Agriculture is a primary activity! in which almost two-thitd of India’s population is engaged. It produces food for our consumption and provides raw materials for various industries. Besides this, some agricultural products like tea, coffee, spices, etc are also exported. Types of Farming On the basis of the characteristics of physical environments Pe) Primitive Subsistence Farming This type of farming is carried out by the small farmers au: on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao, digging sticks, using the family or community labour. This farming depends upon rainfall, natural fertility of soil and production is for self consumption only. It is also called slash and burn agriculture. In this type of agriculture, tribals/farmers clear a patch of forest land and burn it for their agricultural practice. When the soil fertility decreases, farmers leave the patch idle for few years and shift to a new patch of land to do the same activity. This allows the nature to replenish the fertility of the soil. In this type of farming, land productivity is low as the farmer does not use fertilisers or other modern inputs. It is known by different names in India and the world,Intensive Subsistence Farming This type of farming in India is practised in areas where there is high population pressure on land. It is a labour intensive farming. Farmers use heavy biochemical inputs, intensive irrigation to obtain higher production. Commercial Farming The agricultural practice on large scale by using modern technology to earn good income from agriculture is called commercial farming. The main characteristic of this type of farming is large land holdings and use of high levels of inputs, such as High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, good irrigation facilities, chemical fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, etc. The degree of commercialisation of farming varies from One area to another, depending on climatic conditions, irrigation facilities and other factors. For example, rice is 4 commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab but in Odisha, itis a subsistence crop.Cropping Pattern It refers to environmental differences (such as climate, topography, soil type, etc) that give rise to different cropping seasons in India. Crops are grown according to set pattern that suits the environment of an area. Cropping Seasons in India India has three cropping seasons i.e. rabi, kharif and zaid. Rabi Crops These are sown at the start of winter (October to December) and harvested in spring or at the start of summer (April to June). Some crops cultivated in this season are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard. These crops are grown in Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. Reason for the successful rabi crops in winter months is due to the Western temperate cyclones that cause rainfall in December-January.) The Green Revolution’ in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has led to the growth of rabi crop in this region Kharif Crops These crops are sown during the onset of monsoon: (Mayuly) and harvested in September-October. Major Icharif crops are paddy (rice), maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soybean. Major areas where rice is cultivated are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Maharashtra (Konkan Coast), Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana In well irrigated areas of Assam, West Bengal and Odisha,, three crops of paddy are grown in a year named Aus, Aman and Boro. Zaid Crops These crops are sown between Rabi and Kharif season (MarchJune). Some of the crops produced during this season are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops Major Crops Many varieties of food and non-food crops are grown in various regions of the country depending upon the different cultivation practices, soil type and climatic conditions. Some major crops of India are given below Grains and Leguminous Crops Rice, wheat, millets? and maize are important grains grown, in India. Pulses are the leguminous crops. Rice Itis the staple food crop of a majority of the le ii People in India. This Khanif crop requires high temperature (above 25°C) and high humidity. Itis grown in areas of heavy rainfall (above 100 cm). In areas of less rainfall like in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthen, it is grown with proper irrigation through canals and tbe wells Wheat This is the second most impor . tant cereal crop in India, It is the main food crop in North and mn Seat and North-Western part of id brigh It requires @ cool growing season an sun at the time of ripening and 50-70 cm. of anu, ! fainfall evenly distributed during the growing The ewo important wheat growing zones in the country are the Ganga-Satluj plains in the North and the black soil region of the Deccan. : Millets (Coarse Grains) Jowar, bajra and ragi are the important millets in India, These are also known as coarse grains have very high nutritional value. Jowar Sorghum It is rich in potassium, phospho and calcium with small amounts of iron and sod grown in the moist areas. Bajra (Pearl Millet) It contains iron, folate, magnesium, copper, zinc, calcium and vitamins, Ragi (Finger Millet) It is rich in iron, calcium, of micro-nutrients and roughage. Ragi grows well in dry regions on red, black, sandy loamy and shallow black soils, Maize kharif crop (although in Bihar, it is a rabi erop which grows well in old alluvial soil. It requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C. The use of modern inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilisers and irrigation have increased the production of maize. Pulses India is the largest producer and consumer 6 in the world. Pulses are important source of p and minerals and are also known as poor m: Pulses need less soil moisture (water) and ¢a in dry conditions. All the pulses except arhar have ability to fi and restore soil fertility. They are grown in rotation so that the soil gets its nutrient“alternation with ¢ oe d ae i seed Weeds are ee mustard, (Gil), soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, ‘ :Non-Food Crops Rubber Rubber is mainly an equatorial crop’, but under special conditions it is also grown in tropical areas. Itrequires moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200 cm and temperature above 25°C. It is an important industrial raw material that supports many industries, Fibre Crops Cotton, Jute, hemp and natural silk are the four major fibre crops grown in India, The first three are plant products while silk is obtained from cocoons of the sillworms fed on green leaves specially mulberry. Rearing of silkworms for the production of silk fibre is known as sericulture. Cotton India is believed to be the original home of cotton. It is one of the major raw materials for cotton textile industry. Cotton growth is good in the drier parts of the Decean Plateau that has black soil Te requires high temperature, light rainfall or itrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth, {eis a kharif crop and requires 6 to 8 months to mature, Jute Ieis known as the golden fibre. Jute grows well on Welldrained fertile soils in the flood plains. It is cause soils are renewed every year in these plai Tequires high temperature during the growing period. This fibre is very strong and due to its roughness, i i Used to make gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts. Due to its high cost, it is now losing the market to synthetic fibres and packing materials particularly the nylon. fe Technological and Institutional Reforms Technological Reforms The Government of India in 1960s-70s introduced agricultural reforms to improve Indian agriculture like Green revolution and White Tevolution® (operation flood). Institutional Reforms Major institutional reforms were introduced in India from the First Five Year Plan. Their focus was land reforms? that include collectivisation", consolidation of land holdings (Chakbandi), development of cooperative societies, abolition of zamindari, etc. As right of inheritance divide the land holdings to very small units that reduce productivity, so land reform was the main focus in institutional reforms, Land Development Programme (LDP) A comprehensive Land Development Programme (LDP), was introduced during 1980s and 1990s. This programme included both institutional and technical reforms, Other Reforms Other benefit schemes for the farmers are + Kisan Credit Card (KCC) scheme for giving easy and cheap, loans to small farmers. 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