Agricultural
Development
Objectives
Small-scale Subsistence Farming
Subsistence farming, form of farming in which nearly all the crops
or livestock raised are used to maintain the farmer and the
farmer’s family, leaving little, if any, surplus for sale or trade.
Characteristics of Subsistence Farming
• small capital/finance requirements,
• mixed cropping,
• limited use of pesticides and fertilizer
• desi varieties of crops and animals,
• little or no surplus yield for sale,
• use of traditional tools,
• performed on small scattered plots of land,
• reliance on unskilled labour often family members,
• low yields.
Cash Crop Farming
Cash crop farming is for profit. Also called commercial farming
and cash cropping, it is a farming venture in which cash crops are
grown. Cash crops are those which are produced for the purpose
of generating cash or money. The products are therefore
intended to be marketed for profit.
Characteristics of Commercial Farming
• Large scale production
• Capital-intensive
• The Use of High Yielding Varieties (HYV)
• Heavy Machinery and Human Labour
• Done on a larger area
• Practiced all year long
Rabi and Kharif Crops
Wheat Cultivation • Ploughing of field
• Seeds are sown directly
into ground
• First irrigation after one
month
• Second irrigation one
month before harvesting
• Harvesting is done after
three months
• Threshing is done and
grain is stored by the
farmer.
Rice Cultivation
• Seeds are sown in nurseries
• Fields are ploughed and
weeded
• Fields are flooded to depth of
30 -37 cm
• Rice plants (9 inches high) are
transplanted into flooded
fields
• Fields are kept flooded till rice
is ripe
• Water is drained off
• Harvesting and Threshing is
done manually and by
machines
Cotton Cultivation
• Seeds are sown apart.
• First irrigation one month after sowing
• Second irrigation after the interval of two
months
• Cotton bolls are picked manually
• Transported to ginning mills
• Seeds are separated from lint
• Lint is tied up in the bales
• Seeds are used as animal feed and for
extraction of oil
Factors Affecting
Production
The following factors increase
agricultural production.
• Use of high yielding varieties
• Improved farming methods
• Timely irrigation
• Use of chemical fertilizers
• Loans for the farmers on easy
installments
• Support price for the output
Factors Affecting
Production
The following factors decrease
agricultural production.
• Water logging and salinity
reduces the area cultivated
• Rainfall/ storm near harvest.
• Pest and virus attacks
• Using desi varieties of seeds
