agriculture
9 Main Types of Farming Systems Practices in India – Essay
(1) Subsistence Farming:
Majority of farmers in the country practise subsistence farming. It is characterised by small and scattered land holdings and use of primitive tools. As the farmers are poor, they do not use fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds in their fields to the extent they should do. Facilities like electricity and irrigation are generally not available to them. These result into low productivity.
Most of the food production is consumed by the farmers and their families. Where facilities like irrigation and electricity are available, farming has improved. Important cash crops like sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton and jute are grown.
The subsistence agriculture has given way to commercial agriculture to some extent. Dry land farming is practised in areas where the rainfall is low and irrigation facilities are inadequate. Here, emphasis is laid on conservation of moisture, and on crops like jowar, bajra and pulses, which need less water.
Wetland farming is practised in high rainfall and irrigated areas. Rice, sugarcane and vegetables are important crops in these areas. In dry farming, only one crop is grown while in wet farming, at least two crops are raised in a year-one in the kharif and another in the Rabi seasons.
Features of Subsistence Farming:
The whole family works on the farm.
Most of the work is done manually.
The farms are small.
Tradition methods of farming are followed.
Yield is not very high.
Most of the yield is consumed by the family with very little surplus for the family.
(2) Shifting Agriculture:
In this type of agriculture, first of all a piece of forest land is cleared by felling trees and burning of trunks and branches. After the land is cleared, crops are grown for two to three years and then the land is abandoned as the fertility of the soil decreases. The farmers then move to new areas and the process is repeated. Dry paddy, maize, millets and
(1) Subsistence Farming:
Majority of farmers in the country practise subsistence farming. It is characterised by small and scattered land holdings and use of primitive tools. As the farmers are poor, they do not use fertilisers and high yielding variety of seeds in their fields to the extent they should do. Facilities like electricity and irrigation are generally not available to them. These result into low productivity.
Most of the food production is consumed by the farmers and their families. Where facilities like irrigation and electricity are available, farming has improved. Important cash crops like sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton and jute are grown.
The subsistence agriculture has given way to commercial agriculture to some extent. Dry land farming is practised in areas where the rainfall is low and irrigation facilities are inadequate. Here, emphasis is laid on conservation of moisture, and on crops like jowar, bajra and pulses, which need less water.
Wetland farming is practised in high rainfall and irrigated areas. Rice, sugarcane and vegetables are important crops in these areas. In dry farming, only one crop is grown while in wet farming, at least two crops are raised in a year-one in the kharif and another in the Rabi seasons.
Features of Subsistence Farming:
The whole family works on the farm.
Most of the work is done manually.
The farms are small.
Tradition methods of farming are followed.
Yield is not very high.
Most of the yield is consumed by the family with very little surplus for the family.
(2) Shifting Agriculture:
In this type of agriculture, first of all a piece of forest land is cleared by felling trees and burning of trunks and branches. After the land is cleared, crops are grown for two to three years and then the land is abandoned as the fertility of the soil decreases. The farmers then move to new areas and the process is repeated. Dry paddy, maize, millets and