Notes: Agriculture

 Chapter 4 – Agriculture

India is an agricultural country because of the following reasons:

1. Two-third of its population is engaged in agricultural activities.

2. Agriculture is a primary activity and produces most of the food and food grains.

3. It produces raw materials for our various industries, e.g., cotton textile, sugar industry.

4. Agricultural products, like tea, coffee, spices are exported and earn foreign exchange.

Types of Farming

The cultivation methods depend upon the characteristics of the physical environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices. Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type. In different parts of India, the following farming systems are practised.

Primitive Subsistence Farming:

This type of farming is still practiced in few pockets of India

1. The help of primitive tools like hoe dao and digging sticks, and family /community labour.

2. This type of farming depends upon monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops grown.

3. It is ‘salsh and burn’ agriculture.

4. The soil fertility decreases.

5. The farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.

Intensive Subsistence Farming:

1. This type of farming is practiced is areas of high population pressure on land .

2. It is labour intensive farming.

3. The biological inputs and irrigation are used for obtaining higher production.

4. There is enormous pressure on agriculture land.

Commercial Farming:

1. This type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs.

2. The degree of commercialization of agriculture various from one region to another.

3. A single crop s grown on a large area.

4. The help of migrant labourers.

5. The produces is used as raw material in respective industries.

Cropping Pattern

 Rabi Kharif Zaid

Sowing Season Winter from October to December Beginning of the rainy season between April and May In between the Rabi and the Kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season (in the months of March to July)

Harvesting Season Summer from

April to June September-October

Important Crops Wheat, Barley, Peas, Gram and Mustard. Paddy, Maize,Jowar, Bajra, Tur (Arhar),

Moong, Urad, Cotton, Jute, Groundnut,

Soyabean. Watermelon, Muskmelon, Cucumber,

Vegetables and Fodder crops

Major Crops in India

A variety of food and non-food crops are grown in different parts of India, depending upon the variations in soil, climate and cultivation practices. Major crops grown in India are:

Rice

1. It is a kharif crop.

2. It requires high temperature and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.

3. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.

4. It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions.

Wheat

1. This is a rabi crop.

2. It requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.

3. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season.

4. The Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and black soil region of the Deccan are two main wheat-growing zones in India.

5. It is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop, in the north and north-western part of India.

Millets

1. Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are the important millets grown in India.

2. These are known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.

Jowar Bajra Ragi

3rd most important food crop with respect to area and production. Grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil. It is a crop of dry regions.

It is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas. Grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils.

Mainly produced in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Major producing states are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana. Major producing states are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.

Maize

1. It is a Kharif crop.

2. It requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.

3. It is used both as food and fodder.

4. Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Pulses

1. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.

2. Pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.

3. Major pulses grown in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and Gram.

4. Pulses are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores fertility.

5. Major pulse producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Food Crops other than Grains

Sugarcane

1. It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.

2. It grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and annual rainfall between 75cm to 100cm.

3. It can be grown on a variety of soils.

4. Needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting.

5. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.

6. Sugarcane is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari and molasses.

7. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

Oil Seeds

Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12% of the total cropped area of India. Main oil-seeds produced in India are:

• Groundnut: is a Kharif crop and accounts for half of the major oilseeds produced in India. Gujarat is the largest producer of groundnuts.

• Mustard: is a rabi crop.

• Sesamum (til): is a Kharif crop in the north and rabi crop in south India.

• Castor seeds: It is grown as both Rabi and Kharif crop.

• Linseed: is a rabi crop.

Tea

1. It is also an important beverage crop introduced by the British in India.

2. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.

3. Tea bushes require warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.

4. Tea is a labour-intensive industry.

5. Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Coffee

Yemen coffee is produced in India and this variety of coffee is in great demand all over the world. Its cultivation was introduced on the Baba Budan Hills and is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Horticulture Crops

India is a producer of tropical as well as temperate fruits. Major crops produced are pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato. Some of the famous horticulture crops grown in India are:

• Mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal Oranges of Nagpur and Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya), bananas of Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.

• Lichi and Guava of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar

• Pineapples of Meghalaya

• Grapes of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra

• Apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh

Non-Food Crops

Rubber Fibre Cotton Jute

It is an equatorial crop. Cotton, Jute, Hemp and Natural Silk are the four major fibre crops. It is a Kharif crop. It is known as the golden fibre.

It requires a moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200cm and temperature above 25°C. Cotton, Jute and Hemp are grown in the soil. It requires high

temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth. It grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains. High temperature is required for its growth.

It is an important industrial raw material Natural Silk is obtained from cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves Cotton grows

well in black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau. It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts.

Mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya. Rearing of silkworms for the production of silk fibre is known as

Sericulture. Major cotton-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,

Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and

Uttar Pradesh. Major jute producing states are West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya.

Technological and Institutional Reforms:

1. The pace of agricultural development.

2. Agriculture which provides a livelihood for more than 60 per cent.

3. The government of India embarked upon introducing agricultural in the 1960s and 1970s

4. The government also announces minimum support prices remunerative and procurement prices for important crops.

5. Consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari, etc. were given priority to bring about institutional reforms in the country after independence.

6. The green revolution based on the use of package technology and the white revolution (operation flood) were some of the strategies initiated to improve a lot of Indian agriculture.

7. Land reform was the main focus of our first five-year plan.

8. Development in few selected areas. In the 1980s and 1990s, a comprehensive land development programme was initiated, which includes both institutional and technological reforms.

9. Provision for crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease.

10. Establishment of Grameen Banks, cooperative societies and banks for providing loan facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest.

11. Kisan credit cards and personal accident insurance schemes introduced.

12. Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers were introduced on radio and T.V.

13. The government also announces minimum support price.

14. Remunerative and procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of farmers by speculators and middleman.

Contribution of agriculture to the national economy, employment and output:

1. Gross Domestic Product has registered a declining trend from 1951 onwards.

2. The population continues to be as high as 63 per cent in 2001.

3. The government of India made concerted efforts to modernize agriculture in India.

4. India made concerted efforts to modernize agriculture Establishment of Indian Council of Agriculture.

5. The growth rate in agriculture is decelerating which is an alarming situation.

6. Agriculture backbone of Indian Economy.

7. Share in the gross domestic product.

8. Providing employment.

9. Livelihood to the population.

10. The government of India made concerted efforts to modernize agriculture.

11. Establishment of Indian Council of Agricultural Research, agricultural universities.

12. Veterinary services and animal breeding centers.

13. Horticulture development.

14. Research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast.

Food Security:

1. The number of people who do not have food security is disproportionately large in some region of our country particularly in economically less developed states with the higher incidence of poverty.

2. The focus of the policy is on fixing the support price for procurement of wheat and rice to maintain their stocks. Food Corporation of India.

3. The FCI procures food grains from the farmers at the government announced minimum support price.

4. The competition for land between non – agriculture uses such as housing etc.,

5. The farmers are badly affected by the uncertainties of production and market.

6. The higher the supply the lower is the demand.

Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture:

1. Globalisation is not a new phenomenon.It was there at the time of colonisation.

2. Till today it is one of the important items of export from India.

3. Cotton textile industry in Manchester and Liverpool flourished due to the availability of good quality cotton from India.

4. The Champaran movement which started in 1917 in Bihar.

5. Under globalisation, particularly after 1990, the farmer in India have been exposed to new challenges.