Indian Agriculture: Farming Types, Features and
Challenges
Types of farming in India
Some of the major types of farming are discussed below.
i) Subsistence farming:
The majority of farmers in India practice subsistence farming- farming for their consumption.
The entire production is largely consumed by the farmers and their families and they do not
have any surplus to sell in the market.
In this type of farming, landholdings are small and fragmented; cultivation techniques are
primitive and simple. There is a total absence of modern equipment like tractors and farm
inputs like chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides. In this farming, farmers mostly
cultivate cereals along with oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, and sugarcane.
Subsistence farming is further classified into:
● Intensive
● Primitive
Primitive subsistence agriculture is practised on patches of land with the help of primitive
tools like simple digging tools and community or family labour. This type of farming is
monsoon depended along with the fertility of the soil and other environmental conditions.
Examples of such types are shifting agriculture and nomadic herding.
● Shifting agriculture is practised in thickly forested regions like the Amazon basin,
tropical Africa, parts of southeast Asia, and northeast India. These areas receive
heavy rainfall hence the vegetation regenerates quickly.
● A patch of land is cleared by felling if tress and burning them. The ashes are then
mixed with the soil and crops like maize, yam, potatoes, and cassava are grown.
The land is abandoned once fertility is reduced.
● nomadic herding is practised in the semi-arid and arid regions of Sahara, Central
Asia, and some parts of India like Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir.
, ● Herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and water, along
defined routes and such movement arises due to seasonal changes. Animals like
sheep, camel, yak, and goats are most commonly reared.
Intensive subsistence agriculture is done on small lands with simple tools and more labour.
The produce is enough for local consumption and to be sold outside. The sunny climate and
fertile soil for most of the year permit the cultivation of more than one crop annually on the
same plot. Rice, wheat, maize, pulses, and oilseeds are generally cultivated.
ii) Intensive and Extensive farming
The basic difference between these two types of farming is the amount of production per unit
of land. In comparison with temperate areas of the USA, Canada, India do not practice
extensive cultivation.
When a large patch of land is used for cultivation then we call it extensive farming. Here, total
production may be high due to the larger area but per unit are production is low.
Intensive Farming records high production per unit of land. An example of intensive
cultivation is in Kerala where the availability of land for cultivation is very limited.
iii) Commercial farming
It is just the opposite of subsistence farming as most of the produce is sold in the market for
earning money. In this system, farmers use inputs like irrigation, chemical fertilizers,
insecticides, pesticides, High Yielding Varieties of seeds, etc.
Some of the major commercial crops grown in different parts of India are cotton, jute,
sugarcane, groundnut, etc.
Rice farming in Harayana is mainly for commercial purposes as people of this area are
predominantly wheat eaters. However, in East and North-Eastern states of India, rice
cultivation would be large of subsistence type.
iv) Plantation Farming:
In this type, a single cash crop is grown for sale in national and international markets. This
type of agriculture involves the growing and processing of a single cash crop purely meant for
sale.
Challenges
Types of farming in India
Some of the major types of farming are discussed below.
i) Subsistence farming:
The majority of farmers in India practice subsistence farming- farming for their consumption.
The entire production is largely consumed by the farmers and their families and they do not
have any surplus to sell in the market.
In this type of farming, landholdings are small and fragmented; cultivation techniques are
primitive and simple. There is a total absence of modern equipment like tractors and farm
inputs like chemical fertilizers, insecticides, and pesticides. In this farming, farmers mostly
cultivate cereals along with oilseeds, pulses, vegetables, and sugarcane.
Subsistence farming is further classified into:
● Intensive
● Primitive
Primitive subsistence agriculture is practised on patches of land with the help of primitive
tools like simple digging tools and community or family labour. This type of farming is
monsoon depended along with the fertility of the soil and other environmental conditions.
Examples of such types are shifting agriculture and nomadic herding.
● Shifting agriculture is practised in thickly forested regions like the Amazon basin,
tropical Africa, parts of southeast Asia, and northeast India. These areas receive
heavy rainfall hence the vegetation regenerates quickly.
● A patch of land is cleared by felling if tress and burning them. The ashes are then
mixed with the soil and crops like maize, yam, potatoes, and cassava are grown.
The land is abandoned once fertility is reduced.
● nomadic herding is practised in the semi-arid and arid regions of Sahara, Central
Asia, and some parts of India like Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir.
, ● Herdsmen move from place to place with their animals for fodder and water, along
defined routes and such movement arises due to seasonal changes. Animals like
sheep, camel, yak, and goats are most commonly reared.
Intensive subsistence agriculture is done on small lands with simple tools and more labour.
The produce is enough for local consumption and to be sold outside. The sunny climate and
fertile soil for most of the year permit the cultivation of more than one crop annually on the
same plot. Rice, wheat, maize, pulses, and oilseeds are generally cultivated.
ii) Intensive and Extensive farming
The basic difference between these two types of farming is the amount of production per unit
of land. In comparison with temperate areas of the USA, Canada, India do not practice
extensive cultivation.
When a large patch of land is used for cultivation then we call it extensive farming. Here, total
production may be high due to the larger area but per unit are production is low.
Intensive Farming records high production per unit of land. An example of intensive
cultivation is in Kerala where the availability of land for cultivation is very limited.
iii) Commercial farming
It is just the opposite of subsistence farming as most of the produce is sold in the market for
earning money. In this system, farmers use inputs like irrigation, chemical fertilizers,
insecticides, pesticides, High Yielding Varieties of seeds, etc.
Some of the major commercial crops grown in different parts of India are cotton, jute,
sugarcane, groundnut, etc.
Rice farming in Harayana is mainly for commercial purposes as people of this area are
predominantly wheat eaters. However, in East and North-Eastern states of India, rice
cultivation would be large of subsistence type.
iv) Plantation Farming:
In this type, a single cash crop is grown for sale in national and international markets. This
type of agriculture involves the growing and processing of a single cash crop purely meant for
sale.
