Summary

This document explains different types of farming around the world. It covers nomadic farming, shifting cultivation, subsistence farming, commercial farming, and mixed farming. Key characteristics of each type are also summarized.

Full Transcript

# Types of Farming The type of farming practiced in a particular place is influenced, as you have seen, by various factors. ## Different Kinds of Farming The different kinds of farming practiced around the world can be broadly grouped as follows: ### Nomadic Farming Nomadic farming refers to th...

# Types of Farming The type of farming practiced in a particular place is influenced, as you have seen, by various factors. ## Different Kinds of Farming The different kinds of farming practiced around the world can be broadly grouped as follows: ### Nomadic Farming Nomadic farming refers to the practice of farming in which herdsmen move from one place to another, with their families and their livestock, in search of pastures, fodder and water. Camels, sheep, yaks and goats are the animals that are most commonly reared by nomads. From these animals, the farmers get milk, meat, wool, hides and other products. ### Shifting Cultivation In shifting cultivation, a small area of a forest is cleared by cutting down all the trees and the area is burned. The ashes are mixed with the soil to make it more fertile and this land is used for growing crops. After a couple of years, when the land becomes less fertile, it is abandoned. Later, another such area is identified and cleared for cultivation. This type of farming is generally practiced in regions with heavy rainfall, so the regeneration of forests is very quick. This practice is also known as 'slash-and-burn agriculture'. Shifting cultivation is practiced mainly in the thick forests of North-East India, South-East Asia and the Amazon Basin. Shifting agriculture is known differently in different places - *jhum* in the north-eastern states of India, *roca* in Brazil in South America, *milpa* in Mexico and Central America, *masole* in the Congo Basin and *ladang* in Indonesia and Malaysia ### Subsistence Farming Subsistence farming is carried out by farmers to satisfy the needs of their family alone. There is nothing left over for sale. They use simple methods and traditional tools in the field and do not use hired labour. Only the members of the household work on the field. - Subsistence farming can be classified into: - Intensive subsistence agriculture - Primitive subsistence agriculture #### Intensive Subsistence Agriculture Intensive subsistence agriculture is that type of farming where a farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and large amounts of labour. They practice intensive methods of cultivation, like using manure and artificial irrigation and better quality seeds, to get maximum yield from the land. It is usually possible to grow more than one crop in the same plot. Intensive subsistence agriculture is practiced in the densely populated region of Monsoon Asia, South Asia and East Asia. Rice is the chief crop grown here. Wheat, maize, pulses and oilseeds are some other crops grown here. #### Primitive Subsistence Agriculture In primitive subsistence agriculture, the farmers also practice herding to meet personal needs. It enables a farmer get an additional income to meet his needs. ### Commercial Farming In commercial farming, the farmer cultivates crops and rears animals for commercial purposes, i.e. for selling. The main motive of the farmer here is making profit. Most of the work is done by machines and the areas under cultivation, as well as the capital involved, are huge. Commercial farming includes *commercial grain farming, plantations, and mixed farming*. #### Commercial Grain Farming Crops like wheat and maize are grown on a large scale under commercial grain farming or *extensive farming*. Important regions where commercial grain farming is prevalent are the temperate grasslands of North America, Mexico, Europe and Eurasia. These farms are huge, spread over hundreds of hectares, and are thinly populated. Massive machines like seed drillers, combine harvesters and threshers are used. However, due to the severity of winters, only one crop can be harvested - during summers. #### Plantation Agriculture Plantation agriculture was introduced by the Europeans in their colonies situated in the tropical regions. Under this type of cultivation, vast lands are brought under a single crop. Large amounts of capital, cheap but skilled labour, scientific techniques, efficient transport network, and managerial and marketing skills are employed. The farm produce is either processed in their factories, or sold as raw materials to other industries. Some of the farm produce is exported too. Major plantations found in the tropical regions are rubber plantations in west Malaysia, coffee in Brazil, and tea in India and Sri Lanka. #### Mixed Farming Mixed farming refers to the cultivation of food crops, fodder crops and the rearing of livestock at the same time, on the same land. The combination of different primary activities here is complementary to each other and adds to the farmer's profitability. It is mainly practiced in Europe, eastern USA, Argentina, South-East Australia, New Zealand, West Africa and South Africa. ### Ranching Ranching refers to raising livestock 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, to some extent, in the hilly regions that are rich in pastures. ### Dairy Farming The rearing of cattle on a large scale on the outskirts of cities to meet the demand for milk and other products is called dairy farming. Scientific methods of farming are employed, and heavy capital investments are required. Dairy farming is mainly practiced 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 all the other states of India. ## Major Crops A large variety of crops are grown all over the world to meet the requirement of the growing population. Crops are classified into *food crops, fibre crops, and beverage crops*. Major food crops of the world are wheat, rice, maize and millets. Jute and cotton are fibre crops. Important beverage crops are tea and coffee. ### Explore Some More... - In India there are two cropping seasons - kharif and rabi. The kharif crop is a summer and monsoon crop. The crop is sown by April-May and is harvested by October. Paddy or rice is the main kharif crop. - The rabi season lasts through the winter months. Crops are sown between October and February and harvested by June. Wheat is the main rabi crop. #### Rice Rice is one of the major food crops of the world. It is the staple dict of most people in the tropical and sub-tropical regions. This kharif crop needs high temperatures of about 25 °C, high humidity and an annual rainfall of above 100 cm. It grows best in alluvial clayey soils, which can retain water. China leads in the production of rice followed by India, Indonesia and Bangladesh. As the climatic condition is favourable in the eastern parts of India, and in Bangladesh, two or three crops are grown here in an year. #### Wheat Wheat requires moderate temperature and rainfall during the growing season and bright sunshine at the time of ripening and harvest. In India, it is grown in winter. It requires temperatures below 25 °C and about 50 to 75 cm rainfall. It thrives best in well drained loamy soil. It is a staple crop, and the second most important crop of India. Wheat is grown on a very large scale in China, India, Russia, USA, France and Australia. #### Millets Millets can be grown on less fertile and sandy soil. They are also known as coarse grains. Millets can grow even in low rainfall regions with high to moderate temperature. They have high nutritional value. Jowar, bajra and ragi are millets commonly grown in India. Ragi is rich in iron, calcium, other micro-nutrients and roughage. Other countries where millets are grown are Nigeria, China and Niger. #### Maize Maize is both a food crop and fodder crop. It requires moderate temperature (21 °C to 27 °C), moderate rainfall (75 cm) and lots of sunshine for growth. It needs well-drained fertile soil. Maize is grown abundantly in USA, Brazil, China, Ukraine, Indonesia and Argentina. #### Cotton Cotton requires high temperature, light rainfall, two hundred and ten frost-free days a year, and bright sunshine for its growth. It grows best on black soil. The crop requires about 6 to 8 months for maturing. China, USA, India, Pakistan, Brazil and Egypt are the leading producers of cotton. It is the main raw material for the cotton textile industry. #### Jute Jute is also known as the 'Golden Fibre'. It grows well on well drained, fertile alluvial soil. It requires high temperature during the growing season, heavy rainfall and a humid climate. This crop is grown mainly in river deltas in tropical regions of the world. The leading producers of jute are India and Bangladesh. #### Coffee Coffee, a beverage crop, requires a warm and wet climate and well drained loamy soil. Hill slopes are more suitable for the growth of this crop. Brazil is the leading producer of this crop followed by Vietnam, Colombia, Indonesia and Ethiopia. Indian coffee is well-known for its quality in the world. #### Tea Tea, one of the main beverage crops, is also a plantation crop. It requires a cool, frost-free climate with abundant rainfall, well distributed throughout the year, for a good crop. It also needs well drained loamy soils and gentle slopes that can be terraced for cultivation. It is a labour intensive crop and requires a large number of skilled labour to pluck the leaves. Tea was introduced to India by the British. China, India, Kenya and Sri Lanka produce some of the best quality tea in the world. ## Enrichment Activity On a political world map mark the rice, wheat and cotton growing regions in the world. ## Agricultural Development The efforts taken to increase agricultural production and meet the growing demand of an increasing population is called agricultural development. This can be brought about by the use of scientific inputs in agriculture such as improving irrigation facilities, use of fertilisers and high yielding varieties of seeds. Mechanisation of agriculture (use of machines like tractors, seed drillers, weeders, sprayers, harvesters, etc.) is also another aspect of agricultural development. Agricultural development strives to increase food security. Developing countries with large populations usually practice *intensive agriculture*. This is because the crops are grown mostly for subsistence, on fragmented, small land holdings. Farmers in developed countries like USA, Canada and Australia usually possess large land holdings which are more suitable for commercial agriculture. ## Agriculture in India - Around 61% of India’s population is dependent on agriculture. - The size of an average land-holding in India is rather small - just 2.3 hectares. - The small size of holdings in India is a result of fragmentation and sub-division of farms. For example, if a farmer had 4 hectares of land, and he had 4 children, after his death, each would inherit a plot of one hectare. When this happened generation after generation, it resulted in the creation of thousands of very small plots of land. This is called fragmentation and subdivision of land. - For such small plots of land to be profitable, very *intensive methods of cultivation* has to be practiced - large quantities of fertilisers and high quality seeds have to be used and the land has to be irrigated. These inputs require the kind of money most Indian farmers do not have. As a result, the bulk of farmers in India live barely above the poverty line. - As a result of their poverty and accompanying illiteracy, many Indian farmers still follow *primitive methods of agriculture*. They are still dependent on the timely arrival of the monsoons for the success of their crops. They still plough the land by hand, or with the help of bullocks. They rarely have access to improved seeds, and the price of artificial fertilisers is often beyond their means. - *Rural indebtedness* is another unfortunate feature of Indian agriculture. Marginal farmers and landless labourers often take money on loan from local money lenders at exorbitant rates of interest. They can almost never return the money and they end up losing their land and working as bonded labourers. The government of India has taken many steps to improve the lot of the farmers. Since independence, many irrigation projects have been started which has reduced the dependence of farmers on the monsoon. Fragmented pieces of land have been consolidated, or joined, to make them bigger and more viable. Better quality of seeds, pesticides and fertilisers are made available to the farmers at low rates. District officers train the farmers in newer and better methods of cultivation. Farmers are given loans from nationalised banks at low rates of interest. The efforts taken by the government brought about the *Green Revolution* in India in the 1960s. India became largely self-sufficient in the production of food crops. In fact, India has become one of the largest producers of wheat, edible oil, potato, spices, rubber, tea, fruits and vegetables in the world. But problems still exist, and India has a long way to go. Many farmers continue to follow primitive methods of agriculture. As a result, they barely manage to feed themselves and many are unable to return the loans they have taken from the banks. Their inability to repay loans has even driven quite a few farmers to take their own lives. Let us look at two *case studies* of farms one from India and the other from USA. Let us understand the difference between agriculture in a developing and a developed country.

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