Agriculture

A "cash crop" is an agricultural crop that is purposely made strictly to be sold in a market environment for as much money as possible. Most cash crops, which include cotton, opium, grains, and many other products, are grown in a monoculture environment, where they are the only product grown on a piece of land. By their nature, cash crops are not a form of subsistence farming, as they are always produced to be used beyond a grower's own home and family. Opium, for instance, is a great example of a cash crop because its purpose is purely recreational/for the profit of the sellers; there is no nutritional value to the crop.

Agriculture first developed during the Neolithic Era, around 12,000 BCE. The development of agriculture was a key factor in human societies ability to grow and develop into structures that are vaguely recognizable to modern humans.