Agriculture is the backbone of India's economy. In Class 8, 9, and 10 Geography and Economics, students are expected to know the different types of farming practiced across the world.
Subsistence: For own food.
Commercial: For profit and market sale.
Plantation: Single export crop on large estates (Tea, Coffee, Rubber).
Shifting: Slash-and-burn (Jhum) — destroys forests.
1. Subsistence Agriculture Farming done to feed the farmer's own family with little or no surplus for sale. Practised by small farmers on small plots.
2. Commercial Agriculture Farming done on a large scale specifically to sell the produce in the market for profit. Requires modern technology, fertilizers, and irrigation.
3. Plantation Agriculture A single crop is grown on a large estate (plantation) for export purposes, using a large labour force.
4. Shifting Cultivation (Jhum Cultivation) A primitive type where farmers clear a patch of forest by burning, farm it for 2-3 years until the soil loses fertility, then move to a new patch.
5. Intensive Agriculture Maximum output from a small piece of land using high inputs (fertilizers, irrigation, labour). Common in densely populated areas like the Ganga plain.
6. Extensive Agriculture Farming on very large tracts of land with low labour input per hectare. Common in sparse-population countries like Canada and Australia (wheat farms).
The main types of agriculture are: 1) Subsistence, 2) Commercial, 3) Plantation, 4) Shifting Cultivation (Jhum), 5) Intensive, and 6) Extensive farming.
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