Agriculture

Agriculture is not a single, uniform activity. It is shaped by a combination of physical factors — climate, soil, relief — and socio-economic conditions like population density, capital, and technology. These different combinations give rise to distinct agricultural systems, each with its own methods of farming, choice of crops, and ways of raising livestock. The NCERT textbook classifies these systems into several major types, which are discussed below.

Subsistence Agriculture

In subsistence agriculture, the farming community consumes nearly all of what is grown. There is little or no surplus for trade. This broad category is further divided into two types: primitive subsistence agriculture and intensive subsistence agriculture.

Primitive Subsistence Agriculture (Shifting Cultivation)

This is also widely known as shifting cultivation or slash and burn agriculture. It is practised by many tribal communities in the tropics, especially in Africa, South and Central America, and Southeast Asia.

The process is simple but land-intensive. A patch of forest is cleared, and the vegetation is burned. The ash from the fire adds nutrients to the soil, providing natural fertility. Farmers then cultivate this small patch using very primitive tools like sticks and hoes. After a few years — typically 3 to 5 — the soil loses its fertility, and the farmer abandons the plot to clear a new patch of forest. The farmer may return to the original patch after many years, once the forest has regrown and restored the soil.

This practice is known by different names in different regions:

• Jhuming in the northeastern states of India
• Milpa in Central America and Mexico
• Ladang in Indonesia and Malaysia

Intensive Subsistence Agriculture

This type of farming is largely found in the densely populated regions of monsoon Asia. Because land is scarce and population pressure is high, farmers must extract as much food as possible from every small plot. There are two subtypes:

1. Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by wet paddy cultivation: Rice is the dominant crop. Land holdings are very small. Farmers rely on family labour, leading to intensive use of every inch of land. Machinery use is limited; most operations are done manually. Farmyard manure is used to maintain soil fertility. A key feature is that yield per unit area is high, but labour productivity is low — many people work hard on a small piece of land to get a high output from that land.

2. Intensive subsistence agriculture dominated by crops other than paddy: In many parts of monsoon Asia, the relief, climate, or soil is not suitable for growing paddy. In such areas, crops like wheat, soybean, barley, and sorghum are grown. Examples include northern China, Manchuria, North Korea, and North Japan. In India, wheat is grown in the western parts of the Indo-Gangetic plains, and millets are grown in the drier parts of western and southern India. Most characteristics are similar to wet paddy farming, except that irrigation is often used here.

Plantation Agriculture

Plantation agriculture was introduced by European colonisers in tropical colonies. It was a profit-oriented, large-scale production system. Important plantation crops include tea, coffee, cocoa, rubber, cotton, oil palm, sugarcane, bananas, and pineapples.

The characteristic features of plantation farming are:

• Large estates or plantations
• Large capital investment
• Managerial and technical support
• Scientific methods of cultivation
• Single crop specialisation (monoculture)
• Use of cheap labour
• A good system of transportation linking estates to factories and export markets

Historically, different European powers established different plantations:

• The French set up cocoa and coffee plantations in West Africa.
• The British established large tea gardens in India and Sri Lanka, rubber plantations in Malaysia, and sugarcane and banana plantations in the West Indies.
• The Spanish and Americans invested in coconut and sugarcane plantations in the Philippines.
• The Dutch once had a monopoly over sugarcane plantations in Indonesia.
• Some coffee fazendas (large plantations) in Brazil are still managed by Europeans.

Today, ownership of most plantations has passed into the hands of the governments or the nationals of the countries concerned. Tea plantations, for instance, are often found on hill slopes because of favourable geographical conditions.

Extensive Commercial Grain Cultivation

This type of agriculture is practised in the interior parts of semi-arid lands of the mid-latitudes. Wheat is the principal crop, though corn, barley, oats, and rye are also grown.

The defining feature is the very large size of the farm. Because of this, all operations — from ploughing to harvesting — are fully mechanised. Combine crews can harvest grain over many hectares in a single day. As a result, yield per acre is low, but yield per person is very high. This is because a single farmer, using machinery, can manage a vast area of land.

This type of agriculture is best developed in:

• The Eurasian Steppes
• The Canadian and American Prairies
• The Pampas of Argentina
• The Velds of South Africa
• The Australian Downs
• The Canterbury Plains of New Zealand

Mixed Farming

Mixed farming is found in the highly developed parts of the world, such as Northwestern Europe, Eastern North America, parts of Eurasia, and the temperate latitudes of the Southern continents.

Farms are moderate in size. The crops commonly associated with it are wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, fodder, and root crops. Fodder crops are an important component, as equal emphasis is laid on crop cultivation and animal husbandry. Animals like cattle, sheep, pigs, and poultry provide the main income along with crops.

Crop rotation and intercropping play an important role in maintaining soil fertility. Mixed farming is characterised by high capital expenditure on farm machinery and buildings, extensive use of chemical fertilisers and green manures, and the skill and expertise of the farmers.

Dairy Farming

Dairy farming is the most advanced and efficient type of rearing milch animals (animals kept for milk). It is highly capital intensive. Animal sheds, storage facilities for fodder, and feeding and milching machines all add to the cost. Special emphasis is laid on cattle breeding, health care, and veterinary services.

It is also highly labour intensive, as it involves rigorous care in feeding and milching. Unlike crop raising, there is no off-season during the year. Dairy farming is practised mainly near urban and industrial centres, which provide a neighbourhood market for fresh milk and dairy products. The development of transportation, refrigeration, pasteurisation, and other preservation processes has increased the storage duration of various dairy products.

There are three main regions of commercial dairy farming:

1. North Western Europe (the largest)
2. Canada
3. South Eastern Australia, New Zealand, and Tasmania

Mediterranean Agriculture

Mediterranean agriculture is a highly specialised commercial agriculture. It is practised in countries on either side of the Mediterranean Sea in Europe and North Africa, as well as in southern California, central Chile, the southwestern parts of South Africa, and the south and southwestern parts of Australia.

This region is an important supplier of citrus fruits. Viticulture, or grape cultivation, is a speciality. Best quality wines with distinctive flavours are produced from high-quality grapes. Inferior grapes are dried into raisins and currants. The region also produces olives and figs.

A key advantage of Mediterranean agriculture is that more valuable crops like fruits and vegetables are grown in winters, when there is great demand in European and North American markets.

Market Gardening and Horticulture

This type of farming specialises in the cultivation of high-value crops such as vegetables, fruits, and flowers, solely for urban markets. Farms are small and are located where there are good transportation links with the urban centre where high-income consumers are located.

It is both labour and capital intensive, with emphasis on the use of irrigation, HYV seeds, fertilisers, insecticides, greenhouses, and artificial heating in colder regions. This type of agriculture is well developed in the densely populated industrial districts of Northwest Europe, the northeastern United States, and the Mediterranean regions. The Netherlands specialises in growing flowers and horticultural crops, especially tulips, which are flown to all major cities of Europe.