Two-field system, basis of agricultural organization in Europe and the Middle East in early times. Arable land was divided into two fields or groups of fields; one group was planted to wheat, barley, or rye, while the other was allowed to lie fallow until the next planting season to recover its fertility.

The development of settled agriculture is likely the most important skill ever developed in mankind’s history. The development of a system to ensure a constant and predictable source of food allowed humans to stop moving from place to place in constant search of game or wild fruit to forage.

Settled Agriculture. Application of human labor and tools to a fixed plot of land for more than one growing cycle. It entails the changeover from a hunting-and-gathering lifestyle to one based on agriculture, which requires staying in one place until the soil has been exhausted.

Crop rotation is the practice of planting different crops sequentially on the same plot of land to improve soil health, optimize nutrients in the soil, and combat pest and weed pressure. For example, say a farmer has planted a field of corn.

Having a diverse group of crops helps to more efficiently use the available resources. Natural resources, such as nutrients, sunlight and water in the soil, are evenly shared by plants over the growing period, mimimizing the risk for nutrient deficiencies and drought.

Multiple cropping can increase production and income and has additional benefits—increased crop diversity, improved functioning of agricultural systems, spare land for biodiversity or other uses and reduced use of inorganic fertiliser and pesticides.

There are four types of mixed intercropping systems:- 1. . Row intercropping:- Growing of two or more crops simultaneously, where one or more crops are planted in rows is called as row intercropping.

There are three types of cropping patterns:

• Mixed Cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously on the same piece of land. Minimises the risk of crop failure.
• Inter-cropping: Growing two or more crops simultaneously in the same field in a definite pattern.
• Crop Rotation:

The farming system takes into account the components of soil, water, crops, livestock, labour, capital, energy and other resources, with the farm family at the centre managing agriculture and related activities.

These farming systems will be based on three technical principles:

• simultaneous achievement of increased agricultural productivity and enhancement of natural capital and ecosystem services;
• higher rates of efficiency in the use of key inputs, including water, nutrients, pesticides, energy, land and labour;

It then continues in summarising the main specific characteristics of agriculture: The land use function, the supply and demand characteristics, the contribution of the agricultural sector to the provision of positive externalities and public goods, food as a unique and most essential good and agriculture as a key …