Agriculture In India

Agriculture In India

In India, around 70% of the population earns its livelihood from agriculture. It is an important source of raw material for many agro-based industries. Farming is practised in various ways across the world.

Depending upon the geographical conditions, demand for products, labour and level of technology, farming can be classified into:

Subsistence Farming 

• This farming is practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family.
• Cultivation techniques are primitive and simple.
• Farmers mostly cultivate cereals along with oil seeds, pulses, vegetables and sugarcane.

Commercial Farming

• This farming is just the opposite to subsistence farming.most of the produce is sold in the market for earning money.
• In this system, farmers use inputs like irrigation, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and High Yielding Varieties of seeds etc.
• Some of the major commercial crops grown in different parts of India are cotton, jute, sugarcane, groundnut etc.

Intensive and Extensive Farming 

• They differ on the amount of production per unit of land.
• When we use a large patch of land for cultivation then we call it extensive farming.
• India does not practise extensive cultivation.
• The best example of intensive cultivation is in Japan where availability of land for cultivation is very limited. In India, it is practised in Kerala.

Plantation Farming

• In this type of agriculture, a single cash crop is grown for sale.
• eg: Tea, coffee, rubber, banana, and spices.

Mixed Farming

• It is a situation in which both raising crops and rearing animals are carried on simultaneously. 

India has three cropping seasons - Rabi, kharif, and zaid.

• Rabi - Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June. Ex:  wheat, barley, peas, gram, and mustard.
• Kharif - Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon(July) in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. Ex: paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur(arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, and soyabean.
• Zaid - There is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season.This crop is grown in some parts of the country during March to June. Ex: watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.\

Q1.The Agricultural crops sown in winter and harvested in the summer are known as:
Answer: Rabi crops

Q2.  What are examples of Rabi crops?
Ans: Wheat, barley, gram, pea, mustard, and potatoes etc.

Q3. What are the examples of business or cash crops?
Ans: Cotton, sugarcane, oilseeds, tea, jute, and tobacco.

Q4. Which is the most common type of fertilizer used to increase agriculture productivity?
Ans: Nitrogenous fertilizers

Q5. Which country is the world’s largest producer, Consumer, and exporter of spices?
Ans: India
Q6.what is the place of India in world milk production?
Ans: First

Q7. Who is known as ‘The Father of Green Revolution’?
Ans: Norman Borlaug

Q8.‘Yellow Revolution’ aimed at the increase of the production of:
Ans: Oilseeds

Q9. Round Revolution:
Ans: Potato

Q10. Silver Fiber Revolution:
Ans: Cotton

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