THE URBANIZATION

  In many nations one of the most striking characteristics of the last 200 years has been the tremendous change termed "urbanization".Urbanization has been closely associated with economic development. In the history of new developed nations, each increase in material well being was associated with a greater proportion of the total population living in urban areas. Currently the most economically developed nations are also for the most part of the most urbanized and the least developed the least urbanized.

 The reason for urbanization has been the changing character of food production. Before the scientific industrial revolution the number of input goods necessary to achieve the production of agricultural product was very few and the inputs goods used were usually produced by the farmer himself. Toady at least in developed nations, the situation is very different. To create their produce, farmers increasingly rely on artificial fertilizers, insecticides, machinery and inanimate source of energy.

These many inputs to agricultural production cannot be produced directly on the farm but instead are usually produced in urban centers. As a result, a large part of” farm” work is now done not on the farm but in cities. Furthermore, for the many persons in the developed nations who do not themselves live i\on farms, food which remains on the farm is of no direct use.

To be useful to Urbanizes farm produce must be transported from the farm, processed, and the distributed and these additional activities are commonly carried out by persons who themselves dwell in cities. Hence for any typical food product, the farmer receives only a very small share of the total price.