Agriculture Class 8 PDF

# Agriculture ## Importance of Various Resources In the previous chapters, we have read about the importance of various resources like land, soil, water, plants, etc. In this Chapter, we will study about agriculture and its importance for mankind. ## The Basic Requirement of Human Beings We k...

# Agriculture ## Importance of Various Resources In the previous chapters, we have read about the importance of various resources like land, soil, water, plants, etc. In this Chapter, we will study about agriculture and its importance for mankind. ## The Basic Requirement of Human Beings We know food is the basic requirement of human beings for their survival. This requirement of food has led to the development of agriculture. Earlier, human beings were dependent upon food gathering, hunting, and fishing for their survival. Gradually, they started growing crops along the river valleys which led to the beginning of agriculture. It helped ancient civilizations to flourish along the river valleys. ## Definition of Agriculture Agriculture means cultivation of land. In wider terms, agriculture is the science and art of raising crops, rearing of livestock, forestry and fishing. ## Importance of Agriculture Most of the population of the world still depends on agriculture for its livelihood. It is a major occupation of people in the developing countries of the world. India is an agricultural country. Hence, it is the backbone of our country's economic development. Agriculture not only supplies food to the people but also creates a huge market for tractors, threshers, harvesters, fertilizers, pesticides and other industrial products. It helps in providing employment, eradicating poverty, enhancing trade and earning foreign exchange. Agriculture also plays an important role in strengthening global relations by encouraging international trade of agricultural products. ## Factors Affecting Agriculture Agricultural development is possible only in certain regions of the world. It is influenced by the various physical and economic factors. They are: ### 1. Physical or Geographical Factors: * **Relief:** Plains are more suitable for agriculture than the highlands. Density of population is generally high in plains. This helps in providing cheap labor and market for farm products. Moreover, it becomes easier to use modern equipment on plain regions, whereas it is difficult to use machines on rugged topography. The river basins and deltas are more suitable for agriculture than mountainous regions. * **Climate:** Agriculture is highly sensitive to climate variability. Each crop has its own requirement of temperature and rainfall. That is why, the variation in climatic conditions supports different crop patterns. For example, wheat is a crop of temperate region and rice grows well in tropical regions. Growing season is long in equatorial and tropical regions compared to the same in temperate regions. * **Soil:** Soil rich in minerals and organic matter supports agriculture. Chemical composition and fertility of soil differs from place to place which leads to variation in soil type. Each crop has its own requirement of soil. According to the soil type, a large variety of crops are grown in different parts of the world. Alluvial soil and black soil are the most fertile soils for agriculture. ### 2. Economic Factors: * **Size of land holdings:** The size of farms affects the agricultural pattern and the yield per unit hectare. In the densely populated areas of the developing countries, the farm size is generally very small due to growing rural population and the law of succession which leads to fragmentation of land. The small fields are mostly not economical. * **Labour:** The availability of labor has great influence on cropping pattern of a region. The labor requirement varies with different crops. In many parts of India, seasonal unemployment exists in rural areas, whereas during the periods of sowing and harvesting, there could be shortage of labor The farmers of Punjab greatly depend on migrant laborers for growing wheat and rice crops. * **Capital:** All agricultural inputs, like the HYV seeds, means of irrigation, fertilizers, pesticides hiring labor, machines, land lease, fodder, fuel, power and veterinary services, require capital. The cultivation of commercial crops using new technologies requires more capital than required in the traditional way of cultivation. ## Do you know? HYV seeds stand for High Yield Variety seeds. These seeds can produce up to ten times more crops than regular seeds on the same area of land. These seeds have shorter lifecycle and enable the farmers to practise multiple cropping. The HYV seeds, specially for food grain crops, were developed by scientists basically to improve food supplies and reduce famine in developing countries. ## Types of Agriculture Due to varying environmental conditions in the world, many patterns of agriculture have emerged. Basically, they depend upon the terrain, climatic conditions and economic background. Broadly, agriculture may be divided into two categories, i.e. Subsistence agriculture and Commercial agriculture. Before we discuss them into detail, let us have a look at the following classification. ### 1. Subsistence Agriculture - Nomadic herding - Shifting agriculture - Intensive subsistence agriculture ### 2. Commercial Agriculture - Extensive agriculture - Plantation agriculture - Livestock ranching - Dairy farming ## Subsistence Agriculture It is the earliest type of farming which is carried out at small scale by a farmer to grow food for personal or community consumption. In this type of agriculture, farmers grow a wide range of crops based on the anticipated needs of their families or the community. Many farmers trade their excess crops and livestock for buying required goods. This type of agriculture is still common in less developed parts of the world. Subsistence agriculture includes nomadic herding, shifting agriculture and intensive subsistence agriculture. ### 1. Nomadic herding People migrate along with their animals from one place to another in search of fodder for their animals. Generally, they rear cattle, sheep, goats, camels and yaks for milk, skin, meat and wool. It is common in parts of Central and Western Asia, East and South-West Africa and Northern Eurasia. In India, Bhotiyas and Gujjars are the nomadic tribes of Himalayas. ### 2. Shifting agriculture Shifting agriculture is also called slash and burn agriculture. After the soil loses its fertility, the land is abandoned and the cultivators move to a new plot. People cultivate the land with simple tools. Per hectare yield is low. People who follow shifting agriculture do not lead a settled life. It is prevalent in dense forests of tropical Africa, South-East Asia and some parts of North-East India. Crops like cassava, maize, sweet potato and tapioca are grown in this type of farming. ### Do you know? Jhumming is a type of shifting agriculture practised in North-East India, especially in Mizoram. It is man's primitive method of harmonising land and climate with his need for food along with a habitat shared with wildlife. ### 3. Intensive subsistence agriculture This type of agriculture is characterized by high output per unit of land. Although the nature of this agriculture has changed and in many areas, it is no more subsistent, still the term 'intensive subsistence' is used to describe the agriculture practised on small plots of land in thickly populated parts of the world, especially in the Monsoon regions of South, South-East and East Asia. The peasants are so land hungry that every bit of tillable land is utilised for agriculture. There is intensive use of land, multiple cropping, heavy use of manual labour, but a little use of farm machinery and variety of manures and fertilizers. During recent decades, intensive agriculture has registered a significant improvement due to mechanisation and use of improved seeds and fertilisers. The countries like China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Korea, Philippines and Taiwan have adopted improved system of intensive agriculture. ## Commercial Agriculture Commercial agriculture is typically done on a very large scale with the purpose of selling the produce in the market to make profits. Therefore, farmers select and sow a single crop according to the natural (geographical) and market conditions of the region. It is a specialised form of agriculture which is practised on very large size farms. It is also called crop specialisation. This type of agriculture is broadly divided into extensive agriculture, plantation agriculture, livestock ranching and dairy farming. ### 1. Extensive agriculture It is practised in developed countries, such as Australia, Canada, Russia and USA. Agriculture is done on a large scale on big land holdings by using modern machines. It is generally practised in sparsely populated regions, where land is available in abundance and the input of labour is less. Total production is large but per hectare yield is comparatively less. Farmers mostly raise one or two crops a year for marketing. Corn, oats, wheat and oilseeds are the main crops of extensive agriculture. Proper storage facilities are required to store the yield. ### 2. Plantation agriculture Plantation is a large farm or estate usually in a tropical or sub-tropical country, where crops are grown for sale in distant markets rather than local consumption. It is a very well-organised system of agriculture wherein a single crop farming is done. Under this system, benefit of single crop is obtained continuously for several years. It requires huge capital investment, scientific method of farming, transport facilities, efficient management and skilled but low cost labour in large number. Plantation agriculture is commonly practised in hot and humid regions of the world. It includes crops like coffee, rubber and tea. Most of the processing work is done at the plantation site itself. ### 3. Livestock ranching Livestock ranching is also a part of commercial agriculture. It is the commercial grazing of farm animals over an extensive area. It is mostly adapted in arid or semi-arid temperate regions where the soil is too poor to support crops, and the population is sparse. This activity is common to the grasslands of America, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. The ranches are usually fenced with barbed wire. The major types of livestock are sheep, cattle, goats and horses. The livestock products, such as meat, wool, hides, skins, etc., are chiefly exported to different parts of the world. ### 4. Dairy farming It is a specialised form of agriculture for the large scale production of milk. It is a labour intensive activity. Worldwide, India is the largest milk producer and New Zealand is the largest cow milk exporter. ### Mixed farming When animals are reared along with the cultivation of land, it is known as mixed farming. Both food crops and fodder are cultivated. This gives a boost to the income of the farmers. It is common in Argentina, Eastern USA, New Zealand, South Africa, South-East Asia including India, South-East Australia and Western Europe. ### Do you know? Organic farming has become very popular in recent times. It uses organic manure and natural pesticides. No fertilisers, chemicals or genetic modifications are used to increase the size or quality of produce. ## Major Crops On the basis of their use, major crops of the world are classified into- * Cereals * Fibre crops * Beverage crops ## Cereals They include rice, wheat, maize and millets. ### Rice * **Soil type**: Alluvial loamy and clayey soils are ideal for rice cultivation. * **Temperature**: 24° C or above with minor variations during sowing, growing and harvesting seasons. * **Rainfall**: Rice flourishes well in the areas where rainfall is above 100 cm. * **Areas**: Deltas, river valleys, coastal plains and terraced fields in mountainous regions are ideal for cultivation of rice. * **Rice producing areas in the World**: China leads the production of rice followed by India, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Japan. * **Rice producing areas in India**: India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China. Rice is mainly cultivated in India in the states of West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Punjab, Odisha, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Tamil Nadu. ### Do you know? * **Crop** | **Leading Exporters** ------- | -------- Rice | Thailand and Vietnam Wheat | Canada and USA Maize | China, France and USA Tea | China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka Cotton | Australia, USA and Uzbekistan ### Wheat * **Soil type**: Loamy soil is required. * **Temperature**: The ideal temperature for wheat at the time of sowing is 10°-15° C and at the time of harvesting is 20-25° С. * **Rainfall**: It grows well in 75-100 cm of rainfall. Harvest period should be frost free. * **Areas**: Mid-latitudinal and dry sub-tropical regions are ideal for its cultivation. It is the main crop of temperate regions. * **Wheat producing areas in the World**: Temperate grasslands of North America, South America and Central Eurasia. China, India, Russia, USA, France, Canada, Germany, Pakistan, Australia, and Ukraine are leading wheat producing countries of the world. * **Wheat producing areas in India**: Wheat cultivation is mainly confined to the Northern and central regions of India. Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Bihar, Gujarat and Maharashtra are the major wheat producing states. ### Maize * **Soil type**: Maize generally grows well in areas of well-drained alluvial soil. * **Temperature**: It grows well in 21-27° C. * **Rainfall**: Rainfall requirement is 50-100 cm. In areas of less rainfall, it is grown under irrigation. * **Areas in the World**: USA, China, Brazil, India, Argentina, Ukraine, Mexico, Indonesia, France and South Africa are the major countries. It is known as corn in the USA. * **Areas in India**: In India, maize is cultivated in Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telengana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh. It is known as makka in India. ### Millets * **Soil type**: They are grown on soils of poor quality. * **Temperature**: They grow well in 18-32° C. * **Rainfall**: Rainfall requirement is about 30-75 cm. * **Areas in the World**: India, Nigeria, Niger, China, Mali, Burkina Faso, Sudan and Ethiopia are the main countries. * **Areas in India**: Millets include coarse grains like jowar, bajra and ragi. These are used both as food grain and as fodder. Jowar is mainly cultivated in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telengana, whereas bajra is grown in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Haryana. Ragi is mostly grown in Karnataka, Rajasthan, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Odisha, Maharastra, Uttarakhand, Gujarat and Goa. ## Fibre Crops Fibres can be divided into two categories on the basis of origin-natural fibre and artificial fibre. * **Natural fibres** are cotton, jute, natural silk and wool. * **Artificial fibres** are rayon, nylon and terricot. ### Cotton * **Soil type**: Alluvial and black soil are ideal for its cultivation. * **Temperature**: It is a crop of tropical and sub-tropical regions. It requires 30-40° C temperature. * **Rainfall**: It grows well in regions of 60-100 cm of annual rainfall. During the harvesting period weather should be dry, frost free and sunny. * **Areas in the World**: China, India, USA, Pakistan Brazil, Uzbekistan, Turkey and Australia are the main countries. * **Areas in India**: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana are the main cotton producing states. Cheap and efficient labour is required for plucking cotton balls. It is mainly grown under irrigation. ### Do you know? Egypt produces one of the finest cotton in the world. ### Jute * **Soil type**: Alluvial soil found in river delta is good for the crop. It grows well in flood plains. * **Temperature**: Jute crop requires more than 25° C temperature. * **Rainfall**: Annual rainfall should be more than 150 cm. ## Beverage Crops Tea and Coffee are two important beverage crops. ### Tea * **Soil type**: A deep well-drained fertile alluvial soil is good for the crop. * **Temperature**: It grows well in hot and humid conditions of the tropical and sub-tropical regions. Temperature requirement is 20-30° C. * **Rainfall**: It needs 150-300 cm of annual rainfall. Hilly slopes are ideal for its cultivation. * **Areas in the World**: China, India, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Turkey, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Iran and Argentina are the leading producers of tea. * **Areas in India**: Assam, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal are major tea producing states. ### Do you know? Retting is a process by which the fibre is separated from the plant stem by decaying them in water. The demand for jute is continuously decreasing because of its high cost and easy availability of cheap synthetic substitutes. ### Coffee * **Soil type**: Coffee needs well-drained, fertile soil in the hilly slopes. * **Temperature**: Coffee plant needs hot and humid climate. The ideal temperature for its cultivation is 15-28° C. * **Rainfall**: Rainfall requirement is 150-200 cm. Irrigation is required where the annual rainfall is less than 100 cm. ### Do you know? It was the British who started Tea Plantation in India. ## Agricultural Development Food is essential for the growth of all human beings. With the growth of population in the world, the demand of food has also increased. Earlier, people had surplus food because the population was less than the production. With the passage of time, population explosion has increased the pressure on land to produce more food. This situation compelled the people to develop new techniques of agriculture so that productivity could be increased. The farmers started using HYV of seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, insecticides and modern equipments. Now, some countries have developed genetically modified crops through biotechnology. Biotechnology involves the use of living organisms and bio-processes in engineering, technology, medicine, etc. It also covers genetic engineering, cell and tissue, culture technologies, manufacture of drugs, environmental management, etc. In this, the higher yield is produced by introducing foreign genes from different species. It has more nutritional value, better flavour and colour in the food. The use of genetically modified crops is still limited. Scientists believe that genetically modified crops can help the environment by reducing the problem of pesticides. Critics of biotechnology are worried about the adverse effects of genetically modified crops on the environment. In developing countries, manual labour is used for most of the agricultural activities, whereas in developed countries, agriculture is highly mechanised. Most of the population of the developing countries is engaged in agriculture and its allied activities. However, the ratio of population in agriculture is minimum in developed countries like Canada and USA. ## A Comparative Study of Agricultural Farms in the USA and India | Feature | A Farm in the USA | A Farm in India | |--------------|-------------------------------|-------------------------------------| | Size of farm | Large farms but yield per hectare is comparatively low. | Small land holdings but yield per hectare is high. | | Capital | High capital investment. | Comparatively low capital investment which is mainly borrowed from banks money lenders. | | Market | Produce is meant for national and international market as storage facilities are adequate. | Produce is meant for local market due to lack of storage facilities. | | Labour | Skilled. | Unskilled. | | Mechanisation | Extensive use of tractors, combined harvesters and threshers. | Traditional methods, limited use of machines, still using bullocks to plough the field. | | Technology | Extensive use of advanced technology. | Marginal use of modern technology. | ## Keywords * **alluvial soil**: a fine-grained fertile soil deposited by river water flowing over flood plains or in river beds. * **capital**: it refers to the funds raised to support a particular economic activity, business or project. * **clayey soil**: the soil which has high percentage of fine grained sedimentary material with particles smaller than 0.002 millimetres in diameter. This soil becomes sticky when wet and hard when dry. * **Eurasia**: combined continental landmass of Europe and Asia. * **loamy soil**: composed of a sand silt, a smaller amount of clay and organic matter. The soil's texture especially its ability to retain nutrients and water are significant. * **seasonal unemployment**: the unemployment that occurs when there is a limited need for a type of work to be performed during a particular period of the year due to factors like climate, etc. * **topography**: the study of the shape and features of the surface of the earth. ## Something to know **Tick (✔) the correct option.** 1. **Millets are also known as-** * (a) fine grains * (b) multigrains * (c) artificial grains * (d) coarse grains 2. **Tea is a-** * (a) cereal crop * (b) fibre crop * (c) fruit crop * (d) beverage crop 3. **Who amongst the following are the nomadic herders of the Himalayan area?** * (a) Bhotiyas * (b) Munda * (c) Siddi * (d) Jarawas 4. **Slash and burn practice of agriculture is also known as-** * (a) plantation agriculture * (b) intensive subsistence agriculture * (c) shifting agriculture * (d) extensive agriculture 5. **The type of commercial agriculture, which is practised on a large estate for growing of a single crop continuously for several years, is known as-** * (a) livestock ranching * (b) extensive agriculture * (c) plantation agriculture * (d) organic farming