Category :
UPSC
Agriculture
- India holds the second position in the world in agricultural production.
Salient features of agriculture in India
- Subsistence Agriculture: Usually the farmers, along with their family members, grow crops in their small plot of land.
- Pressure of Population on Agriculture The population in lndia is increasing at a high rate and this puts pressure on the agriculture sector Agriculture has to provide food and employment to large sections of the society.
- Dependency upon Monsoon Agriculture in India mainly depends upon monsoon, which is unreliable, uncertain and irregular
- Variety of Crops: India experiences both tropical and temperate climate and therefore supports the cultivation of crops suitable for both these climates.
- Predominance of Food Crops Farming is practised in almost every part of the country and about two thirds of the total land is being used for agricultural purposes in India.
- Seasonal Patterns: There are three distinct agricultural or cropping seasons in India - kharif, rabi and zaid.
- India produces about 10% of the fruits produced in the world.
- The country holds the first position in the world for the production of Papaya, Mangoes and Banana etc
- India ranks sixth in the world in the production of
- India has the biggest number of livestock in the world.
The major cocopping season observed in the Indian agriculture is Rabi, Kharif an Zaid.
Rabi Season: Lasts from October to April
- Crops are shown in October and harvested in March and April.
- Major crops grown, are Wheat, Barley,Mustard, Gram, Peas, Sunflower, Coriander, Onion, Potato, Oats, etc.
Kharif Season: It starts from the rain in July to October (the entire monsoon season)
- Crops are shown in July and harvested in October,
- Major crops grown are, Rice, Millet, Bajra, Maize, Bean, Groundnut, Red Chills, Cotton, Soyabean, Sugarcane, Turmeric, Urad, etc.
Zaid Season:
- It extends from March to June and major crops are Watermelon, Muskmelon, Bitter gourd, Pumpkin, Cucumber, etc.