India is a vast country
endowed with a great variety of natural environments and thus provide
conditions for a large number of crops to be grown in various parts.
Crops are grown in the country
are grouped into several categories based on the growing season,
role of a particular crop in the rural economy and some other considerations.
Salient Features of Indian Agriculture
Features
of Indian agriculture are
- The Predominance of subsistence agriculture.
- Lower per capita availability of arable land, also decreasing continuously due to huge population pressure and uneven distribution of arable land.
- Lack of modernization and the ubiquitous use of animal force and labor-intensive in nature.
- Dependent on erratic natured monsoon.
- A variety of crops are grown suit to uneven physiography.
- The predominance of food crops to feed a large population.
- Fodder crops are given a very insignificant
place in Indian cropping pattern, even though India has the largest livestock
population in the world.
- Three well-defined cropping seasons i.e.,
Kharif, Rabi, and Zaid.
- Indian agriculture also lacks a definite
agriculture land use policy at national or regional levels.
- In India agriculture is the profession of
less-educated rural mass so draws hardly any honor or enthusiasm.
- Limited intensive agriculture and low
productivity.
Types of Farming
Various geographical, physical and socio-economic factors are responsible for giving birth to different types of farming in different parts of the country.
Subsistence Farming
Farmers cultivate small and
scattered holdings with the help of draught animals and family members.
The tools and techniques
used are primitive and simple and the main focus is on food crops. The farmers and
his family members consume the entire farm production.
Plantation Farming
It involves growing and
processing of a single cash crop purely meant for sale. It is capital intensive
and the other necessary thing needed are vast estate, managerial ability, technical
knowledge, fertilizer, good transport, processing factory, etc. This type of
agriculture is mainly practiced in Assam, sub- Himalayan West Bengal, and in
Nilgiri, Anaimalai, and Cardamom Hills in the south.
Shifting Agriculture
It is practiced by the tribals
in the forest areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram,
Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh.
In this type of Agriculture,
a piece of forest land is cleared mainly by tribal people by felling and
burning of trees and crops are grown.
Dry paddy, buckwheat,
maize, small millets, tobacco, and sugarcane are the main crops grown under this
type of agriculture. This is a very primitive method of cultivation which
results in large scale deforestation and soil erosion especially on the foot
hillsides.
Names of Shifting Cultivation in the Various States
State |
Name of Shifting
Cultivation |
Assam |
Jhum |
Kerala |
Ponam |
Andhra
Pradesh & Odisha |
Podu |
Madhya
Pradesh |
Beewar,
Mashan, Penda, and Beera |
Cropping Seasons
Three types of cropping
seasons are found in India
·
Kharif:
It
requires much water, long hot weather for their growth, grown in June with the arrival
of South-East monsoon e.g., rice, jowar, maize, cotton, groundnut, jute,
tobacco, bajra, sugarcane, pulses, etc.
·
Rabi:
Grown
in winter, required cool climate during growth and warm climate during
germination of seeds and maturation. Sowing is done in November and harvested
in April-May e.g., wheat, gram, and oilseeds like mustard and rapeseed, etc.
· Zaid: A brief cropping season practiced in irrigated areas. Sown in February-March, harvested in June e.g., urad, moong, melons, watermelons.
Major Crops
With the varied type of climate relief,
soil and with plenty of sunshine and a long growing season, India is capable of
growing almost each and every crop. Crops requiring tropical, sub-tropical and
temperate climate can easily be grown in one or the other part of India.
Indian crops are divided
into the following categories :
1. Food Crops: Rice, wheat, maize, millets, bajra, ragi, pulses, gram
and tur.
2. Cash Crops: Cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds, groundnut,
linseed, sesamum, castorseed, rapseed and mustard.
3. Plantation Crops: Tea, coffee, spices, cardamom, chilies, ginger,
turmeric, coconut, and rubber.
4. Horticulture Fruits: Apple, peach, pear, apricot, almond, strawberry,
mango, banana, citrus food, and vegetables.
Major Crops in India
Crops |
Temperature (0oC) |
Rainfall (Cm) |
Soil |
Distribution |
Cash Crops |
||||
Cotton |
21-30 |
50-75 |
Black
Soil |
Gujrat,
Maharashtra, Punjab |
Jute |
24-35 |
125-200 |
Sandy
or Clayed Loams, Deep Rich |
West
Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Assam |
Sugarcane |
20-26 |
150 |
Loamy
Soil |
U.P,
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu |
Tobacco |
15-38 |
50 |
Friable
Sandy Soil |
U.P,
Andhra Pradesh, Gujrat, Karnataka |
Food Crops |
||||
Rice |
24-27 |
150 |
Clayed
and Loamy Soil |
West
Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, U.P, Punjab |
Wheat |
10-15 |
5-15 |
Light,
Sandy, Clayed Loamy Soil |
U.P,
Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan |
Jowar |
27-32 |
30-65 |
Black
Clayed Loamy Soil |
Maharashtra,
Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh |
Bajra |
25-35 |
40-50 |
Loamy
Soil |
Rajasthan,
U.P, Haryana, Maharashtra, Gujrat |
Plantation Crops |
||||
Tea |
24-30 |
150-250 |
Loamy
Forest Soil |
Kerala,
Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam |
Coffee |
16-28 |
150-250 |
Friable
Forest Loamy Soil |
Karnataka,
Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
Rubber |
25-35 |
300 |
Loamy
Soil |
Kerala,
Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
Factors Responsible for Crop Distribution
The agricultural practices,
cropping pattern, and their productivity are closely determined by the
geo-climatic, socio-economic, and cultural-political factors.
In fact, the agriculture of
any region is influenced by the following factors
1. Physical Factors: It includes the terrain, topography, climate, and soil.
2. Infrastructural Factors: It includes irrigation, seeds, fertilizers, and power availability.
3. Institutional Factors: It includes land tenure, size of holdings,
credit facilities, information dissemination regarding agriculture.
4. Technological Factors: It includes various technological
developments such as High Yielding Varieties, chemical fertilizers,
insecticides, pesticides, and farm machinery. Major Crops and their Areas of
Distribution.
Various Revolutions in Agriculture
Revolutions |
Area |
Green
Revolution |
Agriculture
(Food Production) |
Yellow
Revolution |
Oil
Seeds Production (Edible Oil) |
White
Revolution |
Milk |
Blue
Revolution |
Fish |
Pink
Revolution |
Shrimp |
Brown
Revolution |
Coffee/Cocoa |
Red
Revolution |
Meat/Tomato |
Golden
Revolution |
Fruits/Apple/Honey/Horticulture |
Grey
Revolution |
Fertilizers |
Silver
Revolution |
Eggs/Poultry |
Golden
Fiber |
Jute |
Silver
Fiber |
Cotton |
Green Revolution
It is the phrase generally used to describe the spectacular increase that took place during 1968 and is continuing in the production of foodgrains in India. Dr. Norman Borlaug is the father of Green Revolution and MS Swaminathan introduced it in India.
12 Components of Green Revolution
High Yield Varieties (Seeds),
Irrigation, Use of Fertilizers, Use of Insecticide and Pesticide, Command Area
Development, Consolidation of Holding, Land Reform, Supply of Agricultural
Credit, Rural Electrification, Rural Roads and Marketing, Farm Mechanisation,
Agricultural Universities.
Call for Evergreen RevolutionThe
pioneer of the Indian Green Revolution Mr. MS Swaminathan gave a new call for
Evergreen Revolution for doubling the present production level of foodgrains
from 210 million tonnes to 420 million tonnes. For making Evergreen
Revolution a success, he stressed on adopting best scientific techniques and
promoting organic farming. He
also mentioned four pre-requisites for getting the success ·
Promoting soil health. ·
Promoting lab to land exhibitions. ·
Making rainwater harvesting
compulsion. · Providing credit of farmers on suitable conditions. |
Impact of Green Revolution
Positive Impact: Increases
in agricultural production, reduction of the import of foodgrains, capitalistic
farming, industrial growth, and rural employment.
Negative Impact: Inter-crop
imbalance, increase in regional imbalance, unemployment due to mechanization,
Increase in inter-regional migration, ecological problems, and social conflict
between large and small farmers.
Problems of Indian Agriculture
Indian Agriculture is facing
various natural and man-made problems.
1. Un-economic size of land
holdings and fragmentation.
2. Inadequate availability
of good quality seed and scarcity of other agricultural inputs.
3. Poverty and indebtedness
of farmers inhibit mechanization.
4. Lack of infrastructural
facilities like irrigation, transportation, storage facility and organized
marketing structure.
5. Increasing trend of soil
erosion and soil degradation tend to lower productivity.
6. Inadequate government
support and lack of marketing and storage facility.
New Initiatives in Agriculture Sector
Crop Diversification
The original Green
Revolution State faces the problem of stagnating yield and over-exploitation of
water resources. Hence a sum of 500 crores has been provided by Union Government
to start a program of crop diversification that would promote technological
innovation and encourage farmers to choose crop alternatives.
Minimum Support Price Scheme
The Minimum Support Price The scheme is a scheme of the Government of India (GOI) to safeguard the interests
of the farmers. Under this scheme the GOI declares the minimum support price of
various agricultural produces for the Agricultural year (July-June) every year
and assures the farmers that their agricultural produce will be purchased at
the MSP, thereby preventing its distress sale. The Food Corporation of India (FCI)
acts as the Nodal Agency of the GOI. Currently, 25 crops are covered under this
scheme.
The government decides MSP after
considering the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices,
views of the State Government, views of ministers, and other relevant factors.
The
department of agriculture and cooperation implements the Price Support Scheme
for oilseeds and pulses through the NAFED. When the price of oil seeds, pulses
and cotton fall below MSP, NAFED purchases these from farmers.
Pilot Program on Nutri- Farms
A Pilot Programme on
Nutri-Farms for introducing new crop varieties that are rich in micro-nutrients
such as iron-rich bajra, protein-rich maize, and zinc-rich wheat, is being
launched with a sum of Rs 200 crore.
It is hoped that agri
businesses and farmers will come together to start a sufficient number of
pilots in the districts, most affected by malnutrition.
New National Agriculture Policy 2004
The Government of India
announced its new agriculture policy in July 2004. This policy has been
formulated taking into consideration the provisions of the WTO with an
objective to achieve 4% agricultural growth targets so that it could provide
food for 100 crore population, the adequate raw material to its growing industrial
base and sufficient surplus for export.
Here promises have been made
for the green revolution, white revolution, and blue revolution cumulatively as 'rainbow
revolution'.
Promotion of Secondary Agriculture
In 2010 Planning Commission A panel headed by K Kasturirangan has recommended an ambitious action plan to
boost secondary agriculture which includes value addition to farm products in
the 12th plan period. Now only 7% of the farm products get value addition.
Secondary agriculture
encompasses activities such as extracting medicines from herbs, vitamins from
foodgrains, fiberboards from rice straw, oil from rice bran, etc. The potential of secondary agriculture is at Rs 100000 crore and need to be
promoted
Kisan SMS Portal
President of India launched
an Sms Portal for Farmers in July 2013 created by the Department of Agriculture
and Cooperation, Indian Council of Agriculture Research, Indian Meteorological
Department and Foodgrain Procurement Agencies.
The portal will be used for
disseminating relevant information, giving topical and seasonal advisories and
providing services through SMSs to farmers in the language of the state.
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