Agriculture

What are we going to study in this chapter?

What are Economic activities and it’s types.

Agriculture as an economic activity.

Arable land.

Farm systems.

Types of farming.

Types of agricultural crops.

Agricultural development, agricultural crisis.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES:
Agriculture is the science of cultivating the land for growing crops and
raising livestock to meet the fiber, fuel and other needs of humans.

• Agriculture is a _____________activity.
• In the world, 50 per cent of persons are engaged in agricultural
activity. Two-thirds of India’s population is still dependent on
agriculture.

• What is agriculture? -YouTube

 Agriculture a
primary activity in
India. Discuss.
Think and
Discuss?
Guess what it is?

Agricultural practices are a collection of principles

that are applied as on-farm production and the post-
production processes to produce safe and healthy food.
Agricultural practices includes the steps shown above:
World map of Arable Land, percentage by country

Quick Question
Which of the following
continents has the least
amount of arable land?

Answer Choices:
 Asia
 Europe
 Africa
 South America
 IDENTIFY THE ECONOMIC ACTIVITY
FARMING RETAIL CONSTRUCTION
HEALTHCARE FINANCIAL SERVICES MINING

BANKING COAL MINING EDUCATION

OIL EXTRACTION MEDIA INSURANCE

TELE COMMUNICATION AUTOMOBILE FISHING

REAL ESTATE FORESTRY & LOGGING FOOD PROCESSING

ACCOUNTING CHEMICALS HUNTING AND GRAZING

 Types of Farming
 Depending upon the geographical conditions, demand, labour and the level of
technology.

 Farming can be classified into two main types

subsistence farming
 Understanding the heading

 Practiced to meet the needs of the farmers family

 Low level of technology

 Household labour
 Small output is produced
Intensive subsistence Agriculture

Small plot of lands are cultivated with simple tools and more labour
More than one crop are grown annually. Rice is the main crop
It is prevalent in the thickly populated area.

Primitive subsistence agriculture

Shifting cultivation
Nomadic herding
 Match the following-
Horticulture The science and art of cultivation on the soil, raising crops and
rearing livestock. It is also called farming
Viticulture Breeding of fish in specially constructed tanks and ponds

Sericulture Growing vegetables, flowers and fruits for commercial use

Pisciculture Cultivation of grapes

Agriculture Commercial rearing of silk worms. It may supplement the income

of the farmer
Shifting cultivation
The seasonal migration of people with their animals, typically to lowlands in winter and highlands in summer is
known as ‘transhumance’.
 Quick Questions:
Q1.Which of the following is NOT a type of Commercial Farming?
• Answer:
a. Commercial grain farming
b. Plantation farming
c. Mixed farming
d. Multiple farming
Q2. Can you think of some essential differences between Subsistence and Commercial
agriculture?
I. In commercial farming, one or two crops or livestock is selected for production. But in subsistence farming variety of crops
and livestock are selected.

II. Commercial farms are much bigger than subsistence farms. Output is targeted for the wholesale market, retail market, as
raw materials for factories, etc. in commercial farming. But, their own consumption is the target of the subsistence farming.

III. Commercial farming is profit oriented, and profit is maximized through the implementation of economics of scale. But
subsistence farming is aiming at self sufficiency.

IV. Commercial farming system is complex, and productivity is high. Subsistence farming system is simple, and productivity is
low.

V. Modern farming techniques are utilized in commercial farming and traditional farming techniques are utilized in
subsistence farming.

VI. Heavy and sophisticated farm machinery are utilized in the commercial farming, whereas basic equipment are utilized in
the subsistence farming.

VII. Commercial farming contributes a very high percentage for the environmental pollution in comparison to subsistence
 MAJOR Crops
A large variety of crops are grown to meet the requirement of the growing population.

FOOD CROPS FIBRE CROPS BEVERAGE CROPS

Crops also supply raw materials for agro based industries.

AGRO-BASES INDUSTRIES:
Industries that have agricultural produce as raw materials are known as Agro-based
industries. These are consumer-based industries. Cotton, jute, silk, woolen textiles, sugar and
edible oil, etc. industry are based on agricultural raw materials.
CLASSIFICATION OF CROPS ACCORDING TO THE SOWING SEASONS
•Aman, Aus and Boro are rice varieties. Rice is usually sown thrice in Assam, West Bengal and Odisha

•Aman: This variety is sown in the rainy season (July-August) and harvested in winter. This is mainly produced.

•Aus: Rice sown in summer along with the pre-monsoonal showers and harvested in autumn. The quality of this rice is rough.

•Boro: Rice sown in winter and harvested in summer. This is also called spring rice.
WHEAT
It is a worldwide staple food crop.
2nd most cultivated crop in India after Rice.
Temperature and Rainfall: It requires moderate temperature and rainfall
during the growing season and bright sunshine at the time of harvest.
Soil type: It grows best in well drained alluvial and black soil.
Areas: Wheat cultivation in India has traditionally been dominated by the
northern region of India. Major wheat-growing states are Uttar Pradesh, Punjab,
Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar and Gujarat.
Wheat is grown extensively in USA, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine,
Australia and India.
The Green Revolution was a period that began in the 1960s during which agriculture in India was
converted into a modern agriculture system by:

 Adoption of technology.
 Use of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds.
 Mechanized farming.
 Irrigation facilities.
 Pesticides and fertilizers.

Green Revolution in India commenced in 1968, leading to an increase in the production of food grain
especially in Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to make the country self-sufficient in food grains.

M.S. Swaminathan was the main architect, also known as the Father of Green Revolution in
India.
 MILLETS
Millets are the Kharif crop grown in the rainy season in India.
They are also known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.
Millets can be grown on less fertile and sandy soils.
In India millets like Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are grown.

 Jowar: Grown in areas with high temperature and low rainfall. Grows in moist areas and hardly needs
irrigation. Jowar is grown in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

 Bajra: Grown in areas with high temperature and low rainfall. Requires sandy soil and shallow black soil.
Grown in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.

 Ragi: Grown in areas with high temperature and low rainfall. Can be grown in dry regions of Red, black, sandy
and shallow black soils. Grown in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand.

 Other countries where millets are grown: Nigeria, China and Niger.
 MAIZE
Maize is also know as corn. Various colorful varieties of maize are found across the world.

 Maize requires moderate temperature; 21º-27ºC , rainfall between 50cm-100cm and lots
of sunshine.
 It needs well-drained fertile old alluvial soils.
 It is used as both food and fodder crop.
 Maize is grown in North America, Brazil, China, Russia, Canada, India, and Mexico.
 In India maize is grown in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Telangana.
FIBRE CROPS:
Fibre crops are the crops grown in fields for their fibres that are used to make ropes,
paper, cloth, etc. They are a type of natural fibres as they are obtained naturally and
directly from the different sources of plants and their products such as cotton and jute.
Brazil and Egypt are the leading producers of cotton in the
world.
JUTE
Jute is also known as the ‘Golden Fibre’.
It grows well on alluvial soil and requires high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid
climate.
This crop is grown in the tropical areas. India and Bangladesh are the leading producers
of jute.
BEVERAGE CROPS – TEA AND COFFEE
TEA

1. Plantation crop
2. Cool climate and high rainfall between 150-250 cm.
3. Tea requires cool to warm temperatures.
4. temperature during the growing season is between 18-21.
5. Requires well-drained loamy soils and gentle slopes.
It is a labour intensive crop especially during the harvest time.
China, kenya, srilanka and india produce the best quality of tea in the world.
 coffee

• Grows well in tropical areas, can also be grown in sub-tropical

regions.
• coffee tree requires heat, humidity and abundant rainfall.
• GROWN IN KARNATAKA, KERALA & TAMIL NADU.
 India's farm crisis: Decades old and with deep
roots
1. Inequality in Land Distribution • STUDENT VIEWS
2. Land Tenure System
3. Sub-division and Fragmentation of holdings https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vU
QzMlcdB1M&t=29s
4. Cropping Pattern
5. Instability and Fluctuations
6. Conditions of Agricultural Laborers
7. Poor Farming Techniques and Agricultural
Practices: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Me
5VQUQqwe8&t=4s
8. Inadequate Use of Inputs
9. Unsustainable irrigation practices
10. Absence of Crop Rotation
According to the National Crime Records Bureau, 296,438 people in the farming sector in India have
committed suicide from 1995 to 2019. Predictions have determined that this number will increase.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tV0SBjHCws&t=12s
What is agricultural
development?

What is the aim of

developing
agriculture?
Where is Food Security
COMPARISON OF A FARM IN INDIA AND A FARM IN USA
Question 1. Choose the correct option:

(i) Which of these is a tertiary activity?

(a) manufacturing wool
(b) selling grocery
(c) agriculture
(d) none of these

(ii) What is the breeding of fish known as?

(a) agriculture
(b) pisciculture
(c) sericulture
(d) viticulture

(iii) What is the main crop in intensive subsistence agriculture?

(a) rice
(b) maize
(c) wheat
(d) oilseeds
(iv) Which form of farming is also called “slash and burn” agriculture?
(a) subsistence farming
(b) shifting cultivation
(c) plantation
(d) mixed farming

(v) Which of these is not a plantation crop?

(a) rubber
(b) coffee
(c) rice
(d) tea

(vi) Which of the following are primary activities?

(a) Agriculture
(b) Mining
(c) Fishing
(d) All of these

(vii) The important inputs like seeds, fertilizers, machinery etc. form a system called as?
(a) Barter system
(b) Water system
(c) Farm system
(d) All of these
(viii) Type of farming to meet family needs is known as:
(a) Subsistence
(b) Mixed
(c) Organic
(d) None of these

(ix) Which of the following are coarse grains?

(a) Jowar
(b) Bajra
(c) Ragi
(d) All of these

(x) Which of the following country is a leading producer of rice?

(a) China
(b) Pakistan
(c) Malaysia
(d) Egypt
State whether the following statement is true (T) or false (F)

1.Favorable topography of soil and climate is vital for agriculture.

2.Household labor is involved in subsistence farming.

3.A transport network is significant for plantation agriculture.

4.Major plantations are found in tundra regions.

5.In the USA, the farmer usually resides on the farm.

6.Cash crops are grown in subsistence farming.

Column A Column B

(a) The practice of ploughing against the slopes on the

(i) Organic farming
hill

(b) In which organic materials and natural pesticides

(ii) Mixed farming
are used

(c) In which herdsmen move place to place with their

(iii) Contour ploughing
livestock

(iv) Nomadic herding (d) Farms, farms animals and farmers together

(e) in which crops are raised and livestock are kept on

(v) Farming ecosystem
the farm to have animal products
SHORT ANSWER QUESTIONS:

• 1. Name the 3 sectors of activities done by people.

• 2. What is meant by arable land?
• 3. How is farming classified?
• 4. What are the 3 categories of Commercial farming?
 LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTIONS
• 1. What do the term plantations means and which are the major plantations in the
tropical regions of the world?
2. Name the fibre crops and mention the climatic conditions required for its growth
• 3. Differences between subsistence farming and intensive farming.