Agriculture Flashcards
Agriculture In India
India is an agriculturally important country.
Two-thirds of its population is engaged in
agricultural activities.
Agriculture is a primary activity, which produces most of the food that
we consume.
Besides food grains, it also
produces raw material for various industries.
Moreover, some agricultural products like
tea, coffee, spices, etc. are also exported.
TYPES OF FARMING
Agriculture is an age-old economic activity in our country.
Over these years, cultivation
methods have changed significantly depending upon the characteristics of . >physical environment,
>technological know-how and
>socio-cultural practices.
Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type.
At present, in different parts of India, the following farming systems are practised.
1) Primitive Subsistence Farming
This type of farming is still practised in few
pockets of India.
Primitive subsistence agriculture is practised on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks, and family/community
labour.
This type of farming depends upon
monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and
suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops grown.
It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture or shifting agriculture.
Farmers clear a patch of land and produce
cereals and other food crops to sustain their family.
When the soil fertility decreases, the
farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land
for cultivation. This type of shifting allows
Nature to replenish the fertility of the soil through natural processes; land productivity in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer does not use fertilisers or other modern inputs. It is known by different names in different parts of the country.
It is jhumming in north-eastern states like
Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland
Pamlou in Manipur,
Dipa in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
‘Milpa’ in Mexico and Central America,
‘Conuco’ in Venezuela,
‘Roca’ in Brazil,
‘Masole’ in Central Africa,
‘Ladang’ in Indonesia,
‘Ray’ in Vietnam.
In India, this primitive form of cultivation
is called
‘Bewar’ or ‘Dahiya’ in Madhya Pradesh,
‘Podu’ or ‘Penda’ in Andhra Pradesh,
‘Pama Dabi’ or ‘Koman’ or Bringa’ in Odisha,
‘Kumari’ in Western Ghats,
‘Valre’ or ‘Waltre’ in South-eastern Rajasthan,
‘Khil’ in the Himalayan belt,
‘Kuruwa’ in Jharkhand, and
‘Jhumming’ in the North-eastern region.
2) Intensive Subsistence Farming
This type of farming is practised in areas of
high population pressure on land.
It is labour intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for obtaining higher production.
UP,bihar
Though the ‘right of inheritance’ leading to
the division of land among successive
generations has rendered land-holding size
uneconomical,
the farmers continue to take
maximum output from the limited land in the absence of alternative source of livelihood.
Thus, there is enormous pressure on
agricultural land.
3) Commercial Farming
The main characteristic of this type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs,
e.g. high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical
fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides in order to obtain higher productivity.
The degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from one region to another.
For example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but
in Odisha, it is a subsistence crop.
=>Plantation is also a type of commercial
farming. In this type of farming, a single crop is grown on a large area.
The plantation has an interface of agriculture and industry.
Plantations cover large tracts of land, using
capital intensive inputs, with the help of
migrant labourers.
All the produce is used as raw material in respective industries.
In India, tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane,
banana, etc.. are important plantation crops.
Tea in Assam and North Bengal,Banana plantation in Southern
part of India, Bamboo plantation in North-east, coffee in Karnataka are some of the important plantation crops grown in these states.
Since the production is mainly for market, a well developed network of transport and
communication connecting the plantation
areas, processing industries and markets plays an important role in the development of plantations.
CROPPING PATTERN
You have studied the physical diversities and
plurality of cultures in India. These are also
reflected in agricultural practices and
cropping patterns in the country. Various
types of food and fibre crops, vegetables and
fruits, spices and condiments, etc. constitute
some of the important crops grown in the
country. India has three cropping seasons —
rabi, kharif and zaid.
Rabi crops are sown in winter from October
to December and harvested in summer from
April to June. Some of the important rabi crops
are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard.
Though, these crops are grown in large parts
of India, states from the north and northwestern parts such as Punjab, Haryana,
Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir,
Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important
for the production of wheat and other rabi
crops. Availability of precipitation during
winter months due to the western temperate
cyclones helps in the success of these crops.
However, the success of the green revolution
in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh
and parts of Rajasthan has also been an
important factor in the growth of the abovementioned rabi crops.
Kharif crops are grown with the onset of
monsoon in different parts of the country and
these are harvested in September-October.
Important crops grown during this season are
paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong,
urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean.
Some of the most important rice-growing
regions are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions
of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil
Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, particularly
the (Konkan coast) along with Uttar Pradesh
and Bihar. Recently, paddy has also become
an important crop of Punjab and Haryana. In
states like Assam, West Bengal and Odisha,
three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These
are Aus, Aman and Boro.
In between the rabi and the kharif seasons,
there is a short season during the summer
months known as the Zaid season. Some of
the crops produced during ‘zaid’ are
watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber,
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Mexico and Central
America
Milpa
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Venzuela
‘Conuco’
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Brazil
Roca
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Central Africa
‘Masole’
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Indonesia
‘Ladang’
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Vietnam
Ray
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Madhya
Pradesh
‘Bewar’ or ‘Dahiya
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Andhra Pradesh
‘Podu’ or ‘Penda
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Odisha
Pama Dabi’ or ‘Koman’ or Bringa
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Western Ghats
Kumari
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in South-eastern Rajasthan
Valre’ or ‘Waltre
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture
is known as what in Himalayan belt
Khil
