Agriculture

India is an agriculturally important country, where a large share of the population depends directly or indirectly on farming for its livelihood. Agriculture provides food for the people and raw materials such as cotton, jute and sugarcane for industries. In this chapter you will study the types of farming practised in India: primitive subsistence farming, including slash and burn agriculture known as jhumming in the north-eastern states, intensive subsistence farming in densely populated areas, and commercial farming, including plantations of tea, coffee, rubber and sugarcane. You will learn about the three cropping seasons, rabi, kharif and zaid, and the conditions of temperature, rainfall and soil needed by major crops such as rice, wheat, millets, maize, pulses, sugarcane, oilseeds, tea, coffee, rubber, cotton and jute, along with the main areas where they are grown. Finally, you will study the technological and institutional reforms in Indian agriculture, from land reforms and the Bhoodan-Gramdan movement to the Green Revolution, the White Revolution, crop insurance, Kisan Credit Cards and minimum support prices.

Detailed Worksheet: Agriculture Section A - Definitions (10 marks) 1. What is primitive subsistence farming? Name the regional names for slash and burn agriculture in any two parts of India. (2 marks) 2. Define intensive subsistence farming. Why is it practised in areas of high population? (2 marks) 3. What is plantation agriculture? Name two plantation crops grown in India. (2 marks) 4. Distinguish between rabi and kharif crops, giving two examples of each. (2 marks) 5. What is meant by the Green Revolution and the White Revolution (Operation Flood)? (2 marks) Section B - Calculations and Applications (15 marks) 6. Study the data on area and production of wheat for a district (illustrative): Year 1: area 20,000 hectares, production 60,000 tonnes; Year 2: area 22,000 hectares, production 77,000 tonnes. Calculate the yield per hectare for each year and the percentage increase in yield. Suggest two reasons for the increase. (3 marks) 7. India's foodgrain production was about 51 million tonnes in 1950-51 and about 330 million tonnes in 2022-23. Calculate how many times production has increased, and name two factors that made this possible. (3 marks) 8. A farmer in Punjab grows wheat on 4 hectares in the rabi season and rice on the same land in the kharif season. If the yields are 4.5 tonnes per hectare for wheat and 6 tonnes per hectare for rice, calculate his total annual production. Why might growing rice every year in Punjab harm the environment? (3 marks) 9. Arrange the following in the correct order of the agricultural calendar, starting from June: sowing of paddy, harvesting of wheat, sowing of wheat, harvesting of paddy, growing watermelon in the zaid season. Mention the months for each. (3 marks) 10. A tea estate produces 1,20,000 kg of made tea a year from 150 hectares. Calculate the yield per hectare. List the climatic conditions required for tea and two states that are major producers. (3 marks) Section C - Diagrams (10 marks) 11. On an outline political map of India, mark and label: (i) a major rice-producing state (ii) a major wheat-producing state (iii) the largest producer of jute (iv) a coffee-producing state in the south. (4 marks) 12. On an outline map of India, show the major tea-growing areas in Assam, West Bengal and the Nilgiris, and a rubber-producing state. (3 marks) 13. Draw a flowchart showing the three cropping seasons of India with their sowing and harvesting months and two crops each. (3 marks) Section D - Analysis and Higher-order Thinking (15 marks) 14. Why is it said that the growth rate of Indian agriculture has been decelerating? Discuss the challenges faced by Indian farmers, such as small landholdings, dependence on monsoon, and competition, and suggest measures the government has taken to address them. (5 marks) 15. Explain why the cultivation of rice has spread to Punjab and Haryana, which receive low rainfall, and why the 'Green Revolution' areas face problems such as falling groundwater and soil degradation. What could be done to make farming in these areas sustainable? (5 marks) 16. Compare commercial farming and subsistence farming with respect to purpose, inputs, size of holdings and crops grown. Explain why the degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from region to region, using rice as an example. (5 marks) Instructions: Time allowed 2 hours. Attempt all sections. Mark all places on the outline map neatly with symbols and names. Show calculations in data-based questions step by step.