AGRICULTURE

Agriculture refers to the practice of large-scale cultivation of soil in order

to produce crops. India is a significant agricultural nation. Two-thirds of
India's population is engaged in agricultural activities. The majority of the
food we consume is produced through the primary industry of agriculture.
It also produces raw materials for various industries.

Types of Farming
The cultivation methods depend upon the characteristics of the physical
environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices.
Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type. In different parts of
India, the following farming systems are practised.

Primitive Subsistence Farming : It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.

Farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops.
When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch
of land for cultivation. It is known by different names in different parts of
the country. It is known as jhumming in the north-eastern states.

 Land productivity is low in this type of agriculture.

 This type of farming depends on monsoon.
 This farming is practised in a few parts of India.

Intensive Subsistence Farming

 This type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land.

 It is labour-intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and
irrigation are used for higher production.

Commercial Farming

This type of farming uses higher doses of modern inputs such as high-
yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and
pesticides to obtain higher productivity.

Plantation is a type of commercial farming in which a single crop is

grown in a large area. Plantations cover large tracts of land, using capital-
intensive inputs with the help of migrant labourers. All the produce is used
as a raw material in industries.

E.g., Tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana.

Cropping Pattern
India has three cropping seasons:

1. Rabi
2. Kharif
3. Zaid
Rabi
Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer
from April to June. Precipitation during winter due to western temperate cyclones
helps these crops to grow. Success of the green revolution in Punjab, Haryana,
western Uttar Pradesh, and some areas of Rajasthan also influenced the growth of
rabi crops. Examples: wheat, barley, peas, gram, and mustard.
Kharif
Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon and these are harvested in
September-October
Examples: paddy, maize, jawar, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute etc.
Rice growing regions: Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra
Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Konkan coast(Maharashtra). In states like
Assam, West Bengal, and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year, namely
Aus, Aman and Boro.
Zaid
Zaid crops are sown between the rabi and Kharif seasons i.e from March to June.
Crops produced during Zaid season: watermelon, muskmelon, fodder crops,
cucumber, etc.

Major Crops in India

A variety of food and non-food crops are grown in different parts of India,
depending upon the variations in soil, climate and cultivation practices.
Major crops grown in India are:

 Rice
 Wheat
 Millets
 Pulses
 Tea
 Coffee
 Sugarcane
 oil seeds
 Cotton
 Jute

Rice

1. It is a Kharif crop.
2. It requires high temperature and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100
cm.
 3. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
4. It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the
deltaic regions.

Wheat

1. This is a Rabi crop.

2. It requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
3. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing
season.
4. The Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest and the black soil region of the
Deccan are two main wheat-growing zones in India.
5. It is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop in the north
and north-western part of India.

Millets

1. Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are the important millets grown in India.
2. These are known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.
Types of Millets
In India, the three most significant millets are jowar, bajra, and ragi. They are known
as coarse grains. These have a high nutritional value
RAGI
Rich in iron, calcium, and roughage. Cultivate on red, black, sandy, loamy, and
shallow black soils. Major ragi-producing states: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal
Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
BAJRA
Grows on sandy and shallow black soils. Major bajra-producing States: Rajasthan,
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Haryana.
JOWAR
It is a rain-fed crop that is primarily grown in moist regions. and requires little
irrigation. Major Jowar producing States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
and Madhya Pradesh

Maize

1. It is a Kharif crop.
2. It requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial
soil.
3. It is used both as food and fodder.
4. Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh,
Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

Pulses

1. India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.

2. Pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
3. Major pulses grown in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and
Gram.
4. Pulses are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores
fertility.
 5. Major pulse-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra,
Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Food Crops other than Grains

Sugarcane

1. It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.

2. It grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C
and annual rainfall between 75cm to 100cm.
3. It can be grown on a variety of soils.
4. Needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting.
5. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
6. Sugarcane is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari and molasses.
7. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and
Haryana.

Oil Seeds

Different oil seeds are grown, covering approximately 12% of the total
cropped area of India. The main oil-seeds produced in India are:

 Groundnut: is a Kharif crop and accounts for half of the major oilseeds
produced in India. Gujarat is the largest producer of groundnuts.
 Mustard: is a rabi crop.
 Sesamum (til): is a Kharif crop in the north and rabi crop in south India.
 Castor seeds: It is grown as both Rabi and Kharif crop.
 Linseed: is a rabi crop.
 Coconut
 Soyabean
 Cotton seeds
 Sunflower

Tea

1. It is also an important beverage crop introduced by the British in India.

2. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates with deep and
fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter.
3. Tea bushes require a warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year.
4. Tea is a labour-intensive industry.
5. Major tea-producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri
districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Coffee

Yemen coffee is produced in India, and this variety of coffee is in great

demand all over the world. Its cultivation was introduced on the Baba
Budan Hills and is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil
Nadu.

Horticulture Crops

India is a producer of tropical as well as temperate fruits. Major crops

produced are pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato.
Some of the famous horticulture crops grown in India are:

 Mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and

West Bengal Oranges of Nagpur and Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya), 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
 Apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh
Non-Food Crops
Rubber
Rubber is an equatorial crop. Grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas Climatic
Condition moist and humid climate. High Precipitation (above 200cm). Annual
temperature above 25°C. Major rubber producing states: Kerala, Tamil Nadu,
Karnataka and Andaman, and Nicobar islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya.
Fiber Crops : Two types Cotton, Jute.
The four main fibre crops grown in India are cotton, jute, hemp, and natural silk.
Cotton, jute, and hemp are obtained from crops cultivated in the soil Silk is obtained
from the cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves, particularly mulberry.
Sericulture is the practice of rearing silkworms to produce silk fibre.
Cotton :
Cotton is one of the main raw materials for the cotton textile industry. After China,
India was the second-largest cotton producer in 2017. Cotton grows well in the
Deccan plateau. Black cotton soil (regur soil) is required for the growth of cotton
Climate conditions to grow cotton High temperature and bright sunshine Low rainfall
or irrigation.
210 frost-free days It is a Kharif crop and requires 6 to 8 months to mature.
Major cotton-producing states: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka,
Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana
Jute :
It is referred to as the golden fibre. Jute cultivate on well-drained fertile soils in the
flood plains where the soil is continually replenished. During the growing phase, a
high temperature is necessary. It is used to create many artifacts, including gunny
bags, mats, ropes, yarn, and carpets.
Due to its expensive price, it is losing market share to synthetic packaging materials
and fibres, particularly nylon. Major jute-producing states: West Bengal, Bihar,
Assam, Odisha, and Meghalaya.
Technological and Institutional Reforms
Agriculture provides a livelihood for more than 60% of its population, so
this sector needs some serious technical and institutional reforms. The
Green Revolution and the White Revolution were some of the reforms
initiated by people to improve agriculture.

Some initiatives taken by the Government are:

 Schemes introduced by Government such as Kissan Credit Card (KCC),

Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
 Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers on the
radio and television were introduced.
 The government also announces minimum support price, remunerative and
procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of farmers by
speculators and middlemen.
Contribution of Agriculture to the National Economy,
Employment and Output
 In 2010-11, about 52% of the total workforce was employed by the farm
sector.
 The share of agriculture in the GDP is declining.
 Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities,
veterinary services and animal breeding centres, horticulture development,
research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast,
etc. are a few of the initiatives introduced by the government to improve
Indian agriculture.
BHOODAN MOVEMENT
Vinoba Bhave was declared as Mahatma Gandhi's spiritual heir. He participated in
Satyagraha and was a follower of Gandhi's concept of gram swarajya. After Gandhi's
death, Vinoba Bhave undertook a padyatra to spread Gandhi's message across India.
In Pochampalli, some poor landless villagers demanded land for their economic well-
being, and Vinoba Bhave suggested cooperative farming to the government as a
solution. Shri Ram Chandra Reddy stood up and offered 80 acres of land to be
distributed among 80 landless villagers, which was known as 'Bhoodan'. Later,
Vinoba Bhave traveled and introduced his ideas widely all over India, and some
zamindars offered to distribute some villages among the landless, known as
Gramdan. This movement initiated by Vinoba Bhave is known as the Bhoodan-
Gramdan movement or the Blood-less Revolution.