Agriculture Class 10 Notes Geography: Chapter 4

What are Agriculture?

Non-food crops

  • Fibre Crops : Cotton, jute, hemp and natural silk are important fibre crops grown in India.
  • India is the second largest producer of cotton in the world and it is grown on black soil, whereas jute is cultivated in Assam, Bihar, West Bengal, Odisha etc.

Technological and institutional reforms

  • Indian Government introduced the Green and the White Revolution to improve the condition of Indian agriculture. Land development programmes were introduced in the1980s and 1990s.
  • Personal Accident Insurance Scheme, Kisan Credit Card are some of the important schemes introduced by the Government of India to improve the condition of farmers.
(1) Rabi crop Wheat and barley
(2) Kharif crop Rice and maize
(3) Commercial farming Sugarcane in Uttar Pradesh
(4) Dry farming Gram and Peas
(5) States where tea is grown Assam and Kerala
(6) Non-food crops Rubber and cotton
1. Agriculture: The art and science of cultivating soil, raising crops and rearing livestock including fishing and forestry is called agriculture. 9. Shifting Agriculture: Shifting agriculture is a type of agriculture where farmers clear the forest land and use it for raising crops. The crops are grown for 2 to 3 years. In this case, the fertility of the soil decreases, the farmer shifts to a new land.
2. Commercial Agriculture: Farming in which a farmer grows crop with the aim of selling it in the market is called commercial agriculture. 10. Horticulture: Intensive cultivation of vegetables, fruits and flower is known as Horticulture.
3. Extensive Agriculture: Agriculture in which the agriculturist tries to get the greatest output by bringing more and more new land area under cultivation is called extensive agriculture. 11. Subsistence Agriculture: Farming in which the main production is consumed by the farmer’s household is known as Subsistence Agriculture.
4. Intensive Agriculture: Increase in the agricultural production by using scientific methods and a better agricultural input is called Intensive Agriculture. 12. Zaid Crops: These are crops which are sown between the Rabi and the Kharif crops. Watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber and vegetables are some examples of zaid crops.
5. Mixed Farming: It is a system of farming which involves the growing of crops as well as the raising of livestock. 13. Dry Farming: Dry farming is adopted in scanty rainfall areas. The types of crops which require less irrigation facilities are grown by using this farming technique.
6. Multiple Cropping: When two or more than two crops are grown simultaneously on the same field, it is called Multiple Cropping. 14. White Revolution: White Revolution is also known as ‘Operation Flood’ and is related to the increase in the production of milk.
7. Gross Cultivated Area: The net sown area and the land cultivated more than once, together make the Gross Cultivated Area. 15. Golden Fibre: Jute is considered as the Golden Fibre of India as its export brings a lot of foreign exchange.
8. Plantation Agriculture: A large-scale farming of one crop resembling the factory production, based on capital investment, and application of modern science and technology in cultivating, processing and marketing the final products is called Plantation Agriculture. 16. Support Price: Support price is the minimum reasonable price fixed by the government at which the farmer can sell his produce either in the open market or to the government agencies.