Agriculture is the art and practice of cultivating the land to obtain products intended for human and animal consumption, as well as raw materials used in various industries, also extending to livestock farming and forestry. This activity, one of the oldest and most complex of humanity, originated about 10,000 years ago, after humans developed the ability to understand the functioning of nature and plant and animal species. The first agricultural civilizations emerged near large rivers such as the Nile, the Jordan, the Tigris and the Euphrates, in the region known as the Fertile Crescent, benefiting from a climate favorable to the cultivation of cereals and wild legumes.