O Farmer's Day is celebrated on the 28th of July, a date created because it was on that day, in 1960, the foundation of the Ministry of Agriculture, under the mandate of Juscelino Kubitschek. It is important not to confuse this date with Family Farmer's Day, which is celebrated on July 25th.
The farmer has a wide relevance in the Brazilian economy and also for the world population, as it is his activity that provides most of the food production, especially those that are on the table of all workers, such as rice and bean. For this reason, the tribute to farmers, in addition to being fair, is necessary, as it refers to one of the most relevant services provided to society.
We know that agriculture belongs to the primary sector of the economy and, as such, takes charge – alongside the sectors extractives - to produce, in addition to food, the raw materials that are used in the manufacture of goods. In addition, agriculture has gained greater weight in energy production due to the cultivation of vegetables used in biomass, with emphasis on biofuels.
We can say that the profession or practice of the farmer is one of the oldest in the history of humanity, given that agriculture was constituted in the Neolithic period about 10 thousand years old. Thus, the sedentarization of the human being was allowed, that is, the end of the nomadic practice, which laid the foundations for the formation of civilizations and societies.
Over time, due to technical advances, agriculture and, consequently, the farmer's work gradually changed. The main transformations are historically recent, with emphasis on the process of mechanization and modernization in the countryside, which was responsible for the increase in the productivity of agricultural goods. Although there are criticisms of this process – especially the structural employment generated in rural areas – this modernization was very important to expand the generation of food and raw materials.
Currently, much of agricultural production is highly mechanized
In Brazil, one of the first practices established after the beginning of Portuguese colonization – in addition to the vegetal extraction of Pau-Brasil – was the installation of the so-called plantations, agricultural monocultures. Initially, the main product was sugar cane, but, over time, other agricultural cycles followed, with emphasis on coffee throughout the 19th century and soybeans in the 20th century. Currently, Brazil is the world's largest producer of coffee, sugarcane and oranges, as well as the second largest producer of soybeans (behind only from the United States), according to data released in 2009 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
In summary, the importance of agriculture takes place in different aspects: a) food production for the whole society; b) generation of raw materials for further industrialization; c) job creation, although these are currently smaller; d) economic development, generating wealth and increasing exports. Farmer's Day, July 28th, is, therefore, a fair tribute established for the benefit of rural workers and producers!
By Me. Rodolfo Alves Pena
Source: Brazil School - https://brasilescola.uol.com.br/datas-comemorativas/dia-agricultor.htm
