Agriculture: Overview and Types
Agriculture questions appear in every exam: crop-state matches, seasons, irrigation, revolutions. Agriculture employs about 40-45 percent of India's workforce (PLFS data vary by year) and contributes roughly 15-18 percent of GVA (check the latest Economic Survey). India is the world's largest producer of milk, pulses and jute, and the second largest of rice, wheat, sugarcane, fruit and vegetables, cotton and tea (check the latest FAO ranks).
Factors affecting agriculture
- Physical: relief, soil, climate (temperature, rain), water.
- Technological: seeds, fertilisers, machines, irrigation.
- Institutional: land holding, tenancy, credit, MSP, markets.
Types of farming
| Type | Features | Regions |
|---|---|---|
| Subsistence | Small plots, family labour, crops for own use | Most of India |
| Intensive subsistence | High labour and inputs on small land | Rice areas of the east and south |
| Commercial | Big inputs, crops for market | Punjab, Haryana, western UP, Maharashtra |
| Plantation | One crop on large estates: tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane | Assam, Kerala, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu |
| Shifting cultivation (jhum) | Clearing by slash and burn; abandon after 2-3 years | North-east India (Jhum), Odisha (Podu), Bastar (Penda), Andhra (Podu) |
| Mixed and multiple cropping | More than one crop together | Rainfed regions |
| Dry farming | Moisture conservation, drought-tolerant crops | Deccan, Rajasthan, Gujarat |
| Terrace farming | Steps on hill slopes | Himalaya, north-east, Western Ghats |
| Organic farming | No synthetic input | Sikkim (first fully organic state, 2016) |
| Zero budget natural farming | Natural inputs | Andhra Pradesh |
Names of shifting cultivation in India
| Place | Name |
|---|---|
| North-east (general) | Jhum |
| Odisha | Podu, Dahi |
| Andhra Pradesh | Podu |
| Western Ghats | Kumari |
| Bastar (Chhattisgarh) | Penda, Bewar |
| Madhya Pradesh | Dahiya, Bewar |
| Rajasthan | Valre |
| Jharkhand | Kurao |
Land holdings
- Average operational holding is about 1.08 hectares (Agriculture Census 2015-16); more than 86 percent of holdings are small and marginal.
- Land reforms: abolition of zamindari, tenancy reform, ceiling on holdings, consolidation, Bhoodan (Vinoba Bhave, 1951).
Keep practising
Notes are only half the work. Test yourself with questions and discuss doubts with other aspirants.
Prepared for exam revision from NCERT, standard geography textbooks, the Census of India 2011, the India State of Forest Report, IMD, Ministry of Agriculture and other official sources. Maps are schematic teaching maps, not Survey of India maps, and zone boundaries are approximate. Figures such as production, capacity, counts of parks and ports, and census status change, so check the latest official source before relying on them. Found a mistake? Tell us.