what was the proportion of agriculture in france and Germany at the beginning of 20th century?
Answers
France’s extensive land area—of which more than half is arable or pastoral land and another quarter is wooded—presents broad opportunities for agriculture and forestry. The country’s varied relief and soils and contrasting climatic zones further enhance this potential. Rainfall is plentiful throughout most of France, so water supply is not generally a problem. An ample fish supply in the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea provides an additional resource.
Agriculture employs relatively few people—about 3 percent of the labour force—and makes only a small contribution to GDP—about 2 percent. Yet France is the EU’s leading agricultural nation, accounting for more than one-fifth of the total value of output, and alone is responsible for more than one-third of the EU’s production of oilseeds, cereals, and wine. France also is a major world exporter of agricultural commodities, and approximately one-eighth of the total value of the country’s visible exports is related to agriculture and associated food and drink products.
France has a usable agricultural area of nearly 74 million acres (30 million hectares), more than three-fifths of which is used for arable farming (requiring plowing or tillage), followed by permanent grassland (about one-third) and permanent crops such as vines and orchards (