Chapter 4: Agriculture (Geography)

(b) Plantation agriculture

(b) Gram

Pulses are leguminous crops: they fix nitrogen from the air and restore soil fertility.

(a) Pulses

Tea, a plantation crop, needs:

• a tropical and sub-tropical climate, warm and moist and frost-free throughout the year;
• frequent showers evenly distributed over the year, which help the continuous growth of tender leaves;
• deep, fertile, well-drained soil rich in humus and organic matter;
• abundant, cheap and skilled labour for picking the leaves.

Major producing states: Assam, the hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri (West Bengal), Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Tea: a warm, moist, frost-free climate with frequent showers, deep fertile well-drained soil rich in humus, and plenty of cheap skilled labour.

Rice is the staple food crop of the majority of the people. It is grown in the plains of north and north-eastern India, the coastal areas and the deltaic regions. With canal irrigation and tubewells, it is also grown in areas of less rainfall such as Punjab, Haryana, western Uttar Pradesh and parts of Rajasthan.

Rice, grown in the northern and north-eastern plains, coastal and deltaic regions, and with irrigation in Punjab, Haryana, western UP and Rajasthan.

• Land reforms: collectivisation, consolidation of holdings, cooperation and the abolition of zamindari (the main focus of the First Five Year Plan).
• Crop insurance against drought, flood, cyclone, fire and disease.
• Establishment of Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks to give loans to farmers at lower rates of interest.
• Kisan Credit Card (KCC) and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
• Minimum support price, remunerative and procurement prices for important crops.
• Special weather bulletins and agricultural programmes on radio and television.

Land reforms (consolidation of holdings, abolition of zamindari), crop insurance, Grameen and cooperative banks, KCC, PAIS, minimum support prices and weather bulletins.

• Land reforms after independence: abolition of zamindari, consolidation of holdings and ceilings on land.
• Green Revolution (1960s and 1970s): the use of package technology, high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation, especially for wheat and rice.
• White Revolution (Operation Flood) to increase milk production.
• A comprehensive land development programme in the 1980s and 1990s, with both institutional and technical reforms.
• Crop insurance and cheap credit through Grameen banks, cooperative societies and banks; Kisan Credit Card and Personal Accident Insurance Scheme.
• Minimum support prices and procurement prices to protect farmers from speculators and middlemen.
• Weather bulletins and farm programmes on radio and TV; agricultural universities, research institutes, veterinary services and the spread of modern farm equipment.

(Other efforts: the Bhoodan–Gramdan movement of Vinoba Bhave, a "bloodless revolution" in which landowners gave land to the landless.)

Land reforms, the Green and White Revolutions, a land development programme, crop insurance and cheap credit (Grameen banks, KCC, PAIS), minimum support prices, and weather and farm information on radio and TV.

• Climate: rice is a kharif crop that needs high temperature (above 25 °C) and high humidity.
• Rainfall: annual rainfall above 100 cm. In areas of less rainfall, it grows with the help of irrigation, as in Punjab and Haryana.
• Soil: fertile alluvial soil (or clayey soil) that can hold water, since the fields stay flooded for much of the growing period.
• Relief: level plains, river valleys and deltas, and terraced hill slopes.
• Labour: plenty of cheap labour for transplanting and harvesting.

India is the second largest producer of rice in the world after China.

Rice needs a temperature above 25 °C, high humidity, over 100 cm rainfall (or irrigation), fertile water-retaining (alluvial) soil and plenty of labour.

Points for the discussion:

• Literate farmers can read instructions on seed, fertiliser and pesticide packets and use them correctly and safely.
• They can follow weather bulletins, market prices and advice from agricultural departments, and use the Farmers' Portal and mobile apps.
• They can understand and use government schemes: crop insurance, Kisan Credit Card, minimum support price, soil health cards.
• They can keep accounts, deal with banks, and avoid being cheated by moneylenders and middlemen.
• They can learn new techniques (drip irrigation, organic farming, crop rotation) and so increase yields and incomes.

Literacy helps farmers use inputs correctly, follow weather and market information, benefit from schemes and credit, avoid exploitation, and adopt new techniques.

Mark and shade these on the map:

• The Ganga–Satluj plains in the north-west: Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh (especially western UP) and parts of Rajasthan.
• The black soil region of the Deccan: Madhya Pradesh (a major producer), and parts of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
• Other states: Bihar, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir.

Wheat needs a cool growing season, bright sunshine at the time of ripening, and 50–75 cm of rainfall evenly distributed over the growing season.

Shade Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh (the Ganga–Satluj plains and the black soil region of the Deccan), along with Bihar and Gujarat.

1. Rice and wheat 2. Kharif 3. Protein 4. Jowar 5. Tea and coffee 6. Cotton