Here I am going to provide you CBSE Notes Class 10 Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture. You can also Download PDF of these notes. In this chapter you will study the various types of farming, cropping patterns and major crops grown in India. In the end, you will know how much Agriculture contributes to the National Economy, Employment and Output. By going through Agriculture Class 10 Notes you will acquire a better command on this chapter. So,use these notes and do your best!!
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Types of Farming
- The cultivation methods depend upon the characteristics of the physical environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices.
- Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type. In different parts of India, the following farming systems are practised.
Primitive Subsistence Farming
- It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.
- Farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops.
- When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.
- It is known by different names in different parts of the country. It is known as jhumming in north-eastern states.
- Land productivity is low in this type of agriculture.
- This type of farming depends on monsoon.
- This farming is practised in a few parts of India.
Intensive Subsistence Farming
- This type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land.
- It is labour-intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for higher production.
Commercial Farming
- This type of farming uses higher doses of modern inputs such as high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides to obtain higher productivity.
- Plantation is a type of commercial farming in which a single crop is grown on a large area.
- Plantations cover large tracts of land, using capital intensive inputs, with the help of migrant labourers.
- All the produce is used as a raw material in industries.
- Eg: Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Sugarcane, Banana.
Cropping Pattern
India has three cropping seasons
- Rabi - Rabi crops are sown in winter from October to December and harvested in summer from April to June. Important rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard.
- Kharif - 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.
- Zaid - In between the rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season. Important crops grown are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber,vegetables and fodder crops.
Major Crops in India
A variety of food and non-food crops are grown in different parts of India, depending upon the variations in soil, climate and cultivation practices. Major crops grown in India are:
Rice
- It is a kharif crop.
- It requires high temperature, (above 25°C) and high humidity with annual rainfall above 100 cm.
- India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.
- It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions.
Wheat
- This is a rabi crop.
- It requires a cool growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
- It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season.
- The Ganga-Satluj plains in the north-west and black soil region of the Deccan are two main wheat-growing zones in India.
- It is the second most important cereal crop and main food crop, in the north and north-western part of India.
Millets
Jowar, Bajra and Ragi are the important millets grown in India.
These are known as coarse grains and have very high nutritional value.
Jowar
- 3rd most important food crop with respect to area and production.
- It is a rain-fed crop mostly grown in the moist areas.
- Mainly produced in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
Bajra
- Grows well on sandy soils and shallow black soil.
- Major producing states are Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
Ragi
- It is a crop of dry regions.
- Grows well on red, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils.
- Major producing states are Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh.
Maize
- It is a Kharif crop.
- It requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil.
- It is used both as food and fodder.
- Major maize-producing states are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.
Pulses
- India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses in the world.
- Pulses are the major source of protein in a vegetarian diet.
- Major pulses grown in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and Gram.
- Pulses are mostly grown in rotation with other crops so that the soil restores fertility.
- Major pulse producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
Food Crops other than Grains
Sugarcane
- It is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop.
- It grows well in hot and humid climates with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and annual rainfall between 75cm to 100cm.
- It can be grown on a variety of soils.
- Needs manual labour from sowing to harvesting.
- India is the second largest producer of sugarcane only after Brazil.
- Sugarcane is the main source of Sugar, Gur (Jaggery), Khansari and molasses.
- The major sugarcane-producing states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.
Oil Seeds
- The oil seeds covers approximately 12 percent of the total cropped area of the country.
- These are used as cooking mediums as well as used as raw material in the production of soap, cosmetics and ointments.
Tea
- It is also an important beverage crop introduced by the British in India.
- The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates 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.
- Tea is a labour-intensive industry.
- Major tea producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Coffee
- Indian coffee is known in the world for its good quality.
- Its cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Horticulture Crops
- India is a producer of tropical as well as temperate fruits. Major crops produced are pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, tomato, brinjal and potato.
Some of the famous horticulture crops grown in India are:
- Mangoes of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, 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, Telangana and Maharashtra
- Apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh.
Non-Food Crops
Rubber
- It 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.
- It is mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya.
Fibre Crops
- Cotton, Jute, Hemp and Natural Silk are the four major fibre crops.
- Cotton, Jute and Hemp are grown in the soil.
- Natural Silk is obtained from cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves.
- Rearing of silk worms for the production of silk fibre is known as sericulture.
Cotton
- It is a kharif crop grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau.
- It requires high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sun-shine for its growth.
- Major producing states are – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
Jute
- It is known as the golden fibre.
- It grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains where soils are renewed every year.
- Major jute-producing states West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya.
- It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts.
Technological and Institutional Reforms
- More than 60 percent of India's population depends on agriculture.
- After independence, major institutional reforms such as Collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and abolition of zamindari, etc. were given priority.
- In 1960s and 1970s, technical reforms such as Green Revolution and White Revolution also introduced to improved the condition of agriculture.
- In 1980s and 1990s, various provisions for crop insurance, establishment of Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks for providing loan facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest.
- 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.
- Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes for farmers were introduced on the radio and television.
- Minimum support price, remunerative and procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of farmers by speculators and middlemen.
Contribution of Agriculture to the National Economy, Employment and Output
- In 2010-11 about 52% of the total workforce was employed by the farm sector.
- The share of agriculture in the GDP is declining.
- Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), agricultural universities, veterinary services and animal breeding centres, horticulture development, research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast, etc. are a few of the initiatives introduced by the government to improve Indian agriculture.
Food Security
The government designed national food security system to ensure the food security to every citizen. It consists of two components
(a) buffer stock and
(b) public distribution system (PDS)
(a) buffer stock and
(b) public distribution system (PDS)
- Food Corporation of India (FCI) is responsible for procuring and stocking foodgrains, whereas distribution is ensured by public distribution system (PDS).
- PDS is a programme which provides food grains and other essential commodities at subsidised prices in rural and urban areas.
The primary objective of national food security are:
- Ensure availability of foodgrains to the common people at an affordable price.
- The poor should have access to food.
- Growth in agriculture production
- Fixing the support price for procurement of wheat and rice, to maintain their stocks.
Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture
- Globalisation is present at the time of colonisation.
- During the British period, cotton was exported to Britain as a raw material for their textile industries.
- After 1990, the farmers in India have been exposed to new challenges under globalisation.
- The agricultural products of India are not able to compete with the developed countries because of the highly subsidised agriculture in those countries.
- Genetic engineering is revolutionising the agricultural production now a days.
- Organic farming is also in fashion these days because it is practised without factory made chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. Hence, it does not affect environment in a negative manner.
- Indian farmers should diversify their cropping pattern from cereals to high-value crops which will increase incomes and reduce environmental degradation simultaneously.
