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FARMING

What is Agriculture?Agriculture is the set of activities that

transform the environment for the production of animals and plants for human

use. Agriculture concerns techniques, including the application of agronomic

research.

Farm SystemA farming system is defined as a population of individual

farm systems that have broadly similar resource bases. Agriculture or farming can be looked at as a system. The important inputs are seeds, fertilizers, machinery and labour. Some of the operations involved are ploughing, sowing, irrigation, weeding and harvesting. The outputs from the system include crops, wool, dairy and poultry products. CROP FARM

WOOL FARM

DAIRY FARM

Types of farmingFarming is practiced in various ways across the world .Depending upon the geographical

conditions, demand of produce, labour and level of technology, farming . A farm is an area of land, including various structures, devoted primarily to the practice of producing and managing food fibers and, increasingly, fuel. It is the basic production facility in food production.

DIFFERENT METHODS OF FARMING Dry and irrigated farming, ranching , mixed farming, single-crop and multi-crop farming , tube-well farming .TYPES OF FARMING IN INDIA Tube-well farming, Mixed farming.FARMING ARE CLASSIFIED INTO Subsistence farming, Commercial farming.

Subsistence FarmingSubsistence agriculture is self-sufficiency farming in which

farmers focus on growing enough food to feed their families. The typical subsistence farm has a range of crops and animals needed by the family to eat during the year. Planting decisions are made with an eye toward what the family will need during the coming year, rather than market prices. This type of farming is practiced to meet the needs of the farmer’s family. Traditionally, low levels of technology and household lobour are used to produce on small output. Subsistence farming can be further classified as intensive subsistence and primitive subsistence farming.

Intensive subsistence agricultureIntensive agriculture is the primary subsistence

pattern . The development of intensive farming methods became necessary as the human population grew in some major river valleys to levels beyond the carrying capacity of the environment using horticulture and pastoralism. The transition to intensive agriculture was originally made possible by water management systems and the domestication of large animals for pulling plows. This allowed farmers to get below the top soil to bring buried nutrients up to the surface. Intensive Subsistence Agriculture is the cultivation of small land holdings through the expenditure of great amounts of labor. In this agriculture the farmer cultivates a small plot of land using simple tools and more labour. It is prevalent in the thickly populated areas of the monsoon regions of south, southeast and east Asia.

Primitive subsistence agriculture

A form of agriculture where almost all the produce goes to feed and support the household and is not for sale. Some of the output may be bartered. If there is no market trade in any surplus, the economy is classed as tribal or ‘primitive’; if some of the surplus is sold for necessities, such as salt. The various types of farming in India are: Primitive Subsistence Farming At present, in different parts of India, the following farming systems are practiced. Primitive Subsistence Farming This type of farming is still practiced in few pockets of India. Primitive subsistence agriculture is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, Dao and digging sticks.

Shifting CultivationShifting Cultivation is

practiced by primitive tribes in the forested highlands of the Amazon Basin, Congo Basin, Papua New Guinea, etc. While cultivated using shifting cultivation, tropical/equatorial rainforest nutrient is mainly locked up in the biomass with little nutrient in the soil. Also, the cycling of nutrients is rapid. It is also known as slash and burn cultivation agriculture because the plant and trees of this land are burnt by the owner .

Nomadic Herdingwhen farmers constantly move place to place because more feed is available or for other reasons that benefit the nomad. Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group, maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place — or any combination of those. Nomadic Herding – the wandering, but controlled movement of livestock, solely dependent on natural forage – is the most extensive type of land use system. Sheep and goats are the most common with cattle, horses and yaks locally important. The common characteristics are hardiness, mobility and ability to subsist on sparse forage. These animals provide milk, cheese, meat, hair, wool and skins and dung for fuel.

Commercial agriculture

Commercial agriculture: The production of crops for sale, crops intended for widespread distribution to wholesalers or retail outlets (e.g. supermarkets). In commercial farming wheat, maize, tea, coffee, sugarcane, cashew, rubber, banana, cotton are harvested. Commercial agriculture includes livestock production and livestock grazing. Commercial agriculture does not include crops grown for household consumption (e.g. backyard garden or from a vegetable garden or a few fruit trees.)

Mixed FarmingCommercial farming is a progression

from Diversified (sometimes called Mixed farming), when the farmer's intention is to produce goods for sale primarily for widespread consumption by others. The farmer may acquire a sufficiently large amount of arable land and/or sufficiently advanced technology (such as hybrid seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, etc.). At this point, it may become more profitable for the farmer to specialize and focus on one or a few particular crops due to economies of scale. This may be further augmented by higher levels of technology that might significantly reduce the risk of poor harvests.

PlantationA plantation is a large artificially

established forest, farm or estate, where crops are grown for sale, often in distant markets rather than for local on-site consumption. The term plantation is o and not precisely defined. Crops grown on plantations include fast-growing trees (often conifers), cotton, coffee, tobacco, sugar cane, sisal, some oil seeds(notably oil palms) and rubber trees. Farms that produce alfalfa, Lespedeza, clover, and other forage crops are usually not called plantations. The term "plantation" has usually not included large orchards(except for banana plantations), but does include the planting of trees for lumber.

Major CropsRice is the main grain crop of India.

India ranks second in the world in production of rice. About 34% of the total cultivated area if the nation is under rice cultivation. Out of the total production of food grains, production of rice is 42%. Rice is cultivated in areas having annual average rainfall of 125 cm and average temperature of 23 degree Celsius.

wheat: Wheat is the second major crop in India. It is cultivated in the Rabi season. There was a significant increase in the production of wheat after the Green Revolution. Improved seeds, proper application of fertilizers and irrigation, these three factors are utilized.Wheat is cultivated in areas with mean annual rainfall of 75 cm and fertile soil. The highest quantity of wheat in the country is in Uttar Pradesh. 35 % of wheat is produced only in Uttar Pradesh. This is produced by Punjab and Haryana where production of wheat is on a large scale.

The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult production environments such as those at risk of drought.

 

Maize is commonly known as corn in some countries. The growing of corn first began in Mesoamerica and has since spread throughout the American continents. Today maize is the largest crop in the Americas. There has been much disagreement about the origin of maize in Mesoamerica. There are some reports that the Spanish first grew maize in southern Mexico. The domestication of maize has been dated back as far back as 12,000 years ago.

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll around the seeds of the cotton plant. The plant is a shrub native to tropical and subtropical regions around the world, including the Americas, Africa, India, and Pakistan. The fiber most often is spun into yarnor thread and used to make a soft, breathable textile, which is the most widely used natural-fiber cloth in clothing.

Jute is a long, soft, shiny vegetable fiber that can be spun into coarse, strong threads. Jute is one of the most affordable natural fibers. Jute fibre is often called hessian; jute fabrics are also called hessian cloth and jute sacks are called gunny bags in some European countries. The fabric made from jute is popularly known as burlapin North America.

Coffee are shrubs or small trees, native to subtropical Africa and southern Asia. Seeds of several species are the source of the popular beverage coffee. After their outer hull is removed, the seeds are commonly called "beans". Coffee beans are widely cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical countries on plantations, for both local consumption and export to probably every other country in the world. Coffee ranks as one of the world's most valuable and widely traded commodity crops and is an important export of a number of countries.

Tea is the agricultural product of the leaves, leaf buds. There are at least six varieties of tea: white, yellow, green, oolong, black, and pu-erh of which the most commonly found on the market are white, green, oolong, and black. All teas are made from the same species of plant, though different varieties may be used, and the leaves are processed differently, and, in the case of fine white tea, grown differently. Pu-erh tea, a post-fermented tea, is also often used medicinally.

Agricultural DevelopmentGrowth in agriculture is twice as effective in reducing

poverty as growth in other sectors. It refers to efforts made to increase farm production in order to meet the growing demand of increasing population. This can be achieved in many ways such as increasing the cropped area, the number of crops grown, improving irrigation facilities, use of fertilizers and high yielding variety of seeds. Mechanisation of agriculture is also another aspect of agricultural development is to increase food security.

Agriculture has developed at different places in different parts of the world. Developing countries with large populations usually practice intensive agriculture where crops are grown on small holdings mostly for subsistence. Larger holdings are more suitable for commercial agriculture as in USA, Canada and Australia. With the help of two case studies of farms-one from India and the other from USA.

A Farm in IndiaAgriculture in India has a long history dating

back to ten thousand years. Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and logging accounted for 16.6% of the GDP in 2007, employed 52% of the total workforce[and despite a steady decline of its share in the GDP, is still the largest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic development of India. India is the largest producer in the world of milk, cashew nuts, coconuts, tea, ginger, turmeric and black pepper. It also has the world's largest cattle population (281 million).[It is the second largest producer of wheat, rice, sugar, groundnut and inland fish.[It is the third largest producer of tobacco. India accounts for 10% of the world fruit production with first rank in the production of banana and sapota. India's population is growing faster than its ability to produce rice and wheat.

A Farm in USA

Agriculture is a major industry in the United States and the country is a net exporter of food. As of the last census of agriculture in 2007, there were 2.2 million farms, covering an area of 922 million acres (373 million hectares), an average of 418 acres (170 hectares) per farm.

Farm type is based on which commodities are the majority crops grown on a farm. Nine common types include: Cash Grains includes corn, soybeans and other grains (wheat, oats, barley, sorghum), dry edible beans and peas, and rice. Tobacco Cotton. Other Field Crops includes peanuts, potatoes, sunflowers, sweet potatoes, sugarcane, broomcorn, popcorn, sugar beets, mint, hops, seed crops, hay, silage, forage, etc. Tobacco and cotton can be included here if not in their own separate category. High Value Crops includes fruits, vegetables, melons, tree nuts, greenhouse and nursery crops, and horticultural specialties. Cattle Hogs Dairy Poultry and Eggs

WORLD DISTRIBUTION OF ARABLE LAND

CREATED BY GROUP-D GROUP MEMBERS-:

1.Ankur Bagchi GROUP LEADER

2.Chinmay Ranjan Nayak

3.Md.Arshad Hussain

4.Amar Shaw

5.Ravi Kumar

6.Suvojit Das IX B