Chapter 4 – Agriculture

Fill in the blanks:

1] Agriculture is an age-old economic activity in our country.
2] In slash and burn agriculture farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops to sustain their family.
3] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Milpa in Mexico and Central America.
4] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Conuco in Venzuela.
5] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Roca in Brazil.
6] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Masole in Central Africa.
7] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Ladang in Indonesia.
8] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Bewar or Dahiya in Madhya Pradesh.
9] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Podu or Penda in Andhra Pradesh.
10] The slash and burn agriculture is known as Jhumming in the North-eastern region.
11] Rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but in Orissa, it is a subsistence crop.
12] India has three cropping seasons rabi, kharif and zaid.
13] Wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard are examples of rabi crop.
14] In between the rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season.
15] India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
16] Wheat is the main food crop, in north and north-western part of the country.
17] Maharashtra is the largest producer of jowar followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
18] India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
19] Groundnut is a kharif crop and accounts for about half of the major oilseeds produced in the country.
20] India produces about four per cent of the world’s coffee production.
21] India produces about 13 per cent of the world’s vegetables.
22] India ranks fifth among the world’s natural rubber producers.
23] Rearing of silk worms for the production of silk fibre is known as sericulture.
24] India is the third largest producer of cotton in the world.
25] Jute is known as the golden fibre.
26] Land reform was the main focus of our First Five Year Plan.
27] The Bhoodan-Gramdan movement initiated by Vinobha Bhave is also known as the Blood-less Revolution.
28] PDS is a programme which provides food grains and other essential commodities at subsidised prices in rural and urban areas.
29] The FCI procures foodgrains from the farmers at the government announced minimum support price (MSP).
30] The consumers are divided into two categories: below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL).
31] Genetic engineering is recognized as a powerful supplement in inventing new hybrid varieties of seeds.

Questions & Answers:

Q.1. Named types of farming practiced in India.
Ans:
Agriculture is an age-old economic activity in our country. Over these years, cultivation methods have changed significantly depending upon the characteristics of physical environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices. Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type. At present, in different parts of India, the following farming systems are practiced.
a] Primitive subsistence farming
b] Intensive subsistence farming
c] Commercial farming

Q.2. write a short note on Primitive subsistence farming.
Ans:
This type of farming is still practised in few pockets of India. Primitive subsistence agriculture is practised on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks, and family/community labour. This type of farming depends upon monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops grown. It is known as ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops to sustain their family. When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation. This type of shifting allows nature to replenish the fertility of the soil through natural processes; land productivity in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer does not use fertilizers or other modern inputs. It is known by different names in different parts of the country.

Q.3. what is Jhumming?
Ans:
The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture is known Jhumming. It is known as ‘Milpa’ in Mexico and Central America, ‘Conuco’ in Venzuela, ‘Roca’ in Brazil, ‘Masole’ in Central Africa, ‘Ladang’ in Indonesia, ‘Ray’ in Vietnam. In India, this primitive form of cultivation is called ‘Bewar’ or ‘Dahiya’ in Madhya Pradesh, ‘Podu’ or ‘Penda’ in Andhra Pradesh, ‘Pama Dabi’ or ‘Koman’ or Bringa’ in Orissa, ‘Kumari’ in Western Ghats, ‘Valre’ or ‘Waltre’ in South-eastern Rajasthan, ‘Khil’ in the Himalayan belt, ‘Kuruwa’ in Jharkhand, and ‘Jhumming’ in the North-eastern region.

Q.4. write a note on Intensive subsistence farming.
Ans:
This type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land. It is labourintensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for obtaining higher production.

Q.5. write a note on commercial farming.
Ans:
The main characteristic of this type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs, e.g. high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides in order to obtain higher productivity. The degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from one region to another. For example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but in Orissa, it is a subsistence crop.

Q.6. Plantation is the type of commercial farming. Explain.
Ans:
Plantation is also a type of commercial farming. In this type of farming, a single crop is grown on a large area. The plantation has an interface of agriculture and industry. Plantations cover large tracts of land, using capital intensive inputs, with the help of migrant labourers. All the produce is used as raw material in respective INDUSTRIES. In India, tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana, etc. are important plantation crops.

Q.7. Name the three cropping seasons in India.
Ans:
India has three cropping seasons Rabi, kharif and zaid.

Q.8. write short note on Rabi crops.
Ans:
Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June. Some of the important rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard. Though, these crops are grown in large parts of India, states from the north and northwestern parts such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important for the production of wheat and other rabi crops. Availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western temperate cyclones helps in the success of these crops. However, the success of the green revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has also been an important factor in the growth of the abovementioned rabi crops.

Q.9. Write a short note on kharif crops.
Ans:
Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. Important crops grown during this season are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean. Some of the most important rice-growing regions are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, particularly the (Konkan coast) along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
Recently, paddy has also become an important crop of Punjab and Haryana. In states like Assam, West Bengal and Orissa, three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These are Aus, Aman and Boro.

Q.10. Write a short note on zaid crops.
Ans:
In between the rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season. Some of the crops produced during ‘zaid’ are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.

Q.11. Name the major crops grown in India.
Ans:
A variety of food and non food crops are grown in different parts of the country 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 and jute, etc.

Q.12. write a brief note about rice.
Ans:
Rice is the staple food crop of a majority of the people in India. India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China. It is a kharif crop which requires high temperature, (above 25°C) and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm. In the areas of less rainfall, it grows with the help of irrigation. Rice is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions. The use of canal irrigation and tubewells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan.

Q.13. write a brief note on wheat.
Ans:
Wheat is the second most important cereal crop. It is the main food crop, in north and north-western part of the country. This rabi crop requires a cool growing season and a bright sunshine at the time of ripening. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season. There are two important wheat-growing zones in the country – the Ganga-Satluj plains in the northwest and black soil region of the Deccan. The major wheat-producing states are Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and parts of Madhya Pradesh.

Q.14. write a brief not on millets.
Ans:
Jowar, bajra and ragi are the important millets grown in India. Though, these are known as coarse grains, they have very high nutritional value. For example, ragi is very rich in iron, calcium, other micro nutrients and roughage. Jowar is the third most important food crop with respect to area and production. It is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas which hardly needs irrigation. Maharashtra is the largest producer of jowar followed by Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh. Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil. Rajasthan is the largest producer of
bajra followed by Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana. Ragi is a crop of dry regions and grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils. Karnataka is the largest producer of ragi followed by Tamil Nadu. Apart from these states, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh are also important for the production of ragi.

Q.15. write a brief note on pulses.
Ans:
India is the largest producer as well as the consumer of pulses in the world. These are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet. Major pulses that are grown in India are tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur, peas and gram. Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions. Pulses are leguminous crops, all these crops except arhar help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air. Therefore, these are mostly grown in rotation with other crops. Major pulse producing states in India are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka.

Q.16. Write a brief note on sugarcane.
Ans:
Sugarcane is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop. It grows well in hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and an annual rainfall between 75cm. and 100cm. Irrigation is required in the regions of low rainfall. It can be grown on a variety of soils and needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil. It is the main source of sugar, gur (jaggary), khandsari and molasses. The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

Q.17. List some of oilseeds produced in India.
Ans:
India is the largest producer of oilseeds in the world. Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12 per cent of the total cropped area of the country. Main oil-seeds produced in India are groundnut, mustard, and coconut, sesamum (til), soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and sunflower. Most of these are edible and used as cooking mediums. However, some of these are also used as raw material in the production of soap, cosmetics and ointments.

Q.18. Explain the climatic conditions required for growth of tea.
Ans:
Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture. It is also an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British. Today, most of the tea plantations are owned by Indians. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates endowed with deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter. Tea bushes require warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year. Frequent showers evenly distributed over the year ensure continuous growth of tender leaves. Tea is a labour intensive industry.

Q.19. Describe major tea producing states in India.
Ans:
Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and
Tripura are also tea-producing states in the country. India is the leading producer as well as exporter of tea in the world.

Q.20. Discuss coffee production in India.
Ans:
India produces about four per cent of the world’s coffee production. Indian coffee is known in the world for its good quality. The Arabica variety initially brought from Yemen is produced in the country. This variety is in great demand all over the world. Initially its cultivation was introduced on the Baba Budan Hills and even today its cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

Q.21. write short note on production of horticulture crops in India.
Ans:
India is the largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world. India is a producer of tropical as well as temperate fruits. Mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, 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 and Maharashtra, apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal
Pradesh are in great demand the world over. India produces about 13 per cent of the world’s vegetables. It is an important producer of pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato.

Q.22. Describe the climatic conditions required for growth of rubber.
Ans:
Rubber is an equatorial crop, but under special conditions, it is also grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas. It requires moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200 cm. and temperature above 25°C. Rubber is an important industrial raw material. It is mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicabar islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya. India ranks fifth among the world’s natural rubber producers.

Q.23. List the fibre crops grown in India.
Ans:
Cotton, jute, hemp and natural silk are the four major fibre crops grown in India. The first three are derived from the crops grown in the soil; the latter is obtained from cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves especially mulberry.

Q.24. what is meant by sericulture?
Ans:
Rearing of silk worms for the production of silk fibre is known as sericulture.

Q.25. write a short note on cotton.
Ans:
India is believed to be the original home of the cotton plant. Cotton is one of the main raw materials for cotton textile industry. India is the third-largest producer of cotton in the world. Cotton grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau. Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth. It is a kharif crop and requires 6 to 8 months to mature. Major cotton-producing states are – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

Q.26. write a short note on jute.
Ans:
Jute is known as the golden fibre. Jute grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains where soils are renewed every year. High temperature is required during the time of growth. West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Orissa and Meghalaya are the major jute producing states. It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts. Due to its high cost, it is losing market to synthetic fibres and packing materials, particularly the nylon.

Q.27. Discuss various steps taken by government of India to introduce reforms in agriculture.
Ans:
The Government of India embarked upon introducing agricultural reforms to improve Indian agriculture in the 1960s and 1970s. The Green Revolution based on the use of package technology and the White Revolution (Operation Flood) were some of the strategies initiated to improve the lot of Indian agriculture. But, this too led to the concentration of development in few selected areas. Therefore, in the 1980s and 1990s, a comprehensive land development programme was initiated, which included both institutional and technical reforms. Provision for crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease, establishment of Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks for providing loan facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest were some important steps in this direction. Kissan Credit Card (KCC), Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS) are some other schemes introduced by the Government of India for the benefit of the farmers.

Q.28. Discuss the challenges faced by Indian farmers.
Ans:
The growth rate in agriculture is decelerating which is an alarming situation. Today, Indian farmers are facing a big challenge from international competition and our government is going ahead with reduction in the public investment in agriculture sector particularly in irrigation, power, rural roads, market and mechanisation. Subsidy on fertilisers is decreased leading to increase in the cost of production. Moreover reduction in import duties on agricultural products has proved detrimental to agriculture in the country. Farmers are withdrawing their investment from agriculture causing a downfall in the employment in agriculture.

Q.29. why was national food security system designed?
Ans:
In order to ensure availability of food to all sections of society our government carefully designed a national food security system. It consists of two components (a) buffer stock and (b) public distribution system (PDS).

Q.30. what is meant by PDS?
Ans:
PDS or public distribution system is a programme which provides food grains and other essential commodities at subsidized prices in rural and urban areas.

Q.31. what is the objective of India’s food security policy?
Ans:
India’s food security policy has a primary objective to ensure availability of food grains to the common people at an affordable price. It has enabled the poor to have access to food. The focus of the policy is on growth in agriculture production and on fixing the support price for procurement of wheat and rice, to maintain their stocks.

Q.32. Name the ORGANIZATION responsible for procuring and stocking food grains.
Ans:
Food Corporation of India (FCI) is responsible for procuring and stocking foodgrains, whereas distribution is ensured by public distribution system (PDS). The FCI procures foodgrains from the farmers at the government announced minimum support price (MSP).

Q.33. into how many categories consumers are divided?
Ans:
The consumers are divided into two categories: below poverty line (BPL) and above poverty line (APL), with the issue price being different for each category. However, this categorization is not perfect and a number of deserving poor have been excluded from the BPL category.

Q.34. In what ways agricultural production can be increased?
Ans:
Each district and block can be made self sufficient in foodgrain production if government provides proper agricultural infrastructure, credit linkages and also encourages the use of latest techniques. Instead of concentrating only on rice or wheat, the food crop with a better growth potential in that particular area must be encouraged. Creation of necessary infrastructure like irrigation facilities, availability of electricity etc. can help to increase agricultural production on a sustainable basis.

Q.35. state the reason for decline in food production in India.
Ans:
One important reason for decline in food production is land degradation. Free power to a section of farmers has encouraged them to pump groundwater to grow water-intensive crops in low-rainfall areas (rice in Punjab, sugarcane in Maharashtra). This unsustainable pumping has reduced water storage in aquifers. Consequently, many wells and tubewells have run dry. This has pushed the marginal and small farmers out of cultivation.

Q.36. what are major issues faced by farmers?
Ans:
The big farmers with deeper tubewells still have water, but many others face a water crisis. Inadequate storage and marketing facilities also act as a disincentive to the farmer. Thus, the farmers are badly affected by the uncertainties of production and market. They suffer from a double disadvantage as they pay high prices for inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilizers etc. but lack the bargaining power to fix prices in their favour. All the production reaches the market simultaneously. The higher the supply the lower is the demand. This causes distress sale.
Under globalization, particularly after
1990, the farmers in India have been exposed to new challenges. Despite being an important producer of rice, cotton, rubber, tea, coffee, jute and spices our agricultural products are not able to compete with the developed countries because of the highly subsidized agriculture in those countries.

Q.37. How can Indian farmers cope with the challenges due to globalization and competition?
Ans:
Indian farmers should diversify their cropping pattern from cereals to high-value crops. This will increase incomes and reduce environmental degradation simultaneously. Because fruits, medicinal herbs, flowers, vegetables, bio-diesel crops like jatropha and jojoba need much less irrigation than rice or sugarcane. India
’s diverse climate can be harnessed to grow a wide range of high-value crops.