to the average, with as few audience members as possible below the average. Frequency is also complicated by the fact that this is a function of time. A pattern of 12 OTS across a year may be scarcely noticed, whereas 12 OTS in a week is evident to most viewers. This is often the rationale for advertising in `bursts' or `waves' (sometimes described as `pulsing'). This concentrates expenditure into a number of intense periods of advertising, spread throughout the year, so brands do not remain uncovered for long periods.

Media Buyers[edit source | editbeta]

In the end, it is the media buyers who deliver the goods; by negotiating special deals with the media owners, and buying the best parcels of `slots' to achieve the best cost (normally measured in terms of the cost per thousand viewers, or per thousand household `impressions', or per thousand impressions on the target audience. The "best cost" can also be measured by the cost per lead, in the case of direct response marketing). The growth of the very large, international, agencies has been partly justified by their increased buying power over the media owners.

Types of Media and Their Characteristics[edit source | editbeta]

In terms of overall advertising expenditures, media advertising is still dominated by Press and television, which are of comparable size (by value of 'sales'). Posters and radio follow some way behind, with cinema representing a very specialist medium.

Press[edit source | editbeta]

In the United Kingdom, spending is dominated by the national & regional newspapers, the latter taking almost all the classified advertising revenue. The magazines and trade or technical journal markets are about the same size as each other, but are less than half that of the newspaper sectors.

Television[edit source | editbeta]

This is normally the most expensive medium, and as such is generally only open to the major advertisers, although some regional contractors offer more affordable packages to their local advertisers. It offers by far the widest coverage, particularly at peak hours (roughly 7.0010.30 p.m.) and especially of family audiences. Offering sight, sound, movement and colour, it has the greatest impact, especially for those products or services where a 'demonstration' is essential; since it combines the virtues of both the

'story-teller' and the `demonstrator'. To be effective, these messages must be simple and able to overcome surrounding family life distractions& mdash;especially the TV remote.

Radio[edit source | editbeta]

Radio advertising has increased greatly in recent years, with the granting of many more licenses. It typically reaches specific audiences at different times of the dayadults at breakfast, housewives during the day, and commuters during rush hours. It can be a cost-effective way of reaching these audiencesespecially since production costs are much cheaper than for television, though the lack of visual elements may limit the message. In radio advertising it is important to identify the right timing to reach specific radio listeners. For instance, many people only listen to the radio when they are stuck in traffic, whereas other listeners may only listen in the evenings. The 24 hour availability of radio is helpful to reach a variety of customer sub-segments. In addition, it is a well-established medium to reach rural areas.

Cinema[edit source | editbeta]

Though national audience numbers are down, this may be the most effective medium for extending coverage to younger age groups, since the core audience is 15 to 35.

Internet/Web Advertising[edit source | editbeta]

This rapidly growing marketing force borrows much from the example of press advertising, but the most effective useadopted bysearch enginesis interactive.

Mobile Advertising[edit source | editbeta]

Personal mobile phones have become an attractive advertising media to network operators, but are relatively unproven and remain in media buyers' sidelines.