1. Importance of agriculture
- Employment: nearly half of India’s workers depend on farming (as of the early 2020s).
- Food security: food grains, pulses, oilseeds, fruit and vegetables for the whole population; buffer stocks.
- Raw materials: cotton (textile mills), jute (Kolkata jute mills), sugarcane (sugar mills), oilseeds (oil mills).
- Exports: rice, tea, spices, cotton, fruit.
- Market for industry: farmers buy fertilisers, pumps, tractors and consumer goods.
- Its share of national income has fallen as industry and services grew, but it remains the base of the rural economy.
| Farm product | Industry it supplies |
|---|---|
| Cotton | Textile mills |
| Jute | Jute mills |
| Sugarcane | Sugar mills |
Key terms
- Agro-based industry
An industry that uses farm produce as its raw material, such as cotton textiles, jute or sugar.
2. Problems and remedies
| Problem | Effect | Remedy |
|---|---|---|
| Small, fragmented holdings | Wasted time; machines and wells hard to use | Consolidation (chakbandi); cooperative farming |
| Dependence on the monsoon | Droughts and floods ruin crops | Irrigation; watershed management; drought-resistant crops |
| Soil degradation | Erosion, lost fertility, waterlogging, salinity | Crop rotation; contour ploughing; balanced fertiliser; drainage |
| Low yields, old methods | Low incomes | Better seeds; training; extension services |
| Lack of cheap credit | Debt to moneylenders | Kisan Credit Card; cooperative and rural banks; crop insurance |
| Poor storage and marketing | Losses; low prices from middlemen | Cold storage; regulated markets; minimum support price |
| Problem | Remedy |
|---|---|
| Fragmented holdings | Consolidation |
| Monsoon dependence | Irrigation |
| Costly credit | Kisan Credit Card |
Key terms
- Fragmentation of holdings
The splitting of a farmer’s land into many small, scattered plots, usually through inheritance.
- Consolidation of holdings
Regrouping a farmer’s scattered plots into one compact block of about the same total area.
3. The Green Revolution
- Meaning: a sharp rise in the output of food grains (mainly wheat, later rice) from the mid-1960s through a package of modern inputs.
- Inputs: HYV seeds; assured irrigation (canals, tube wells); chemical fertilisers; pesticides; farm machines; credit; minimum support prices.
- Where: first in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh (irrigated plains).
- Positive: self-sufficiency in food grains; buffer stocks; higher farm incomes; growth of agro-industries and rural jobs.
- Negative: regional inequality (rain-fed areas left behind); crop inequality (pulses, millets neglected); overuse of groundwater and falling water tables; waterlogging and salinity; pesticide pollution; small farmers gained less.
| Positive | Negative |
|---|---|
| Food self-sufficiency | Regional inequality |
| Higher incomes | Soil and water damage |
Key terms
- Green Revolution
The large increase in food-grain production in India from the mid-1960s using HYV seeds, irrigation and fertilisers.
- HYV seeds
High-yielding variety seeds that give much larger harvests when given enough water and fertiliser.
4. Types of farming
| Type | Key features | Indian example |
|---|---|---|
| Subsistence | Food for family; small plots; family labour | Hill farms of Mizoram, Uttarakhand |
| Commercial | Crops for sale; bought inputs; often one crop | Grapes of Nashik; sugarcane of Maharashtra |
| Intensive | Small farms; much labour per hectare; multiple cropping; high yield per hectare | Ganga delta of West Bengal; coastal Kerala |
| Extensive | Large farms; machines; one crop; low yield per hectare, high output per worker | Uncommon in India |
| Plantation | One cash crop; large estate; capital; hired labour; processing on site | Tea (Assam), coffee (Karnataka), rubber (Kerala) |
| Mixed | Crops plus livestock; dung as manure; fodder from crops | Punjab, Haryana |
| Type | Example |
|---|---|
| Plantation | Tea in Assam |
| Intensive | Paddy in West Bengal |
| Mixed | Wheat and dairy in Haryana |
Key terms
- Plantation farming
Large-scale growing of a single cash crop on an estate using much capital, hired labour and on-site processing.
- Mixed farming
Growing crops and rearing animals together on the same farm.
5. Agricultural seasons
| Season | Sown | Harvested | Crops |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kharif | June–July (monsoon onset) | September–October | Rice, jowar, bajra, maize, cotton, groundnut, jute, soya bean |
| Rabi | October–December | March–April | Wheat, gram, mustard, barley, peas |
| Zayad | March | June | Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, fodder |
Rabi crops benefit from winter rain brought by western disturbances in the north-west. Zayad crops need irrigation.
| Season | Months |
|---|---|
| Kharif | June–October |
| Rabi | October–April |
| Zayad | March–June |
Key terms
- Kharif
The crop season that begins with the south-west monsoon; crops are sown in June–July and harvested in September–October.
- Rabi
The winter crop season; crops are sown in October–December and harvested in March–April.
- Zayad
A short summer season between rabi and kharif for quick, irrigated crops such as melons and cucumbers.
6. Working with farm data
- Yield = production ÷ area (for example tonnes per hectare).
- Percentage change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100.
- Gross cropped area = total of the areas sown in all seasons of the year.
- Cropping intensity = gross cropped area ÷ net sown area × 100; above 100 means fields carry more than one crop a year.
| Measure | Formula |
|---|---|
| Yield | Production ÷ area |
| Cropping intensity | Gross ÷ net × 100 |
Key terms
- Cropping intensity
Gross cropped area as a percentage of net sown area; it shows how many crops a field carries in a year.
Exam tips
Common mistakes
- Writing that the Green Revolution helped all crops and all regions equally.
- Confusing kharif and rabi months.
- Calling mixed farming a mix of crops only (it must include animals).
- Dividing area by production for yield.
How marks are usually awarded
- Problems (1 mark each): problem with its effect; remedy that matches.
- Green Revolution (3 marks): inputs, region, crops; or three effects.
- Seasons (2–3 marks): sowing and harvesting months with two crops.
- Data (2–3 marks): working shown, answer with unit.