### Agriculture: An Overview - **Definition:** Primary activity, involves cultivating crops, rearing livestock, forestry, and fishing. - **Importance:** - Provides food and raw materials. - Major source of employment. - Contributes significantly to GDP. - **Types of Farming:** - **Primitive Subsistence:** Small patches, traditional tools, monsoon dependent. - **Intensive Subsistence:** High population, high output, labor-intensive. - **Commercial:** Large scale, high capital, modern inputs, for market sale. - **Plantation:** Single crop, large estate, capital intensive, industry-agriculture interface. ### Major Crops - **Food Crops:** - **Rice:** Kharif crop, high temperature & humidity, rainfall >100cm. - **Wheat:** Rabi crop, cool growing season, bright sunshine at ripening. - **Millets (Jowar, Bajra, Ragi):** Coarse grains, high nutritional value, rain-fed. - **Maize:** Kharif crop, 21-27°C, needs well-drained fertile soil. - **Pulses:** Major source of protein, leguminous (restore soil fertility). - **Cash Crops:** - **Sugarcane:** Tropical/subtropical, hot & humid climate. - **Oilseeds (Groundnut, Mustard, Coconut, Sesame, Soyabean):** Edible oils, raw material for industries. - **Tea:** Beverage crop, tropical/subtropical, deep fertile well-drained soil, warm & moist frost-free climate. - **Coffee:** Beverage crop, warm & wet climate, well-drained loamy soil. - **Horticulture (Fruits & Vegetables):** India is a leading producer. - **Fibre Crops:** - **Cotton:** Kharif crop, well-drained black soil, high temperature, light rainfall, 210 frost-free days. - **Jute (Golden Fibre):** Well-drained fertile soils, high temperature, heavy rainfall. ### Technological & Institutional Reforms - **Need for Reforms:** - Land fragmentation. - Dependency on monsoon. - Primitive farming methods. - Lack of modern infrastructure. - **Institutional Reforms:** - **Collectivization & Consolidation of Holdings:** To overcome land fragmentation. - **Abolition of Zamindari:** Land to the tiller. - **Green Revolution:** Package technology (HYV seeds, fertilizers, irrigation). - **White Revolution (Operation Flood):** Dairy development. - **Land Reform Acts:** Ceiling on land holdings. - **Technological Reforms:** - **Modern Irrigation:** Canals, tube wells. - **Improved Seeds:** High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds. - **Fertilizers & Pesticides:** Increased productivity. - **Farm Mechanization:** Tractors, harvesters. - **Crop Insurance:** Protection against crop failure. - **Kisan Credit Card (KCC):** Easy access to credit. - **Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).** - **Minimum Support Price (MSP):** Government announced prices for crops. - **Public Procurement System:** Government buys surplus produce. ### Impact of Globalization on Agriculture - **Historical Context:** - British rule: Indian spices, cotton, indigo attracted Europeans. - Indian farmers forced to grow cash crops. - **Post-1990s:** - Exposure to global markets. - Challenge of competition from developed countries. - Subsidies in developed countries disadvantage Indian farmers. - **Challenges:** - Declining share in international trade. - Small land holdings. - Lack of proper infrastructure. - Climate change impacts. - **Solutions:** - Diversification of cropping patterns (high-value crops). - Organic farming. - Investment in R&D. - Improving infrastructure. ### Food Security - **Definition:** Availability, accessibility, and affordability of food for all people at all times. - **Components:** - **Buffer Stock:** Foodgrains procured by FCI to distribute in deficit areas. - **Public Distribution System (PDS):** Government-sponsored network of fair price shops. - **Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY):** For the poorest of the poor. - **Annapurna Scheme:** For indigent senior citizens. - **Challenges to Food Security:** - High population growth. - Climate change. - PDS inefficiencies. - Storage issues.