Agriculture in India PDF

India is an agriculturally important country. through natural processes; land productivity Two-thirds of its population is engaged in in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer agricultural activities. Agriculture is a primary does not use fertilisers or other modern activity,...

India is an agriculturally important country. through natural processes; land productivity Two-thirds of its population is engaged in in this type of agriculture is low as the farmer agricultural activities. Agriculture is a primary does not use fertilisers or other modern activity, which produces most of the food that inputs. It is known by different names in we consume. Besides food grains, it also different parts of the country. produces raw material for various industries. Can you name some such types of farmings? Can you name some industries based on It is jhumming in north-eastern states like agricultural raw material? Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland; Moreover, some agricultural products like Pamlou in Manipur, Dipa in Bastar district of tea, coffee, spices, etc. are also exported. Chhattishgarh, and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. TYPES OF FARMING Jhumming: The ‘slash and burn’ agriculture Agriculture is an age-old economic activity in is known as ‘Milpa’ in Mexico and Central our country. Over these years, cultivation America, ‘Conuco’ in Venzuela, ‘Roca’ in methods have changed significantly depending Brazil, ‘Masole’ in Central Africa, ‘Ladang’ upon the characteristics of physical in Indonesia, ‘Ray’ in Vietnam. environment, technological know-how and In India, this primitive form of cultivation socio-cultural practices. Farming varies from is called ‘Bewar’ or ‘Dahiya’ in Madhya subsistence to commercial type. At present, in Pradesh, ‘Podu’ or ‘Penda’ in Andhra Pradesh, different parts of India, the following farming ‘Pama Dabi’ or ‘Koman’ or Bringa’ in Odisha, systems are practised. ‘Kumari’ in Western Ghats, ‘Valre’ or ‘Waltre’ in South-eastern Rajasthan, ‘Khil’ in the Primitive Subsistence Farming Himalayan belt, ‘Kuruwa’ in Jharkhand, and This type of farming is still practised in few ‘Jhumming’ in the North-eastern region. pockets of India. Primitive subsistence agriculture is practised on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao and digging sticks, and family/community labour. This type of farming depends upon monsoon, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops grown. It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Farmers clear a patch of land and produce cereals and other food crops to sustain their family. When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation. This type of shifting allows Nature to replenish the fertility of the soil Fig. 4.1 2015-16  Rinjha lived with her family in a small village Plantation is also a type of commercial at the outskirts of Diphu in Assam. She enjoys farming. In this type of farming, a single crop watching her family members clearing, is grown on a large area. The plantation has slashing and burning a patch of land for an interface of agriculture and industry. cultivation. She often helps them in irrigating Plantations cover large tracts of land, using the fields with water running through a capital intensive inputs, with the help of bamboo canal from the nearby spring. She migrant labourers. All the produce is used as loves the surroundings and wants to stay raw material in respective industries. here as long as she can, but this little girl In India, tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane, has no idea about the declining fertility of banana, etc.. are important plantation crops. the soil and her family’s search for fresh a Tea in Assam and North Bengal coffee in patch of land in the next season. Can you name the type of farming Rinjha’s family is engaged in? Can you enlist some crops which are grown in such far ming? Intensive Subsistence Farming This type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land. It is labour- intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for Fig. 4.2: Banana plantation in Southern obtaining higher production. part of India Can you name some of the states of India where such farming is practised? Though the ‘right of inheritance’ leading to the division of land among successive generations has rendered land-holding size uneconomical, the farmers continue to take maximum output from the limited land in the absence of alternative source of livelihood. Thus, there is enormous pressure on agricultural land. Commercial Farming The main characteristic of this type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs, e.g. high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical Fig. 4.3: Bamboo plantation in North-east fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides in order to obtain higher productivity. The degree of Karnataka are some of the important plantation commercialisation of agriculture varies from crops grown in these states. Since the one region to another. For example, rice is a production is mainly for market, a well- commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but developed network of transport and in Odisha, it is a subsistence crop. communication connecting the plantation Can you give some more examples of crops areas, processing industries and markets plays which may be commercial in one region and an important role in the development of may provide subsistence in another region? plantations. A GRICULTURE 35 2015-16 CROPPING PATTERN vegetables and fodder crops. Sugarcane takes almost a year to grow. You have studied the physical diversities and plurality of cultures in India. These are also Major Crops reflected in agricultural practices and A variety of food and non food crops are grown cropping patterns in the country. Various in different parts of the country depending types of food and fibre crops, vegetables and upon the variations in soil, climate and fruits, spices and condiments, etc. constitute cultivation practices. Major crops grown in some of the important crops grown in the India are rice, wheat, millets, pulses, tea, coffee, country. India has three cropping seasons — sugarcane, oil seeds, cotton and jute, etc. rabi, kharif and zaid. Rabi crops are sown in winter from October Rice: It is the staple food crop of a majority of to December and harvested in summer from the people in India. Our country is the second April to June. Some of the important rabi crops largest producer of rice in the world after China. are wheat, barley, peas, gram and mustard. It is a kharif crop which requires high Though, these crops are grown in large parts temperature, (above 25°C) and high humidity of India, states from the north and north- with annual rainfall above 100 cm. In the areas western parts such as Punjab, Haryana, of less rainfall, it grows with the help of irrigation. Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Rice is grown in the plains of north and Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh are important north-eastern India, coastal areas and the for the production of wheat and other rabi deltaic regions. Development of dense network crops. Availability of precipitation during winter months due to the western temperate cyclones helps in the success of these crops. However, the success of the green revolution in Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan has also been an important factor in the growth of the above- mentioned rabi crops. Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. Important crops grown during this season are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean. Some of the most important rice-growing Fig. 4.4 (a): Rice Cultivation regions are Assam, West Bengal, coastal regions of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, particularly the (Konkan coast) along with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. Recently, paddy has also become an important crop of Punjab and Haryana. In states like Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These are Aus, Aman and Boro. In between the rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season. Some of the crops produced during ‘zaid’ are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, Fig. 4.4 (b): Rice is ready to be harvested in the field 36 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16 India: Distribution of Rice A GRICULTURE 37 2015-16 of canal irrigation and tubewells have made it possible to grow rice in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan. Wheat: This is the second most important cereal crop. It is the main food crop, in north and north-western part of the country. This rabi crop requires a cool growing season and a bright sunshine at the time of ripening. It requires 50 to 75 cm of annual rainfall evenly- distributed over the growing season. There are two important wheat-growing zones in the Fig. 4.6: Bajra Cultivation country – the Ganga-Satluj plains in the north- west and black soil region of the Deccan. The crop of dry regions and grows well on red, major wheat-producing states are Punjab, black, sandy, loamy and shallow black soils. Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Rajasthan and Major ragi producing states are: Karnataka, parts of Madhya Pradesh. Tamil Nadu, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand and Arunachal Pradesh. Maize: It is a crop which is used both as food and fodder. It is a kharif crop which requires temperature between 21°C to 27°C and grows well in old alluvial soil. In some states like Bihar Fig. 4.5: Wheat Cultivation Millets: Jowar, bajra and ragi are the important millets grown in India. Though, these are known as coarse grains, they have very high nutritional value. For example, ragi Fig. 4.7: Maize Cultivation is very rich in iron, calcium, other micro maize is grown in rabi season also. Use of modern nutrients and roughage. Jowar is the third inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilisers and irrigation most important food crop with respect to area have contributed to the increasing production of and production. It is a rain-fed crop mostly maize. Major maize-producing states are grown in the moist areas which hardly needs Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra irrigation. Major Jowar producing States were Pradesh, Telangana and Madhya Pradesh. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh in 2011-12. Pulses: India is the largest producer as well Bajra grows well on sandy soils and shallow as the consumer of pulses in the world. These black soil. Major Bajra producing States were: are the major source of protein in a vegetarian Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, diet. Major pulses that are grown in India are Gujarat and Haryana in 2011-12. Ragi is a tur (arhar), urad, moong, masur, peas and 38 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16 India: Distribution of Wheat A GRICULTURE 39 2015-16 gram. Can you distinguish which of these states are Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, pulses are grown in the kharif season and Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, which are grown in the rabi season? Pulses Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana. need less moisture and survive even in dry Oil Seeds: In 2008 India was the second conditions. Being leguminous crops, all these largest producer of groundnut in the world crops except arhar help in restoring soil fertility after china. In rape seed production India was by fixing nitrogen from the air. Therefore, these are mostly grown in rotation with other crops. third largest producer in the world after Major pulse producing states in India are Canada and China in 2008. Different oil seeds are grown covering approximately 12 per cent Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka. of the total cropped area of the country. Main oil-seeds produced in India are groundnut, Food Crops other than Grains mustard, coconut, sesamum (til), soyabean, Sugarcane: It is a tropical as well as a castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and subtropical crop. It grows well in hot and sunflower. Most of these are edible and used humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to as cooking mediums. However, some of these 27°C and an annual rainfall between 75cm. are also used as raw material in the production and 100cm. Irrigation is required in the regions of soap, cosmetics and ointments. of low rainfall. It can be grown on a variety of Groundnut is a kharif crop and accounts for about half of the major oilseeds produced in the country. Gujarat was the largest producer of groundnut followed by Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu in 2011-12. Linseed and mustard are rabi crops. Sesamum is a kharif crop in north and rabi crop in south India. Castor seed is grown both as rabi and kharif crop. Tea: Tea cultivation is an example of plantation agriculture. It is also an important beverage crop introduced in India initially by the British. Today, most of the tea plantations are owned by Indians. The tea plant grows well in tropical and sub-tropical climates endowed Fig. 4.8: Sugarcane Cultivation with deep and fertile well-drained soil, rich in humus and organic matter. Tea bushes soils and needs manual labour from sowing to require warm and moist frost-free climate all harvesting. India is the second largest producer through the year. Frequent showers evenly of sugarcane only after Brazil. It is the main distributed over the year ensure continuous source of sugar, gur (jaggary), khandsari and growth of tender leaves. Tea is a labour- molasses. The major sugarcane-producing intensive industry. It requires abundant, Fig. 4.9: Groundnut, sunflower and mustard are ready to be harvested in the field 40 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16 cheap and skilled labour. Tea is processed within the tea garden to restore its freshness. Major tea- producing states are Assam, hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri districts, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Apart from these, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Fig. 4.10: Tea Cultivation Fig. 4.11: Tea-leaves Harvesting Andhra Pradesh and Tripura are also tea-producing states in the tropical as well as temperate fruits. Mangoes country. In 2008 India was the third largest of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, producer of tea after China and Turkey. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, oranges of Coffee: In 2008 India produced 3.2 per cent Nagpur and Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya), of the world coffee production. Indian coffee is bananas of Kerala, Mizoram, Maharashtra and known in the world for its good quality. The Tamil Nadu, lichi and guava of Uttar Pradesh Arabica variety initially brought from Yemen is and Bihar, pineapples of Meghalaya, grapes of produced in the country. This variety is in great Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, demand all over the world. Intially its cultivation apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Jammu was introduced on the Baba Budan Hills and and Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh are in even today its cultivation is confined to the Nilgiri great demand the world over. in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Fig. 4.12: Apricots, apple and pomegranate India produces about 13 per cent of the Horticulture Crops: In 2008 India was the world’s vegetables. It is an important second largest producer of fruits and vegetables producer of pea, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, in the world after China. India is a producer of tomato, brinjal and potato. Fig. 4.13: Cultivation of vegetables – peas, cauliflower, tomato and brinjal A GRICULTURE 41 2015-16 Non-Food Crops Rubber: It is an equatorial crop, but under special conditions, it is also grown in tropical and sub-tropical areas. It requires moist and humid climate with rainfall of more than 200 cm. and temperature above 25°C. Rubber is an important industrial raw material. It is mainly grown in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Andaman and Nicobar islands and Garo hills of Meghalaya. In 2010-11 India ranked fourth among the world’s natural rubber producers. Fig. 4.15: Cotton Cultivation List the items which are made of rubber and are used by us. plateau. It requires high temperature, light rainfall or irrigation, 210 frost-free days and bright sun-shine for its growth. It is a kharif 4.1% 4.7% crop and requires 6 to 8 months to mature. Dipped Others Goods 62.2% Major cotton-producing states are– 4% Latex Foam Auto Tyres Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Tubes Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil 4.6% Belts and Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh. Hoses 6.6% Jute: It is known as the golden fibre. Jute Footwears grows well on well-drained fertile soils in the 4.6% flood plains where soils are renewed every Camel Back year. High temperature is required during the time of growth. West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, 9.2% Odisha and Meghalaya are the major jute Cycle Tyres and Tubes producing states. It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts. Due to its high cost, it is losing Fig. 4.14: Consumption of natural rubber - 2010-11 market to synthetic fibres and packing materials, particularly the nylon. Source : Statistics and Planning Department Rubber Board, Kottayam, Kerala Technological and Institutional Reforms Fibre Crops: Cotton, jute, hemp and natural It was mentioned in the previous pages that silk are the four major fibre crops grown in India. agriculture has been practised in India for The first three are derived from the crops grown thousands of years. Sustained uses of land in the soil, the latter is obtained from cocoons of without compatible techno-institutional the silkworms fed on green leaves specially changes have hindered the pace of mulberry. Rearing of silk worms for the agricultural development. Inspite of production of silk fibre is known as sericulture. development of sources of irrigation most of the farmers in large parts of the country still Cotton: India is believed to be the original depend upon monsoon and natural fertility home of the cotton plant. Cotton is one of the in order to carry on their agriculture. For a main raw materials for cotton textile industry. growing population, this poses a serious In 2008 India was second largest producer of challenge. Agriculture which provides cotton after China. Cotton grows well in drier livelihood for more than 60 per cent of its parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan population, needs some serious technical and 42 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16  Fig. 4.16: Modern technological equipments used in agriculture institutional reforms. Thus, collectivisation, programmes for farmers were introduced on consolidation of holdings, cooperation and the radio and television. The government also abolition of zamindari, etc. were given priority announces minimum support price, to bring about institutional reforms in the remunerative and procurement prices for country after Independence. ‘Land reform’ was important crops to check the exploitation of the main focus of our First Five Year Plan. The farmers by speculators and middlemen. right of inheritance had already lead to fragmentation of land holdings necessitating consolidation of holdings. Bhoodan – Gramdan The laws of land reforms were enacted but Mahatma Gandhi declared Vinoba Bhave as the laws of implementation was lacking or his spiritual heir. He also participated in lukewarm. The Government of India Satyagraha as one of the foremost embarked upon introducing agricultural satyagrahis. He was one of the votaries of reforms to improve Indian agriculture in the Gandhi’s concept of gram swarajya. After 1960s and 1970s. The Green Revolution Gandhiji’s martyrdom, Vinoba Bhave based on the use of package technology and undertook padyatra to spread Gandhiji’s the White Revolution (Operation Flood) were message covered almost the entire country. some of the strategies initiated to improve the Once, when he was delivering a lecture at lot of Indian agriculture. But, this too led to Pochampalli in Andhra Pradesh, some poor the concentration of development in few landless villagers demanded some land for selected areas. Therefore, in the 1980s and their economic well-being. Vinoba Bhave 1990s, a comprehensive land development could not promise it to them immediately programme was initiated, which included both but assured them to talk to the Government institutional and technical reforms. Provision of India regarding provision of land for them for crop insurance against drought, flood, if they undertook cooperative farming. cyclone, fire and disease, establishment of Suddenly, Shri Ram Chandra Reddy stood Grameen banks, cooperative societies and up and offered 80 acres of land to be banks for providing loan facilities to the distributed among 80 land-less villagers. farmers at lower rates of interest were some This act was known as ‘Bhoodan’. Later he important steps in this direction. travelled and introduced his ideas widely all Kissan Credit Card (KCC), Personal over India. Some zamindars, owners of Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS) are some many villages offered to distribute some other schemes introduced by the Government villages among the landless. It was known of India for the benefit of the farmers. Moreover, as Gramdan. However, many land-owners special weather bulletins and agricultural chose to provide some part of their land to A GRICULTURE 43 2015-16  the poor farmers due to the fear of land Table 4.1: India: Growth of GDP and ceiling act. This Bhoodan-Gramdan major sectors (in %) movement initiated by Vinoba Bhave is also Sector Tenth Five 11th Five 2012-17 known as the Blood-less Revolution. Year Plan Year Plan Target I Target II (2002-07) (2007-12) Agriculture 1.7 3.2 4.0 4.2 Contribution of agriculture to the national economy, employment and output Industries 8.3 7.4 9.6 10.9 Services 9.0 10.0 10.0 10.0 Agriculture has been the backbone of the Indian economy though its share in the Gross GDP 7.2 8.2 9.0 9.5 Domestic Product (GDP) has registered a Source: Faster, Sustainable and more Inclusive: declining trend from 1951 onwards; in An approach to the 12th Five Year Plan, Planning 2010-11 about 52 per cent of the total work Commission, Government of India–2011. force was employed by the farm sector which makes more than half of the Indian Population mechanisation. Subsidy on fertilisers is dependent on agriculture for sustenance. decreased leading to increase in the cost of The declining share of agriculture in the production. Moreover, reduction in import GDP is a matter of serious concern because duties on agricultural products have proved any decline and stagnation in agriculture will detrimental to agriculture in the country. lead to a decline in other spheres of the Farmers are withdrawing their investment economy having wider implications for society. from agriculture causing a downfall in the Considering the importance of agriculture employment in agriculture. in India, the Government of India made concerted efforts to modernise agriculture. When farmers have been facing so many Establishment of Indian Council of Agricultural problems and land under agriculture is Research (ICAR), agricultural universities, decreasing, can we think of alternative veterinary services and animal breeding employment opportunities in the agriculture centres, horticulture development, research sector? and development in the field of meteorology and weather forecast, etc. were given priority for Why ar e far mers committing suicides in improving Indian agriculture. Apart from this, several states of the country? improving the rural infrastructure was also considered essential for the same. FOOD SECURITY You know that food is a basic need and every citizen of the country should have access to Find out why an Indian farmer does not want food which provides minimum nutritional level. his son to become a farmer. If any segment of our population does not have this access, that segment suffers from lack of From the Table 4.1, it is clear that though food security. The number of people who do not have food security is disproportionately the GDP growth rate is increasing over the large in some regions of our country, years, it is not generating sufficient particularly in economically less developed employment opportunities in the country. The states with higher incidence of poverty. The growth rate in agriculture is decelerating remote areas of the country are more prone to which is an alarming situation. Today, Indian natural disasters and uncertain food supply. farmers are facing a big challenge from In order to ensure availability of food to all international competition and our government sections of society our government carefully is going ahead with reduction in the public designed a national food security system. It investment in agriculture sector particularly consists of two components (a) buffer stock and in irrigation, power, rural roads, market and (b) public distribution system (PDS). 44 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16  As you know, PDS is a programme which growth potential in that particular area must provides food grains and other essential be encouraged. Creation of necessary commodities at subsidised prices in rural and infrastructure like irrigation facilities, urban areas. availability of electricity etc. may also attract India’s food security policy has a primary private investments in agriculture. objective to ensure availability of foodgrains The focus on increasing foodgrain to the common people at an affordable price. production which should be on a sustainable It has enabled the poor to have access to food. basis and also free trade in grains will create The focus of the policy is on growth in massive employment and reduce poverty in agriculture production and on fixing the rural areas. support price for procurement of wheat and There has been a gradual shift from rice, to maintain their stocks. Food cultivation of food crops to cultivation of fruits, Corporation of India (FCI) is responsible for vegetables, oil-seeds and industrial crops. This procuring and stocking foodgrains, whereas has led to the reduction in net sown area under distribution is ensured by public distribution cereals and pulses. With the growing system (PDS). population of India, the declining food The FCI procures foodgrains from the production puts a big question mark over the farmers at the government announced country’s future food security. The competition minimum support price (MSP). The for land between non-agricultural uses such government used to provide subsidies on as housing etc. and agriculture has resulted agriculture inputs such as fertilizers, power in reduction in the net sown area. The and water. These subsidies have now reached productivity of land has started showing a unsustainable levels and have also led to large declining trend. Fertilisers, pesticides and scale inefficiencies in the use of these scarce insecticides, which once showed dramatic inputs. Excessive and imprudent use of results, are now being held responsible for fertilizers and water has led to waterlogging, degrading the soils. Periodic scarcity of water salinity and depletion of essential has led to reduction in area under irrigation. micronutrients in the soil. The high MSP, Inefficient water management has led to water subsidies in input and committed FCI logging and salinity. purchases have distorted the cropping pattern. Wheat and paddy crops are being grown more Draw bar diagram showing the trend of food for the MSP they get. Punjab and Haryana are grain production in India during last five years. foremost examples. This has also created a Find out the reason of this trend. serious imbalance in inter-crop parities. You already know that the consumers are divided into two categories : below poverty line Table 4.2: India: Foodgrains production (BPL) and above poverty line (APL), with the (million tonnes) issue price being different for each category. Cereals 2006- 2007- 2008- 2009- 2010-11 However, this categorisation is not perfect and 07 08 09 10 (Provisional) a number of deserving poor have been Rice 93.4 96.7 99.2 89.10 95.3 excluded from the BPL category. Moreover, some of the so called APL slip back to BPL, Wheat 75.8 78.6 80.7 80.80 85.9 Coarse because of the failure of even one crop and it grains is administratively difficult to accommodate Jowar & 18.0 17.4 16.3 16.6 16.5 such shifts. Bajra) Each district and block can be made self Pulses 14.2 14.8 14.6 14.70 18.1 sufficient in foodgrain production if government Total 201.4 207.5 210.8 201.2 215.8 provides proper agricultural infrastructure, credit linkages and also encourages the use of Source: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, latest techniques. Instead of concentrating only Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, on rice or wheat, the food crop with a better Economic Survey, 2011-12. A GRICULTURE 45 2015-16  One important reason is land degradation. simultaneously. The higher the supply the Free power to a section of farmers has lower is the demand. This causes distress sale encouraged them to pump groundwater to also. Therefore, there can be no food security grow water-intensive crops in low-rainfall without the security of the small farmers. areas (rice in Punjab, sugarcane in Maharashtra). This unsustainable pumping Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture has reduced water storage in aquifers. Globalisation is not a new phenomenon. It was Consequently, many wells and tubewells have there at the time of colonisation. In the run dry. This has pushed the marginal and nineteenth century when European traders small farmers out of cultivation. came to India, at that time too, Indian spices The big farmers with deeper tubewells still were exported to different countries of the world have water, but many others face a water crisis. and farmers of south India were encouraged Inadequate storage and marketing facilities also to grow these crops. Till today it is one of the act as a disincentive to the farmer. Thus, the important items of export from India. farmers are badly affected by the uncertainties During the British period cotton belts of of production and market. They suffer from a India attracted the British and ultimately double disadvantage as they pay high prices cotton was exported to Britain as a raw material for inputs such as HYV seeds, fertilisers etc. but for their textile industries. Cotton textile lack the bargaining power to fix prices in their industry in Manchester and Liverpool favour. All the production reaches the market flourished due to the availability of good Organise a debate on food security of India, its need and efforts 46 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16 quality cotton from India. You have read about Can you name any gene modified seed used the Champaran movement which started in vastly in India? 1917 in Bihar. This was started because farmers of that region were forced to grow indigo on their land because it was necessary for the textile industries which were located in Britain. They were unable to grow foodgrains to sustain their families. Under globalisation, particularly after 1990, the farmers in India have been exposed to new challenges. Despite being an important producer of rice, cotton, rubber, tea, coffee, jute and spices our agricultural products are not able to compete with the developed countries because of the highly subsidised agriculture Fig. 4.18: Problems associated with heavy pesticide in those countries. use are widely recognised in developed and developing countries Infact organic farming is much in vogue today because it is practised without factory made chemicals such as fertilisers and pesticides. Hence, it does not affect environment in a negative manner. A few economists think that Indian farmers Fig. 4.17: Tissue culture of teak clones have a bleak future if they continue growing foodgrains on the holdings that grow smaller Today, Indian agriculture finds itself at the and smaller as the population rises. India’s crossroads. To make agriculture successful and rural population is about 600 million which profitable, proper thrust should be given to the depends upon 250 million (approximate) improvement of the condition of marginal and hectares of agricultural land, an average of less small farmers. The green revolution promised than half a hectare per person. much. But today it’s under controversies. It is Indian farmers should diversify their being alleged that it has caused land cropping pattern from cereals to high-value degradation due to overuse of chemicals, drying crops. This will increase incomes and reduce aquifers and vanishing biodiversity. The environmental degradation simultaneously. keyword today is “gene revolution”. Which Because fruits, medicinal herbs, flowers, includes genetic engineering. vegetables, bio-diesel crops like jatropha and jojoba need much less irrigation than Genetic engineering is recognised as a rice or sugarcane. India’s diverse climate powerful supplement in inventing new can be harnessed to grow a wide range of hybrid varieties of seeds. high-value crops. Change in cropping pattern for example from cereals to high-value crops will mean that India will have to import food. During 1960’s this would have been seen as a disaster. But if India imports cereals while exporting high-value commodities, it will be following successful economies like Italy, Israel and Chile. These countries exports farm products (fruits, olives, speciality seeds and wine) and import cereals. Are we ready to take this risk? Debate the issue. A GRICULTURE 47 2015-16  EXERCISES EXERCISES EXERCISES EXERCISES EXERCISES 1. Multiple choice questions. (i) Which one of the following describes a system of agriculture where a single crop is grown on a large area? (a) Shifting Agriculture (b) Plantation Agriculture (c) Horticulture (d) Intensive Agriculture (ii) Which one of the following is a rabi crop? (a) Rice (c) Millets (b) Gram (d) Cotton (iii) Which one of the following is a leguminous crop? (a) Pulses (c) Millets (b) Jawar (d) Sesamum (iv) Which one of the following is announced by the government in support of a crop? (a) Maximum support price (b) Minimum support price (c) Moderate support price (d) Influential support price 2. Answer the following questions in 30 words. (i) Name one important beverage crop and specify the geographical conditions required for its growth. (ii) Name one staple crop of India and the regions where it is produced. (iii) Enlist the various institutional reform programmes introduced by the government in the interest of farmers. (iv) The land under cultivation has got reduced day by day. Can you imagine its consequences? 3. Answer the following questions in about 120 words. (i) Suggest the initiative taken by the government to ensure the increase in agricultural production. (ii) Describe the impact of globalisation on Indian agriculture. (iii) Describe the geographical conditions required for the growth of rice. PROJECT WORK 1. Group discussion on the necessity of literacy among farmers. 2. On an outline map of India show wheat producing areas. 48 CONTEMPORARY INDIA – II 2015-16 ACTIVITY Solve the puzzle by following your search horizontally and vertically to find the hidden answers. A Z M X N C B V N X A H D Q S D E W S R J D Q J Z V R E D K H A R I F G W F M R F W F N L R G C H H R S B S V T G B C W H E A T Y A C H B R H R T K A S S E P H X A N W J I E S J O W A R J Z H D T K C L A E G A C O F F E E Y L T E F Y M T A T S S R G I P D E J O U Y V E J G F A U O U M H Q S U D I T S W S P U O A C O T T O N E A H F O Y O L F L U S R Q Q D T W I T M U A H R G Y K T R A B F E A K D G D Q H S U O I W H W Q Z C X V B N M K J A S L 1. The two staple food crops of India. 2. This is the summer cropping season of India. 3. Pulses like arhar, moong, gram, urad contain… 4. It is a coarse grain. 5. The two important beverages in India are… 6. One of the four major fibers grown on black soils. A GRICULTURE 49 2015-16