Geography

Types of Agriculture in India
1. Primitive Subsistence Farming or Shifting Agriculture:
(a) This agriculture is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, and digging stick and family/community labour.
(b) Farming depends upon monsoons, natural fertility of the soil and suitability of the other environmental conditions.
(c) It is a ‘slash and burn’ agriculture. Farmers clear a patch of land and produce food crops to sustain their family.
(d) When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.
(e) Nature replenishes the fertility of the soil through natural processes.
(f) Farmers do not use manure, fertilizer or other modern inputs.
(g) It is known by different names in different parts of the country.
(a) Jhumming - Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland.
(b) Pamlou - Manipur
(c) Dipa - Bastar (Chattisgarh) and Andaman and Nicobar Island.
2. Intensive Subsistence Farming :
(a) Fields are very small.
(b) There is intensive use of land due to high pressure of population on the agriculture land
(c) Cropping pattern is dominated by food crops.
(d) More than one crop is grown in the same field.
(e) Farmers apply modern inputs to obtain high yield.
(f) It is a labour intensive farming.
3. Commercial Farming :
1. Use of higher dose of modern inputs eg. HYV seeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides and pesticides.
2. The degree of commercialisation of agriculture varies from one region to another. e.g. Rice is commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab but in Orissa, it is subsistence crop.
4. Plantation Farming :
1. It is also a type of commercial farming.
2. A single crop is grown on a large area.
3. It has an interface of agriculture and industry.
4. It is done over large tracts of land using capital intensive inputs.
5. All the produce is used as raw material is respective industries.
6. The production is mainly for marked.
7. A well developed network of transport and communication connecting the plantation areas, processing industry and market is important.
8. Example of plantation crops are Tea, Coffee, Rubber, Sugarcane, Banana etc.