Chapter 4: Agriculture

Importance of Agriculture

Key Points:

• Two-thirds of India's population is engaged in agriculture, a primary activity producing food and raw materials.
• Provides raw materials for industries like textiles (cotton, jute), sugar (sugarcane), and beverages (tea, coffee).
• Exports agricultural products such as tea, coffee, and spices.

Types of Farming

Primitive Subsistence Farming:

• Practiced on small patches using primitive tools (hoe, dao) and family labor.
• Depends on monsoon, soil fertility, and environmental conditions.
• 'Slash and burn' method; farmers shift when soil fertility declines.
• Local names: Jhumming (North-east), Bewar (Madhya Pradesh), Podu (Andhra Pradesh), Kumari (Western Ghats).
• Crops: Cereals, food crops for family sustenance.

Intensive Subsistence Farming:

• Practiced in high population pressure areas, labor-intensive.
• Uses high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation for higher yields.
• States: Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, West Bengal, parts of Punjab.
• Land fragmentation due to inheritance reduces holding size, increasing pressure on land.

Commercial Farming:

• Uses modern inputs (HYV seeds, fertilizers, pesticides) for high productivity.
• Examples: Rice (commercial in Punjab, subsistence in Odisha).
• Plantation farming: Single crop on large areas (tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane).
• States: Tea (Assam, West Bengal), Coffee (Karnataka), Rubber (Kerala).

Cropping Seasons

Rabi:

• Sown: October-December; Harvested: April-June.
• Crops: Wheat, barley, peas, gram, mustard.
• States: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh.
• Factors: Winter precipitation from western temperate cyclones, Green Revolution.

Kharif:

• Sown: Onset of monsoon; Harvested: September-October.
• Crops: Paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur, cotton, jute, groundnut.
• States: Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab.
• Paddy varieties in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha: Aus, Aman, Boro.

Zaid:

• Short summer season between Rabi and Kharif.
• Crops: Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, fodder crops.
• Sugarcane: Takes nearly a year to grow.

Major Crops

Rice:

• Staple food, second largest producer globally after China.
• Kharif crop, requires >25°C, high humidity, >100 cm rainfall or irrigation.
• Regions: North and North-eastern plains, coastal areas, deltaic regions, Punjab (with irrigation).

Wheat:

• Second most important cereal, main food crop in North-west.
• Rabi crop, needs cool growing season, 50-75 cm rainfall, bright sunshine for ripening.
• Regions: Ganga-Satluj plains, Deccan black soil; States: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh.

Millets:

• Jowar, bajra, ragi; high nutritional value (ragi rich in iron, calcium).
• Jowar: Rain-fed, States: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh.
• Bajra: Sandy, shallow black soils; States: Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra.
• Ragi: Dry regions, red/black soils; States: Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Sikkim.

Maize:

• Food and fodder, kharif crop, 21-27°C, old alluvial soil.
• States: Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar.
• Modern inputs (HYV seeds, fertilizers) boost production.

Pulses:

• Largest producer and consumer globally; major protein source.
• Crops: Tur (kharif), urad, moong, masur, peas, gram (rabi).
• Leguminous, fix nitrogen, grown in rotation; States: Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan.

Sugarcane:

• Tropical/subtropical, 21-27°C, 75-100 cm rainfall, irrigation in low-rain areas.
• Second largest producer after Brazil; used for sugar, gur, molasses.
• States: Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.

Oil Seeds:

• Groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesamum, soyabean, castor seeds.
• Groundnut (kharif): Gujarat, Rajasthan; Mustard (rabi): North India.
• Uses: Cooking, soaps, cosmetics; 12% of cropped area.

Tea:

• Plantation crop, requires warm, moist, frost-free climate, fertile soil.
• Second largest producer after China; States: Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu.
• Labor-intensive, processed in tea gardens for freshness.

Coffee:

• Arabica variety, high global demand, grown in Nilgiri, Karnataka, Kerala.
• Introduced on Baba Budan Hills; plantation crop.

Horticulture Crops:

• Second largest producer of fruits and vegetables after China.
• Fruits: Mangoes (Maharashtra), oranges (Nagpur), bananas (Kerala), apples (Jammu & Kashmir).
• Vegetables: Peas, cauliflower, onion, tomato, brinjal, potato.

Rubber:

• Equatorial crop, needs >200 cm rainfall, >25°C; grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu.
• Industrial raw material for tires, footwear, etc.

Fibre Crops:

• Cotton: Kharif, black cotton soil, second largest producer after China; States: Maharashtra, Gujarat.
• Jute: Golden fibre, flood plains, used for bags, ropes; States: West Bengal, Bihar.
• Sericulture: Silk from silkworm cocoons fed on mulberry leaves.

Technological and Institutional Reforms

Institutional Reforms:

• Post-Independence: Collectivization, consolidation of holdings, abolition of zamindari.
• Land reforms in First Five Year Plan; implementation often weak.
• Bhoodan-Gramdan: Vinoba Bhave’s movement for land redistribution to landless farmers.

Technological Reforms:

• Green Revolution (1960s-70s): Package technology (HYV seeds, fertilizers) boosted production.
• White Revolution: Operation Flood improved dairy farming.
• 1980s-90s: Comprehensive land development, crop insurance, Grameen banks, low-interest loans.

Government Initiatives:

• Kisan Credit Card (KCC), Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
• Weather bulletins, agricultural programs on radio/TV.
• Minimum support price, remunerative prices to protect farmers.