why past tense?

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

Hi all,

I found the following sentence in a book. Apparently, this sentence mentions about something in the past and present. But the verb is past tense. Why isn’t it present perfect?

Both then and now, farming provided no more than a secondary income.

Thanks!!

Aikamama[/img]

2

The author didn’t think carefully enough about what was being written or you have misread it.

To use the past tense, the sentence should be:
Then, as now, farming provided no more than a secondary income.