Types of Farming
● There are various types of farming in India such as
primitive subsistence farming, intensive subsistence
farming, commercial farming, plantations etc.
● Primitive subsistence farming is carried out by the
small farmers with the help of primitive tools.
● Intensive subsistence farming is practised in areas
where there is high population pressure on land.
● The agricultural practice on large scale by using
modern technology to earn good income from
agriculture is called Commercial Farming.
● Commercial farming is done by using High Yielding
Variety (HYV) seeds, good irrigation facilities, chemical
fertilisers, insecticides, pesticides, etc.
Cropping Pattern
● India has three cropping seasons such as Rabi,
Kharif and Zaid.
● Some rabi crops are wheat, barley, peas, gram and
mustard. Major kharif crops are paddy, maize, jowar,
bajra, tur, moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and
soyabean. Some zaid crops are watermelon,
muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder crops.
● A variety of food and non food crops are grown
indifferent parts of India. These depend upon the
variations in soil, climate and cultivation practices.
Major Crops
● Food crops include grains and leguminous crops like
rice, wheat, millets, maize, pulses.
● Rice is the major staple food crop of a majority of the
people in India. Wheat is the second most important
cereal crop.
● Jowar, bajra and ragi are the important millets grown
in India. Maize is a crop which is used both as food
and fodder. India is the largest producer and
consumer of pulses in the world.
● India is the largest producer and consumer of pulses
in the world.
Food Crops Other than Grains
● Other food crops are sugarcane, oilseeds, beverage
crops like tea, coffee and horticulture crops.
● Sugarcane is a tropical crop. Main oil seeds
produced in India are groundnut, mustard, coconut,
sesamum, soyabean, castor seeds, cotton seeds,
linseed and sunflower.
● Tea and coffee are example of plantation crops.
● Horticulture crops include the cultivation of both
fruits and vegetables. Important vegetable produces
in India are pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage,
tomato, brinjal and potato. Important fruits grow in
India are mango, orange, banana, pineapple, grape,
lichi, guava, apple pear, apricot, walnut, etc.
Non-Food Crops
● Non-food crops include fibre crops like cotton, jute.
● Rubber is also a non-food crop. Rubber is an important industrial raw material and mainly grown in
Kerala.
● Fibre Crops cotton, jute, hemp and natural silk are
the major fibre crops grown in India.
● Cotton is one of the major raw materials for cotton
textile industry. Its growth is good in drier parts of
deccan plateau.
● Jute is known as the golden fibre. It grows well in
well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains.
Technological and
Institutional Reforms
● The Government of India in 1960s to 1970s introduced some agricultural reforms to improve
Indian agriculture like Green Revolution and White
Revolution.
● Major institutional reforms like land reforms and
collectivisation were introduced in India from the first
Five Year Plan.
● Government of India has initiated land development
programmes and schemes like Kisan Credit Card
(KCC), weather bulletins and programmes on radio
and television, etc for the benefits of the farmers.
● Government also announced Minimum Support
Price (MSP), remunerative and procurement prices
for various agricultural products.
Contribution of Agriculture to the National Economy, Employment and Output
● As per a survey done in 2010-11 around 52% of the
Indian population is dependent on agriculture for
sustenance.
● When share of agriculture declines in GDP, it leads to a
decline in other spheres of the economy.
● To improve Indian agriculture, the Government of India
made efforts to modernise agriculture. For this the
government established 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.
Food Security
● The government has designed National Food Security
System to ensure the food security to every citizen.
● It consists of two components
— Buffer stock and
— 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 whch provides foodgrains and
other essential ccommodities 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.
— Poor should have access to food.
— Growth in agricultural production.
— Fixing the support price for procurement of wheat
and rice to maintain their stocks.
Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture
● Globalisation has also adversely impacted Indian
agriculture as the farmers in India are exposed to high
competition from farmers of the developed countries.
● Our farmers are not able to compete with them on
prices of major commodities like rice, cotton, rubber,
tea, coffee, jute and spices.
● If India changes its cropping pattern i.e. if India imports
cereals while exporting high value commodities, it
will be following successful economics like Italy, Israel
and Chile.
● Gene revolution and organic farming are new dimensions in Indian agriculture that is based on
innovative technology.
