This chapter tells the story of Indian agriculture, one of humankind's oldest occupations, which today contributes a little over 18 per cent of India's GDP and engages about 46 per cent of its working population, with women doing most of the farming work. Agriculture broadly includes farming, animal husbandry, forestry and horticulture. The chapter goes back to prehistory, noting early rice in the Ganga Plain and barley and millets at Mehrgarh from the 7th millennium BCE, and the wealth of agricultural knowledge in ancient texts like the Arthashastra and Surapala's Vrikshayurveda. It explains how climate, seasons and crops are interlinked, describing India's seven climate types, 15 agroclimatic zones, the role of the southwest and northeast monsoons, and the three cropping seasons — kharif, rabi and zaid. It then explores soil as the foundation of cultivation, describing how soil forms and India's six major soil types (alluvial, black, red, laterite, desert and mountain/alpine), and how soil is nurtured through traditional and modern conservation. It covers water through rain-fed and irrigated agriculture, traditional systems like phad and bamboo drip irrigation and modern drip and sprinkler methods, and the importance of seeds. It contrasts traditional farming with the Green Revolution and modern methods, calling for sustainable agriculture, and ends with the government's role and the challenges farmers face, including small landholdings and climate change.
Agriculture in IndiaClimate, seasons and cropsSoil and its conservationWater and irrigationTraditional, modern and sustainable farming
Key terms
Agriculture
Broadly, the practice of farming, animal husbandry, forestry and horticulture, including the preparation of soil and the cultivation of plants.
Kharif, rabi and zaid
India's three cropping seasons: kharif (monsoon crops), rabi (winter crops) and zaid (summer crops).
Agroclimatic zone
A region defined by combining climate factors, soil and terrain types, and vegetation; India is divided into 15 such zones.
Soil conservation
Managing soil to prevent its degradation and preserve its productivity, through methods like crop rotation, contour ploughing and terracing.
Green Revolution
The movement of the 1960s and 1970s that introduced high-yielding seeds, more irrigation, chemical fertilisers and machinery, boosting food production.
Sustainable agriculture
Farming that combines the productivity of modern methods with the wisdom of traditional, eco-friendly practices, inspired by Indian Knowledge Systems.
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About what share of India's working population is engaged in agriculture and allied activities?
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