Dr. Salve P.N. M.J.S.College Shrigonda

1. Dr. Salve P.N. M.J.S.CollegeShrigonda

2. Farming Systems in India • are strategically utilised, according to the locations where they are most suitable. The farming systems that significantly contribute to the of India are subsistence farming, organic farming, and industrial farming.[1] Regions throughout India differ in types of farming they use; some are based on horticulture, ley farming, agroforestry, and many more. Due to India's geographical location, certain parts experience different climates, thus affecting each region's agricultural productivity differently. India is very dependent on its monsoon cycle for large crop yields. India's agriculture has an extensive background which goes back to at least 10 thousand years. Currently the country holds the second position in agricultural production in the world. In 2007, agriculture and other industries made up more than 16% of India's GDP. Despite the steady decline in agriculture's contribution to the country's GDP, agriculture is the biggest industry in the country and plays a key role in the socioeconomic growth of the country. India is the second biggest producer of wheat, rice, cotton, sugarcane, silk, groundnuts, and dozens more. It is also the second biggest harvester of vegetables and fruit, representing 8.6% and 10.9% of overall production, respectively. The major fruits produced by India are mangoes, papayas, sapota, and bananas. India also has the biggest number of livestock in the world, holding 281 million. In 2008, the country housed the second largest number of cattle in the world with 175 million

5. Irrigation farming • Irrigation farming is when crops are grown with the help of irrigation systems by supplying water to land through rivers, reservoirs, tanks, and wells. Over the last century, the population of India has tripled. With a growing population and increasing demand for food, the necessity of water for agricultural productivity is crucial. India faces the daunting task of increasing its food production by over 50 percent in the next two decades, and reaching towards the goal of sustainable agriculture requires a crucial role of water. Empirical evidence suggests that the increase in agricultural production in India is mostly due to irrigation; close to three fifths of India's grain harvest comes from irrigated land. The land area under irrigation expanded from 22.6 million hectares in FY 1950 to 59 million hectares in FY 1990. The main strategy for these irrigation systems focuses on public investments in surface systems, such as large dams, long canals, and other large-scale works that require large amounts of capital. Between 1951 and 1990, nearly 1,350 large- and medium-sized irrigation works were started, and about 850 were completed.

6. Major Types of Farming Practices Seen in India • Some of the various types of farming practices seen in India are as follows : • Physical and human factors have played their respective roles to give rise to different types of farming in different parts of the country. A brief account of major types of farming is as under: • 1. Subsistence farming: Majority of farmers in large parts of the country, practise subsistence farming. Farmers cultivate small and scattered holdings with the help of draught animals and family members. Techniques are primitive and tools are simple. Modern farm implements are practically absent. In this way, our agriculture could come out of primitive subsistence stage. But even now, many farmers do not have any surplus to sell in the market at commercial scale. So presently, many parts of India have intensive subsistence farming.

7. Farmers are too poor to purchase fertilizers and high yielding varieties of seeds as a result of which the productivity is low, Facilities like electricity, irrigation and credit are badly lacking. As such, the farmer and his family members consume the entire farm produce and do not have any surplus farm production to sell in the market. The main emphasis is on food crops although some other crops such as sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton, jute, tobacco also occupy important place in some areas. • Large scale improvement has been brought in Indian agriculture after Independence. Farming techniques were improved and the holdings became large and properly arranged as a result of consolidation. Mechanisation of agriculture increased. • The financial position of the farmer improved a little and he could afford to purchase chemical fertilizers and high-yielding varieties of seeds. He could avail of facilities like irrigation, electricity, loans etc.

8. 2. Plantation agriculture: • Plantation agriculture was introduced in India by the Britishers in the 19th century. This type of agriculture involves growing and processing of a single cash crop purely meant for sale. Large capital input, vast estates, managerial ability, technical know-how, sophisticated farm machinery, fertilizers, good transport facilities, and a factory for processing the produce are some of the outstanding features of plantation agriculture. • There are plantations of rubber, tea, coffee, cocoa, banana, spices, coconut, etc. This type of agriculture is practised mainly in Assam, sub-Himalayan West Bengal, and in the Nilgiri, Anaimalai and Cardamom Hills in the south.

9. 3. Shifting agriculture: • This is a type of agriculture in which a piece of forest land is cleared mainly by tribal people by felling and burning of trees and crops are grown. After 2-3 years when the fertility of the soil in the cleared land decreases, it is abandoned and the tribe shifts to some other piece of land. The process continues and the farmers again shift to the first piece of land after a gap of 10-15 years. This type of agriculture is practised over an area of 54 lakh hectares, 20 lakh hectares being cleared every year. Dry paddy, buck wheat, maize, small millets, tobacco and sugarcane are the main crops grown under this type of agriculture. • This is a very crude and primitive method of cultivation which results in large scale deforestation and soil erosion especially on the hill sides causing devastating floods in the plains below. About one million hectares of land is degraded every year due to shifting agriculture. • Therefore, there is urgent need to put a check on this practice. For this purpose, the tribal people need to be educated about t e damage caused by this practice to the natural resources like vegetation and soil.

12. Types of Farming in India1. Irrigation Farming • An irrigation farming system relies on help from an irrigation system supplying water from a river, reservoir, tank, or well. As India grows and there is an increasing demand for food, water is becoming more and more crucial. Farming methods should be focused on sustaining or recycling water.

13. 2. Shifting Cultivation • Shifting cultivation systems cultivate one plot of land for a period of years until the soil becomes infertile. As crop yield decreases, the plot is deserted and the ground is re-fertilized using the slash and burn technique. This method is popular in the northeast and the east coast of the country, and is used to cultivate rain-fed rice, corn, buckwheat, millet, root crops, and vegetables. However, as the population increases, more land is being used up without enough time to regenerate the natural condition of the soil. This has led to severe soil degradation in many areas.

14. Shifting cultivation • Shifting cultivation is a type of subsistence farming where a plot of land is cultivated for a few years until the crop yield declines due to soil exhaustion and the effects of pests and weeds. Once crop yield has stagnated, the plot of land is deserted and the ground is cleared by slash and burn methods, allowing the land to replenish. This type of cultivation is predominant in the eastern and north-eastern regions on hill slopes and in forest areas such as Assam, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Orissa, and Andhra Pradesh. Crops such as rain fed rice, corn, buck wheat, small millets, root crops, and vegetables are grown in this system.[5] Eighty-five percent of the total cultivation in northeast India is by shifting cultivation. Due to increasing requirement for cultivation of land, the cycle of cultivation followed by leaving land fallow has reduced from 25–30 years to 2–3 years. This significant drop in uncultivated land does not give the land enough time to return to its natural condition. Because of this, the resilience of the ecosystem has broken down and the land is increasingly deteriorating.[

17. Swidden and conservation Some argue that part of the immense diversity of these forests is due to shifting cultivation practices, rather than endangered by them. Fire is one tool that is carefully used in these farming systems, which have been developed over generations to be appropriate to both the land and the community. In the mid to late 20th century, swidden was seen as a disastrous activity which was destroying forests that should either be used for conservation or logging. The impacts of mining, dam building, plantations and the voracious demand for timber were underplayed, whist swidden was held up as conservation’s enemy number one. Several governments banned or severely restricted the practice whilst allowing vast areas of forest land to be cleared for logging, plantations and biofuel production. This attitude prevails. Mining company, Vedanta Resources, for example has claimed that the ‘DongriaKondh tribe’s agricultural practice of shifting cultivation results in large-scale destruction of forest and thereby bio-diversity’ – not only incorrect but also somewhat ironic coming from the company that seeks to dig a vast mine in this biodiverse hill range. Recently, scientists have realised that these farming systems, ‘maintain very high levels of biodiversity while providing livelihood for populations in tropical forest areas worldwide’. In the Peruvian Amazon, scientists have recorded an average of 37 species of tree on swidden plots and records show over 370 species are supported in the territories of the Karen swidden farmers in northern Thailand. Far from being responsible for destroying biodiversity, tribal swidden systems are being recognised as having contributed to the diversity of forest areas and to maintaining the ecological value of these areas. This shows that tribal peoples are better at looking after their environment than anyone else

18. Jummas and Jhum cultivation • The Jummas – a group of several tribes in the Chittagong Hill Tracts of northern Bangladesh – are named after Jhum, their form of shifting cultivation. The Jumma tribes have developed this farming system to suit the rugged, hilly landscape in which they live. • The Jhum system was an effective, sustainable system that provided for the needs of the Jumma tribes for generations. But the Jumma have been squeezed into an increasingly small area, first by the submergence of land when the Karnafuli River was dammed, then by the influx of thousands of Bengali settlers who have been encouraged by the government to settle in the Hill Tracts. • The Jummas and their Jhum cultivation are under threat from both the settlers and the Bangladesh army, exacerbated by the severe restrictions that have been placed on the Jumma tribes’ access to, and use of, their forests. They are forced to shorten their fallow periods and so their yields from the land are decreasing, leading to both food shortages and economic hardship.

21. Shifting farming is an ancient type of farming. It is practised by some tribal people from the outskirt areas of cities and villages. Major crops like rice, corn, jowar, bajra, ragi, chillies, oil-seeds etc are grown under shifting cultivation. Some parts of the states of Meghalaya, Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Nagaland, Mizoram, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala are practiced shifting farming. Shifting farming in different regions has different names. In South India, shifting farming is called as “Kumari”. In North India, shifting farming is known as “Jhum”. In Orissa, the farming is called as “Podu” and “Dungar”. In Madhya Pradesh, the farming is named as “Bewar”. The Naga call it JhumCultivation; The Bhuiya distinguish two forms of it, dahi and koman; The Maria of Bastar calls it penda; The Khond refer to it as podu; And the Baiga call it bewar. Shifting cultivation in India is known as jhum in Assam, punamkrishiis Kerala, podu in Andhra Pradesh and Orissa, bewar, mashan, penda and beerain different parts of Madhya Pradesh. Shifting cultivation is practiced by tribal people.

22. About 20 lakhs hectares of forests are cleared every year by felling and burning the trees and shrubs. These clearings are cultivated under very crude and extravagant methods for 2-3 years and then abandoned when fertility dwindles or soil erosion makes it unfit or forests reappear. • Paddy, buck wheat, maize, millets, tobacco, some vegetables and banana are grown on the burnt over clearings and the products shared jointly by the clan. Dry deciduous forests are especially suited to jhumming. This wasteful practice in difficult terrain obviously supports a very sparse population. • Problems: • After the selection of land for shifting cultivation, the land is cleared and unwanted plants are burnt. Owing to this, potash content in the soil increases but the organic materials are lost. As long as the fertility of land remains they continue farming. But, when the fertility decreases, farmers discontinue the farming over the land and move in search of new piece of land. This is the main demerit of shifting cultivation. Only natural fertilizers like compost manures are used. However, chemical fertilizers, quality seeds, crop protection methods and modern methods are not implemented. Therefore, crop production is low. • Low production, cutting of trees, soil erosion and unstable life are some of the disadvantages of this type of agriculture. Shifting cultivation causes environmental degradation. Hence, there are some restrictions on practising this type of farming.

23. 3. Commercial Agriculture • Commercial agriculture systems involve large-scale plantations, such as those used for wheat, cotton, sugarcane, tea, rubber, and corn. The yields are exported to other countries for a profit. There are three types of commercial agriculture systems: • Intensive commercial farming: With small landholdings and a high population, many farms use a lot of manpower on a relatively small piece of land. • Extensive commercial farming: This is the opposite of intensive commercial farming. A small workforce is applied to a large piece of land. Cultivation depends on mechanical methods. • Plantation agriculture: A plantation is a large piece of land with an estate (typically in sub-tropical or tropical countries) where crops are cultivated and then sold internationally as opposed to locally.

24. 4. Ley Farming • This type of farming is used to restore soil fertility in India’s dry lands. A plot of land is used for grain or other crops and when the soil starts to degrade, the land is left uncultivated. It is used to grow hay or as a pasture for grazing animals. After a number of years, it can be used for crops again as the nutrients are restored by ploughing. Land erosion during the ley period is also prevented by the roots of the grass.

27. 5. Plantation Farming • As mentioned before, this is the large-scale cultivation of one crop on an estate or vast property. This system is designed to make a profit and as such requires that all technology and techniques be efficient. Tea, coffee, and rubber are all commonly-grown on plantation farms. Teak wood, bamboo, and timber are also occasionally farmed using this method.

30. 7. Co-Operative Farming • Cooperative farming systems in India have only recently appeared. The aim of these systems is to combine land resources and farmers so that everyone benefits. There is huge potential to build on this method in India; unfortunately funding has been slow to make it possible. Families are attached to their land and unwilling to give it up to be shared in a cooperative system, farmers fear they will lose their jobs, and there is an immense amount of propaganda related to “new” lines of thinking.

31. 6. Crop Rotation • This system is a type of subsistence farming. Usually, there are one or more farmers responsible for the labour and the produce is for their own consumption. A crop rotation schedule includes different varieties of crops such as wheat, barley, mustard, or millet being grown during alternating seasons. The benefits are that weeds, pests, and diseases are controlled, while soil fertility is maintained.

32. Dairy farming • In 2001 India became the world leader in milk production with a production volume of 84 million tons. India has about three times as many dairy animals as the USA, which produces around 75 million tons. Dairy Farming is generally a type of subsistence farming system in India, especially in Haryana, the major producer of milk in the country. More than 40% of Indian farming households are engaged in milk production because it is a livestock enterprise in which they can engage with relative ease to improve their livelihoods. Regular milk sales allow them to move from subsistence to earning a market-based income. The structure of the livestock industry is globally changing and putting poorer livestock producers in danger because they will be crowded out and left behind. More than 40 million households in India are at least partially dependent on milk production, and developments in the dairy sector will have important repercussions on their livelihoods and on rural poverty levels. Haryana was chosen to assess possible developments in the Indian dairy sector and to broadly identify areas of interventions that favour small-scale dairy producers. A methodology developed by the International Farm Comparison Network (IFCN) examined impacts of change on milk prices, farm management and other market factors that affect the small-scale milk production systems, the whole farm and related household income

33. Ley farming • With increases in both human and animal populations in the Indian arid zone, the demand for grain, fodder, and fuel wood is increasing. Agricultural production in this region is low due to the low and uneven distribution of rainfall (100–400 mm yr"1) and the low availability of essential mineral nutrients. These demands can be met only by increasing production levels of these Aridisols through adoption of farming technologies that improve physical properties as well as biological processes of these soils. Alternate farming systems are being sought for higher sustainable crop production at low input levels and to protect the soils from further degradation. • In India's drylands, ley farming is used as a way to restore soil fertility. It involves rotations of grasses and food grains in a specific area. It is now being promoted even more to encourage organic farming, especially in the drylands.[7] Ley farming acts as insurance against crop failures by frequent droughts. Structurally related physical properties and biological processes of soil often change when different cropping systems, tillage, or management practices are used. Soil fertility can be increased and maintained by enhancing the natural soil biological processes. Farming provides balanced nutrition for sustainable production through continuous turnover of organic matter in the soil

34. Types of commercial agriculture • Intensive commercial farming: This is a system of agriculture in which relatively large amounts of capital or labor are applied to relatively smaller areas of land. It is usually practiced where the population pressure is reducing the size of landholdings. West Bengal practices intensive commercial farming. • Extensive commercial farming: This is a system of agriculture in which relatively small amounts of capital or labor investment are applied to relatively large areas of land. At times, the land is left fallow to regain its fertility. It is mostly mechanized because of the cost and availability of labor. It usually occurs at the margin of the agricultural system, at a great distance from market or on poor land of limited potential and is usually practiced in the tarai regions of southern Nepal. Crops grown are sugarcane, rice and wheat. • 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. • Commercial grain farming: This type of farming is a response to farm mechanisation and it is the major type of activity in the areas of low rainfall and low density of population where extensive farming is practised. Crops are prone to the vagaries of weather and droughts and mono culture of wheat is the general practice.

38. Mixed Farming • When on a farm along-with crop production, some other agriculture based practices like poultry, dairy farming or bee keeping etc. is adopted, then this system of farming is known as mixed farming. It is the dominant system in Europe and now in parts of India, where most farms have a mixture of fields and pastures. It was first mainly used for self-consumption, but now in Advanced countries like USA, Japan, etc., this is done for a commercial purpose. • Cultivation of crops along with rearing of animals for meat or milk is called Mixed Farming. For example, the same farm may grow cereal crops, and keep cattle, sheep, pigs or poultry. • In mixed farming, along with farming some other agriculture based practices are also carried out. • Often the dung from the cattle is used to fertilize the cereal crops. Before horses were used for haulage, many young male cattle were often not butchered as surplus for meat but castrated and used as bullocks to haul the cart and the plough

44. Horticulture Crops Produced in India1. Orange: • Or Mandarin orange grows successfully in tropical and subtropical parts mainly under rain-fed conditions, in Coorg, Wynaad tract, Palani hills and the Nilgiris in the south between elevations of 600 and 1,500 m. • Orange can be grown successfully on a wide range of soils, but the ideal soil is medium or light loam with a slightly heavier subsoil. Heavy black soil, underlain with murrain and having good drainage, is also suitable. • In the hills and humid regions where planting is generally done on steep slopes, the land is properly terraced. In the plains, where the trees have to be irrigated, the land should be levelled. The places of production of oranges are Assam, Nagpur, Punjab, Wynaad, Coorg, Palani hills and the Nilgiris.

46. 2. Mango: • Nearly 50 per cent of the total area under fruits in the country is occupied by mango. The mango tree grows throughout the country from the sea level up to about 1,500 m. It is adaptable to a wide range of soil and climatic conditions. It can withstand both dry conditions and heavy rainfall. The mangos is a native of monsoon lands and prefers a climate with 75-250 cm rainfall concentrated from June to September and mean shade temperatures of about 28 °C. • The maximum production of mangoes in India comes from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, and Kerala among others. The important varieties grown include Chausa, Safeda, Langra, Dasheri of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, Alphonso of Maharashtra and Goa, Banganapally of Andhra Pradesh, Totapari and Kesar of Gujarat, Rumani and Neelam of Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

47. 3. Grape: • Being a subtropical fruit grows well in dry climate having a short sharp winter and a long dry summer. They do not thrive in regions having humid summers. Grape grows best on light, friable, loamy soils with free drainage. Heavy soils are unsuitable. There are different varieties grown in different regions. In the northern plains common varieties are Black Prince, Bedana, Foster’s seedling, KhandhariDakh and Muscat of Alexandria and Perlette; in dry and temperate regions there are the Thompson seedless, Sultana and Kishmish white; in South India, Bangalore blue, Pachadraksha, Gulabi, Black Champa and Thompson seedless are grown; in western India, CheemaSahebi, Anab-e-Shahi, and Thompson seedless are grown. • The main places of production of grapes are in Punjab, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

48. 4. Banana • Which is a moisture and heat loving plant, is broadly of two types—table and culinary. Among the former are Poovan in Chennai (also known as KarpuraChakkarekeli in Andhra Pradesh); Mortaman, Champa and Amritsagar in West Bengal; Champa and Mortaman in Assam and Orissa; SafedVelchi, Lai Velchi and Rajeli in Maharashtra. Among the culinary are Nandran, Monthan, Myndoli and PachaMonthaBathis. • Bananas are mainly grown in the tropical parts where temperatures do not fall below 16 °C and rainfall below 150 cm. The coastal plains and the irrigated tracts in the peninsular parts provide ideal climate for banana cultivation. The plant grows best in the rich well drained soil with ample moisture and humus content. The maximum production comes from three states—Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

49. 5. Guava: • Is a very hard tree which can withstand heat and droughts? A cool winter induces heavy fruiting. The total area under guava is about 30,000 hectare and Uttar Pradesh has the largest area under guava followed by Bihar.

50. 6. Pineapple: • Is a humid tropical plant and grows well both in the plains and also at elevations not exceeding 900 m. It grows in all types of soils but can tolerate neither very high temperature nor frost. • Assam, Meghalaya, West Bengal, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka are the important places of production of pineapple.