NCERT
CLASS 8 CHAPTER 4//AGRICULTURE
Point to be remembered
◆ The word agriculture is
derived from Latin words ager or agri meaning soil and culture meaning,
cultivation.
◆This
transformation from a plant to a finished product involves three types of
economic activities. These are primary, secondary and tertiary activities.
◆ Primary activities include all those connected with
extraction and production of natural resources. Agriculture, fishing and
gathering are good examples.
◆ Secondary activities are concerned
with the processing of these resources. Manufacturing of steel, baking of bread
and weaving of cloth are examples of this activity.
◆ Tertiary activities provide
support to the primary and secondary sectors through services. Transport,
trade, banking, insurance and advertising are examples of tertiary activities.
◆ Agriculture is a primary
activity. It includes growing crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of
livestock. In the world, 50 per cent of persons are engaged in agricultural
activity. Two-thirds of India’s population is still dependent on agriculture
◆ The land on which the crops are grown
is known as arable land.
◆Agriculture:- The science and art of cultivation on the soil,
raising crops and rearing livestock. It is also called farming.
◆Sericulture:- Commercial rearing of silk worms. It may supplement
the income of the farmer.
◆Pisciculture:-Breeding of fish in specially constructed tanks and
ponds.
◆Viticulture:-Cultivation of grapes.
◆Horticulture:-Growing vegetables, flowers and fruits for commercial
use.
◆ Farm System
Agriculture
or farming can be looked at as a system. The important inputs are seeds,
fertilisers, machinery and labour. Some of the operations involved are
ploughing, sowing, irrigation, weeding and harvesting. The outputs from the
system include crops, wool, dairy and poultry products.
◆Types Of Farming:- Farming
is practised in various ways across the world. Depending upon the geographical
conditions, demand of produce, labour and level of technology, farming can be
classified into two main types. These are subsistence farming and commercial
farming.
● Subsistence Farming:- This type of farming is practised to meet the
needs of the farmer’s family. Traditionally, low levels of technology and
household labour are used to produce on small output. Subsistence farming can
be further classified as intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence
farming.
∆ Intensive Subsistence Agriculture: -
1.In intensive
subsistence agriculture the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple
tools and more labour. .
2.Climate with
large number of days with sunshine and fertile soils permit growing of more
than one crop annually on the same plot.
3.Rice is the main
crop. Other crops include wheat, maize, pulses and oilseeds.
4.Intensive
subsistence agriculture is prevalent in the thickly populated areas of the
monsoon regions of south, southeast and east Asia.
∆Primitive subsistence agriculture includes shifting cultivation
and nomadic herding.
- Shifting
cultivation is practised in the thickly forested areas of Amazon basin,
tropical Africa, parts of southeast Asia and Northeast India.
- These
are the areas of heavy rainfall and quick regeneration of vegetation. A
plot of land is cleared by felling the trees and burning them.
- The
ashes are then mixed with the soil and crops like maize, yam, potatoes and
cassava are grown. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is
abandoned and the cultivator moves to a new plot.
- Shifting
cultivation is also known as ‘slash and burn’ agriculture.
● Nomadic herding is practised in the semi-arid and arid regions of
Sahara, Central Asia and some parts of India, like Rajasthan and Jammu and
Kashmir.
In this type of
farming, herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and
water, along defined routes.
This type of movement
arises in response to climatic constraints and terrain. Sheep, camel, yak and
goats are most commonly reared.
They provide milk, meat, wool,
hides and other products to the herders and their families.
- ●Commercial
Farming:- In commercial farming crops are grown and animals are reared for
sale in market.
- The
area cultivated and the amount of capital used is large.
- Most
of the work is done by machines. Commercial farming includes commercial
grain farming, mixed farming and plantation agriculture.
- In
commercial grain farming crops are grown for commercial purpose. Wheat and
maize are common commercially grown grains.
- Major
areas where commercial grain farming is pracised are temperate grasslands
of North America, Europe and Asia.
- These
areas are sparsely populated with large farms spreading over hundreds of
hectares.
- Severe
winters restrict the growing season and only a single crop can be grown.
- In
mixed farming the land is used for growing food and fodder crops and
rearing livestock.
- It
is practised in Europe, eastern USA, Argentina, southeast Australia, New
Zealand and South Africa.
- Plantations are a type of
commercial farming where single crop of tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew,
rubber, banana or cotton are grown. Large amount of labour The development of a transport network
is thus essential for such farming.
- Major plantations are found
in the tropical regions of the world. Rubber in Malaysia, coffee in
Brazil, tea in India and Sri Lanka are some examples.
Major Crops
A large variety of crops are
grown to meet the requirement of the growing population. Crops also supply raw
materials for agro based industries. Major food crops are wheat, rice, maize
and millets. Jute and cotton are fibre crops. Important beverage crops are tea
and coffee.
Rice: Rice is the major food crop of the world. It is the staple
diet of the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Rice needs high temperature,
high humidity and rainfall. It grows best in alluvial clayey soil, which can
retain water. China leads in the production of rice followed by India, Japan,
Sri Lanka and Egypt. In favourable climatic conditions as in West Bengal and
Bangladesh two to three crops are grown in a year.
Wheat: Wheat
requires moderate temperature and rainfall during growing season and bright
sunshine at the time of harvest. It thrives best in well drained loamy soil.
Wheat is grown extensively in USA, Canada, Argentina, Russia, Ukraine,
Australia and India. In India it is grown in winter.
Millets: They are also known as coarse grains and can be grown on less
fertile and sandy soils. It is a hardy crop that needs low rainfall and high to
moderate temperature and adequate rainfall. Jowar, bajra and ragi are grown in
India. Other countries are Nigeria, China and Niger.
Maize: Maize
requires moderate temperature, rainfall and lots of sunshine. It needs
well-drained fertile
soils. Maize is grown in North America, Brazil, China, Russia, Canada, India,
and Mexico.
Maize is also know as
corn. Various colourful varieties of maize are found across the world.
Cotton: Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, two hundred
and ten frost-free days and bright sunshine for its growth. It grows best on
black and alluvial soils. China, USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt are the
leading producers of cotton. It is one of the main raw materials for the cotton
textile industry.
Jute: Jute
was also known as the ‘Golden Fibre’. It grows well on alluvial soil and
requires high temperature, heavy rainfall and humid climate. This crop is grown
in the tropical areas. India and Bangladesh are the leading producers of jute.
Coffee: Coffee requires warm and wet climate and well-drained loamy
soil. Hill slopes are more suitable for growth of this crop. Brazil is the
leading producer followed by Columbia and India.
Tea: Tea
is a beverage crop grown on plantations. This requires cool climate and well
distributed high rainfall throughout the year for the growth of its tender
leaves. It needs well-drained loamy soils and gentle slopes. Labour in large
number is required to pick the leaves. Kenya, India, China, Sri Lanka produce
the best quality tea in the world.
Agricultural Development
Agricultural
Development refers to efforts made to increase farm production in order to meet
the growing demand of increasing population.
This can be achieved in many ways such as
increasing the cropped area, the number of crops grown, improving irrigation
facilities, use of fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds.
Mechanisation of agriculture is
also another aspect of agricultural development. The ultimate aim of
agricultural development is to increase food security.
Agriculture has developed at
different places in different parts of the world. Developing countries with
large populations usually practise intensive agriculture where crops are grown
on small holdings mostly for subsistence.
Larger holdings are more suitable for
commercial agriculture as in USA, Canada and Australia. With the help of two
case studies of farms — one from India and the other from the USA, let us
understand about agriculture in the developing and a developed country.
Msc B.Ed
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Sayantani Singh
SAYANTANI SINGH Msc, B.Ed
GEOGRAPHIA
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