Agriculture in Zhenia



Agriculture in Zhenia, although it has decreased both in priority and percentage in the Zhenian economy, remains a prominent industry in the nation, constituting the primary sector alongside forestry, fishing and mining. Having been since the late 15th century AC, it has achieved high levels of productivity, allowing for Zhenia to become a net exporter of agricultural goods despite the agricultural industry accounting for less than 3% of the national economy and around 1.5% of the national workforce as a whole. Agricultural economy in Zhenia is considerably subsidized by the government, mostly through minimum crop price policies, mandatory governmental acquisitions in emergency situations and subsidies for, although many farms today are operated by local and agricultural corporations.

While agricultural activity is observed in most parts of the nation, a significant portion of it is concentrated in the Central Zhenian Plains, as well as significant portions of the Danguk Peninsula and regions south of the Taimir River. Different crops are mainly cultivated across different parts of the nation, with rice being predominant in more humid regions of the Danguk Peninsula and coastal regions around the Gulf of Danguk, while a majority of inland central Zhenia as well as parts of northern Zhenia primarily cultivate wheat and sorghum. While agriculture has historically been focused on cereals and other crops deemed essential to survival, the commercialization and mechanization of agriculture has brought a significant shift to other, more profitable crops, including fruits, vegetables, nuts, cotton, tea and tobacco, amid governmental incentives to increase the profitability of its agricultural sector.

Climate


Agriculture in Zhenia is significantly influenced, if not dictated, by the nation's diverse climate patterns and soil quality. The Central Zhenian Plains, as well as other major alluvial plains around the nation, such as the Western Dan Plains and the Chang River Basin, are flat and receive enough precipitation to allow for grassland-based agriculture and horizontal irrigation systems as well as large-scale farming over large expanses of land. Other areas around the nation, including the more mountainous parts of the Danguk Peninsula as well as central-western and southern Zhenia, are mostly covered in mountain ranges are thus relatively less favorable for large-scale agriculture, although has expanded the agricultural capacity of these regions. While significant parts of western and northern Zhenia are desert or semi-arid land, irrigation systems based on exotic rivers flowing through the region as well as ground water have provided agricultural land in these regions.

Most of southern and central Zhenia, as well as most parts of the Danguk Peninsula, being situated in a region of humid temperate climate, receives most of its precipitation in the summer monsoon seasons, with its precipitation patterns significantly affected by El Niño and La Niña cycles in the eastern Hanmaric Ocean via large fluctuations in the amount and frequency of rain the region receives. Pockets of southern Zhenia, along the Chang River, receive heavy rain in both summer and winter seasons and remains above freezing year-round, allowing for at least two harvests every year. Despite rain patterns being consistent in the northeast, lower temperatures and absolute quantity of precipitation has resulted in the primary cultivation of wheat instead of rice in these regions.

Early history


The history of agriculture in Zhenia dates back to over 12,000 years ago, indicated by the discovery of ground wild rice alongside grounding tools in parts of the Taimir River basin, both of which are estimated to have been used by hunter-gatherers in the area. Remains of domesticated millet and rice, dating back to over 8,000 years ago, have been discovered in the same region, despite claims over millet was directly cultivated with human intervention at the time. The percentage of cultivated rice found in Neolithic sites have shown a general increase if the remains are closer to the coast and the south, where more abundant amounts of precipitation and favorable temperatures allowed for the easier cultivation of rice in the area. Despite being more labor-intensive than millet, rice became the staple crop in the region by around 900 BC, while millet cultivated in areas with less precipitation were partly replaced with wheat cultivation. Archaeological evidence in the Central Zhenian Plains, dating back to around 900-850 BC, suggests that settlers had already used beasts of burden and cast iron plows to cultivate the land.

Most farmland during the feudal states of the Era of Great Divide and the early Zhen dynasty were distributed according to class, with feudal lords and aristocrats owning the most land and some tenant farmers and helots not owning land at all. Specifically, during the Zhen dynasty, agricultural yields of every arable land in the nation were measured in high detail and accuracy, while they were later quantified as basis of taxation under its unique agriculture-based taxation system known as the Sanjeon system. A, a community-based redistribution of farmland with a communal farmland at the center of the well plot and the farming rights of the remaining farmland split evenly by village members, was attempted during the later days of the Zhen dynasty to even out farmland distribution inequalities. Despite largely failing along with the Sanjeon system towards the end of the Zhen, the well-field system proved to be a profound attempt of land ownership management and inspired later land distribution schemes.

Due to the importance of agriculture in ancient Zhenian societies, several local faiths as well as Zhenian Wuism, which proliferated throughout modern-day Zhenia during the Zhen dynasty, included deities overseeing agriculture, rain and irrigation, although they were not necessarily overseen by one deity. Zhenian Wuism, for instance, suggests that while rain is a blessing by Shinmir, humans cultivate and irrigate the arable land given to them as the domain of Dhemir, the deity of the past whose domain rests on the earth. Numerous tracts of Zhenian Wuism, as well as several local faiths, include a series of rituals and rites that are performed in dedicated altars to ask for the blessing of said deities. Such dedicated altars, called 'Sajik', are often seen as the practical, natural essence of historic Zhenian dynasties, both in the Danguk Peninsula and the mainland. Some of such rituals, despite many of them having lost meaning amid secularization, are still practiced in Sajiks and dedicated altars to this day.

Middle and Early modern ages
The, as well as the subsequent establishment of the network left lasting impacts in Zhenian agriculture, most notably through the influx of new crops from Veharia and the Hanmaric islands. Spices of Veharian origin, including, were introduced into Zhenia around the 11th century AC and were subsequently integrated into Zhenian cuisine: potatoes, yam, maize and sweet potatoes, although they did not become Zhenian as they did in Azora, were also introduced into Zhenia as alternatives to existing cereal crops, resulting in pockets of such farms throughout the Danguk Peninsula as well as farmland near the Gulf of Danguk.

Modern era


Agriculture after Zhenian unification changed dramatically in not only the Danguk Peninsula but also the mainland, amid the wave of industrialization and mechanization as well as changes in how the agricultural sector functioned in the nation. With arable land in continental Zhenia owned by a handful of Wei aristocrats and Wuist temples before unification, land ownership laws were rewritten under the Empire of Zhenia, with the ultimate objective of protecting the rights of independent farmers. Land seized from Wei aristocrats was initially nationalized, although a considerable portion of such seized land were later redistributed to tenant farmers at affordable prices, transitioning them into independent farmers. New laws enacted in 1410 AC, drawing inspiration from historic during the later days of the Zhen dynasty, allowed for easier formation of agricultural  throughout the nation's farmlands, with the ultimate objective of transforming a set of independent farms across the nation into a larger farm managed by the co-operative. Vast swaths of arable Zhenian land were reorganized under such schemes in the first half of the 15th century AC.

Mechanization and industrialization also left significant impacts in Zhenia's agriculture in the 15th and 16th centuries AC, coupled with the rise of agriculture-based co-operatives led by farmers all across the nation. The implementation of the, and  among other mechanical inventions significantly reduced the labor intensity of farming and increased its overall productivity, while the construction of railways, roads, canals and other infrastructure allowed for easier transport of agricultural goods from farms to the cities. Industrialization and expansion of the nation's urban areas also changed agricultural consumption patterns drastically, with significant declines in overall rice consumption and significant increases in fruit, vegetable and meat consumption observed from the 15th century AC to the present. Seeking to increase productivity, an increasing number of co-operatives transitioned from cereals and essential crops to as time passed, resulting in drastic increases of the nation's cash crop production, including cotton, tobacco and tea. In addition, as shares in such co-operatives were freely traded in the market and many co-operatives free to merge with one another, some of the most successful agricultural co-operatives transitioned into public limited companies. Such surge in agricultural productivity and yields throughout the 15th century AC resulted in a population boom throughout Zhenia, resulting in the Empire's population almost doubling between 1400 and 1480 AC.

Agriculture in Zhenia in the 16th century AC also saw further waves of industrialization, mechanization and commercialization, as well as increased polarization between the nation's agricultural co-operatives and independent farmers in the agricultural market. As many independent farmers, amid dire economic circumstances and with large agricultural co-operatives leading the market, were often forced to sell their land rights for a place in the co-operative, policies to protect the nation's remaining independent farmers, including minimum crop price policies and mandatory governmental purchases of crops in preparation for emergencies such as war, were implemented by the 1530s. The 16th century AC also saw technological advancements contribute to agricultural efficiency, as improved breeds of various crops and genetic engineering techniques, as well as improved machinery and farming techniques, improved total yields and resistance to environmental circumstances while also keeping labor pressure low.