CBSE Class 12 Geography Land Resources and Agriculture Assignment

LAND RESOURCE AND AGRICULTURE

GIST OF THE LESSON:
LAND USE CHANGES IN INDIA - THREE TYPES OF CHANGES
1. Size of economy: (measured in terms of value for all the goods and services produced in the economy) grow over time; change in income level, marginal lands will become useful
2. . Composition of the economy: the secondary and tertiary grew much faster than primary activities especially agriculture
3. The contribution of agricultural activities reduces over time. The share of Agriculture has declined. No. of people fed by Agriculture is increasing.

INCREASE IN THREE CATEGORIES
1. Forest
2. Area under non agricultural use
3. Current fallow land
4. Net sown area

FOUR AREAS DECLINED
1. Barren and waste land

2. Cultivable waste land
3. Area under pastures & tree crops
4. Fallow lands.

COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES
1. The CPRs are used by common purpose / society owned by state
2. Provide fodder for livestock fuel for the households
3. Produce minor forest products such as fruits, nuts, fiber, and medicinal plants
4. Every member has right to access

AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN INDIA
1. Contribution of land in agricultural use is more important
2. Lack of access to land leads to poverty
3. Productivity depends on quality of land
4. Land ownership has social value in rural areas

TOTAL CULTIVABLE LAND = NET SOWN AREA+FALLOW LAND + CULTURABLE WASTE LAND
1. Since there is no extra land available only the high yielding varieties can increase the productivity
2. Number of times the land can be increased by providing irrigation Crop intensity can be raised

CROPPING SEASONS

TYPES OF FARMING
● Protective irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water over and above the rainfall. The strategy of this kind of irrigation is to provide soil moisture to the maximum possible area.
● Productive irrigation is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity.
● Dry land farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm.
● Wetland farming, the rainfall is in excess of soil moisture requirement of plants during the rainy season. Such regions may face flood and soil erosion hazards.

CROPPING PATTERN

FOOD GRAINS - CEREALS:
RICE
● a crop of tropical humid areas
● grown on sea level to 2000 meters altitude,
● 3000 varieties are grown
● grown in three seasons AUS,AMAN, & BORO in west Bengal
● In the Himalayas and northwestern parts of the country, it is grown as a kharif crop during the southwest Monsoon season.
● 22% of rice production in India , second after china.
● ¼ area is under rice cultivation.
● Leading states- WB, PUN UP
● Yield level high in- Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala.

WHEAT:
● second most important crop,
● 12% of production is from India,
● It is primarily a crop of temperate zones.
● Generally in winter it is grown. I.e. rabi season.
● Concentrated in north and central regions of the country i.e. Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas up to 2,700 m altitude.
● Grown in North and central India - irrigation is essential .
● Rain fed crops in Himalayan region.
● 14% of the area is under wheat cultivation.
● Leading producers - UP, PUN, HAR, RAJ& MP

JOWAR:
● 5.3 % cropped area is under this crop,
● Main food crop in semiarid areas of central and southern India.
● Maharashtra alone produces ½ of the production,
● Others are KK, MP AP & Telangana

BAJRA:
● Hot and dry climatic conditions in northwestern and western parts of the country.
● Grown in drought resistant crop,
● it is cultivated alone or mixed crop,
● 5.2% of total cropped area.
● Leading producers - MH, GUJ , RAJ, HAR

MAIZE:
● Grown any type of land.
● It is food and fodder crop,
● 3.6% total cropped area, it is grown all over India,
● the leading producers - Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh
● Yield is high in southern states

PULSES:
● rich source of protein,
● Increase natural fertility.
● Used in crop rotation,
● India is the leading producer of pulses.
● concentrated in dry lands,
● 11% of total cropped area.
● GRAMS, TUR ARE MAJOR CROPS.

GRAM :
■ cultivated in subtropical area,
■ Rabi season- rain fed crop - central, western and northwestern parts of the country.
■ 2.8% of total cropped area,
■ leading producers are MP, UP, MH, AP, Telangana & RAJ

TUR(ARHAR)
● Second important pulse crop,
● it is also called red gram or pigeon pea,
● rain fed crop,
● 2% of total cropped area,
● Maharashtra alone contributes about one-third of the total production of tur.
● Other leading producers are - . UP, KK GUJ & MP

OIL SEEDS:
● Extracting edible oils.
● Dry lands of Malwa plateau, Marathwada, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Rayalseema region of Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka plateau are oilseeds growing regions of India.
● occupy about 14 percent of total cropped area in the country

GROUND NUT:
● 18.8% of total production of the world is in India
● ,rain fed,
● in Kharif season,
● 3.6% of total cropped area,
● leading producers are GUJ, TN, Telangana, AP, KA& MH

RAPE SEED, MUSTARD:
● consists of rai,, sarson, toria & taramira ,
● they are subtropical crops,
● grown in Rabi season,
● frost sensitive,
● irrigated crop,
● 2/3 under irrigation
● 2.5 % of cropped area is under this crop.
● Leading producers are RAJ, UP, HAR, WB ,MP

Other Oilseeds
● Soyabean is mostly grown in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
● Sunflower cultivation is concentrated in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and adjoining areas of Maharashtra

FIBRE CROPS;
COTTON:
● grown in Kharif season,
● semi arid region,
● short staple and long staple are grown,
● black soil is suitable,
● India ranks 4th in the world. After China, USA and Pakistan.
● 8.3% of world production.
● 4.7% total cropped area.
● Three cotton growing areas, i.e. parts of Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan in north-west,
● Gujarat and Maharashtra in the west and
● plateaus of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu
● Leading producers of this crop are Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana

JUTE:
● used for packing material,
● Cash crop - in West Bengal and adjoining eastern parts of the country.
● India produces 3/5 of the world's production.
● 0.5 % total cropped area is under this crop,
● West Bengal accounts for about three-fourth of the production in the country.
● Bihar and Assam are other jute growing areas.

Other Crops
Sugarcane
● tropical crop,
● cultivated in sub-humid regions,
● irrigated crop,
● India is the second largest producer,
● 23% of the world’s production comes from India.
● The leading producers are UP, MS, KK,TN, AP

Tea:
● Plantation crop,
● Tea leaves have a high content of caffeine and tannin.
● Grown in hilly areas, heavy rainfall is needed,
● started in1840 in Assam by the British.
Grown Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Nilgiris, Western Ghats,
● 28% of world production comes from India.
● India ranks 3rd after Sri Lanka & China.
● 53.2% total cropped area is under this crop.
● Leading producers are WB & TN

Coffee;
● three varieties ARABICA, ROBUSTA, LIBERICA,
● 4.3% of world production comes from India.
● Sixth after BRAZIL, VIETNAM, COLOMBIA, INDONESIA, MEXICO.
● Leading producers are KK, TN, KER

STRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT
Govt. of India took steps to increase the production
1. Switching over from cash crops to food grains
2. Increase crop intensity
3. Increasing cultivated area
4. Improvement of irrigation
5. Intensive agricultural district program me and intensive agricultural area programme were launched
6. Use Of HYV seeds, fertilisers, irrigation, pesticides
7. Introduction of GREEN REVOLUTION
8. Large agriculture inputs

GROWTH OF AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AND TECHNOLOGY
1. Production and yield increased (wheat, rice, oilseeds, sugarcane, tea pulses, cattle, milk, and groundnut)
2. Expansion of irrigated area.
3. Use of HYV seeds
4. Use of modern agricultural technology
5. Increased consumption of chemical fertilizers

Green Revolution
Achievements of Green Revolution:
1. There is a remarkable increase in farm production and productivity.
2. The country has become self-sufficient in food grain production.
3. The income of farmers has increased and their quality of life has also improved.
4. Production of wheat rose six times or 562%
5. There was a three-fold rise in the production of rice.
6. The supply of raw material to industries like sugarcane, cotton etc. recorded a remarkable increase.
7. The food security helped the nation to pursue other policies to raise its prestige in the commodity of nations.
8. The increase in the level of income made the villages more active in other spheres of life of the people.
9. Great variety came in agricultural products and consequently the price did not increase much.
10. The changes came in the thinking process of farmers.

PROBLEMS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE
1. Dependence on erratic monsoon
2. Low productivity
3. Constraints of financial resources and indebtedness
4. Lack of land reforms
5. Fragmentation of land holdings
6. Lack of commercialization
7. Vast under-employment
8. Degradation of cultivable land.

 

Question. Which of these correctly defines barren and wastelands?
a) Land which is left uncultivated for more than 5 years
b) Land which cannot be brought under cultivation with the use of current technology
c) Physical extent of a land on which crops are sown
d) Lands under orchards and fruit trees
Answer. b

Question. Which type of land use is owned by the village panchayat or the government?
a) Land put to non- agricultural uses
b) Forests
c) Area under permanent pastures and grazing lands
d) Culturable wastelands
Answer. c

Question. Any land which is left fallow for more than 5 years is included in which category of land use?
a) Current fallow
b) Culturable wastelands
c) Net sown area
d) Fallow other than current fallow
Answer. b

Question. The Indian agriculture has been facing which of these problems
a) Low productivity
b) Over dependence on monsoon
c) Very small landholdings
d) All of the above
Answer. d

Question. The physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested is known as?
a) Current fallow
b) Culturable wastelands
c) Net sown area
d) Fallow other than current fallow
Answer. c

Question. The increase of which land use category is a recent phenomenon due to use of culturable wastelands?
a) Net sown area
b) Current fallow
c) Forests
d) Barren and wastelands
Answer. a

Question. Which of these categories of land use has registered an increase from 1950-51 to 2014-2015?
1) Land under forest
2) Net sown area
3) Land under pastures
a) 1,2 and 3
b) 1 and 2
c) 2 and 3
d) 1 and 3
Answer. b

Question. The cropping intensity can be calculated by
a) GCA X NSA / 100
b) GCA / 100 X NSA
c) GCA / NSA X 100
d) NSA / GSA X 100
Answer. c

Question. Which of these is a rabi crop in northern India?
1. Rice
2. Cotton
3. Wheat
4. Gram
5. mustard
a) 1 and 2
b) 1,2,3,4 and 5
c) 2,3 and 5
d) 3,4 and 5
Answer. d

Question. More than 54% of total cropped area in India is occupied by
a) Cereals
b) Pulses
c) Oil seeds
d) Fiber crops
Answer. a

Question. ‘Aus, aman, and boro’ are varieties of which crop?
a) Wheat
b) Rice
c) Pulses
d) oilseeds
Answer. b

Question. Wheat is mainly grown in India in which of these regions?
1. Punjab
2. UP
3. Himachal Pradesh
4. Gujarat
a) 2,3 and 4
b) 1,2 and 3
c) 1,3 and 4
d) 1 and 4
Answer. b

Question. Which of these crops is grown in rainfed areas?
a) Rice
b) Sugarcane
c) Pulses
d) All of these
Answer. a

Question. Tea is mainly grown in which of these regions in India?
1) Slopes of nilgiris
2) Cardamom hills
3) Darjeeling hills
a) 1,2 and 3
b) 2 and 3
c) 1 and 3
d) 1 and 2
Answer. a

Question. Which of these is true regarding the growth and development in Indian agriculture?
1. The yields of crops like rice and wheat have increased since independence
2. Net irrigated area in the country has declined in India in past 50 years
3. Use of pesticides has decreased in India after 1990- till 2009
a) 1 and 2
b) Only 1
c) Only 2
d) 1,2 and 3
Answer. b

Question.  Arrange the following states in sequence as per their position in the production of wheat?
1. UP
2. Madhya Pradesh
3. Punjab
4. Haryana
a) 1,2,3,& 4
b) 3,2,4&1
c) 4,3,2&1
d) 2,4,3&1
Answer. a

Question. Following is a cultural practice adopted for giving rest to land so that—-----------------
a) Land could be cultivated again
b) Land could regain its fertility
c) Land could be used for animal rearing
d) Land could be used to grow another crop
Answer. b

 

Assertion and reason

Directions- the following questions are two statements labeled as Assertion (A) and other labeled as Reason(R).
In the context of two statements, which one of the following is correct?
Codes
a) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A
b) Both A and R are true and R is the not correct explanation of A
c) A is true and but R is false
d) A is false but R is true

Question. Assertion-(A) - The contribution of agriculture has declined over time but the pressure on land for agriculture has not declined
Reason -(R)- The number of people in India is increasing day by day
Answer. a

Question. Assertion-(A) - as per the land use data of 1950-51 to 201-15, there has been an increase in area under forest
Reason -(R) - these are an increase in demarcated areas under forest rather than an actual increase in forest cover.
Answer. a


Fill in the blanks

Question. The …………. is measured in terms of values of all goods and services produced?
Answer. size of the economy

Question. ………… is the cultivable land which is left uncultivated for more than a year but less than 5 years
Answer. fallow other than fallow

Question. …………… cropping season is largely coincides with south-west monsoon
Answer. Kharif

Question. ……… is a short duration summer cropping season which begins after the harvesting of rabi crops
Answer. Zaid

Question.. ……… is a beverage crop and is an indigenous crop of hills in northern china
Answer. tea

Question. Assured supply of water through ………… is a prerequisite for the success of green revolution in a region
Answer. irrigation

Question. The long staple cotton which is grown in north-western parts of the country is known as………..
Answer. narma

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

Land, according to its ownership, can broadly be classified under two broad heads – private land and common property resources (CPRs). While the former is owned by an individual or a group of individuals, the latter is owned by the state meant for the use of the community. CPRs provide fodder for the livestock and fuel for the households along with other minor forest products like fruits, nuts, fiber, medicinal plants, etc. In rural areas, such land is of particular relevance for the livelihood of the landless and marginal farmers and other weaker sections since many of them depend on income from their livestock due to the fact that they have limited access to land. CPRs also are important for women as most of the fodder and fuel collection is done by them in rural areas. They have to devote long hours in collecting fuel and fodder from a degraded area of CPR. CPRs can be defined as a community's natural resource, where every member has the right of access and usage with specified obligations, without anybody having property rights over them. Community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies and other public spaces where a group larger than a household or family unit exercises rights of use and carries responsibility of management are examples of CPRs.

Question. What is the most important feature of Common Property Resources?
a) It is owned by women.
b) Every member has access to these resources
c) It is controlled by the government
d) d) None of the above
Answer. b

Question. Which of the following is/are common property resources?
a) Pasture land
b) Village wells
c) Public parks
All of these
Answer. d

Question. The marginalised sections can obtain which of the following products from CPRs?
a) Medicines
b) Fruits
c) Fodder
d) All of these
Answer. d

Question. Common property resources are mainly found in which of the following areas?
a) Rural areas
b) Urban areas
c) Semi urban areas
d) Metropolitan areas
Answer. a
 

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follows:

The Indian agricultural economy was largely subsistence in nature before Independence. It had dismal performance in the first half of the twentieth century. This period witnessed severe droughts and famines. During partition about one-third of the irrigated land in undivided India went to Pakistan. This reduced the proportion of irrigated area in Independent India. After Independence, the immediate goal of the Government was to increase food grains production by (i) switching over from cash crops to food crops; (ii) intensification of cropping over already cultivated land; and (iii) increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough. Initially, this strategy helped in increasing food grains production. But agricultural production stagnated during the late 1950s. To overcome this problem, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched. But two consecutive droughts during the mid-1960s resulted in a food crisis in the country. Consequently, the food grains were imported from other countries. New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) known as high yielding varieties (HYVs) were available for cultivation by the mid-1960s. India took advantage of this and introduced package technology comprising HYVs, along with chemical fertilisers in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. Assured supply of soil moisture through irrigation was a basic prerequisite for the success of this new agricultural technology. This strategy of agricultural development paid dividends instantly and increased the food grains production at a very fast rate. This spurt of agricultural growth came to be known as ‘Green Revolution’. This also gave fillip to the development of a large number of agro-inputs, agro-processing industries and small-scale industries. This strategy of agricultural development made the country self-reliant in food grain production. But the green revolution was initially confined to irrigated areas only. This led to regional disparities in agricultural development in the country till the seventies, after which the technology spread to the Eastern and Central parts of the country. The Planning Commission of India focused its attention on the problems of agriculture in rainfed areas in 1980s. It initiated agro-climatic planning in 1988 to induce regionally balanced agricultural development in the country. It also emphasised the need for diversification of agriculture and harnessing of resources for development of dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, livestock rearing and aquaculture. Initiation of the policy of liberalisation and free market economy in the 1990s is likely to influence the course of development of Indian agriculture.

Question. New seed varieties of wheat were bought from which of the following countries?
a) Philippines
b) Sri lanka
c) Mexico
d) USA
Answer. c

Question. Food grains were imported in the country in the mid-1960s for which of the following reason?
a) Floods
b) Cyclones
c) Drought
d) Green revolution
Answer. c

Question. Which of the following measures were taken by the planning commission to induce regionally balanced agricultural development?
a) Green revolution
b) Horticulture development
c) Agro climatic planning
d) liberalisation
Answer. c

Question. Which of the following is/are components of the green revolution?
a) Irrigation supply
b) High yielding seeds
c) Fertilisers
d) All of the above
Answer. d

Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Rice is a staple food for the overwhelming majority of the population in India. Though it is considered to be a crop of tropical humid areas, it has about 3,000 varieties which are grown in different agro-climatic regions. These are successfully grown from sea level to about 2,000 m altitude and from humid areas in eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western U.P. and northern Rajasthan. In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of two or three crops of rice in an agricultural year. In West Bengal farmers grow three crops of rice called ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’. But in the Himalayas and northwestern parts of the country, it is grown as a kharif crop during the southwest Monsoon season. India contributes 21.6 percent of rice production in the world and ranked second after China in 2016. About one-fourth of the total cropped area in the country is under rice cultivation. West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were the leading rice producing states in the country in 2009-10. The yield level of rice is high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala. In the first four of these states almost the entire land under rice cultivation is irrigated. Punjab and Haryana are not traditional rice growing areas. Rice cultivation in the irrigated areas of Punjab and Haryana was introduced in the 1970s following the Green Revolution. Genetically improved varieties of seed, relatively high usage of fertilisers and pesticides and lower levels of susceptibility of the crop to pests due to dry climatic conditions are responsible for higher yield of rice in this region. The yield of this crop is very low in rainfed areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.

Question. The rank of India in terms of rice production in the world is?
a) Second
b) Third
c) First
d) fourth
Answer. a

Question. In the himalayan region and north - western parts of the country, rice is grown during which of the following states?
a) Summers
b) Winters
c) Monsoon
d) spring
Answer. c

Question. The yield of rice is high in which of the following states?
a) Chhattisgarh
b) Odisha
c) Punjab
d) Madhya Pradesh
Answer. c

Question. Which of the following inputs can significantly increase the production of rice in India?
a) HYV Seeds
b) Fertilisers
c) Irrigation
d) All of these
Answer. d
 

Read the following passage and answer the questions that follow

The nature of problems faced by Indian agriculture varies according to agro-ecological and historical experiences of its different regions. Hence, most of the agricultural problems in the country are region specific. Yet, there are some problems which are common and range from physical constraints to institutional hindrances Irrigation covers only about 33 percent of the cultivated area in India. The crop production in the rest of the cultivated land directly depends on rainfall. Poor performance of south-west Monsoon also adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation. On the other hand, the rainfall in Rajasthan and other drought prone areas is too meagre and highly unreliable. Even the areas receiving high annual rainfall experience considerable fluctuations. This makes them vulnerable to both droughts and floods. Drought is a common phenomenon in the low rainfall areas which may also experience occasional floods. The flash floods in dry lands of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan in 2006 and 2017 are examples of this phenomenon. Droughts and floods continue to be a twin menace in Indian agriculture. The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the international level. Per hectare output of most of the crops such as rice, wheat, cotton and oilseeds in India is much lower than that of U.S.A., Russia and Japan. Because of the very high pressure on the land resources, the labour productivity in Indian agriculture is also very low in comparison to international level. The vast rainfed areas of the country, particularly drylands which mostly grow coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds have very low yields. The inputs of modern agriculture are very expensive. This resource intensive approach has become unmanageable for marginal and small farmers as they have very meagre or no savings to invest in agriculture. To tide over these difficulties, most of such farmers have resorted to availing credit from various institutions and money lenders. Crop failures and low returns from agriculture have forced them to fall in the trap of indebtedness. After independence, land reforms were accorded priority, but these reforms were not implemented effectively due to lack of strong political will. Most of the state governments avoided taking politically tough decisions which went against strong political lobbies of landlords. Lack of implementation of land reforms has resulted in continuation of iniquitous distribution of cultivable land which is detrimental to agricultural development.

Question. Which of the following are two major problems of Indian agriculture?
a) Floods and droughts
b) Debt and poverty
c) Low yield and lack of seeds
d) Crop failure and low return
Answer. a

Question. Which of the following crops are grown in the rainfed areas?
a) Oilseeds
b) Cereal crops
c) Pulses
d) All of the above
Answer. d

Question. Land reforms were not implemented effectively because of which of the following reasons?
a) Resistance of people
b) Lack of political will
c) Lack of money for buying inputs
d) International trade
Answer. b

Question. Which of the following regions of India is vulnerable to both floods and droughts?
a) Odisha
b) Rajasthan
c) Madhya Pradesh
d) Kerala
Answer. b

Study the following graphs carefully and answer the questions that follow.

Question. Which of these categories has recorded an increase in area from 1950 to 2015?
a) Barren land
b) Culturable wasteland
c) Fallow other than current fallow
d) Net sown area
Answer. d

Question. Which of the following categories constitutes the smallest percentage of land use in india?
a) Forests
b) Area under tree crops and groves
c) Area under non agricultural use
d) Permanent pasture
Answer. d

Question. Which of the following categories of land use has recorded the highest increase in area?
a) Permanent pasture and grazing land
b) Net sown area
c) Forest area
d) Area under non- agricultural use
Answer. d

Question. The area under wastelands has declined due to which of the following reasons?
a) Due to increase in forests
b) Due to expansion of agriculture
c) Due to conversion of land for industries
d) All of the above
Answer. b
 

Question. What is the difference between dry land and wetland farming?
Answer. Dry land farming:
1. Dryland farming located in the area of less than 75cm rainfall
2. Drought resistant crops are grown
3. Millets, maize fodder crops
4. Practice rain water harvesting
Wetland farming:
1. Found in areas of high rainfall zones
2. Water intensive crops such as rice, sugarcane, jute are grown

Question. Describe the condition of growth, production and major area of cultivation of rice in India.
Answer. RICE is a crop of tropical reasons
Temperature: 20 to 27 degree centigrade.
Rainfall: 75 to 200 cm
Soil: Alluvial Cheap and skilled labour: large no of labour required
Production area: middle plain, coastal plain, Himalaya foot hill, Punjab, Haryana

Question. Describe three main achievements of the green Revolution in India.
Answer. 
● It has led to a substantial increase in production and productivity of food grains.
● Import of food grains declined from. 10.3 million tons to 2.4 million tons in 1983.
● There was no import of food grains in 2000-01.
● The cropped area, use of HYVs, the yield per hectare use of irrigation and fertilisers has increased.

Question. What do you mean by culturable wasteland, current fallow and fallow other than current fallow land?
Answer. 
- Culturable Wasteland - It is the land which is left fallow for more than five years. It can be brought under cultivation after improving it through reclamation (recovery) practices.
- Current Fallow This is the land which is left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year to recover its lost fertility through natural processes.
- Fallow other than Current Fallow- It is a cultivable land which is left uncultivated for more than a year but less than five years. If the land is left uncultivated for more than five years, it would be categorised as a culturable wasteland

Question. Describe the trend regarding increase in area under forest, area under non-agricultural uses and current fallow?
Answer. Following observations can be made regarding the trend of increasing land-use:
● The rate of increase is the highest in case of areas under non-agricultural uses. This is due to the changing structure of the Indian economy. The Indian economy is increasingly dependent on the contribution from industrial and services sectors and expansion of related infrastructural facilities. Also, an expansion of area under both urban and rural settlements has added to the increase. Thus, the area under non-agricultural uses is increasing at the expense of wastelands and agricultural land.
● There is an increase in the share under forest due to increase in the demarcated area under forest.
● The trend of current fallow changes over years, depending on the variability of rainfall and cropping cycles.

Question. Give three reasons for the decline of barren and wasteland, culturable wasteland, area under pastures and tree crops and fallow lands.
Answer. - As per the land use categories of 1950-51 to 2014-15 following reasons are responsible forthe decline of barren and wastelands, culturable wasteland, area under pastures and tree crops and fallow lands:
- Due to increase in pressure on land from agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, wastelands and culturable wastelands have witnessed decline over time.
● Illegal encroachment due to expansion of cultivation on common pasture lands is largely responsible for this decline.
● Decline in land under pastures and grazing lands due to pressure from agriculture land

Question. Discuss the significance of land resources in India.
Answer. 
● Land resource is important for the livelihood of the people depending on agriculture as:
● Agriculture is purely land based activity. Its unavailability may lead to poverty.
● The role of quality of land is important in agriculture. The more the land is fertile, the more it gives output/production.
● Ownership of land resources is considered as a social status in rural areas. It is also seen as security for credit, natural hazards or life contingencies.
● As in rural areas a large number of the population is engaged in agriculture may increase the employment opportunities to rural poors.

Question. Explain the importance of irrigation for agriculture in India.
Answer. Irrigation is necessary in India for the following reasons:
(i) To Decrease the Dependency on Monsoon Rainfall
After decades of independence, India is still dependent on monsoon rainfall for agriculture production. Only 33% of agricultural land is irrigated and the rest is dependent on rainfall for soil moisture. To decrease the dependence on monsoon rainfall, irrigation is necessary.
(ii) To Increase Production
Agricultural production and yield under rainfed areas are low. To increase the agricultural production in India, irrigation is necessary.
(iii) To Introduce Newer Farming Method
Irrigation is important to introduce newer farming methods like use of HYV seeds which need more irrigation. These newer methods replace old farming practices.

Question. State any two characteristics of each of the three distinct cropping seasons of India
Answer. The three distinct cropping seasons of India are:
(i) Kharif
❖ The characteristics of kharif season are as follows:
❖ Kharif season starts with the onset of nSouth-West monsoon (June-September).
❖ The major crops which are cultivated in this season are rice, jute, cotton, jowar, bajra, tur and other tropical crops.
(ii) Rabi
○ The characteristics of rabi season are as follows:
○ Rabi season in India starts from October-November with onset of winter and ends in March-April.
○ The crops which are cultivated in this season are wheat, gram, mustard and other temperate end sub-tropical crops because of the low temperature condition.
(iii) Zaid
○ The characteristics of zaid season are as follows:
○ Zaid is a short season between rabi and kharif in India (April-June).
○ The crops which are cultivated in this season
○ Are watermelons, cucumbers, vegetables and fodder crops. Crops are cultivated mainly on irrigated land.

Question. Explain any three features of dryland farming in India.
Answer. The three features of dryland farming in India are as follows:
(i) It is a type of rainfed farming. Rainfall is the main source of irrigation for this type of farming which provides moisture to the soil to grow crops.
(ii) Dryland farming is done in the areas of rainfall receiving less than 7S cm annually - Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
(iii) The major crops which are cultivated in these regions are ragi, bajra, moong, gram, guar and other drought-resistant crops.

Question. Describe any three characteristics of wetland farming in India.
Answer. The three characteristics of wetland farming in India are as follows:
(i) It is a type of rainfed farming. Rainfall is the main source of irrigation for this type of farming which provides moisture to the soil to grow crops.
(ii) Wetland farming is done in the areas having sufficient rainfall to provide sufficient moisture to soil for growing crops.
(iii) The main crops which are cultivated in these regions are rice, jute, sugarcane and other water-intensive crops.

Question. How is the degradation of cultivable land one of the serious problems in India? Explain any three points.
Answer. The degradation of cultivable land is one of the serious problems in India as:
(i) Intensive use of chemical fertilisers and of cultivable land. It has reduced the fertility of soil in India. For example Haryana, Punjab etc.
(ii) Unregulated and over irrigation has created problems of alkalisation and salinisation and waterlogging in irrigated cultivated areas of India. For example, in Punjab
(iii) The natural fertilisation processes of soil like nitrogen fixation by cultivation of leguminous crops are not adopted because these crops are displaced with the commercial crops such as sugarcane. For example, Uttar Pradesh.

Question. “Land degradation caused by human made processes are more harmful than natural processes in India”.Analyse the statement with three suitable examples.
Answer. Human activities are majorly responsible for degradation of land than natural resources. This degradation has started after the Green Revolution where new methods and techniques were used intensively, e.g chemical fertilisers, irrigation, etc.
Three examples for this are as follows:
(i) Unregulated and over-irrigation have created problems of alkanisation, salinisation, and waterlogging in irrigated areas of India.
(ii) It is estimated that about 15 million hectare land has lost its fertility due to faulty methods of agriculture.
(iii) Besides these, shifting cultivation, deforestation, mining activities, etc are human processes causing land degradation that have caused harm to the soil fertility and agriculture in India.

Question. “Green revolution was not equally successful in all parts of India” Why?
Answer. The Green revolution in India was not very successful in all the parts of India. It created inequalities along with increasing productivity and production. Following are the reasons of limited success of green revolution:
● Unavailability of irrigation facilities in all parts of India.
● The Green Revolution did not take proper measures to create awareness among farmers about how to use chemical fertilisers and new varieties of seeds during agricultural practices.
● HYVs seeds were not easily available to all people due to faulty distribution and their high cost.
Small size of land holdings also created obstacles in the path of success of the Green Revolution

Question. Indian farmers gamble with the Monsoon”. Illustrate this statement.
Answer. Agriculture of India is based on monsoon and hence, it is said that good output production is based on good monsoon and therefore, Indian farmers gamble with the monsoon.
It is due to the following reasons:
● Indian monsoon is highly uncertain. Sometimes we receive early monsoon, late monsoon or weak monsoonal rainfall.
● The distribution of rainfall is also unequal in the country. Some parts receive very high rainfall (even flood-like situations) whereas others face drought-like conditions. This hit the agricultural production in India.
● Not all farmers have proper irrigation facilities. Small farmers are the most deprived ones.
● Under-developed technological base of agriculture.

Question. “Land resources are more crucial to the livelihood of the people depending on agriculture.” Support this statement with any three suitable arguments.
Answer. Most of the Indians are dependent on agriculture directly or indirectly for their subsistence. Thus, land resources become more important.
Importance of land resource in agriculture can be understood by following points:
● Dependence of the agriculture sector on land resources is high as compared to secondary or tertiary sectors.
● Agriculture is directly affected by the quality of land but other sectors such as industry or service sector are not affected by the quality of land.
● Besides agricultural production, ownership of land resources also indicates a social status in rural areas

Question. Differentiate between protective and productive irrigation.
Answer. Differences between protective irrigation and productive irrigation are as follows:

Question. Discuss the growth of agricultural output and improvement in technology in India.
Answer. Indian agriculture has witnessed a tremendous improvement in agricultural production and associated technology during the last sixty years. Following are some observations related to agricultural growth:
● Production and yield of several crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane, oilseeds, cotton, etc
● India is the leading producer of pulses, tea, jute, milk, etc.
● Irrigation facilities have expanded to a great extent. This has helped to use modern agricultural technology like HYV seeds, machinery.
● Consumption of chemical fertilisers has increased by 15 times since the 1960s.
● Since the HYVs are highly susceptible to pests and diseases, the use of pesticides has increased significantly since the 1960s.

Question. Explain with examples how ‘modern agricultural technology’ has brought a significant increase in agricultural output in India.
Answer. The modern agricultural technology has brought a significant increase in agricultural output in India in the following ways:
● Production and yield of several crops such as rice, wheat, sugarcane, cilereds, cotton etc.
● India is the leading producer of pulses, tea, jute, milk, etc.
● Irrigation facilities have expanded to a great extent. This has helped to use modern agricultural technology like HYV seeds, machinery.
● Consumption of chemical fertilisers increased from a mere 292 thousand tons in 1960-61 to 18996 thousand tons in 2004-05.
● Since the HYVs are highly susceptible to pests and diseases, the use of pesticides has increased significantly since the 1960s.

Question. What geographical condition is required to grow wheat?
Answer.
 i) Temperature: 10 to 20 degree Celsius and 100 frost free period
ii) Rainfall: need 50 to 100 cm of rainfall
iii) Irrigation: Irrigation is required
iv) Soil: heavy loamy or light clay is the best
v) Production in India: Punjab, Haryana
vi) India is the second largest wheat producing country after the green revolution.

Question. Discuss the plantation crops in India. What are conditions required for these crops to grow?
Answer. Plantation crops constitute a large group of crops. The total coverage of plantation crops is comparatively less and they are mostly confined to small holdings. Among the major plantation crops, tea, coffee, sugarcane are prominent plantation crops in India.

Conditions of growth are as follows:
● Sugarcane: It is an important cash crop of India. India is claimed to be the homeland of sugarcane.
Conditions Required to Grow:
➔ Sugarcane is a long-duration crop, maturing in 10-12 months.
➔ It requires a hot and humid climate with temperature ranging from 20°C to 30°C and rainfall ranging from 100 to 150 cm.
➔ Dry weather is necessary at the harvesting season.
➔ Frost is injurious to sugarcane; frequent irrigation is required in low rainfall areas.

Tea
It is the most important beverage crop in India and contains caffeine and tannin. In India, tea plantation was introduced in the 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of Assam which is still the largest producer of tea in the country.
➔ Conditions Required to Grow:
➔ Tea requires about 25°C to 30°C temperature and a well distributed rainfall of 200 to 250 cm.
➔ It grows well in loamy soil rich in organic matter.

Coffee
It is the second most prominent beverage crop of India after tea. There are three varieties of coffee i.e. arabica, robusta and liberica. In India, it is grown in the region of Karnataka.
➔ Conditions Required to Grow
➔ It requires a hot and humid climate with 15° to 30°C temperature and rainfall 150-200 an.
➔ It grows in frost free sloped areas with heights 800-1600 m above sea level.

Question. Explain the importance of foodgrains in the Indian agricultural economy. Describe any three characteristics of rice cultivation
Answer. Food Grains acquired a special position in the agriculture economy of India. Within agriculture, foodgrains production is by far the major activity, covering about two-third of the total cropped area in the country.
It dominates both subsistence and commercial farming all over India. Foodgrains provide almost all the calories and proteins consumed by the poor and provide the rural poor with the bulk of their employment and income. Rice, wheat, bajra, maize, pulses (gram, tur), etc are the examples of foodgrains.
Characteristics of rice cultivation are as follows:
● For most of the Indians, rice is a staple food.
● About 3000 varieties of rice are grown in various agro-climatic regions of India. India ranked 2nd with the production of 21.2% of rice in the world.
● Because of suitable climatic conditions, rice can be cultivated twice and even thrice in an agricultural year in Southern India and West Bengal.
● It is cultivated in all parts of India from sea level to about 2000m altitude and from humid areas in the Eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh and Northern Rajasthan.

Question. Explain the term cropping intensity.
Answer. Cropping intensity refers to producing more number of crops from the same field during one agriculture Year. In this process, cropping area is counted twice or thrice depending upon the number of crops Produced in the year..

Question. “Land-use in a region to a large extent is influenced by the nature of economic activities carried out in that region. Support the statement by giving three examples from India
Answer. Increasing population pressure on land is one of the major reasons which is responsible for the decline in land under pasture and grazing areas. There are three types of economic changes that affected the land-use in India which are as follows:
(i) As population increases, the size of economic resources and force people to utilise every piece of land. Thus, marginal lands and barren wastelands would be used to support the population.
(ii) When composition of an changes, it also lends for different purposes, eg. When agricultural area decreases, the arca under other categories like area under non-agricultural use increases.
(iii) With the compositional change in economy and change in land-use, area under agriculture declines, but it does not reduce the population pressure on agricultural land.
(iv) As land is fixed in its size of area and due to intensive cultivation, the soil fertility is declined. Thus, it is very difficult to produce more from the same piece of land. So, more land is needed for agricultural practices and higher production for the growing population. Thus, pasture land is decreasing in India

Question. How the small size of landholdings and degradation of cultivable land are the two
Answer. major problems of Indian agriculture? Explain both these problems with examples.
Problems of small size of landholdings in India are as follows:
● Most of the Indian farmers are small and marginal. About 60% land holdings are smaller than one hectare and about 40% land holdings are smaller than 0.5 hectare.
● The average size of a farm in India is much smaller than developed countries. This average size of farm is becoming smaller every year because of
● Due to small landholdings, small farmers are able to only grow food for their self consumption.
● Seneli and fragmented lends are less productive and uneconomical.
Problems of degradation of cultivable land-
● Human activities are majorly responsible for degradation of land than natural resources. This degradation has started after the Green Revolution where new methods and techniques were used intensively, e.g chemical fertilisers, irrigation, etc.
● Three examples for this are as follows:
● Unregulated and over-irrigation have created problems of alkanisation, salinisation, and waterlogging in irrigated areas of India.
● It is estimated that about 15 million hectare land has lost its fertility due to faulty methods of agriculture.
● Besides these, shifting cultivation, deforestation, mining activities, etc are human processes causing land degradation that have caused harm to the soil fertility and agriculture in India.

Question. Erratic monsoon’ and ‘indebtedness’ are the major problems of Indian agriculture.
Suggest and explain the measures to overcome these problems.
Answer. Erratic Monsoon
Monsoon nature is very erratic in India. It és true that means of irrigation were developed after independence, but the cultivated area under irrigation is only 33%. So, there should be more stress on developing various means of irrigation especially in non irrigated areas of India.
Some of the measures are:
- Water disputes between states should be ended in order to provide equitable water resources to each
Cultivable land in India.
- There should be stress on rainwater harvesting techniques to improve and recharge groundwater tables so that farmers can easily harvest their land with the use of these sources.
- Drought resistant crops should be used more in the areas where shortage of water occurs.

Indebtedness
- Indebtedness is the state of being in debt, or owing money to someone else. When a person is in debt, it means that he has borrowed money or received goods or services with a promise to pay the sum back.
To overcome the problem of indebtedness following measures could be taken:
- Encouraging co-operative credits in rural areas so that farmers could get loans at cheaper rates. Private lending should be eliminated.
- Agriculture should be conducted on a scientific basis so that the income of the farmers would increase and they could meet their expenses without borrowing money.
- Encourage minimum support price policy for all farmers. Rural banks and co-operative banks rates.

Question. “Low productivity and fragmentation of land holdings are the major problems of Indian agriculture”. Suggest and explain measures to overcome these problems
Answer. Measures to overcome the problems of low productivity are as follows:
- to make aware al] the farmers about new technologies like use of improved implements, seeds, chemicals, manures, etc.
- Double cropping, better rotation of crops, fighting plant diseases and pests, etc should be given due emphasis. Different sources of irrigation should be provided to all farmers.
- Timely soil testing should be done in rural areas by establishing soil testing labs.
- Institutional credit or loan facilities should be provided to all farmers at low interest rates, e.g. Kisan credit card scheme.
Measures to overcome the problems of fragmentation of land holdings are as follows:
- Big areas of land which are laying waste can be reclaimed and made fit for cultivation.
- Co-operative farming can be helpful to check the subdivision and fragmentation of holding. This
farming would result in the adoption of modern technology on big farms. In this way, agriculture will become profitable occupation.
- New agricultural policy should be framed to improve this situation.
- The stress of the population on land should be reduced.

Question. Fragmentation of land holdings’ and ‘degradation of cultivable land’ are the serious problems of Indian agriculture”. Suggest and explain measures to overcome these problems.
Answer. Following are some measures for controlling land degradation:
- Strip farming should be encouraged in which cultivated crops are sown in alternative strips to prevent water movement.
- Crop rotation should be in practice.
- In the hilly regions, contour farming should be done. As it is useful in collecting and diverting the runoff water to avoid erosion.
-To minimise waterlogging and salinisation, modern techniques of irrigation in the fields should be adopted.

Question. Lack of land reforms’ and ‘degradation of cultivable land’ are the major problems of Indian agriculture”. Substantiate the statement
Answer. ‘Lack of land reforms’ and ‘degradation of cultivable land’ are the major problems of Indian agriculture.
Lack of Land Reforms (Problems of small size of land holdings) in India.
-Most of the Indian farmers are small and marginal. About 60% land holdings are smaller than one hectare and about 40% land holdings are smaller than 0.5 hectare.
- The average size of a farm in India is much smaller than developed countries.
- This average size of farm is becoming analier every year because of increasing population pressure.
- Most of these farmers are only able to grow food and consume it within their families. Small and uneconomical.
Degradation of Cultivable Land
The degradation of cultivable land is one of the serious problems in India as :
- Intensive use of chemical fertilisers and irrigation have resulted in the degradation of cultivable land. It has reduced the fertility of soil in India.
- Unregulated and over irrigation has created problems of alkalisation and salinisation and waterlogging in irrigated cultivated areas of India.
- The natural fertilisation processes of soil like nitrogen fixation by cultivation of leguminous crops are not adopted because these crops are displaced with the commercial crops such as sugarcane.

Question. Classify Indian farming into two groups on the basis of the main source of moisture for crops. Write two features of each.
Answer. In India, farming is classified into following two groups on the basis of moisture available for crops:
Irrigated Farming
The main source of moisture for this farming is irrigation by various methods ie. Wells, tube wells, etc. It has two types i.e. Protective and productive irrigation:
(i) In protective farming/irrigation.
The objective is to protect the crops from adverse effects of soil moisture deficiency which often means that irrigation acts as a supplementary source of water over and above the rainfall.
(ii) Productive irrigation is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity. In such irrigation, the water input per unit area of cultivated land is higher than protective irrigation.
Rainfed Farming (Barani) - The main source of the moisture for this farming is rainfall. Two types are
(i) Dry land farming is confined to the region having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. In this region, drought-resistant crops are grown such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder crops). Measures of soil moisture conservation and rainwater harvesting are also done in this region.
(ii) In wetland farming, farming is done in areas which receive more than 75 cm of rainfall. Water intensive crops are grown in this farming such as rice, jute and sugarcane

Question. Discuss the problems of Indian agriculture?
Answer. 
1. Uneven and unreliable rainfall
2. Low productivity
3. Poverty of the farmers
4. Lack of land reforms0.
5. Fragmentation of land holdings
6. Lack of commercialization
7. Vast under employment
8. Degradation of cultivable land
9. Illiteracy among farmers

 

 

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