Chapter-4 Agriculture

Types of Farming
General Overview
• Agriculture is an age-old economic activity in India.
• Cultivation methods vary due to:
o Physical environment
o Technological know-how
o Socio-cultural practices
• Farming in India ranges from subsistence to commercial.
Primitive Subsistence Farming
• Practised in few pockets of India.
• Features:
o Done on small patches of land.
o Uses primitive tools (hoe, dao, digging sticks).
o Involves family/community labour.
o Dependent on monsoon, natural soil fertility, and
environmental conditions.
• A Slash and burn agriculture:
o Farmers clear land, grow cereals and food crops.
o When soil fertility reduces, they shift to another patch.
o Allows nature to replenish soil fertility naturally.
o Productivity is low due to absence of fertilisers/modern
inputs.
Local Names of Slash and Burn Farming
India:
1. Jhumming – Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland
2. Pamou – Manipur
3. Dipa – Bastar (Chhattisgarh)Andaman & Nicobar Islands
4. Bewar/Dahiya – Madhya Pradesh
5. Podu/Penda – Andhra Pradesh
6. Pama dabi/Koman/Bringa – Odisha
 7. Kumari – Western Ghats
8. Valre/Waltre – South-eastern Rajasthan
9. Khil – Himalayan belt
[Link] – Jharkhand
World:
1. Milpa – Mexico & Central America
2. Conuco – Venezuela
3. Roca – Brazil
4. Masole – Central Africa
5. Ladang – Indonesia
6. Ray – Vietnam
Intensive Subsistence Farming
• Practised in regions with high population pressure on land.
• Characterized by:
o Labour-intensive farming.
o Use of high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation
for higher production.
• Right of inheritance divides land over generations, making
holdings very small and uneconomical.
• Farmers strive for maximum output from limited land due to lack
of alternative livelihoods.
• This leads to enormous pressure on agricultural land.
• States in India: Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, parts of Tamil
Nadu, Punjab, and Haryana where this farming is common.
Commercial Farming
Key feature:
• Use of modern inputs like HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers,
insecticides, and pesticides.
• Aims at higher productivity.
 • The level of commercialisation changes from region to region.
• Example:
o Rice is commercial in Haryana and Punjab
o Rice is subsistence in Odisha.
• Other examples of commercial/subsistence crops:
o Wheat, maize, cotton, and sugarcane.
o A crop can be commercial in some regions and
subsistence in others.
• Plantation farming is a type of commercial farming:
o A single crop is grown on a large area.
o Capital intensive—requires significant investment and
migrant labour.
o Plantation products are raw materials for industries.
o Needs good networks of transport and communication
for processing and marketing.
o Examples of plantation crops in India: Tea (Assam, North
Bengal), Coffee (Karnataka), rubber, sugarcane, banana.
Cropping Pattern in India
• India’s physical diversity and cultural plurality are reflected in its
agricultural practices and cropping patterns.
• Main crops include:
o Food and fibre crops
o Vegetables, fruits, spices, and condiments.
• India’s crops are grown in three major seasons: Rabi, Kharif, and
Zaid.
Rabi Season
• Sowing: Winter (October–December)
• Harvesting: Summer (April–June)
 • Major crops: Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard
• Major regions: Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu &
Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh.
• Success factors:
o Winter precipitation from western temperate cyclones
o Green Revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar
Pradesh, parts of Rajasthan.
Kharif Season
• Sowing: With monsoon onset (June/July)
• Harvesting: September–October
• Major crops: Paddy (rice), maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong,
urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, soybean.
• Major rice-growing regions: Assam, West Bengal, Odisha (coasts),
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra
(Konkan coast), Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, now also Punjab and
Haryana.
• In states like Assam, West Bengal, Odisha:
o Three paddy crops: Aus, Aman, Boro (per year).
Zaid Season
• Duration: Short summer season (between Rabi and Kharif;
March–June)
• Major crops: Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, various
vegetables, fodder crops.
• Sugarcane: Grows across almost a year.
Major Crops
• Types vary by soil, climate, and cultivation practices.
• Main crops include: Rice, wheat, millets, pulses, tea, coffee,
sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton, jute.
Rice
• Most important staple food crop for many Indians.
• India is the second largest producer (after China).
• It is a Kharif crop:
o Needs high temperature (above 25°C)
o Requires high humidity and annual rainfall over 100 cm
o In low rainfall areas, it grows with irrigation.
o Grown in plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal
and deltaic regions.
o Development of canal irrigation and tubewells enables
cultivation in low rainfall areas like Punjab, Haryana, western
Uttar Pradesh, and parts of Rajasthan.
Wheat
• Second most important cereal crop and main food crop in north
and north-west India.
• A Rabi crop needing:
o Cool growing season
o Bright sunshine during ripening
o 50-75 cm annual rainfall evenly distributed.
• Two important wheat-growing zones:
a. Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest
b. Black soil region of the Deccan.
• Major producing states: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan.
Millets
• Important millets: Jowar, Bajra, Ragi.
• Known as coarse grains but have high nutritional value (e.g., ragi
rich in iron, calcium, micronutrients, roughage).
Jowar
• Third most important food crop by area and production.
• Mostly rain-fed, requires little irrigation.
• Major states: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya
Pradesh.
Bajra
• Grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil.
• Major states: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Haryana.
Ragi
• Grows in dry regions on red, black, sandy, loamy, shallow black
soils.
• Major states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh,
Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize
• Used as both food and fodder.
• Primarily a Kharif crop, requires temperature between 21°C -
27°C.
• Grows well on old alluvial soil.
• In some states like Bihar, grown in Rabi season as well.
• Increased production due to HYV seeds, fertilisers, irrigation.
• Major states: Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana.
Pulses in India
• India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the
world.
 • Major pulses grown include: tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur,
peas, and gram.
• Pulses are a major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
Growing Seasons for Pulses
• Kharif season:
o Urads, moong, masur, peas, gram are generally grown
during this season.
o Requires less moisture and can survive in dry conditions.
• Rabi season:
o Tur (arhar) is typically grown in the rabi season.
• Soil and Cultivation
o As leguminous crops, most pulses help in restoring soil
fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.
o They are often grown in rotation with other crops to
improve soil health.
• Major Pulse-Producing States
o Madhya Pradesh
o Rajasthan
o Maharashtra
o Uttar Pradesh
o Karnataka.
Food Crops Other Than Grains
Sugarcane
• Climate:
o Grows well in hot and humid tropical/subtropical
climates.
o Ideal temperature: 21°C to 27°C.
o Annual rainfall: 75 cm to 100 cm.
 • Irrigation:
o Required in low rainfall regions for better crop growth.
• Grows on a variety of soils and requires manual labour from
sowing to harvesting.
• India is the second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil.
• Main source of sugar, gur (jaggery), khandsari, and molasses.
• Major producing states: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka,
Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab, Haryana.
Oil Seeds
• India was the second largest producer of groundnut in the
world (2020), after China.
• Oilseed crops cover about 12% of India’s total cropped area.
• Major oilseeds include:
o Groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soybean,
castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed, sunflower.
• Uses: Mostly edible, used as cooking oils; also used in soap,
cosmetics, ointments production.
Groundnut
• Kharif crop, accounts for about half of major oilseed production
in India.
• Largest producers (2019–20): Gujarat, followed by Rajasthan
and Tamil Nadu.
Other Oilseeds
• Linseed and mustard are Rabi crops.
• Sesamum: Kharif crop in North India, Rabi crop in South India.
• Castor seed is grown in both Kharif and Rabi seasons.
Tea
 • Example of plantation agriculture and important beverage crop
introduced by the British.
• Most plantations are now Indian-owned.
• Grows well in tropical and subtropical climates with:
o Deep, fertile, well-drained soil
o Rich in humus and organic matter.
• Requires a warm, moist, frost-free climate throughout the year.
• Needs frequent, evenly distributed showers for continuous
growth of tender leaves.
• Tea industry is labour-intensive, requiring abundant, cheap,
skilled labour.
• Tea is processed within tea gardens to maintain freshness.
• Major tea-producing states: Assam, Darjeeling & Jalpaiguri hills
(West Bengal), Tamil Nadu, Kerala.
• Other tea producers: Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand,
Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh, Tripura.
• India is the second largest tea producer in the world after
China (2020).
Coffee
• Indian coffee is globally known for its high quality.
• The Arabica variety, originally from Yemen, is cultivated widely.
• Grown primarily in Baba Budan Hills, Nilgiris (Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu).
Horticulture Crops
• In 2020, India was the second largest producer of fruits and
vegetables after China.
• Produces both tropical and temperate fruits.
• Notable fruits by state:
 o Mangoes: Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar
Pradesh, West Bengal
o Oranges: Nagpur, Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya)
o Bananas: Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu
o Litchi & Guava: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar
o Pineapples: Meghalaya
o Grapes: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra
o Apples, pears, apricots, walnuts: Jammu & Kashmir,
Himachal Pradesh.
• These fruits have high global demand.
Important Vegetable Crops in India
• India is a significant producer of:
o Pea
o Cauliflower
o Onion
o Cabbage
o Tomato
o Brinjal (eggplant)
o Potato
Non-Food Crop:
Rubber
• Rubber is primarily an equatorial crop, but can also grow in
tropical and subtropical areas under special conditions.
• Requires:
o Moist and humid climate
o Rainfall above 200 cm
o Temperature above 25°C
• Rubber is an important industrial raw material.
 • Major rubber-growing regions in India:
o Kerala
o Tamil Nadu
o Karnataka
o Andaman & Nicobar Islands
o Garo Hills of Meghalaya
Fibre Crops in India
• Four major fibre crops: cotton, jute, hemp, natural silk
• Cotton, jute, hemp → derived from crops grown in soil
• Silk → obtained from cocoons of silkworms (fed on mulberry
leaves)
• Rearing of silkworms for silk production is called sericulture.
Cotton
• India: original home of cotton plant
• Main raw material for textile industry
• India: 2nd largest producer after China
• Conditions:
o Black cotton soil (Deccan Plateau)
o High temperature
o Light rainfall/irrigation
o 210 frost-free days
o Bright sunshine
• Type: Kharif crop, takes 6–8 months to mature
• Major producers: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab,
Haryana, Uttar Pradesh.
Jute
• Known as “golden fibre”
 • Conditions: fertile, well-drained soil in flood plains (renewed
annually), high temperature
• Major producers: West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha,
Meghalaya
• Uses: gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets, artefacts
Technological & Institutional Reforms
• Agriculture practiced for thousands of years but hindered by
lack of reforms
• Heavy dependence on monsoon and natural soil fertility
• More than 60% population relies on agriculture → reforms
essential.
Post-Independence Reforms
• Focus on land reforms in First Five-Year Plan
• Measures: collectivisation, consolidation, cooperation,
abolition of zamindari
• Problems: fragmentation of land holdings, weak
implementation
Later Reforms
• 1960s–70s: Green Revolution (package technology), White
Revolution (Operation Flood)
• Result: growth but limited to selected areas
• 1980s–90s: Comprehensive land development programme
(institutional + technical reforms)
Measures Taken
• Crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire, disease
• Grameen banks, cooperative societies, and banks → low-
interest loans
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC)
• Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS)
• Weather bulletins and agricultural programmes on radio/TV
• Minimum support price and procurement price announced to
protect farmers from exploitation.