Given below are two statements: Statement I: The number of farms which was more than six million in the year 1920 has declined by more than sixty percent in the year 2002. Statement II: The number of farmers has also dramatically declined and now about one percent of total population of world is engaged in farming in the year 2002.

Correct option is A

The correct answer is (A) Both Statement I and Statement II are correct

Explanation:
• Statement I is correct: There has been a significant consolidation in the agricultural sector. In many developed nations like the US, the number of individual farms has plummeted since the early 20th century due to mechanization and industrialization.
• Statement II is correct: In the context of the global workforce and particularly in industrialized economies, the percentage of the population directly involved in farming has reached historic lows, near the 1-2% mark by the early 2000s.

Information Booster:
• This trend is known as agricultural intensification, where fewer people produce more food using advanced technology, chemicals, and machinery.
• Urbanization and the growth of the service and manufacturing sectors have drawn labor away from traditional agriculture.

Additional Knowledge:
• While the percentage of farmers has decreased, the average size of an individual farm has increased significantly over the same period.
• Despite the lower number of farmers, total global food production has increased manifold due to the Green Revolution and subsequent biotechnological advancements.