AGRICULTURE
GEOGRAPHY
NOTES
Types of Farming
- The cultivation methods depend upon the characteristics of the physical
environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural practices.
- Farming varies from subsistence to commercial type. In different parts of India,
the following farming systems are practised.
1. Primitive Subsistence Farming
- It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Farmers clear a patch of land and
produce cereals and other food crops. When the soil fertility decreases,
the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.
- It is known by different names in different parts of the country. It is known
as jhumming in north-eastern states.
- Land productivity is low in this type of agriculture.
- This type of farming depends on the monsoon.
- This farming is practised in a few parts of India.
2. 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 higher production.
3. Commercial Farming
- This type of farming uses higher doses of modern inputs such as high
yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and
pesticides to obtain higher productivity.
-Plantation is a type of commercial farming in which a single crop is grown
on a large area. Plantations cover large tracts of land, using capital
intensive inputs, with the help of migrant labourers. All the produce is used
as a raw material in industries.
-Eg: Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Sugarcane, Banana.
Cropping Pattern
- India has three cropping seasons:
1. Rabi 2. Kharif 3. Zaid
RABI KHARIF ZAID
SOWING SEASON Winter from
October to
December
Beginning of the
rainy season
between April and
In between the rabi
and the kharif
seasons, there is a
