Muslims widely practiced cash cropping[10] and the modern crop rotation system where land was cropped four or more times in a two-year period. Winter crops were followed by summer ones, and in some cases there was in between. In areas where plants of shorter growing season were used, such as spinach and eggplants, the land could be cropped three or more times a year. In parts of Yemen, wheat yielded two harvests a year on the same land, as did rice in Iraq.[1] Muslims developed a scientific approach based on three major elements; sophisticated systems of crop rotation, highly developed irrigation techniques, and the introduction of a large variety of crops which were studied and catalogued according to the season, type of land and amount of water they require. Numerous encyclopaedias on farming and botany were produced, with highly accurate precision and details.[11]

Sistem pertanian maju

As early as the 9th century, an essentially modern agricultural system became central to economic life and organization in the Arab caliphates, replacing the largely export driven Roman model. Cities of the Near East, North Africa, and Moorish Spain were supported by elaborate agricultural systems which included extensive irrigation based on knowledge of hydraulic and hydrostatic principles, some of which were continued from Roman times. In later centuries, Persian Muslims began to function as a conduit, transmitting cultural elements, including advanced agricultural techniques, into Turkic lands and western India. The Muslims introduced what was to become an agricultural revolution based on four key areas:

• Development of a sophisticated system of irrigation using machines such as norias, water mills, water raising machines, dams and reservoirs. With such technology they managed to greatly expand the exploitable land area.
• The adoption of a scientific approach to farming enabled them to improve farming techniques derived from the collection and collation of relevant information throughout the whole of the known world.[11] Farming manuals were produced in every corner of the Muslim world detailing where, when and how to plant and grow various crops. Advanced scientific techniques allowed leaders like Ibn al-Baitar to introduce new crops and breeds and strains of livestock into areas where they were previously unknown.
• Incentives based on a new approach to land ownership and labourers' rights, combining the recognition of private ownership and the rewarding of cultivators with a harvest share commensurate with their efforts. Their counterparts in Europe struggled under a feudal system in which they were almost slaves (serfs) with little hope of improving their lot by hard work.
• The introduction of new crops transforming private farming into a new global industry exported everywhere,[1] including Europe, where farming was mostly restricted to wheat strains obtained much earlier via central Asia. Spain received what she in turn transmitted to the rest of Europe; many agricultural and fruit-growing processes, together with many new plants, fruit and vegetables. These new crops included sugar cane, rice, citrus fruit, apricots, cotton, artichokes, aubergines, and saffron. Others, previously known, were further developed. Muslims also brought to that country lemons, oranges, cotton, almonds, figs and sub-tropical crops such as bananas and sugar cane. Several were later exported from Spanish coastal areas to the Spanish colonies in the New World. Also transmitted via Muslim influence, a silk industry flourished, flax was cultivated and linen exported, and esparto grass, which grew wild in the more arid parts, was collected and turned into various articles.

Pembaharuan ekonomi dan kemasyarakatan

The caliphate understood that incentives were needed to increase productivity and wealth, thus enhancing tax revenues. Hence, they introduced a social transformation through the changed ownership of land,[4] where any individual of any gender[12] or any ethnic or religious background had the right to buy, sell, mortgage and inherit land for farming or any other purposes. They also introduced the signing of a contract for every major financial transaction concerning agriculture, industry, commerce, and employment. Copies of the contract was usually kept by both parties involved.[4]

The two types of economic systems that prompted agricultural development in the Islamic world were either politically-driven, by the conscious decisions of the central authority to develop under-exploited lands; or market-driven, involving the spread of advice, education, and free seeds, and the introduction of high value crops or animals to areas where they were previously unknown. These led to increased subsistence, a high level of economic security that ensured wealth for all citizens, and a higher quality of life due to the introduction of artichokes, spinach, aubergines, carrots, sugar cane, and various exotic plants; vegetables being available all year round without the need to dry them for winter; citrus and olive plantations becoming a common sight, market gardens and orchards springing up in every Muslim city; intense cropping and the technique of intensive irrigation agriculture with land fertility replacement; a major increase in animal husbandry; higher quality of wool and other clothing materials; and the introduction of selective breeding of animals from different parts of the Old World resulting in improved horse stocks and the best load-carrying camels.[4]

The average life expectancy in the lands under Islamic rule also experienced an increase, due to the Agricultural Revolution as well as improved medical care. In contrast to the average lifespan in the ancient Greco-Roman world (22-28 years),[13][14] the average lifespan in the early Islamic Caliphate was more than 35 years.[15] The average lifespans of the Islamic scholarly class in particular was much higher: 84.3 years in 10th-11th century Iraq and Persia,[16] 72.8 years in the 11th century Middle East, 69–75 years in 11th century Islamic Spain,[17] 75 years in 12th century Persia,[18] and 59–72 years in 13th century Persia.[19] The Islamic Empire also experienced a growth in literacy, having the highest literacy rate of the Middle Ages, comparable to Athens' literacy in classical antiquity but on a larger scale.[20]

Industri gula

Semasa Revolisi Perladangan Muslim, pengeluaran gula diperbaiki dan diubah menjadi industri berskala besar oleh orang-orang Arab. Orang-orang Arab dan Berber menyebar gula diseluruh Empayar Arab sejak abad ke-8.[21]

Inovasi lain

Banyak inovasi pertanian lain diperkenal oleh jurutera dan peladang Muslim, seperti bentuk baru penyewaan tanah (land tenure), pembaikan dalam penyaliran, pelbagai kaedah pengairan yang sofsikated,[22] pengenalan baja dan sistem pengaliran yang meluas , pembangunan sistem penyaliran berasaskan aliran graviti dari sungai dan mata air,[3] pengunaan pertama noria and chain pumps for irrigation purposes,[4] the establishment of the sugar cane industry in the Mediterranean and experimentation in sugar cultivation,[23] numerous advances in industrial milling and water-raising machines (see Industrial growth below), and many other improvements and innovations.