What is the Meaning & Definition of agricultural engineering

The agricultural sector consists of several fields of professional activity, such as planning, organization and control of the production processes of cultivation, as well as livestock species or forest resources. This range of possibilities is part of the engineering agricultural as a profession and in its academic studies.

What makes and which should be considered an agronomist

The agronomist is responsible for directing farms, mechanization of production processes, of the irrigation systems for the optimization of crops or the production of new varieties of plants or breeds of animals. The agronomist is served science and technology as tools that can improve agricultural activity in any of its processes. For this reason, this discipline student should have knowledge of geometry, Botany, chemistry, topography, climatology, agricultural machinery, agricultural legislation, irrigation or industrial crops, among other branches.

The origin of agricultural engineering

Although agriculture is an activity that is at the origin of human civilization, it is not until the nineteenth century when agricultural engineering appears as academic discipline, especially in the United States and Europe.
There are three circumstances that explain the emergence of this area of knowledge in the context of the nineteenth century. On the one hand, the mechanization of the field, since traditional tillage techniques are beginning to replace a technology that transforms the agricultural activity and its possibilities. Secondly, there is one growing specialization and there is a need to coordinate a thorough knowledge about the field. Finally, agriculture began a period of marketing because of the new means of transport (particularly the train).

Key in this field

The agronomist tries to optimize crops to boost its marketing, which should bear in mind two important circumstances: food security in a general sense and respect for the environment.
This discipline student and professional future lies in the context of a general debate: supporters of GM food sectors or those who defend a farming. This controversy has economic consequences, related health and productivity. It should take into account that a transgenic food is one that has been genetically modified. This is positive to avoid some pests, but in the process of transforming the natural properties of the crops are changed.