Agriculture
Although Mongolia is widely known for its nomadic pastoral economy, both sedentary and semi-nomadic forms of grain harvesting have existed in Mongolia since the Neolithic period or even earlier, providing the Mongols with a steady supply of grain staple foods.
Archaeological evidence
Stone mortars and pestles for thrashing and shelling grains, believed to date from the Neolithic, have been discovered in Matad sum of Dornod aimag and near Gachuurt and Lun in the Tuul River valley. Similar artefacts found in the areas of Tögrög and Shireet sums of Ömnögov' aimag have been interpreted as evidence of the development of crop production, and of the increasing importance of crops in human food consumption.
Evidence for the subsequent development of crop farming can be seen in petroglyphs such as that of Bichigt Xad in Bayanlig sum of Bayanxongor aimag, which depicts the use of an ox-drawn plough. Grains of barley and millet discovered in Xünnü-era graves also offer definite proof of the practise of grain-based agriculture more than two thousand years ago, as well as leading some scientists to believe that millet may have in fact originated in the territory of Mongolia.
Documentary evidence
The oldest known documentary evidence concerning agriculture in Mongolia is a decree issued by Chingis Xaan in 1212, appointing Changai of the Ministry of General Administration of the Mongolian Empire to oversee the planting of grain crops in the northern part of the Altai Mountains. The implementation of this directive led to the settling of several thousand people at a site that came to be known as "Changain Balgas". The farmed area managed by this settlement increased steadily, and five new irrigation canals were constructed in 1314 and 1321 respectively. The relatively high standard of living of this settlement attracted large numbers of new settlers; 2000 impoverished people took up residence there in the year 1320 alone. Yet although a total of 4648 households managed a total agricultural area of approximately 60 000 hectares throughout Mongolia in this period, the resulting crop production can be said to have satisfied only a fraction of the total food demand at that time.
The Chinese Taoist monk Changchun (Jiu Zhuji), who visited Mongolia on the invitation of Chingis Xaan in 1221, reported that farm fields were visible here and there, worked by Mongolians who exchanged their grain for dates, plums and the like. The travelogue of the 13th-century Chinese traveller Jan De-Hei also contains mention of the irrigated farming of vegetable crops in the vicinity of Karakorum, as well as of the farming of grains along the banks of the Xerlen River.
According to the account of Marco Polo, who travelled throughout the Mongolian Empire and served at the court of Xubilai Xaan from 1279-1289, the Xaan used the imperial treasury to build up large grain reserves in abundant harvest years when the price of grain was low, distributing this grain supply to his subjects in years of drought so as to avoid famine and to provide seed for future crops.
Plano Carpini, who visited Mongolia in 1246, wrote that grain was harvested and placed in central reserves, then redistributed to meet the needs of the entire population; he also noted that the Mongols consumed one or two cups of tea with grain each morning as their breakfast meal. William of Rubruck, who visited the imperial capital in 1254 as an ambassador of the King of France, wrote of Karakorum: "The city is surrounded by a mud wall and has four gates. At the eastern is sold millet and other kinds of grain, which, however, is rarely brought there..."
It can be concluded from the evidence provided by the above sources that grain and flour had become a staple of the Mongolian diet by the 12th century. Yet agricultural production in Mongolia went into decline in the post-Mongolian Empire period, from the 15th to 17th centuries.
Notes
 | In commemoration of the legacy and teachings of His Holiness Dulduit Danzanravzhaa Fifth Wrathful Noble Xutagt of the Great Gobi (1803-1856) I did not overbearingly sophize Nor preach with pride and arrogance But having found a sense in this world Spoke the truth of my dear heart. |   |