The history of early human advance is the history of harvesting prosperity from agricultural innovation. In India, the later Vedic texts (c. 3000–2500 BCE) make frequent references to agricultural technology and practices.Jia Sixie, drawing on over one thousand years of Chinese study in his Qimin Yaoshu, or Essential Techniques for the Common People (535 CE), asserts throughout his work the centrality of agricultural advance for the well-being of the people and the state.He proposed essential techniques to “save labor and increase yields.” Giving practical advice for improving farm management, the Roman statesman Cato the Elder in De Agricultura (160 BCE) emphasized how a prosperous agricultural system contributes to general welfare and stability. “It is from the farming class that the bravest men and the sturdiest soldiers come, their calling is most highly respected, their livelihood most assured.” Hence, even after centuries of experimentation and progress, further advances in agricultural productivity remain critical to providing for basic human welfare, reducing extreme poverty, maintaining food security, and achieving social stability. Importantly, public and private investments in technology and innovations to sustain agricultural productivity growth are also central to strategies addressing emerging environmental challenges and achieving a sustainable food future in the face of climate change.