Agricultural engineering
Agricultural engineering can be defined from two perspectives; the scientific and professional:
Scientifically, agricultural engineering is expressed as the application of principles gained from the knowledge of basic (natural) sciences and mathematical modeling, to the solving of agricultural based operations involving primary, secondary and tertiary production processes. It is concerned with the utilization of the knowledge of basic sciences; physics, chemistry and biology, social sciences such as economics, geography etc, and technology in the art, and business of crop production, animal handling and husbandry as well as handling, processing and preservation, storage, manufacture and distribution of food products, shelter and their benefits to mankind for survival.
Professionally, agricultural engineering is the technological processes involved in the application of scientific principles for the optimal conversion of natural resources into agricultural land, machinery, structure, processes, and systems for the benefit of man. Machinery, for example, multiplies the tiny power (about 0.07 kW) of a farmer into 70 kW power or more of a tractor which made possible the production of food several hundred times more than what a farmer can produces manually. Processing technology reduces food loss and adds much more nutritional values to agricultural products than they originally had.
Role of agricultural engineering
The role of agricultural engineering has increased with the dawn of the century. Agriculture will have to supply not only food, but also other materials such as alternative power supply, bio-fuels, and organic feed stocks for secondary industries, and even medical ingredients. Furthermore, new agricultural technology is also expected to help solve perennial off-season crop production as well as reduce environmental destruction and improve conventional agricultural practices.
