Class 10 Geography · Chapter 4 NotesAgriculture

Farming in India varies from subsistence to commercial type, depending on the physical environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices. Primitive subsistence farming is practised on small patches of land with primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks, using family or community labour. It depends on monsoon, natural soil fertility and suitable environmental conditions, and is a slash-and-burn form of agriculture: when soil fertility decreases, farmers shift to a fresh patch of land. Intensive subsistence farming is labour-intensive and is practised in areas of high population pressure on land, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for higher production. Commercial farming uses higher doses of modern inputs such as HYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides. Plantation farming is a type of commercial farming where a single crop is grown on a large area using capital-intensive inputs and migrant labourers, and the produce is used as raw material in industries.

• Primitive subsistence farmingslash and burn; low productivity; no fertilisers or modern inputs
• Jhumming namesjhumming in north-eastern states; Podu or Penda in Andhra Pradesh; Kumari in Western Ghats; Kuruwa in Jharkhand
• Intensive subsistence farminglabour-intensive; high population pressure; high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation
• Commercial farmingHYV seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides; degree of commercialisation varies by region
• Plantation farmingsingle crop on a large area; capital-intensive; migrant labour; produce used as industrial raw material

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. Important rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard, and states such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important for wheat and other rabi crops. Precipitation during winter months due to western temperate cyclones helps these crops succeed, and the Green Revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has also been an important factor. Kharif crops are grown with the onset of the monsoon and harvested in September-October; these include paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean. Zaid is a short summer season between rabi and kharif, when watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops are grown.

• Rabisown October to December; harvested April to June; wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard
• Kharifgrown with the onset of monsoon; harvested September-October; paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, soyabean
• Zaidshort summer season; watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, fodder crops
• In Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year — Aus, Aman and Boro

Rice is the staple food crop of a majority of people in India, and India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China. It is a kharif crop requiring high temperature (above 25°C) and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm; in areas of less rainfall it grows with irrigation. Rice is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and deltaic regions, and canal irrigation and tubewells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. Wheat is the second most important cereal crop and the main food crop in the north and north-western part of the country. It is a rabi crop requiring a cool growing season, bright sunshine at ripening and 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season. Maize is used both as food and fodder; it is a kharif crop requiring temperatures between 21°C and 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.

• Ricekharif crop; above 25°C; rainfall above 100 cm; second largest producer after China
• Wheatrabi crop; cool growing season; bright sunshine at ripening; 50-75 cm rainfall; two main zones — Ganga-Satluj plains and black soil region of the Deccan
• Maizekharif crop; 21°C to 27°C; old alluvial soil; also grown in rabi season in Bihar

Jowar, bajra and ragi are the important millets grown in India. Though known as coarse grains, they have very high nutritional value; ragi is very rich in iron, calcium, other micro nutrients and roughage. Jowar is the third most important food crop with respect to area and production, and is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in moist areas which hardly needs irrigation. Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil, while ragi grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils. India is the largest producer as well as the consumer of pulses in the world, and pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Being leguminous crops, all pulses except arhar help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air, so they are mostly grown in rotation with other crops. Sugarcane is a tropical as well as subtropical crop grown in a hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and annual rainfall between 75 cm and 100 cm; it is the main source of sugar, gur (jaggery), khandsari and molasses.

• Milletsjowar, bajra and ragi; high nutritional value; ragi is rich in iron, calcium and roughage
• PulsesIndia is the largest producer and consumer; major source of protein; leguminous crops fix nitrogen
• Sugarcanetropical and subtropical; 21°C to 27°C; 75-100 cm rainfall; source of sugar, gur, khandsari and molasses

Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12 per cent of the total cropped area of the country. Main oil seeds produced in India are groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and sunflower. Most of these are edible and used as cooking mediums, and some are also used as raw material in the production of soap, cosmetics and ointments. Groundnut is a kharif crop and accounts for about half of the major oilseeds produced in the country. Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture and is an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and fertile well-drained soil rich in humus and organic matter, and requires warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year. Coffee is known in the world for its good quality; the Arabica variety initially brought from Yemen is produced in the country, and its cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

• Oil seedsgroundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum, soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed, sunflower
• Groundnutkharif crop; about half of the major oilseeds produced in the country
• Teaplantation crop; deep, fertile, well-drained soil rich in humus; warm and moist frost-free climate; labour-intensive
• CoffeeArabica variety from Yemen; grown in the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu

In 2020, India was the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China. India produces both tropical and temperate fruits — mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal; oranges of Nagpur and Cherrapunjee; 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; and apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh. Among non-food crops, rubber is an equatorial crop but is also grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas under special conditions; it requires moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200 cm and temperature above 25°C. Cotton, jute, hemp and natural silk are the four major fibre crops grown in India. Cotton grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau and requires high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine. Jute is known as the golden fibre and grows well on well-drained fertile soils in flood plains where soils are renewed every year.

• HorticultureIndia second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China in 2020
• Rubberequatorial crop; rainfall more than 200 cm; temperature above 25°C; grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya
• Cottonkharif crop; black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau; 210 frost-free days; 6 to 8 months to mature
• Jutegolden fibre; well-drained fertile soils in flood plains; West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya are major producers
• Sericulturerearing of silk worms for the production of silk fibre

Sustained use of land without compatible techno-institutional changes has hindered the pace of agricultural development in India. Despite the development of irrigation sources, most farmers in large parts of the country still depend on monsoon and natural fertility, which poses a serious challenge for a growing population. Agriculture provides livelihood for more than 60 per cent of the population and needs serious technical and institutional reforms. After Independence, collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari were given priority. Land reform was the main focus of the First Five Year Plan. The Green Revolution based on package technology and the White Revolution (Operation Flood) were strategies initiated in the 1960s and 1970s. In the 1980s and 1990s, a comprehensive land development programme included both institutional and technical reforms, with provisions for crop insurance, Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks for loans at lower interest rates. Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS) are other schemes introduced for farmers, along with special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes on radio and television. The government also announces minimum support price, remunerative and procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of farmers by speculators and middlemen.

• Land reform was the main focus of the First Five Year Plan
• Green Revolution based on package technology; White Revolution (Operation Flood)
• Crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease; Grameen banks; cooperative societies and banks
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS)
• Minimum support price, remunerative and procurement prices announced for important crops

Mahatma Gandhi declared Vinoba Bhave as his spiritual heir, and Vinoba Bhave participated in the Satyagraha as one of the foremost satyagrahis. He was one of the votaries of Gandhi's concept of gram swarajya. After Gandhiji's martyrdom, Vinoba Bhave undertook padyatra to spread Gandhiji's message, covering almost the entire country. Once, while delivering a lecture at Pochampally in Telangana, some poor landless villagers demanded land for their economic well-being. Vinoba Bhave assured them that he would talk to the Government of India regarding the provision of land if they undertook cooperative farming. Suddenly, Shri Ram Chandra Reddy stood up and offered 80 acres of land to be distributed among 80 landless villagers. This act was known as 'Bhoodan'. Later, some zamindars and owners of many villages offered to distribute some villages among the landless, which was known as Gramdan. Many land-owners chose to provide some part of their land to poor farmers due to the fear of the land ceiling act. This Bhoodan-Gramdan movement initiated by Vinoba Bhave is also known as the Blood-less Revolution.

• Vinoba Bhave was declared spiritual heir by Mahatma Gandhi and participated in the Satyagraha
• Bhoodanoffering of land to be distributed among landless villagers
• Gramdandistribution of villages among the landless
• Bhoodan-Gramdan movement is also known as the Blood-less Revolution