Read this article to learn about the increase in demand for natural resources due to Industrialisation!
Industrialisation demands greater resources from nature, such as forest and agricultural products, minerals, and oil. Since urban areas do not produce their own food, they have to depend on rural agriculture for their sustenance.
This calls for greater production in agriculture to feed the urban masses.
Small or marginal farmers who produce for self-consumption had to increase their production through use of irrigation and better technology.
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In most of the industrialised countries such as Britain, USA and those in Europe, the population in rural areas is now less than ten per cent of the total population.
A large part of the traditional rural folk migrated to the cities in search of employment and in their places large farmers engaged mainly in producing for the market emerged. Hence, we will find that agriculture in these countries is in the hands of rich farmers having hundreds of acres of land. This too is a form of industrialisation of agriculture.
In India, however, the rural population is still quite high. This could be because industrialisation has proceeded at a slower pace. The 2011 Census shows that 68 per cent of the population lives in rural areas, which are inhabited mainly by small or marginal farmers and agricultural labourers.
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There is a small number of large land-owners who, through their economic power and so-called superiority of caste, have become politically powerful and control the village economy. This is more pronounced in areas like eastern Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. The agricultural produce in rural India is largely in the hands of small and middle farmers.
The demand for natural resources increases under industrialisation because it makes greater use of energy produced through thermal power, which requires large quantities of coal, or hydroelectric power which relies on water. Petroleum products also are in great demand because of their use in automobiles, generators and certain manufacturing processes.
The steel industry is important as it provides the infrastructure for most other industries and for transportation. Industrialisation has its impact on agriculture too. Fertilisers and pesticides are produced in factories. Pump sets for drawing water for irrigation need diesel/electricity and steel.
For transportation too, natural products such as coal and wood as well as steel derived from iron ore are required. These factors resulted in the extension of mining, oil exploration and exploitation of forest products.