Get here the notes, questions, answers, textbook solutions, summary, additional/extras, and PDF of TBSE (Tripura Board) Class 10 (madhyamik) Social Science (Geography/Contemporary India II) Chapter “Agriculture.” However, the provided notes should only be treated as references, and the students are encouraged to make changes to them as they feel appropriate.
Summary
India is primarily an agricultural country where two-thirds of its population is engaged in agricultural activities. The agriculture sector produces most of the food consumed in India and also serves as a source of raw materials for various industries. Some examples of industries based on agricultural raw materials include tea, coffee, and spices, among others. Additionally, agricultural products such as tea, coffee, and spices are also exported.
There are several types of farming systems practiced in India, ranging from subsistence to commercial type, depending on the physical environment, technological know-how, and socio-cultural practices. One of the farming systems that still exist in some parts of India is primitive subsistence farming, where farmers cultivate small patches of land using primitive tools like hoe, dao, and digging sticks, and family/community labor. This type of farming is dependent on monsoon and natural fertility of the soil.
In primitive subsistence farming, farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops to sustain their family. When the soil fertility decreases, they shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation. This type of farming allows nature to replenish the fertility of the soil through natural processes. However, land productivity in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer does not use fertilizers or other modern inputs. It is known by different names in different parts of the country, such as jhumming in the northeastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland; Pamlou in Manipur, Dipa in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
There are various types of farming and cropping patterns in India. Intensive subsistence farming is practiced in regions of high population pressure, where limited land forces farmers to use biochemical inputs and irrigation for higher productivity. Commercial farming uses modern inputs like HYV seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides to increase productivity. Plantation farming involves growing a single crop over large areas and is capital-intensive and labor-intensive, with tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, and banana being important crops in India.
India has three cropping seasons – rabi, kharif, and zaid, and various types of crops are grown throughout the country. Rabi crops like wheat, barley, peas, gram, and mustard are grown in the winter months in states like Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Kharif crops are grown in different parts of the country during the monsoon season, including paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut, and soyabean. The Zaid season is between the rabi and kharif seasons and produces watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables, and fodder crops. Major crops grown in India include rice, wheat, millets, pulses, tea, coffee, sugarcane, oil seeds, cotton, and jute. India is the second-largest producer of rice in the world after China. Rice is a kharif crop that requires high temperatures and high humidity, and it is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas, and deltaic regions.
Sugarcane is a tropical and subtropical crop grown in hot and humid climates with an annual rainfall between 75cm and 100cm. India is the second largest producer of sugarcane, and it is used as the main source of sugar, gur, khandsari and molasses. Oilseeds cover approximately 12% of the total cropped area in India, with groundnut being the largest producer among them. Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture, which requires abundant, cheap, and skilled labor. India is the second-largest producer of tea after China. Coffee production in India is known for its good quality, and the Arabica variety is in great demand worldwide. India also produces tropical as well as temperate fruits like mangoes, oranges, bananas, lichi, guava, pineapples, grapes, apples, pears, apricots, and walnuts.
India is a major producer of non-food crops such as rubber, cotton, jute, hemp, and silk. Rubber requires a 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. Cotton grows well in drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau. Major cotton-producing states are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh. Jute grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the flood plains where soils are renewed every year. West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, and Meghalaya are the major jute producing states. Silk is obtained from cocoons of the silkworms fed on green leaves, particularly mulberry. Cotton, jute, hemp, and natural silk are used to make various products such as cotton textiles, gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets, and other artifacts.
Agriculture provides livelihood for more than 60 per cent of India’s population, but the sustained use of land without compatible techno-institutional changes has hindered agricultural development. Most farmers in large parts of the country still depend upon monsoon and natural fertility to carry on their agriculture. To address this issue, the Indian government has introduced various technological and institutional reforms such as collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation, and the abolition of zamindari. Land reform was the main focus of the First Five Year Plan. The Green Revolution, based on the use of package technology, and the White Revolution (Operation Flood) were some of the strategies initiated to improve Indian agriculture. The government has also introduced various schemes such as the Kissan Credit Card (KCC), Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS), and crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire, and disease, to benefit farmers. The government also announces minimum support prices, remunerative prices, and procurement prices for important crops to check the exploitation of farmers by speculators and middlemen.
Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy, employing over half of the population and providing food for the country. However, its share in the GDP has been declining, which is a matter of concern because stagnation in agriculture will lead to a decline in other spheres of the economy, having wider implications for society. To modernize agriculture, the government established the Indian Council of Agricultural Research, agricultural universities, veterinary services and animal breeding centres, horticulture development, and research and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast, among other measures.
Food security is a primary objective of India’s food policy, which aims to ensure availability of food grains to the common people at an affordable price. The policy consists of two components: buffer stock and public distribution system (PDS). PDS provides food grains and other essential commodities at subsidized prices to Below Poverty Line (BPL) population in rural and urban areas. The Food Corporation of India (FCI) procures and stocks food grains, whereas PDS ensures distribution. The FCI procures food grains from farmers at the government-announced minimum support price (MSP).
However, there are several challenges facing food security policy in India. The high MSP, subsidies in input, and committed FCI purchases have distorted the cropping pattern, and wheat and paddy crops are being grown more for the MSP they get, creating an imbalance in inter-crop parities. Moreover, excessive and imprudent use of fertilizers and water has led to waterlogging, salinity, and depletion of essential micronutrients in the soil. The categorization of consumers into BPL and APL is not perfect, and some deserving poor have been excluded from the BPL category. Additionally, some of the so-called APL slip back to BPL because of the failure of even one crop, which is administratively difficult to accommodate.
The agricultural sector in India is facing several challenges, including land degradation and inadequate storage and marketing facilities. Free power given to some farmers has led to unsustainable pumping of groundwater for water-intensive crops, causing water storage in aquifers to decrease and leaving many wells dry. This has resulted in small farmers being pushed out of cultivation while larger farmers with deeper tubewells still have access to water. Additionally, small farmers lack bargaining power to fix prices in their favor, resulting in distress sales.
Globalization has also impacted Indian agriculture, as highly subsidized agriculture in developed countries has made it difficult for Indian agricultural products to compete. To make agriculture successful and profitable in India, there should be a focus on improving the conditions of small and marginal farmers. The green revolution, which aimed to increase agricultural production, is controversial due to allegations of land degradation and overuse of chemicals. Organic farming is gaining popularity due to its environmentally friendly practices.
Some economists suggest that Indian farmers should diversify their cropping patterns from cereals to high-value crops, such as fruits, medicinal herbs, flowers, and bio-diesel crops like jatropha and jojoba. This would increase incomes and reduce environmental degradation, as these crops require less irrigation than water-intensive crops like rice and sugarcane. India’s diverse climate allows for a wide range of high-value crops to be grown.
Textual questions and answers
1. Multiple choice questions.
(i) Which one of the following describes a system of agriculture where a single crop is grown on a large area?
(a) Shifting Agriculture
(b) Plantation Agriculture
(c) Horticulture
(d) Intensive Agriculture
Answer: (b) Plantation Agriculture
(ii) Which one of the following is a rabi crop?
(a) Rice
(b) Gram
(c) Millets
(d) Cotton
Answer: (b) Gram
(iii) Which one of the following is a leguminous crop?
(a) Pulses
(b) Jawar
(c) Millets
(d) Sesamum
Answer: (a) Pulses
(iv) Which one of the following is announced by the government in support of a crop?
(a) Maximum support price
(b) Minimum support price
(c) Moderate support price
(d) Influential support price
Answer: (b) Minimum support price
2. Answer the following questions in 30 words.
(i) Name one important beverage crop and specify the geographical conditions required for its growth.
Answer: Tea is an important beverage crop grown in India. It requires warm and moist frost-free climate all through the year, with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C and an annual rainfall between 75cm and 100cm. Tea also needs deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter, and frequent showers evenly distributed over the year.
(ii) Name one staple crop of India and the regions where it is produced.
Answer: Rice is one of the staple crops of India. It is grown in the states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Assam, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh. Rice is grown in the plains of the Ganges and Brahmaputra, the Deccan Plateau, and the coastal areas of the country.
(iii) Enlist the various institutional reform programmes introduced by the government in the interest of farmers.
Answer: The government has introduced various institutional reform programmes in the interest of farmers, such as collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation, abolition of zamindari, crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease, establishment of Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks for providing loan facilities to the farmers at lower rates of interest, and improvement of rural infrastructure.
(iv) The land under cultivation has got reduced day by day. Can you imagine its consequences?
Answer: Reduction in land under cultivation can lead to a decrease in food production, resulting in food insecurity. It can also lead to a decrease in the income of farmers, leading to poverty. It can also lead to environmental degradation, as fewer crops are grown, leading to soil erosion, loss of biodiversity, and pollution.
3. Answer the following questions in about 120 words.
(i) Suggest the initiative taken by the government to ensure the increase in agricultural production.
Answer: The government has taken various initiatives to ensure the increase in agricultural production. These include the promotion of agricultural research and development, the provision of subsidies and incentives to farmers, the provision of credit facilities to farmers, the provision of agricultural extension services, the provision of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds, the provision of irrigation facilities, the provision of market information, the promotion of crop diversification, the promotion of soil and water conservation, the promotion of sustainable agricultural practices, and the promotion of agro-processing and agro-based industries.
(ii) Describe the impact of globalisation on Indian agriculture.
Answer: Globalisation has had a significant impact on Indian agriculture. It has increased the production and productivity of crops, increased the export of agricultural products, increased the availability of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers, pesticides, and seeds, increased the access to credit facilities, and increased the access to market information. It has also led to the emergence of new crops and varieties, increased the access to new technologies, and increased the access to global markets. However, globalisation has also led to increased competition, increased vulnerability to price fluctuations, and increased vulnerability to climate change.
(iii) Describe the geographical conditions required for the growth of rice.
Answer: Rice is a tropical crop and requires warm temperatures and abundant rainfall for optimal growth. It is mainly grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, coastal areas and the deltaic regions. Rice is also grown in areas of less rainfall with the help of irrigation. Development of dense network of canal irrigation and tubewells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan. Rice requires an annual rainfall of 50 to 75 cm evenly-distributed over the growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening.
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