Uses, farm products

Total farm-gate value of opium production US 0.56 billion +36% US 0.76 billion... 

Total farm-gate value of sun-dried coca leaf production US 180 million 0% US 180 million... 

This common, yet remarkable story of the McCauley family is one that we should understand and appreciate. It directly relates to why scientific progress and new agricultural technologies have enabled us to feed the world s increasing population. The future of farm productivity will likely depend on whether present and future technology (e.g., herbicides, biotechnology, etc.) will be available to our farmers without burdensome or unjustified restrictions. 

The production and consumption of organic food has increased rapidly over the last 20 years. In Europe the land area under organic management increased from less than 0.1 to more than 6 million ha between 1985 and 2004. It is estimated that more than 30 million ha of land are farmed organically across more than 600,000 organic farms, creating an organic food and drinks market of more than 16.5 billion (= 24 billion = US 32 billion) (Soil Association, 2006). 

Despite the strong increase in production, farm gate prices at harvest time in 2006 were only slightly lower than in 2005. On average, farmers fetched US 94/kg for fresh opium and US 138/kg for dry opium. During 2006, trader prices for dry opium were relatively stable. 

Demand fluctuations are difficult to predict because of the variety of factors that influence fertilizer demand and farm economics in any given year. Demand from the explosives industry has been more stable. This is because demand from the coal mining industry accounts for two-thirds of total US explosives consumption. And coal production has grown from 1.06 billion tons per year in... 

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