| Can you plz tell me the different methods of agriculture in India?
History of Indian agricultureEvidence of the presence of wheat and some legumes in the 6th millennium BC have been found in the Indus Valley. Oranges were cultivated in the same millennium. The crops grown in the valley around 4000 BC were typically wheat, peas, sesame seed, barley, dates and mangoes. By 3500 BC cotton growing and cotton textiles were quite advanced in the valley. By 3000 BC farming of rice had started. Other monsoon crops of importance of the time was cane sugar. By 2500 BC, rice was an important component of the staple diet in Mohenjodaro near the Arabian Sea. The Indus Plain had rich alluvial deposits which came down the Indus River in annual floods. This helped sustain farming that formed basis of the Indus Valley Civilization at Harappa. The people built dams and drainage systems for the crops. By 2000 BC tea, bananas and apples were being cultivated in India. There was coconut trade with East Africa in 200 AD. By 500 AD, egg plants were being cultivated.Paddy field in South India[edit] Agricultural movementsGreen RevolutionMain article: Green Revolution in IndiaAfter independence, considering India's growing population, the government took steps to increase the food production. Yields per unit area of all crops have grown since 1950. The 1970s saw a huge increase in India's wheat production. This is known as the Indian Green Revolution. Reasons for the growth are the special emphasis placed on agriculture and steady improvements in irrigation, technology, application of modern agricultural practices and provision of agricultural credit and subsidiesOperation FloodMain article: Operation floodOperation Flood was the name of a rural development programme started by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in 1970 with the objective of creating a nationwide milk grid. This movement followed the Indian green revolution and helped in alleviating poverty and famine levels from dangerous proportions in India during the era. It resulted in India becoming the largest producer of milk and milk products, so it is also called the White Revolution of India.ProductionIndia is ranked second in the world in terms of agricultural output. India is the largest producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper. It also has the world's largest cattle population (193 million). India ranks second worldwide in farm output. It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish. It is the third largest producer of tobacco. India accounts for 10 per cent of the world fruit production with first rank in the production of banana and sapota. Given below is a chart of trend of output of cereals and major foodgrains as published[2] by the Department of Food and Public Distribution with figures in tonnes.Year Cereals Rice Wheat Coarsegrains Pulses 2001–02 199,480,000 93,340,000 72,770,000 33,370,000 13,370,000 2004–05 192,730,000 87,800,000 73,030,000 31,880,000 13,670,000 Despite high growth, international comparisons reveal that the average yield in India is generally 30% to 50% of the highest average yield in the world.[3]ProductivityThe following table shows the harvest per acre of farmland in 2007 with figures in tonnes.[1]Commodity Output per acre National Average 0.29 Sugarcane 26.15 Potato 6.32 Wheat 0.84 Rice 0.70 Corn 0.64 Groundnut 0.37 Soyabean 0.32 The low productivity in India is a result of the following factors:Illiteracy, reforms and inadequate or inefficient finance and marketing services for farm produce. The average size of land holdings is very small (less than 20,000 m²) and are subject to fragmentation, due to land ceiling acts and in some cases, family disputes. Such small holdings are often over-manned, resulting in disguised unemployment and low productivity of labour. Adoption of modern agricultural practices and use of technology is inadequate, hampered by ignorance of such practices, high costs and impracticality in the case of small land holdings. Irrigation facilities are inadequate, as revealed by the fact that only 53.6% of the land was irrigated in 2000–01,[4] which result in farmers still being dependent on rainfall, specifically the Monsoon season. A good monsoon results in a robust growth for the economy as a whole, while a poor monsoon leads to a sluggish growth.[5] Farm credit is regulated by NABARD, which is the statutory apex agent for rural development in the subcontinent. In the last few decades several farmers have committed suicide especially in the states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Kerala. Combating this has become a major challenge for these governments. Some of the causes for the deaths include indebtedness of small and marginal farmers and repeated crop failures.WasteAs per the report of the 11th Planning Commission, preventable post-harvest losses of foodgrains in India were estimated at about 20 million tonnes a year, which is nearly 10.5 percent of the total production due to inadequate storage, security and distribution facilities.[2]Agriculture in the Indian statesAbout 70% population of the India is directly dependent on agriculture, also agriculture is the main component for most of the state economies in India. The Punjab region is suited for wheat-growing. The south Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka are also major producers of rice. These states are mostly irrigated by the rivers Krishna, Godavari and Cauvery. Haryana is self-sufficient in food production and the second largest contributor to India's central pool of food grains. Haryana contributed significantly to the Green Revolution in India in the 1970s. The high-altitude states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are ideal for production of apples. Arunachal Pradesh also has a large number of fruit orchards. Tea is the other produce of the high altitude regions of Assam, West Bengal (Darjeeling), Tripura, Tamil Nadu (Ooty), Himachal Pradesh and Kerala. Assam produces some of the finest and most expensive teas in the world (see Assam tea). However Assam tea is grown at elevations near sea level, giving it a malty sweetness and an earthy flavor, as opposed to the more floral aroma of highland (e.g., Darjeeling, Taiwanese) In the north-eastern states like Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, shifting cultivation known locally as jhum, was practised by the tribal groups, but that has come to be less practised. In mountainous states like Sikkim, farming is done on terraced slopes. The state has the highest production and largest cultivated area of cardamom in India. Karnataka is the largest producer of coffee in India and accounts for 59% of the country’s coffee production. It is grown mostly in the lower slopes of the Western Ghats in Kodagu district. Karnataka is also the largest producer of sandalwood based products like perfumes. Sandalwood comes from the dense forested areas of southern Karnataka. The state is also the largest producer of raw silk and Mysore silk saris are famous. The other state manufacturing silk is Tamil Nadu. Rajasthan is among the largest producers of edible oils in India and the second largest producer of oilseeds. The state is also the biggest wool-producing state in India.Cardamom plantation, IndiaKerala produces 96% of national output of pepper. It is also the largest producer of spices which include cardamom, vanilla, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Kerala is also the largest producer of natural rubber in India (91%). The other state producing rubber is Tripura.' 30 percent of Mizoram is covered with wild bamboo forests, and accounts for 40 percent of India's 80-million-ton annual bamboo crop. There has been an economic shift towards agriculture for some states like Bihar after the mineral rich areas were carved out to form the new state of Jharkhand.ResearchThe Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) established in 1905, was responsible for the research leading to the "Green revolution" of the 1970s. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is the apex body in agriculture and related allied fields, including research and education. The Union Minister of Agriculture is the President of the ICAR. The Indian Agricultural Statistics Research Institute develops new techniques for the design of agricultural experiments, analyses data in agriculture, and specializes in statistical techniques for animal and plant breeding. India is now trying to adopt organic farming, but as per the survey conducted in the year 2006-2007, the total production and the total requirement of organic manures and biofertilizers in India was estimated approximately to be 12.2 million tonnes and 15.7 million tonnes respectively. Hence, the research is now focussing towards minimizing the gap between the supply and the demand of organic manures and biofertilizers. Prof. M.S. Swaminathan is known as "Father of the Green Revolution" and heads the MS Swaminathan Research Foundation. He is known for his advocacy of environmentally sustainable agriculture and sustainable food security.
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05-19-2008, 02:17 PM
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