Agriculture in Tierrador
Agriculture is the third-largest industry in Tierrador, and it is a next exporter of many different foods. As of 2035, agriculture uses 42% of the country's land area, employs 9% of its workforce, and makes up 11% of the country's gross domestic product. Currently, there are approximately 2,866,402 registered farms in Tierrador, which cover a total of 526,702,720 acres, or 822,973 square miles, with an average of 183.75 acres per farm. Tierrador produces 85% of its domestic food consumption, and farming is a highly-respected career in the Culture of Tierrador. Agriculture in Tierrador is highly-mechanized, with the term "neo-agrarian" being used loosely to describe the country and surrounding areas. Because of this, an average of one farmer is required per farmstead for efficient agricultural production. Tierrador enjoys a massive agricultural advantage due to it mainly possessing a tropical wet climate, in which it enjoys longer growing seasons and increased precipitation.
Though farming is common in all 18 commonwealths of Tierrador, it is specifically concentrated on the coastal plains regions of the country, due to those areas having a true tropical climate. Teschego, Telohakee, and Ulunkheria dominate the agriculture industry, due to them being the largest commonwealths by land area, and they mainly specialize in cash crops, such as wheat, cotton, and marijuana. Lower-elevation commonwealths such as Aracadó, Las Rozas, Tawakee, Porvaos, and Bogocía mainly specialize in rice, sugarcane, and cotton. Auqali is the largest producer of cotton in Tierrador, and is the second-largest producer of cotton in Crona, behind Alstin and Qaleqa, Onancía, and Tansher lead the top three in corn production.
Tierrador has played a key role in the development of the agricultural industries of several surrounding nations, such as Ceylonia, Porlos, Istrenya, Kelekona, and Malentina. It has also partially influenced many developments in the mechanization of farming, such as the combine harveser, and was one of the first civilizations to develop intensive farming. Many universities across Tierrador specialize in agricultural careers, such as Telohakee A&M University, the University of Qaleqa, Telohakee Union University, and the University of Teschego.
Historically, agriculture in Tierrador was characterized by small agriculture-specializing tribes that were eventually conquered and subjugated by the Abio Woqalate. Once the Abio Woqalate fell and the Qabóri Woqalate took its place in the late 7th century AD, the tribes were given more freedom to trade agricultural goods with other tribes. Eventually, in 1221, the Qabóri central administration began grouping tribes into qoyalets, and gave them exclusive rights to produce certain crops, in what became known as the Wa'atiket system. The Wa'atiket system was very efficient, and over the next few centuries, had propelled South Crona to become a hotbed for agricultural production, and later, trade. Today, agriculture in Tierrador ranges from small-town hobby farms or farming communes to massive commercial farms that covers thousands of acres of cropland/farmland. Tierrador is one of the largest exporters of crops and livestock in the world.
History
Ancient Abioic tribes had established the first instances of organized settlements for the purpose of agricultural advancements in the 10th century BC, and had slowly but eventually grown into much larger nations by the end of the 3rd century BC. Eventually, these nations would unite as the Abio Woqalate, and the Woqalate had began conquering other tribes to increase its total agricultural yield. The mostly-isolationist tribes would eventually be forced by the Abio central administration to interact and trade various agricultural products with other tribes within the Woqalate. Early records indicate rice, corn, and citrus fruits were among the most traded crops in the Abio Woqalate. By 62 AD, the agriculture industry would see a massive shakeup, as many tribes in the south split from the Abio Woqalate to form the Qabóri Woqalate. The ensuing Abio Wars led to the prohibition of trade between Qabóri-loyalist and Abio-loyalist tribes. This essentially led to one of the earliest instances of a total economic collapse for the Abio Woqalate.
After the Qabóri Woqalate took over the peninsula, it began to loosen its grip on the individual agricultural tribes. In 1483, the Qabóri government established the Wa'atiket system of governance, which grouped different tribes throughout the Woqalate into qoyalets, which were then subsidized for the production of one or more certain crops based on whichever crop had the highest volume of production in the qoyalet. Typically, the more densely-populated qoyalets were subsidized for specific crops like rice, cotton, coffee, and fruits, while the sparsely-populated ones were subsidized for cotton, hemp, wheat, sugar, tobacco, and all types of livestock. Coastal qoyalets were also subsidized for fishing operations and trade. While the system had numerous political and cultural flaws, it served its main purpose well. Agriculture yields from the Qabóri Woqalate had spiked in the 15th and 16th centuries, and the extra volume harvested by all of Qabór were internationally traded beginning in the early 1600s.
During the 17th century, agriculture was by far the largest industry in the Qabóri Woqalate, and through their extensive agricultural hegemony the Woqalate's massive agricultural yields directly rivaled that of Zurgite Varshan, whom was considered the most powerful entity in Crona. Eventually, in the 1650s, Qabóri agriculture would take a massive hit during the Orixtal Crusade, as Varshani warriors would raid and destroy 45% of all Qabóri farms, primarily in the western portion of the country. While Qabór was able to fend off the raiders and eventually win the war, the damage had already been done, and the Woqalate had lost nearly half of its crop output in the first attacks. Despite the setbacks, Qabór was able to rebuild with the help of Occidental powers, and by the 18th century, the predominantly agriculture-based Qabóri economy had once again reached its pre-Crusade status.
Despite the Woqalate's impressive economic recovery, the country would undergo a massive rebellion, which eventually resulted in the collapse of the Qabóri Woqalate and the beginning of the Takosenic Wars. Tierrador would industrialize during this period, despite the constant conflict between the many states, and agriculture's influence would diminish in favor of manufacturing and mineral extraction. The Wa'atiket system would eventually be abolished as well, being replaced by the modern-day commonwealths, which operated under a similar system, though they were subsidized for the purpose of manurfacturing different products across every available industry. As the country stabilized and returned to a united state in the early 1800s, it began to combine industrial and agricultural advancements. In 1831, the first reaper machine was invented and used by Taiyyo Asétets on his farm in Qaleqa. Asétets would then establish the Asétets Agricultural Company, which specialized in the developments of reaper machines.
The late 19th century was mainly characterized by the newfound dominance of rice and cotton farming throughout Tierrador. The South Cronan Trading Company emerged in 1827 as the sole trading rights holder of all cotton products to and from Tierrador, essentially creating a monopoly over the cotton industry. Rice farming was not controlled by one company due to its widespread cultivation making it too difficult to maintain complete control, so trading rights were usually split between multiple different trading companies. ATTC, the Qabóri Trading Company, and Orixtal Trading competed for control over the South Cronan rice trade in the 19th century, and rice quickly grew to be the #1 cash crop in Tierrador, and a leading export commodity, overshadowing that of cotton, marijuana, and wheat.
Geographical advantages
Major products
Crops
| Major crops in Tierrador | 2034 (in TI₽ billions) |
Specializing commonwealths |
|---|---|---|
| Rice | ₽67.3 | Telohakee Porvaos Moscakee Aracadó Alcosky Anbarsnia |
| Cotton | ₽49.3 | Auqali Anbarsnia Tansher Moscakee Teschego |
| Marijuana | ₽34.9 | Alcosky Ulunkheria Qaleqa Teschego Onancía |
| Wheat | ₽22.2 | Ulunkheria Teschego Telohakee Onancía |
| Coffee | ₽16.3 | Aracadó Las Rozas Alcosky |
| Fruits | ₽12.3 | Tawakee Porvaos Auqali Saukhin Islands |
| Sugarcane | ₽9.9 | Tawakee Las Rozas Sonaxa Aracadó |
| Vegetables | ₽4.8 | Qaleqa Bogocía Tansher Moscakee |
| Tobacco | ₽2.5 | Telohakee Auqali Moscakee |
| Potatoes | ₽0.8 | Bogocía Qaleqa |
Tierrador leads in production of rice, marijuana, and citrus fruit production, and ranks highly in production of cotton, wheat, coffee bean, and sugarcane. 63.7 million hectares of Tierradorian cropland is used for cash crop production, and the cash crops themselves account for ₽191.7 billion worth of Tierradorian crop exports. Rice and cotton alone account for 61% of that number, a considerable majority compared to the remaining crops combined. Telohakee, Porvaos, Moscakee, Aracadó, Alcosky, Ulunkheria, Las Rozas, and Anbarsnia are all grouped into the Rice Belt, which is the origin of 92% of Tierradorian rice exports. Cotton mainly is farmed in Aracadó, Auqali, Anbarsnia, Tansher, Moscakee, Teschego, and Telohakee, and said grouping of commonwealths are referred to as the Cotton Belt. Marijuana accounts for ₽35 billion, and is mainly cultivated in Alcosky, Ulunkheria, Qaleqa, Teschego, Tansher, Auqali, and Telohakee.
Insular commonwealths, including Tawakee, Sonaxa, and the Saukhin Islands specialize and lead production in sugarcane, along with many different fruits, such as grapes, mangoes, coconuts, and lemons. Tierradorian fruit production also ranks highly in Crona, where Auqali is the top producer and exporter of peaches in Crona, while Aracadó and Las Rozas both rank #3 and #5, respectively, in the production of citrus fruits in South Crona. Potatoes and tobacco did not grow naturally in Tierrador until the 19th-20th century, when they were introduced by immigrants from Alstin and Kiravia. Telohakee, Auqali, Moscakee, Bogocía, and Qaleqa all specialize in the production of potatoes and tobacco.
Livestock
| Type | 2005 | 2015 | 2025 | 2035 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cattle | 70,117,302 | 69,561,338 | 72,809,433 | 76,201,326 |
| Hogs | 42,837,902 | 49,008,021 | 48,130,052 | 50,225,393 |
| Sheep | 9,878,243 | 7,889,243 | 8,560,244 | 8,909,037 |
| Broilers | 885,952,437 | 901,265,339 | 1,114,832,064 | 1,226,299,132 |
| Hens | 277,509,060 | 301,552,828 | 306,099,128 | 304,209,383 |
Tierrador exports a large number of livestock yearly. Livestock farming is a major component of Tierradorian culture, especially in Teschego and Telohakee. The Teschego Frontier period of the late-19th century introduced livestock towns, which were incorporated settlements predominantly used for livestock agriculture. By the mid-20th century, Tierrador had grown to be one of the largest exporters of livestock, with Telohakee and Teschego dominating the top-3 of every kind of livestock.
Besides the livestock listed in the above table, some Tierradorian farmers also raise llamas, alpacas, bees, goats, turkeys, donkeys, and horses, though to much lesser quantities. As of 2029, inventory numbers totaled for 2 million llamas and 1.3 million alpacas, with both animal types being raised mainly in Teschego, Auqali, Ulunkheria, and Alcosky. Goats totaled for 2.3 million, and are primarily raised in Telohakee and Teschego. Bees are not individually estimated due to the extreme difficulty of counting them, instead they are primarily recorded as a colony, of which there were 3.2 million across Aracadó, Las Rozas, Taisgol, Bogocía, and Auqali.