Agriculture Notes in English Class 10 Geography Chapter 4 Book-Contemporary India
0Team Eklavyaअप्रैल 22, 2025
India is an important country from the agricultural point of view
The country has two-thirds of its population engaged in agriculture.
Agriculture is a primary activity that produces most of the food for us.
Apart from food grains, it also produces raw material for various industries.
Apart from this, some products like tea, coffee, spices etc. are also exported.
Types of agriculture
Agriculture is the ancient economic activity of our country.
Over the past thousands of years, farming methods have undergone significant changes depending upon the physical environment, technology and socio-cultural customs.
There are many types of agriculture ranging from subsistence farming to commercial farming.
At present, the following types of agricultural systems have been adopted in different parts of India.
Early subsistence agriculture
This type of agriculture is still done in some parts of India.
Primitive subsistence agriculture is carried out on small pieces of land using primitive agricultural tools such as wooden ploughs, dao and digging sticks and family labour.
This type of agriculture usually depends on monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of other environmental conditions for growing the crop.
This is slash and burn agriculture.
Farmers clear pieces of land and grow grains and other food crops on them to feed their families.
When the fertility of the soil decreases the farmers shift from that piece of land and clear another piece of land for agriculture.
This type of shifting agriculture increases the fertility of the soil through natural processes.
This type of agriculture is known by different names in different parts of the country.
In the north-eastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland it is called 'Jhum';
It is called pamlou in Manipur and 'dipa' in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh and Andaman Nicobar Islands.
Jhum Cultivation
This agriculture is known by other names in different parts of the world:
'Milpa' in Mexico and Central America
'Conuco' in Venezuela,
'Roca' in Brazil,
'Masole' in Central Africa,
Ladang in Indonesia
Known as 'Ray' in Vietnam.
Regional names of Jhum cultivation in India
In Madhya Pradesh 'Bebar or Dahiya,
'Pand' or 'Panda' in Andhra Pradesh,
'Pamadrabi' or 'Koman' in 'Mariga' in Odisha
'Kumari' in the Western Ghats,
'Walre' or 'Waltre' in south-eastern Rajasthan
blooming in the himalayan region
Kuruva in Jharkhand
'Jhoom' etc. in the North Eastern regions.
Intensive subsistence agriculture
This type of agriculture is done in those areas where there is high population pressure on the land.
This is labour-intensive farming where large amounts of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used to increase production.
Due to inheritance rights in land ownership, the size of land holdings is becoming smaller and unprofitable from generation to generation and due to lack of alternative employment, farmers try to get maximum yield from limited land.
Hence, there is a lot of pressure on agricultural land.
Commercial Agriculture
The main feature of this type of agriculture is the use of modern inputs such as high-yield seeds, chemical fertilizers and pesticides to obtain higher yields.
The level of commercialization of agriculture varies in different regions.
For example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab but in Odisha it is a subsistence crop.
Planting Agriculture
This is also a type of commercial farming.
In this type of farming a single crop is sown in a large area.
Plantation agriculture is an interface between industry and agriculture.
Plantation agriculture is carried out in large areas and is done with the help of huge capital and labour.
All the production obtained from this is used as raw material in the industry.
In India, tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, banana etc. are important plantation crops.
Tea in Assam and North Bengal, coffee in Karnataka are the main plantation crops there.
In plantation agriculture the production is for sale, hence the industries and markets related to means of transportation and communication play an important role in its development.
cropping pattern
There are three crop seasons in India,
Rabi
Kharif
Zayed.
Rabi Crops
These crops are sown in winter between October to December and harvested in summer between April to June.
Wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard are some of the main Rabi crops.
These crops are sown in a wide area of the country. Northern and north-western states like Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important states for the production of wheat and other Rabi crops.
Rainfall caused by temperate western disturbances during the winter season helps in higher production of these crops.
The success of Green Revolution in Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and some parts of Rajasthan is also an important factor in the growth of the above mentioned Rabi crops.
Kharif Crops
These crops are sown with the arrival of monsoon in different parts of the country and are harvested in September-October.
Main crops sown in this season include rice, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), green gram, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soybean.
Rice is cultivated mainly in Assam, West Bengal, Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra especially the Konkan coastal areas, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.
In the last few years, rice has become an important crop grown in Punjab and Haryana.
Three crops of paddy namely Aus, Aman and Boro are grown in Assam, West Bengal and Odisha.
Zayed
The crop sown in summer between Rabi and Kharif crop seasons is called Zaid.
In zaid season, mainly watermelon, melon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops are cultivated.
It takes about a year for the sugarcane crop to be ready.
Main Crops
Due to differences in soil, climate and agricultural methods, many types of edible and non-edible crops are grown in different regions of the country.
The main crops grown in India are rice, wheat, coarse cereals, pulses, tea, coffee, sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton and jute etc.
Rice
Rice is the food grain of most people in India.
Our country is the second largest rice producing country after China.
It is a Kharif crop which requires high temperature (above 25°C) and high humidity (more than 100 cm of rainfall) for its growth.
In areas with low rainfall, it is grown through irrigation.
Rice is grown in the northern and north-eastern plains, coastal areas and deltaic regions.
Due to the network of canals and the density of tube wells, it has become possible to grow rice crop in some low rainfall areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.
wheat
Wheat is the second most important food crop of India.
Which is grown in the northern and north-western parts of the country.
Cold season is required for growing Rabi crop and bright sunshine is required at the time of ripening.
To grow it, 50 to 75 cm of evenly distributed annual rainfall is required.
The two main wheat-growing areas in the country are the Ganga-Sutlej plains in the north-west and the black soil region of the Deccan.
Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, and parts of Rajasthan are the major wheat producing states.
Millets
Jowar, bajra and ragi are the main coarse cereals grown in India.
These are called coarse grains but they contain high amounts of nutrients.
For example, Ragi is rich in iron, calcium, micronutrients and bran.
In terms of area and production, sorghum is the third important food crop of the country.
This crop is dependent on rain.
Since it is mostly grown in humid areas, it does not require irrigation.
Its major producing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Millet
It is grown on sandy and shallow black soil.
Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana are its main producing states.
Ragi
It is a crop of dry areas and grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils.
The major producing states of Ragi are Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize
This is a crop which is used both as food grain and fodder.
It is a Kharif crop which grows best in 21°C to 27°C temperature and on old alluvial soil.
In some states like Bihar, maize is also grown in Rabi season.
Maize production has increased due to modern technological investments such as the use of high-yielding seeds, fertilizers, and irrigation.
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the major maize producing states.
Pulses
India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.
Pulses provide the most protein in vegetarian food.
Tur (pigeon pea), urad, moong, lentil, peas and gram are the main pulse crops of India.
Pulses require less moisture and can be grown even under dry conditions.
Being leguminous crops, all pulses except pigeon pea maintain the fertility of the soil by taking nitrogen from the air.
These crops are usually sown in rotation with other crops.
Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka are the major pulses producing states in India.
Food crops other than food grains
Sugarcane
Sugarcane is a tropical and subtropical crop.
This crop is grown in hot and humid climate having temperature of 21°C to 27°C and annual rainfall of 75 cm to 100 cm.
Irrigation is necessary in areas with low rainfall.
It can be grown in a variety of soils and requires a lot of physical labour from sowing to harvesting.
India is the second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil.
It is used for making sugar, jaggery, sugar candy and syrup.
Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana are the major sugarcane producing states.
Oilseeds
In 2018, India was the second largest oilseed producing country in the world after China.
In 2018, India ranked third in the world in toria production after Canada and China.
Several oilseed crops are grown on 12 percent of the total sown area in the country.
Groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesame, soybean, castor, cottonseed, linseed and sunflower are the major oilseed crops grown in India.
Most of these are edible and are used in cooking.
But some of these oil seeds are also used as raw materials in soap, cosmetics and body scrub industries.
Peanuts
Peanut is a Kharif crop and half of the total production of major oilseeds in the country is obtained from this crop.
Gujarat is a major peanut producer state.
Linseed and mustard are Rabi crops. Sesame is a Kharif crop in northern India and Rabi in southern India.
Castor is sown in both Kharif and Rabi crop seasons.
Tea
Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture.
It is an important beverage crop which was initially introduced to India by the British.
Today most of the tea gardens are owned by Indians.
The tea plant grows best in tropical and subtropical climates, deep soil rich in humus and organic matter, and sloping areas with easy drainage.
Tea bushes require a warm, moist and frost-free climate throughout the year to grow.
Even rainfall throughout the year helps in the growth of its tender leaves.
Tea is a labour-intensive industry.
This requires cheap and skilled labour in abundance.
The tea leaves are processed in the plantation itself to maintain its freshness.
The main tea producing areas are Assam, the hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Apart from these, tea is also grown in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura.
In 2018, India was the second largest tea producing country in the world after China.
Coffee
Indian coffee is world famous for its quality.
Arabica variety of coffee is grown in our country which was initially brought from Yemen.
This variety of coffee is in high demand all over the world.
Its cultivation started from Baba Budan hills and even today it is cultivated in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu around the Nilgiri hills.
Horticultural Crops
In 2018, India ranked second in the world in production of fruits and vegetables after China.
India is a producer of both tropical and temperate fruits.
Indian fruits including mangoes from Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal, oranges from Nagpur and Cherrapunji (Meghalaya), bananas from Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra, and Tamil Nadu, litchis from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, pineapples from Meghalaya, grapes from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra, apples, pears, apricots, and walnuts from Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir are in great demand worldwide.
India has a prominent place in the production of peas, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato.
Non-edible crops
rubber
Rubber is a crop of the equatorial region but is also grown in tropical and subtropical regions under special conditions.
It requires a moist and humid climate with more than 200 cm of rainfall and a temperature of more than 25°C.
Rubber is an important raw material used in industries.
It is mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andaman Nicobar Islands and Garo Hills in Meghalaya.
Fibre Crops
Cotton, jute, flax and natural silk are the four main fibre crops grown in India.
Of these, the first three are obtained by growing crops in the soil and the fourth is obtained from the cocoons of silkworms
Which grows on the green leaves of the mulberry tree.
Rearing of silkworms for silk production is called 'Sericulture'.
Cotton
India is considered to be the origin place of the cotton plant.
Cotton is a main raw material in the cotton textile industry.
In cotton production, India ranks second in the world after China.
The black soil in the drier parts of the Deccan Plateau is considered suitable for cotton production.
To grow this crop, high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sunshine are required.
This is a Kharif crop and it takes 6 to 8 months to ripen.
Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh are the major cotton producing states.
Jute
Jute is called golden fibre.
Jute crop is grown in the flood plains in well-drained fertile soil where new soil is deposited every year by floods.
It requires high temperature during its growth.
West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya are the major jute producing states.
It is used to make sacks, mats, ropes, fibres and yarns, carpets and other handicraft items.
Technological and Institutional Reforms
Agriculture has been practiced in India for thousands of years.
In the absence of technological and institutional changes, continued use of land resources hinders agricultural development and slows down its pace.
Despite the development of means of irrigation, farmers in a large part of the country are still dependent on monsoon and natural fertility of the land for farming.
There is a need to bring some serious technical and institutional reforms in agriculture which provides livelihood to the people.
After independence, in order to bring about institutional reforms in the country, priority was given to consolidation of land holdings, co-operation and abolition of Zamindari system etc.
Land reform was the main objective of the First Five Year Plan.
Due to ancestral rights over the land, it was getting divided into pieces which became necessary to consolidate.
Land reform laws were made but there was laxity in their implementation.
In the 1960s and 1970s, the Indian government initiated a number of agricultural reforms.
Some strategies for agricultural reform like Green Revolution based on package technology and White Revolution (Operation Flood) were initiated.
But due to this, development remained limited to some areas only.
Therefore, a comprehensive land development programme was launched in the 1980s and 1990s, based on institutional and technological reforms.
Some of the important steps taken in this direction included provision of crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease and establishment of rural banks, co-operative societies and banks to provide credit facilities to farmers at low interest rates.
For the benefit of farmers, the Government of India has also introduced 'Kisan Credit Card and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
Apart from this, weather information bulletins and agricultural programmes are broadcast for farmers on Akashvani and Doordarshan.
To protect the farmers from exploitation by middlemen and brokers, the government announces minimum support prices and remunerative purchase prices for some important crops.
Bhudan-Gramdan
Mahatma Gandhi declared Vinoba Bhave as his spiritual successor.
He also had deep faith in Gandhiji's concept of Gram Swaraj.
After Gandhiji's martyrdom, Vinoba Bhave travelled almost the whole country on foot to spread his message to the people.
Once when he was speaking in Pochampalli, a village in Andhra Pradesh, some landless poor villagers asked him for some land for their financial sustenance.
Vinoba Bhave did not make any immediate promise to them but assured them that if they did cooperative farming, he would talk to the Government of India and provide them land.
Suddenly Shri Ram Chandra Reddy stood up and offered to distribute 80 acres of land among 80 landless villagers.
This was known as 'Bhoodan'.
Later Vinoba Bhave travelled and spread his ideas throughout India.
Some landlords, who owned several villages, even offered to give the entire village to the landless.
This was called 'Gramdan'. But some landowners had donated a part of their land to avoid the land ceiling law.
This Bhoodan Gramdan movement started by Vinoba Bhave was also named 'bloodless revolution'.
