AGRICULTURE

CHAPTER IV
PART I
SST CLASS 8

Created by: Sonika Khamaru

Topics to be covered:
• What is agriculture?
• Factors influencing agriculture
• Agriculture as a system
• Types of farming
• Comparison between them
INTRODUCTION
• What is Agriculture? AGRICULTURE=
ager/ agri + culture
A. The science and art of cultivation on the soil, raising crops and rearing
Ager- soil
livestock. The transformation from a plant to a finished product involving three culture- cultivation
types of economic activities- primary, secondary and tertiary activities .

PRIMARY SECTOR SECONDARY SECTOR TERTIARY SECTOR

 Connected with extraction Concerned with the processing Provide support to the Primary
and production of natural of the natural resources and Secondary sectors through
resources services.
Agriculture, fishing, mining, Manufacturing of steel, Transport, trade, banking,
lumbering etc weaving of cloth etc insurance and advertising.

• India is an agriculturally significant country. Nearly 50% of the people in world are engaged in
agriculture.
• Two-thirds of the population is engaged in agricultural activities- India has a rural economy.
• Agriculture produces most of the food we consume along with raw materials for various industries and
FACTORS INFLUENCING AGRICULTURE
• Agricultural development depends on different factors such as:
1. Climate: Temperature & rainfall of a place are most important factors. Certain crops need
hot and wet climate to grow , for eg., Rice; while others grow in drier cooler climates like
Wheat.
2. Soil: Kind of soil affects the growth of type of crops.
Clayey Soil: retain water, suitable for growing crops like rice & cotton.
Fertile Alluvial Soil: ideal for agriculture and supports more kinds of crops; River banks are
heavily cultivated.
Sandy Soil: allow water to seep through rapidly; more suited for groundnuts and millets.
3. Relief: Flat land like plains, valleys and flat top of plateaus and deltas are best suited for
agriculture than the mountains. Hilly areas are more suited for cattle rearing and for crops
that need well drained soils
4. Other factors :Availability of irrigation facilities, size of land holdings, transport facilities etc
affect agriculture as well.
 FARM SYSTEM
SYSTEM

INPUTS PROCESSES OUTPUT

AGRICULTURE/FARMING
SEEDS MACHINERY CHEMICALS

PHYSICAL • SUNSHINE PLOUGHING

INPUTS • RAINFALL SOWING CROPS
• TEMPERATURE SPRAYING
•
DAIRY PRODUCTS
SOIL HARVESTING
• SLOPE FISH
• EARTHWORMS MEAT
WOOL
HUMAN • STORAGE
EGGS
INPUTS • LABOUR
• MACHINE CHICKEN
RY TIMBER
• CHEMICA
LS
• IRRIGATIO
ACTIVITIES A FARMER HAS TO DO
PLOUGH THE FIELD
TRANSPORT THE CROP SOW THE SEEDS
TO THE MARKET

STORE IRRIGATE THE LAND

HARVEST GUARD THE CROPS

FROM PESTS

WEED OUT UNWANTED PLANTS

TYPES OF FARMING

SUBSISTENCE FARMING COMMERCIAL FARMING

INTENSIVE PRIMITIVE COMMERCIAL MIXED FARMING PLANTATION

SUBSISTENCE SUBSISTENCE GRAIN FARMING AGRICULTURE

Points to remember:
• Agriculture is an age-old economic activity in our country.
• Over these years, cultivation methods have changed
SHIFTING NOMADIC significantly depending upon the characteristics of physical
CULTIVATION HERDING environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural
practices.
• Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type.
• At present, in different parts of India, the following farming
systems are practised.
 SUBSISTENCE FARMING
I. Practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family. Nothing is left for sale.

II. Traditionally, low levels of technology and household labour are used

III. Very small output

It can be further classified into:

 INTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE FARMING

Shifting Cultivation
 PRIMITIVE SUBSISTENCE FARMING
Nomadic Herding
INTENSIVE SUBSISTENCE FARMING
o Small plot of land, simple tools and more labour

o Practise intensive methods of cultivation, like using

manure and artificial irrigation and better quality seeds
to get maximum yield from the land.

o Longer days of sunshine and fertile soils - more than one

crop annually on the same plot

o Crops- Rice, wheat, maize, pulses and Oilseeds

o Prevalent in thickly populated areas of the monsoon

regions of south, southeast and east Asia.

o Absence of alternate source of livelihood MAP SHOWING AREAS OF INTENSIVE

o Huge pressure on agricultural land SUBSISTENCE FARMING
 PRIMITIVE SUBSISTENCE FARMING
I. Practised to meet the needs of the farmer’s family on a small DID YOU KNOW?
patch of land Shifting Cultivation
II. Traditionally, low levels of technology and large amount of is known by different
household labour are used names in different places:
III. Farming depends on : Primitive tools- hoe, JHUMMING- North-East India
o monsoon, Dao and digging sticks MILPA: Mexico
o natural fertility of soil and ROCA: Brazil
o suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops LADANG: Indonesia
CONUCO: Venezuela
IV. Very small output RAY: Vietnam

PRIMITIVE SUBSISTENCE

Slash and Burn Agriculture

‘SLASH AND BURN’ AGRICULTURE
a) Practised in the North-east India mainly.

b) The Process: Plot of land is chosen and Crops grown:

cleared by felling trees Potato, cassava
and burning them
After the soil loses its fertility,
the plot is abandoned and Ashes are then mixed
the next plot is chosen. with soil and crops
are grown.
Fields are irrigated with water
running through a bamboo
canal from the nearby spring
c)Advantage:
 This type of shifting allows Nature to replenish the fertility of the soil through natural
processes.

d)Disadvantage:
• Land productivity is low as the farmer does not use fertilisers or any other modern
inputs.
MAP SHOWING AREAS OF SHIFTING
CULTIVATION WORLDWIDE
NOMADIC HERDING
a) Practised in the semi-arid MAP SHOWING AREAS OF NOMADIC HERDING WORLDWIDE
and arid regions of Sahara,
Central Asia and some parts of
India – Rajasthan, Kashmir

b) The Process:
• Herdsmen move from one
place to another with the
animals for fodder and water
• The movement is along
defined routes and in
response to climatic
constraints and terrain

c)Animals reared: sheep, camel,

yak and goats.
They also provide milk, meat,
wool, hides and other products
to the herders
COMMERCIAL FARMING RICE: a. commercial crop in Punjab
• Crops are grown and animals are reared for sale in and Haryana
market b. Subsistence crop in Odisha

• Area and amount of Capital is huge, most of the work is

done by machines HIGHER PRODUCTIVITY
HIGHER PROFIT
• Use of higher doses of modern inputs:
1. HYV seeds
2. Chemical fertilisers
3. Insecticides and pesticides

• Degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from

place to place
• Plantation is one of its types.
COMMERCIAL GRAIN FARMING/ EXTENSIVE
FARMING MAP SHOWING AREAS OF COMMERCIAL GRAIN
FARMING WORLDWIDE
 Crops are grown for commercial purpose

 Mainly grown in temperate grasslands of N.

America, Europe and Asia, Australia and S. America.

 These are sparsely populated areas with large farms

spreading over hundreds of hectares

 Severe winters restrict the growing season and only

single crop can be grown.
MIXED FARMING MAP SHOWING AREAS OF MIXED FARMING
• Land is used for growing food and fodder crops WORLDWIDE
and rearing livestock.

• It is practised in Europe, eastern USA Argentina,

southeast Australia, and South Africa.

• Ranching: Animals are raised for meat or wool on

privately owned land, along with the use of some
public land. The practice is common in Australia,
western USA and Tibet. In India, ranching is
prevalent in the hilly regions that are rich in
pastures.
 PLANTATIONS MAP SHOWING AREAS OF
PLANTATION AGRICULTURE
WORLDWIDE
• Single crop of tea, coffee, sugarcane, jute and cotton are grown
over a large area
• Interface of agriculture and industry
 Large amount of labour (migrant) and capital are invested.
 Produce is used as raw material in respective industries
 Well developed network and connectivity is thus essential.
PLANTATION
AREA(SOURCE)

PROCESSING
MARKET
INDUSTRIES
DAIRY FARMING MAP SHOWING AREAS OF DAIRY FARMING
WORLDWIDE
• The rearing of cattle on a large scale on the outskirts
of cities to meet the demand for milk and animal
products is called dairy farming.
• Scientific methods of farming are employed and
heavy capital investments are employed.
• Dairy farming is mainly practised in Australia, New
Zealand, Denmark and the Netherlands in Europe
and North America.
• In India, a white revolution was started with the
setting up of cooperative societies for dairy farmers.
• It started with Amul in Gujarat and soon spread to
the other states of India.
 COMPARISON
SUBSISTENCE COMMERCIAL INTENSIVE PLANTATIONS
FARMING FARMING SUBSISTENCE
FARMING
Practised to meet the needs Crops are grown and animals The farmer cultivates a Large amount of labour
of the farmer’s family. are reared only for sale in the plot of land using simple and capital are required in
Crops are not sold. market tools and more labour. cultivating a huge area.

Only for consumption by Only for sale.

It is a traditional method of The area cultivated and the the farmer’s family.
using low levels of amount of capital used is greater
technology and household with use of modernised
labour, use of simple tools machines.
and no use of machines.
A lot of sunshine and Only one crop is grown .
fertile soils allows growing Eg: Sugarcane, cotton,
Generally found in areas Generally found in areas that of more than one crop. rubber etc.
with more population with are sparsely populated with Eg: rice, wheat
the rainfall experienced large farms spreading over a
from monsoon. larger area. The produce is not very The produce is huge and is
much. processed in the farm or
More than one crop is Only one crop is grown. nearby factories
grown.
Assignment
1. Name the different cropping seasons.
Differentiate between Kharif and Rabi Seasons.
2. List down all points of differences between agriculture in India and USA.
3. What is Agricultural Development? How can it be achieved?
4.Why are millets hardy crops?
5. What are the requirements of Maize and what is it used for?
6. With respect to the main food crop in the India, answer the following:
a. Which countries are the largest & second largest producers?
b. Its requirements
c. Areas of Cultivation
7. What is the main reason behind the success of Rabi crops in India?
8. Name the 3 crops of Paddy.
9. Differentiate between Primary and Tertiary sectors.
10. Define: Sericulture and Horticulture
11. Explain Farm System.
12. What are the different types of Farming?
13. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Shifting Cultivation?
14. Why is Subsistence Farming practised in thickly populated & monsoon
regions?
15. Why is Nomadic Herding practised in Arid & semi arid regions of the
world?
16. Why only one crop is grown in case of commercial grain farming?
17. How is mixed farming economically important?
18. Why is development of network very essential for Plantation?
Thank you