Agriculture

INTRODUCTION

• Agriculture is a primary activity.
• o It includes growing crops, fruits, vegetables,
• flowers, and rearing livestock.
• In the world,50percentofpersonsareengaged in agricultural activity.
• o Two-thirds of India’s population is still dependent on agriculture.
• Favorabletopographyofsoilandclimateare vital for agricultural activity.
• o The land on which the crops are grown is known as arable land.

Farm System

• The important inputs of agriculture are seeds, fertilizers, machinery, and labor.
• The operations needed are plowing, sowing, irrigation, weeding, and harvesting.
• The outputs from the system include crops, wool, dairy, and poultry products.

Types of Farming

• Farmingcanclassifiedintotwomaintypes, depending upon the geographical conditions, demand of produce, labor, and level of technology:

o Subsistence farming

o Commercial farming

Subsistence Farming

• Thistypeoffarmingispracticedtomeetthe needs of the farmer’s family.
• Lowlevelsoftechnologyandhouseholdlabour is used to produce small output.
• Subsistencefarmingcanbefurtherclassifiedas: o Intensive subsistence farming
• o Primitive subsistence farming
• Intensive subsistence farming

Inthistypeoffarming, the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labor. Climatewithlargenumberofdayswithsunshine and fertile soils permit the growing of more than one crop annually on the same plot.

Rice is the main crop.

• Othercropsincludewheat, maize, pulses, and oilseeds.
• Thisfarmingisprevalentinthethicklypopulated areas of the monsoon regions of the south, southeast, and east Asia.

Primitive subsistence farming

• • It includes
• o Shifting cultivation o Nomadic herding

Shifting Cultivation

• It is practiced in the thickly forested areas of the Amazon basin, tropical Africa, parts of Southeast Asia, and Northeast India.
• o These are the areas of heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation.
• Method: A plot of land cleared by cutting the trees and burning them. The ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot.
• Shifting cultivation is also known as ‘slash and burn agriculture.
• Nomadic herding
• Itispracticedinthesemi-arid and arid regions of Sahara, Central Asia, and some parts of India, like Rajasthan and Jammu, and Kashmir.
• Method: In this type of farming, herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and water, along defined routes.

o Sheep, camel, yak, and goats are most commonly reared.

o They provide milk, meat, wool, hides, and other products to the herders and their families.

Commercial Farming

• Incommercialfarmingcropsaregrownand animals are reared for sale in the market.
• Theareacultivatedandtheamountofcapital used is large.
• o Most of the work is done by machines.
• Commercialfarmingincludes o Commercial grain farming o Mixed farming
• o Plantation agriculture

Commercial grain farming

• Cropsaregrownforcommercialpurpose.
• Common crops: wheat and maize.
• Major areas:temperategrasslandsofNorth America, Europe, and Asia.
• o Severe winters restrict the growing season and only a single crop can be grown.
• Mixed farming
• Thelandisusedforgrowingfoodandfodder crops and rearing livestock.
• Areas: Europe, eastern USA, Argentina, southeast Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
• Plantations
• Onlysinglecropoftea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana, or cotton are grown.
• Largeamountoflabourandcapitalarerequired.
• The produce may be processed on the farm itself
• or in nearby factories thus require transportation facilities.
• Areas: Tropicalregionsoftheworld.
• o Rubber in Malaysia, Coffee in Brazil, Tea in
• India and Sri Lanka are some examples.

Major Crops

• Rice: Majorfoodcropoftheworld.

o It is the staple diet of the tropical and sub-

tropical regions.

o Rice needs high temperature, high humidity, and rainfall.

o It grows best in alluvial clayey soil, which

can retain water.

o China leads in the production of rice

followed by India, Japan, Sri Lanka, and Egypt.

• Wheat: Wheat requires moderate temperature and rainfall during the growing season and bright sunshine at the time of harvest.

o It thrives best in a well-drained loamy soil.

o Wheat is grown extensively in the USA, Canada,

Argentina, Russia, Ukraine, Australia and

India.

o In India it is grown in winter.

• Millets: They are also known as coarse grains and can be grown on less fertile and sandy soils.

o It is a hardy crop that needs low rainfall and high to moderate temperature and adequate rainfall.

o Jowar, Bajra, and Ragi are grown in India. o Other countries are Nigeria, China and

Africa.

• Maize: Maize requires moderate temperature, rainfall, and lots of sunshine.

o It needs well-drained fertile soils.

o Maize is grown in North America, Brazil,

China, Russia, Canada, India, and Mexico.

• Cotton: Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, two hundred and ten frost-free days, and bright sunshine for its growth.

o It grows best on black and alluvial soils.

o China, the USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil, and Egypt

are major producers.

o It is one of the main raw materials for the

cotton textile industry.

• Jute: Also known as‘GoldenFibre’.

o It grows well on alluvial soil and requires

high temperature, heavy rainfall, and humid

climate.

o This crop is grown in tropical areas. o India and Bangladesh are the leading

producers.

• Coffee: Coffee requires a warm and wet climate

and well-drained loamy soil.

o Hill slopes are more suitable for the growth of

this crop.

o Brazil is the leading producer followed by

Columbia and India.

• Tea: A beverage crop grows on plantations.

o It needs well-drained loamy soils and gentle

slopes.

o Requires a cool climate and well-distributed

high rainfall throughout the year for the

growth of its tender leaves.

o Labour in large number is required to pick

the leaves.

o Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka produce the

best quality tea in the world.

• AgriculturalDevelopment

o It refers to efforts made to increase farm

production to meet the growing demand of the increasing population.

• Howtoachieveagriculturaldevelopment? o Increasing the cropped area

o Increasing the number of crops grown

o Improving irrigation facilities

o Use of fertilizers and high yielding variety of seeds

• Theultimateaimofagriculturaldevelopment is to increase food security.

Agriculture in INDIA

• Small Size farm land.
• UseHYVseeds purchased from markets.
• Take advice from friends, elders, or the government.
• Use tractors or bullock-carts to plow the field.
• Usetubewellforirrigationalactivities.
• Also, rear livestock to earn more income.
• All family members help in farm activities.
• The farmer takes credit from a bank or the agricultural cooperative society to buy HYV
• seeds and implements.
• Lackstoragefacilitiessotheyareforcedtosell
• the produce even when the market is not favorable to them.
• In recent years, the government has taken some steps to develop storage facilities.
• Achievements of Indian Agriculture:
• The largest producer of wheat in the world
• The largest producer of Rice in the world
• India is among the largest vegetable oil producers
• The largest producer of Tea in the world
• The second-largest producer of Fruits in the world
• The largest producer of Milk in the world
• The largest producer of Coffee in the world

• Largest producer of Cotton in the world Agriculture in Tamilnadu

Major Crops in Tamilnadu

oRice

omelets

o Pulses

o Oil Seeds o Coconut

o SugarCane o Cotton

Tamilnadu is seeing a decrease in its crop production year on year following are the reasons

• Decrease in Landholdings
• Drought conditions caused by a large
• rainfall deficit
• Non release of River water
• A decline in land area for cultivation
• Cyclones
• Quality of Seeds(inputs)
• Fertility of Soil

Government of Tamilnadu Vision — 2023

Tamil Nadu envisages achieving 5.0 percent of the annual average growth rate in the agricultural sector. To achieve this, key initiatives to be taken under

• Vision2023are:

o Promote market-driven agricultural

produce

o Accelerating Innovation and Extension o Mechanism

o Functional consolidation of land

holdings

o Emphasis on mechanization

o Improving Productivity

o Assurance of timely irrigation

o Creating a robust supply chain o Skill development in agriculture o The investment proposed the

the agriculture sector is Rs.40,000 Crores — Rs.16000 Crore for improving water resources, Rs.13000 Crore for agro-processing and value addition, and Rs.11000 Crore for other projects (cold storages, grain storage complexes, perishable air cargo complex, gamma irradiation facility, and terminal market complexes.

Conclusion

With arable land area at 168 million hectares, India ranks second only to the U.S. in size of agriculture. A well-developed agricultural research system, a significant area of almost 60 million hectares under irrigation, and increased productivity in major crops enable Indian agriculture to become a globally competitive player.

The United Nations estimates that with assured irrigation, India’s foodgrains output can increase Six times within five years- enough to feed two planet Earths!