Determinants of Agriculture


The agricultural practices, cropping patterns and their productivity are closely
determined by the geo-climatic, socioeconomic, and cultural-political factors. In fact, the
agriculture of any region is influenced by the following factors:
o
Physical factors: Terrain, topography, climate, and soil.
o
Institutional Factors: Land tenure, land tenancy, size of the landholdings, size of
fields, and land reforms.
o
Infrastructural factors: Irrigation, electricity, roads, credit and marketing,
storage, facilities, crop insurance, and research.
o
Technological Factors: High-yielding varieties (new seeds) introduced in Green
Revolution, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides, and farm machinery.
These factors individually and collectively have their impact on the cropping patterns
and on the level of agricultural development and yield of crops in a region.
A brief account of physical factors & Institutional factors has been given below.
Physical factors
The physical factors which affect the agriculture of any region are terrain, topography, climate,
and soil which have varying influences on the agricultural productivity of a region.
It is worth mentioning that these factors do not work in isolation but the agricultural activity
of a place is the product of combinations of different physical factors. The various physical
factors are discussed below:
Terrain, Topography, and Altitude

The agricultural patterns are strictly dependent on the geo-ecological conditions such
as terrain, topography, slope and altitude.

For example, while paddy cultivation requires levelled fields in order to have standing
water, the tea plantations perform well in the undulating topography in which water
does not remain standing, standing water damages tea plantations. Orchards of coconut,
are found at low altitudes, preferably closer to sea level. While the apple orchards in the
tropical and sub-tropical conditions perform well at an altitude above 1500 metres above
sea level.

However, cultivation of crops is rarely done 3500 m above sea level in the tropical and
subtropical latitudes. Reason for this is the highly rarefied air, low pressure, low
temperature, and shortage of oxygen at high altitudes which are serious impediments
not only in the cultivation of crops but also in keeping dairy cattle.

The soils of high mountainous tracts are generally immature. The soils at such altitude
are not well developed due to the slope which induces erosion of the soil making it thin
and non-conducive for agriculture.

Topography affects agriculture as it relates to soil erosion, difficulty of tillage and poor
transportation facilities.

Mechanization of agriculture depends entirely on the topography of the land. On rough,
hilly lands, the use of agricultural machinery is impossible.

The topographical features also affect the distribution of rainfall. Normally, the
windward side gets more rainfall than the leeward side. For example the windward side
of Western Ghats receives 250 to 300 cm rainfall whereas the leeward side receives 75
to 100 cm rainfall.

The amount of rainfall received in a region determines the selection of crops to be sown
like we can grow jute in West Bengal but not in Rajasthan due to the variation in rainfall.

Apart from altitude, the aspects of slope also determine the agricultural activity in a
region. Aspect of slope means weather the slope is sun facing or not and how steep the
slope is. The steeper the slope is, the less conducive it is for agriculture. On steep slopes
terrace farming is practiced.

The nature of the surface also affects agricultural activities. The gullied land is the least
conductive for cropping. The gullied lands are highly eroded and are deficient in key
nutrient resources required for agriculture. For example, the Chambal ravines in Madhya
Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh have put over thousands of hectares of good
arable land out of agriculture.
Climate

Of all the physical factors, the climate is one of the most significant determinants of
agricultural land use and cropping patterns. All forms of agriculture are controlled
largely by temperature.

Areas deficient in heat are deficient in agriculture. For that is one element of climate
that man has not been able to create at economic costs on a large scale. Temperature
determines the growth of vegetation through determining the length of the vegetative
period. Successful agriculture, therefore, requires a fairly long summer.

In lower latitudes where the winters are never too cold to arrest the growth of vegetation,
practically the whole year is the growing period, and the agricultural operations are
timed according to the supply of rainfall.

In higher latitudes, however, the shortness of summer is compensated by the longer
duration of the day. The total amount of heat received is enough for the ripening of
crops.

The climate of the region which is important for the growth of plant includes the
following:
i. Temperature

The crops to be grown, their patterns and combinations are closely controlled by the
prevailing temperature and precipitation conditions. The agricultural scientists have
proved that each crop has a specific zero temperature below which it cannot be grown.
There is also an optimal temperature in which the crop is at its greatest vigour. For
example, wheat can be grown in Punjab in the month of November-December due to cool
climatic conditions, it cannot be grown in Kerala at the same time, and similarly, apples
can be grown in Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir but not in Chennai.

For each stage of crop life i.e. germination, foliation, blossoming or fructification a
specific zero and optimum can be observed in temperature.

The upper limit of temperature for plant growth is 60 degrees C. Under high-temperature
conditions, i.e. at above 60 degrees C, crops dry up if the moisture supply is inadequate.
In contrast to this, the chilling and freezing temperatures have a great adverse effect on
the germination, growth, and ripening of crops.

Crops like rice, sugarcane, jute, cotton, chilli, and tomatoes are killed or damaged at the
occurrence of frost. The minimum temperature for wheat and barley is 5 degrees C,
maize 10 degrees C, and rice 20 degrees C.

The impact of temperature on cropping patterns may be seen from the fact that the
northern limit of the regions in which date palm bear ripe fruit coincides almost exactly
with the mean annual temperature of 19 degrees C.

The essential factor in the limit of grape orchards seems to be temperature. Grapes ripen
only in those countries in which the mean temperature from April to October exceeds
15 degrees C.

Crop like winter- wheat and barley perform well when the mean daily temperature
ranges between 15 degrees C and 25 degrees C. Contrary to this, tropical crops like
cocoa, coffee, spices, squash, rubber, and tobacco require over 18 degrees C temperature
even in the coldest months, while crops like wheat, gram, peas, lentil, potato, mustard,
and rapeseed require a temperature of about 20 degrees C during the growth and
development stage and relatively higher (over 25 degrees C) during the sowing and
harvesting periods.

Thus from the above discussion, it can be seen that each crop requires different
conditions of temperature and precipitation during the different stages of its growth
like germination, maturity, harvesting, etc.
ii. Moisture

All crops need moisture. They take water and moisture from the soil. This moisture may
be available from the rains or from the irrigation system.

Within wide temperature limits, moisture becomes more important than any other
climatic factor in crop production.

There are optimal moisture conditions for crop development just as there are optimal
temperature conditions. The excessive amount of water in the soil alters various
chemical and biological processes, limiting the amount of oxygen and increasing the
formation of compounds that are toxic to plant roots. The excess of water in the soil,
therefore, leads to stunted growth of plants. The problem of inadequate oxygen in the
soil can be solved by drainage practices in an ill-drained tract.

Heavy rainfall may directly damage plants or interfere with flowering and pollination.
Cereal crops are often lodged by rain and this makes harvest difficult and promotes
spoilage and diseases. Heavy rainfall at the maturity of wheat, gram, millets, oilseeds,
and mustards causes loss of grain and fodder. Indian farmers all over the country have
often suffered on account of the failure of rains or fury of floods.
iii. Drought

Drought has devastating consequences on the crops, their yields, and production.

Soil drought has been described as a condition in which the amount of water needed for
transpiration and direct evaporation exceeds the amount of water available in the soil.
Drought damages the crops when plants are inadequately supplied with moisture from
the soil.

The drought-prone areas of India lie in the states of Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh,
Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Odisha,
Bundelkhand (U.P.), Uttarakhand, J&K, southwest Punjab, and Haryana.

In the areas where the average annual rainfall is less than 75 cm, agriculture is
considered a gamble on monsoon. In 2009, the erratic monsoon resulted into drought
in more than 200 districts of the country. Vidarbha region of Maharashtra has a high
incidence of farmer suicides due to the drought condition which results in the failure of
crops, this is basically due to the inadequate irrigation facilities in the region.

The incidence of drought and its intensity can be determined from the annual seasonal
and diurnal distribution of rainfall. Moreover, different plants have different moisture
requirements. In the drought-prone areas of India, dryland farming is practiced, while
in the more rainfall recording regions, intensive agriculture of paddy crop is a common
practice.
iv. Snow

The occurrence of snow reduces the ground temperature which hinders the germination
and growth of crops.

Land under snow cannot be prepared for sowing because of permafrost.

Melting of snow may cause hazardous floods in the summer season, affecting the crops,
livestock, and land property adversely.
v. Winds

Winds have both, direct and indirect effects on crops. Direct winds result in the breaking
of plant structure, dislodging of cereals, fodder, and cash crops, and sheltering of seedheads. Fruit and nut crops may be stripped from the trees in high winds.

Small plants are sometimes completely covered by windblown dust or sand.

The indirect effect of winds is in the form of transport of moisture and heat in the air.
In fact, the movement of winds increases evaporation and transpiration, which can make
plants devoid of a sufficient amount of moisture.
Soils

In agricultural operations, the soil is probably the most important determining physical
factor. It determines the cropping patterns, their associations, and production.

The fertility of the soil, its texture, structure, and humus contents have a direct bearing
on crops and their productivity. In general, the alluvial soils which are found in the river
valleys are considered to be good for wheat, barley, gram, oilseeds, pulses, and
sugarcane; while the clayey loam soil with fine grains found in the GangaBrahmaputra
deltaic regions gives a good harvest of rice and Jute.

Black soil is known for cotton in Maharashtra, and sandy soil for guar, pulses (green
gram, black-gram, red-gram, etc) in Rajasthan.

The saline and alkaline soils are useless from the agricultural point of view unless they
are reclaimed by chemical fertilizers and biological manures and fertilizers. For example
the soil in Punjab and Haryana.
Institutional factors
Land Holdings

The average size of landholding has been continuously decreasing on account of an
increasing number of landholders From an average of 2.28 hectares in 1970-71, it went
down to 1.15 hectares in 2010-11.

In India, More than 82 percent of the farmers belong to the small and marginal
farmers category and these farmers have less than 2 hectares of land (GOI, 2011).

“Such tiny holdings by the large majority of the farmers are neither viable nor
sustainable for a country with billion-plus mouths to feed and the continuous decline in
the average size of land holdings also creates a serious problem.

In addition to this, fragmentation of landholdings, lack of off-farm occupations, and
inheritance laws of an equal division of property among heirs, leading to the division of
land into small blocks.

However, these small and marginal farmers have a poor economic base. Consequently,
it has an adverse effect on the growth of the agriculture sector.

Thus, this high fragmentation of land restricted and hindered the dissemination of
modern technology in agriculture.
Agricultural Credit

Credit is the backbone of each sector of the economy. Credit is one of the vital
prerequisites of the farmers, which facilitate them to meet the investment as well as
working capital requirements.

Like other sectors, the availability of credit for the agriculture sector must be easy,
adequate, and timely. Despite a large network of Rural Financial Institutions (RFIs), a
large portion of the rural population is continuously neglected by the formal banking
sector in India.

In India due to the long gestation period, lack of trained technical staff to identify the
potential activity in this field, poor eligibility, and security problems are some of the
reasons behind insufficient credit flow to the agriculture sector.
Green Revolution

Richard Bradly in 1940 called India a “begging bowl” due to its heavy import
dependence of food grains from the USA.

In Mexico, there was a famine and at the same time the USA drowned millions of tonnes
of wheat to maintain high prices.

William Gadd in 1968 in Washington DC used the term “Green Revolution” for the first
time.

Green Revolution refers to the multiple growths in crop production in 3rd world
countries based on the use of modern inputs, technologies, HYVs, farm
mechanization, and irrigation facilities.

Green Revolution was termed by Prof. William Gadd in 1968 in a seminar titled “The
food crisis in 3rd World Countries” in Washington D C. It reflected the agro-economical
situation of developing countries aiming at self-sufficiency in agriculture and mitigation
of food crisis, hunger, famine, and related social evils.

The Mexican food crisis was the stimulus as Professor Norman Borlaug developed HYVs
by genetic modification and cross-fertilization of good quality of wheat. It was
successful in Mexico and wheat production doubled in 7 years.

Self-sufficiency was achieved and it triggered a similar revolution in other crops across
the world. Rice revolution took place in the Philippines and Japan which spread into
South East Asia.

In 1961, M.S. Swaminathan invited Norman who suggested a similar revolution in
Indian agriculture. Green Revolution was introduced with the Intensive Agriculture
District Program (IADP) on an experimental basis in 7 district viz. Jalandhar, Aligarh,
Shahbad (Bihar), Raipur, West Godavari (A.P), Tanjavur (T.N), Pali (Rajasthan).

The program was successful and in 1964-65, the Intensive Agriculture Area Program
(IAAP) was started and the number of districts was raised to 32.

In 1965-66 the HYV program was started which is the starting point of the Green
Revolution in India.
Basis of Green Revolution

High Yielding Varieties (HYVs): These are the genetically modified seed which can
yield 2 to 3 times more than normal crop. They are dwarf variety with dense canopy
and needs grater amount of water, use of chemical fertilizer, protection from pest
and weeds as it very tender and fragile. It also requires on farm activities like soil
preparation. It has short generation period and leads to greater production in short
period of time. The short duration of growth leads to the use of land for next crop thus
leading to increase in cropping intensity.

Irrigation facilities: The net irrigated area in 1960 was only 30 million hectare and it
was a daunting task to extend irrigation to rest of India.

Green Revolution required a good network of rural credit and micro financing for
supporting the needs of farmers.

Commercialization of agriculture: Introduction of Minimum Support Prices for crops
gave farmers extra reason to grow more crops.

Farm Mechanization: It was required for increasing the crop production.

Command Area Development Program (CADP): CADP was introduced in 1974. It
consisted of two methods:
o
On farm development activities: It includes construction of agricultural
channels, ploughing, levelling, budding etc.
o
Off farm development activities: It includes construction of roads, rural
connectivity, marketing, transportation communication etc.

Use of chemical fertilizer: Indian soil is deficient in Nitrogen so NPK fertilizers were
used with standard ratio of 4:2:1 but the actual ratio used was 3:8:1.

Use of insecticide, Pesticide, weedicides.

Rural electrification: It was the precondition for increasing farm mechanization
practices.

Land holding and land reforms: Land holding refers to consolidation of land and land
reforms involves various steps such as abolition of intermediaries, abolition of
Zamindari, tenancy reforms etc.
Phases of Green Revolution


Phase I (1965-66 to 1980):
o
India was in ardent need of immediate food supply and self sufficiency in food
grain production. Wheat revolution was successful in various 3rd world countries
like Mexico, Egypt, etc.
o
This phase was not only crop specific but also region specific because the
agriculture infrastructure was well developed in Punjab while Haryana and
Western Uttar Pradesh took advantage of its vicinity where irrigation facility could
be easily extended. Also this region was free from natural hazards.
o
This phase stared with IADP and IAAP program on experimental basis but main
initiative was the HYV program during the Annual Plan of 1965-66.
o
In 1974 with Command Area Development Program, Green Revolution was
reemphasised.
o
The food production in 1950-51 was merely 25 MT and it was 33 MT in 1965-66.
In 1980 it jumped to 100 MT which was three times increase in a span of 10
years. It was more centralised towards wheat production which was increased
by 2.5 times in 5 years. This was termed as Green Revolution.
o
This provided India with self sufficiency in food grain production and the
incidences of malnutrition, famine, poverty, starvation were mitigated. India was
successful in coming out of the Begging Bowl image.
Phase II (1980-1991)
o
During the 6th and 7th plan, wet agriculture (mainly rice) was targeted.
o
During the first phase, rice production was increase merely 1.5 times. The regions
having rainfall more than 100 cm like West Bengal, Bihar, Eastern Uttar Pradesh,
Assam, Coastal plains were targeted.
o
It met with partial success and Krishna-Godavari delta and Cauvery basin
yielded the coveted results. West Bengal also showed increased productivity
and in Bihar, the Bhojpur experienced the fruits of Green Revolution.

o
The full potential of productivity in rice was however not realised due to
institutional factors like land reforms, tenancy etc. Land reforms should have
been implemented in the areas like UP, West Bengal, Bihar, but it was not done at
right time.
o
The traditional outlook of farmers was also a major limiting factor in the
success of Second phase of Green revolution.
Third Phase (1991-2003):
o
During the 8th and 9th plan, dry land agriculture was targeted and HYV was
introduced in cotton, oilseeds, pulses, millets etc. This met with partial success.
o
Integrated Watershed Management Programme was initiated to improve the
conditions in sub- humid and semi-arid regions of India. However, it was not very
successful except in the Narmada – Tapi doab and the Tungbhadra basin and also
the Bhima – Krishna basin.
o
After the end of 9th plan, there was a paradigm shift in approach of the govt
policies. The ecological repercussion in the green revolution areas led to
relatively new concept of balanced Agriculture growth based on agricultural
ecology, conversation method and sustainable development (10th plan). The
entire agricultural sector was targeted and it is known as the Rainbow
Revolution. The process of Rainbow Revolution had affiliated in 1980’s with
Yellow revolution (oilseeds), Blue Revolution, White Revolution (milk earlier in
1970’s), Brown Revolution (fertilizers) and Silver revolution (poultry).
o
In the 11th plan, the idea has been further elevated to sustainable agriculture
with balanced growth referred to as inclusive growth.
Advantages of Green Revolution

Green Revolution was pertinent for a country with perennial food crisis and population
explosion.

Green Revolution led to the removal of hunger and famine.

Green Revolution gave rise to capitalistic farming practices in India.

Surplus was generated in agriculture which led to its commercialization.

Green Revolution led to the development of rural infrastructure which was a pre
condition to Green Revolution.

Green Revolution made India self – sufficient in food grains.

Financial burden due to agriculture imports were reduced which could now be
channelized into various poverty alleviation program e.g. Backwards Area Development
Programme, IRDP, Tribal Area Development Program etc.

Increase in wage rate led to availability of cash money to the farmers.

Development of agro-processing industries, food-processing industries led to
industrialisation of tier – II/III towns. It led to higher rate of urbanisation.

Population increase during 60’s – 80’s required higher food supply, which was only
possible by Green Revolution. The population increase from 33 crores to 66 crores
within a gap of 25 yrs.

Green Revolution led to the mechanisation of agriculture.

Land reforms, consolidation of land holding etc. was done in Green Revolution areas.

Forward and backward linkages of agriculture with industries got strengthened.
Forward linkages mean supply of raw material to industry. Backward linkage refers to
demand of raw material from industry.
Repercussions of Green Revolution:

Vandana Shiva, an environmentalist, has commented that Green Revolution remained
area specific and crop specific culminating in regional disparities which has led to the
increase in ethnic regionalism and consciousness.

Sudhir Sen has said that Green Revolution is not a misnomer, it is a reality. The economic
advantages are perceptible but the social disadvantages have been far more
accentuated than the former. Capitalistic Farming led to the selling of land by marginal
farmers to large farmers who offered high prices and thus marginal farmers became
labourers.

Vandana Shiva proposed an arithmetic equation to show that similar benefits of Green
Revolution could have been achieved if all states of India had increased their prod by
20%.

The environment, ecology, soil, land, water of North-western India has been
negatively affected by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides etc. Thus, Green
Revolution was neither futuristic nor visionary and was unsustainable.
o
o
o
Economic Repercussions:

Inter – personal disparity emerged which led to differences between
people due to difference in earning at different places.

Inter – regional disparity emerged due to difference in crop production
e.g. West UP vs. East UP.

Inter – state disparity emerged, for e.g. in 1960 Punjab and Bihar, both
states contributed same in terms of crop production but due to Green
Revolution there became a huge gap in crop production between the two
states by 1990.

Due to increase in informal credit services labours and cultivators got
into the vicious cycle of debt – trap.
Social Repercussions:

Increased rural landlessness, smaller marginal farmers were rendered
landless and became agricultural labourers which led to rural
handicapness and health hazards.

Greater unemployment due to mechanisation.

Patriarchy was strengthened, female discrimination, female foeticide,
dowry increased.
Ecological Repercussions:

Soil degradation due to unscientific methods of farming led to
salinization, alkalisation, formation of reh, Kallar etc.

Excessive use of irrigation has led to the issue of water logging in Green
Revolution areas.

Green Revolution led Toxication of soil from unwanted chemicals due to
excessive use of fertilizers.

Green Revolution led to the increase in water pollution degrading the
quality of water in rivers, tanks and reservoirs.

Eutrophication – It is the enrichment of one element or nutrient resulting
in boom of certain species specific plants. E.g. The excessive nitrogen in
tanks and ponds leading to boom of water – hyacinth. Due to
eutrophication, natural ecosystems die, for e.g. – the excessive growth of
water hyacinth plant kills the pond ecosystem since sun rays, oxygenation
become less in lower water layers.

Green Revolution led to the large scale deforestation especially in Punjab,
Tarai and Bhabhar regions where forests were cleared for agricultural
purposes.

Green Revolution also led to the disruption in agricultural ecology by
crop monoculture, (E.g. due to crop monoculture of wheat, many people
say India has only wheat revolution), use of pesticides, fertilizers,
weedicides.
Conclusion

Green Revolution was directed towards food sufficiency for the country. The goal has
been achieved. Thus it requires sustainable agricultural pattern.

Also, much wider area could be brought under the Green Revolution and instead of
Green Revolution it can be transformed into evergreen Revolution.
White Revolution

The package programme adopted to increase the production of milk is known as
White Revolution in India, also known as Operation Flood.

The White Revolution in India occurred in 1970, when the National Dairy Development
Board (NDDB) was established to organize dairy development through cooperative
societies. Prof. Verghese Kuerin was the father of white Revolution in India.

The dairy development programme through cooperative societies was first established
in the state of Gujarat. The cooperative societies were most successful in the Anand
District of Gujarat. The cooperative societies are owned and managed by the milk
producers.

These cooperatives apart from financial help also provide consultancy. The increase in
milk production has also been termed as operation Flood. Varghese Kurien (1921 –
2012) who is considered as the ‘Father of White Revolution in India’ was one of the
world’s great agricultural leaders of the 20th century.
Objectives

The main objectives of the cooperative society are the procurement, transportation,
storage of milk at the chilling plants.

To provide cattle feed.

The production of wide varieties of milk products and their marketing management.

The societies also provide superior breeds of cattle (cows and buffaloes), health
services, veterinary, and artificial insemination facilities.

To provide extension service.

The technology of the White Revolution is based on an extensive system of
cooperative societies.

Milk after being collected at a village collection centre, is promptly transported to the
dairy plant at the milk chilling centre.

Timing of collection is maintained by the village society, truck operators, and the quick
transport to the dairy plants.

The chilling centres are managed by producer’s cooperative unions to facilitate the
collection of milk from producers who live at some distance from the chilling centres
and thus, the middlemen are eliminated.
Phases of the White Revolution

The white Revolution may be examined under the following three phases:
o
Phase I (1970 – 81)

o
During this period, the Dairy Development Programme was set up in ten
states to provide milk to the cosmopolitan cities, i.e. Mumbai, Kolkata,
Delhi, and Chennai.
Phase II (1981 – 85)

During this phase, the dairy development programme was extended in the
states of Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In this phase, within
25 contiguous milk shed areas [in 155 districts] a cluster of milk
producers’ union was established. The Research Institute at Hyderabad
developed a vaccine called ‘Raksha’ to control cattle diseases. The
programme also involved the improvement in milk marketing in 144 more
cities of the country. The Dairy Cooperative societies were set up in 35000
villages and the membership exceeded 36 lakhs.
o
Phase III (1985 – 2000)

A number of cooperative societies were set up in most of the major states
of the country and the number of cooperatives went up by 1,35,439 with a
membership of 14 million. The following table 9.16 shows the spurt in milk
production in India.
The Phenomenal Increase in Milk Production in India – 1950–51 to 2005–06
Achievement

White Revolution is as important to dairy development as Green Revolution has been to
grain production. Its outcome is based on the improvement in cattle breeding and the
adoption of new technology.

Today, India has earned the first position in milk production in the world.

Some of the important achievements of the White Revolution are as under:
o
The White Revolution made a sound impact on rural masses and encouraged
them to take up dairying as a subsidiary occupation.
o
India has become the leading producer of milk in the world. The milk
production that was about 17 million tonnes in 1950-51 rose to over 112 million
tonnes in 2009-10. The production of milk has gone up by more than six times
when compared with that of the Pre–Independence situation.
o
The per capita availability of milk per day at present is about 263 gm as against
125 grams before the white Revolution.
o
The import of milk and milk production has been reduced substantially.

White Revolution is as important to dairy development as Green Revolution has been
to gram production. Its outcome is based on the improvement in cattle breeding and
the adoption of new technology.

Today, India has earned the first position in milk production in the world.

The small and marginal farmers and the landless labourers have been especially
benefitted from the White Revolution. About 14 million farmers have been brought
under the ambit of 1,35,439 village-level dairy cooperative societies.

To ensure the success of the Operation Flood Program, research centres have been set
up at Anand, Mehsana, and Palanpur (Banaskantha). Moreover, three regional centres are
functioning at Siliguri, Jalandhar, and Erode.

Livestock Insurance Scheme was approved in February 2006 and in 2006-07 on a pilot
basis in 100 selected districts across the country. The scheme aims at protecting the
farmers against losses due to the untimely death of animals.

To improve the quality of livestock, extensive cross-breeding has been launched.

For ensuring the maintenance of disease-free status, major health schemes have been
initiated.

The government implemented livestock insurance on a pilot basis in 2005-06.
Problems And Prospects

Some of the important problems of the ‘white Revolution is as under.
o
Collection of milk from remote areas is expensive, time-consuming, and not
viable economically.
o
In most of the villages, the cattle are kept under unhygienic conditions.
o
There are inadequate marketing facilities. The marketing infrastructure needs
much improvement.
o
The breeds of cattle are generally inferior.
o
The extension service programme is not effective.
Agriculture Regionalisation

Region is one of the basic concepts of geography. It has been defined differently by
different geographers. A widely accepted definition of region is “an area that is different
from other areas according to the specific criteria”. For example if we take crop as
differentiating criteria then tea growing region will be different from wheat growing
region.

Region has also been defined as a differentiated segment of the earth surface
(Whittlesey, 1929).

Agricultural regionalization has attracted the attention of many scholars in the field of
agricultural geography. The concept of regionalization is the process of dividing an area
into territorial units of complexes of uniformities which is the result of a set of
processes.

Regionalization in agricultural geography is not simply an operation of dividing the
country or a region into a number of territorial units but it is also method of
understanding the agricultural pattern.
Delimitation of Agricultural Regions (Techniques)
Since the boundaries of agricultural regions are transitional and not sharply dividing lines, their
precise delimitation is a difficult task. The main techniques used by geographers for the
delimitation of agricultural regions are.
1. Empirical technique.
2. Single element technique.
3. Multi-element (statistical) technique.
4. Quantitative-cum-qualitative technique and
1. Empirical Technique

Empirical technique is largely based on the experience of the farmers and the observed
facts. Baker was the first geographer who adopted the empirical technique and
demarcated the agricultural belts of USA.

The Cotton belt, the Corn Belt, and the Wheat Belt of USA were demarcated on the basis
of observed data. The areas in which corn was having the dominance were marked as
Corn Belt.

This technique gives a generalized picture of the cropping pattern and has the tendency
of overgeneralization.

The technique has, however, been criticized as it is less objective and relatively
unscientific.
2. Single Element Technique

This is an arbitrary technique in which the single element of agricultural landscape is
taken into consideration.

In this technique the relative position of different agricultural enterprises is taken into
consideration. The demarcation of rice, wheat and bajra regions of India on the basis of
first ranking crops (dominant crop) is an illustration of this technique.

The main weakness of this technique is that it conceals (ignores) the position and
importance of other crops grown in the region. In other words, it leads to
overgeneralization. The demarcation of Punjab as a wheat region and western Uttar
Pradesh as sugarcane belt conceals the importance of rice and other cash crops which
are also grown in these areas.

Thus, this technique describes the agricultural situation inadequately as crops are
generally not grown in isolation. A combinational analysis of crops is more important
than the single crop/enterprise region.
3. Multi-Element Or Statistical Technique

The multi-element technique is an improvement over the empirical and single element
techniques of agricultural regionalization.

In this statistical technique, combination of the closely associated features is taken into
consideration. The crop combination and livestock regions as demarcated by Weaver,
Doi and Coppock are the example of this methodology.

The main advantage of multi-element technique is that it is free from biasness and does
not conceal the various agricultural phenomena which may be significant in the decision
making process of the farmers.

In the absence of reliable data this technique may not depict the ground reality of
agricultural landscape of a region.
4. Quantitative-Cum-Qualitative Technique

For the demarcation of agricultural regions, when the physical (terrain, slope,
temperature, rainfall, soil, etc.), social (land tenancy, size of holdings and fields, religion,
customs, etc.) and economic factors (capital investment, marketing, storage, etc.) are
taken into consideration, such a technique is known as a quantitative-cum-qualitative
technique of agricultural regionalization. An agricultural region, generally, is an area
having homogeneity of crops and livestock. This technique has been applied by Baker
(1926), Whittlesey (1936) and Carol (1952).

The 14 main factors which should be taken into consideration for the demarcation of
agricultural regions include six physical, viz.., relief, climate, water, soil, subsoil and
natural vegetation; two cultural, viz.., cultural vegetation and cultural structures; and six
functional, viz.., rural population, cultural and technological stage, farming operation,
organization for providing the rural population with economic and cultural goods, and
commerce.

The non-availability of reliable data on the various facet of agriculture over the greater
parts of the earth is the major constraint in the application of multi-facet technique for
agricultural regionalization. Despite several limitations the qualitative-cum-qualitative
technique has been adopted by geographers for the delimitation of agricultural region
at the macro, meso and micro levels.

The agricultural geographers have, however, could not develop a agricultural
regionalization which may be universally accepted and which may help in understanding
the agricultural at the local, regional, national and international levels.

The major classification of Indian agricultural regions are based on topography, soil,
climatic conditions, land use pattern, water supply, farming practices, crop combination
and agricultural productivity. Agro-economic factors are also taken into consideration
for classification of agricultural regions.

In India, various attempts have been made from time to time for agricultural
regionalization of the country.
Randhawa’s Agricultural Regions
The great and well-known agricultural scientist Dr. M.S. Randhawa has divided India into five
main agricultural regions on the basis of climate, crops and livestock animals etc. These
regions are –
1. The Temperate Himalayas Region.
2. The Dry Northern Wheat Region.
3. The Eastern rice Region.
4. The Malabar Coconut (Western West) Region.
5. The Southern Millet (Medium Rainfall) Region.
1. The Temperate Himalayan Region

The Temperate Himalayan region includes the states of Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal
Pradesh, and Uttarakhand in the West, and Arunachal Pradesh and Upper Assam in the
east.

It has two sub-divisions:
o
The eastern part comprising of Arunachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Nagaland, Tripura
and Upper Assam records heavy rainfall and are covered with thick forests. Here
rice and tea are dominant crops.
o
The western temperate Himalayan region consists of Jammu Kashmir,
Himanchal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, this region is characterized by Horticulture
(apple, cherries, pears, peach, almond, apricot and walnut). Other crops grown are
maize, rice, wheat and potatoes.
2. The Northern Dry (Wheat) Region

This region stretches over Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, north-west Madhya
Pradesh, and irrigated part of Rajasthan.

Average annual rainfall in this area is less than 75 cm. Parts of it are adequately irrigated
by canals and tube wells.

The main crops of this region are wheat, maize, cotton, mustard, gram, rice sugarcane
and millets.
3. The Eastern Wet (Rice) Region

It includes the greater parts of the states of Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, West
Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, eastern Uttar Pradesh, Orissa and coastal
Andhra Pradesh.

This region records more than 150 cm rainfall. Rice, jute, pulses, oil seeds, tea, and sugar
cane are the main crops of this region.
4. The Western Wet (Malabar) Region

The region stretches over from Maharashtra to Kerala. The average annual rainfall in
this region is over 200 cm.

Rice is the main food crop although coconut and plantation crops (rubber, coffee, spices,
cashew nut etc) are also the main crops.
5. The Southern Coarse( Cereals) Region

This agriculture region sprawls over Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Southern Uttar Pradesh
(Bundelkhand), eastern Maharashtra, western Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and western
Tamil Nadu. These are records rainfall between 50 to 100 cm.

Millets, Bajra, cotton, groundnut, oilseeds and pulses are the main crops.
P Sengupta Agricultural Regionalisation
In 1968 P Sengupta has outlined four agricultural zones or Macro-Agricultural regions, eleven
Meso-regions and sixty Micro-regions in Economic Regionalization of India. The Macro-regions
are:
1. Himalaya’s Agricultural Zone
2. Dry Agricultural Zone
3. Sub Humid Agricultural Zone
4. Wet Agricultural Zone
The three zones are based on rainfall distribution except the Himalayan zone.
1. The Himalaya’s Agricultural Zone

In this zone, the annual rainfall varies from 120 cm to 250 cm. It covers Jammu and
Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Kumaon Himalaya, and its foothills, Darjeeling, Assam
Himalayas, etc.

As the region is mountainous, the area is considered a negative area from point of view
of cultivation and settlement.
2. The Dry Agricultural Zone

Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan desert plain, western Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat are the areas
which are dry and where average rainfall is about 75 cm a year.

The area suffers from an acute shortage of water. Millets, wheat, oilseeds, cotton and
groundnut are the main crops that are grown with the help of good irrigation facilities.
3. The Sub Humid Agricultural Zone

This zone embraces a vast stretch of land in peninsular India from Bundelkhand plateau
through the heart of lava plateaus down to the eastern coastal region. The annual rainfall
in the region varies between 75 to 100 cm.

The proportion of cultivated region reaches a high figure whenever water is available for
irrigation.

The most intensively cultivated areas are the Ganga plains and the eastern coast delta,
where proportion of cultivated land to the areas comes to about 70 percent.

Wheat, sugarcane, rice, gram, maize, millets, cotton, groundnut, oilseeds and tobacco
are the main crops.
4. The Wet Agricultural Zone

The zone comprises of north-eastern plateaus viz. Chotanagpur, Orissa, Bastar Plateau,
central parts of Madhya Pradesh, Upper Mahanadi basin and Kaimur hills, and the
eastern hills and plateaus.

The annual rainfall varies from 100 to 125 cm.

The important crops grown are rice, tea, jute oilseed, gram, millets, wheat, sugarcane,
banana, coconut, etc.
Icar’s Classification Of Agricultural Regionalization
The scheme suggested by Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) is simple and
comprehensive.
It is based on the predominance of crops and crop associations. Accordingly, India can be
divided into the following agricultural regions:
1. Rice-Jute-Tea Region

This vast region includes lowlands, valleys and river deltas in state of Assam, Arunachal
Pradesh, Tripura, Meghalaya, West Bengal and Orissa, northern and eastern Bihar, parts
of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh and Tarai region of Uttar Pradesh.

The rainfall varies from 180 to 250 cm.

Rice is the predominant crop due to fertile alluvial soil, abundant rainfall, and high
summer temperatures.

Jute is mainly grown in the Hugli basin of West Bengal but some areas have been brought
under jute cultivation in the Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Orissa, and Tarai region of U.P.
Tea is mainly grown in Assam, Darjeeling, and Jalpaiguri areas of West Bengal, and
Tripura. Sugarcane and tobacco are grown in Bihar.

Coconut is grown in coastal areas. Mango, pineapple, betel leaves, bananas, jack fruits,
and oranges are also the main horticulture crops.
2. Wheat And Sugarcane Region

This region comprises of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana, western Madhya
Pradesh, and northeastern Rajasthan.

Most of the areas have rich fertile alluvial soil with some parts having black and red soil.
Rainfall is moderate, a large part of which is caused by the south-west monsoon in
summer.

Winter rainfall is caused by western disturbances in winter. Irrigation is a vital input in
drier areas. As the name indicates the region is dominated by wheat and sugarcane
cultivation.

The main wheat belt of India extends over Punjab, Haryana, Ganga Yamuna doab of
Uttar Pradesh, and north-eastern Rajasthan. Sugar cane is mainly grown in Uttar
Pradesh and contiguous parts of Bihar.

Rice, pulse, and maize are other important crops.
3. Cotton Region

It spread over the Regur or Black cotton soil area of the Deccan plateau, where the
rainfall varies from 75 to 100 cm.

Cotton is the main crop but Jowar, Bajra, Gram, Sugarcane, Wheat, etc are also grown.
4. Maize And Coarse Crops Region

Western Rajasthan and northern Gujarat are included in this region. The rainfall is
scanty and normally below 50 cm.

Agriculture is possible only with the help of irrigation. Maize is mainly frowned in the
Mewar plateau where wheat and ragi are also produced.

In the southern part rice, cotton and sugarcane are grown. Bajra and pulses are grown
throughout the region.
5. Millet And Oilseeds Region

This area includes the area of poor soils and broken topography in the Karnataka
plateau, parts of Tamil Nadu, southern Andhra Pradesh, and eastern Kerala. The rainfall
varies from 75 to 125 cm.

The millets include Bajra, jowar and ragi while oilseeds grown are groundnut and caster.
Pulses are also grown. Mangoes and bananas are important fruit crops.
6. Fruits And Vegetable Regions

This region extends from Kashmir Valley in west to Assam in the east. The rainfall varies
from 50 cm in west to 200 cm in east.

Apple, peach, cherries, plum, apricot are grown in the west while oranges are important
in the east. Besides rice, maize, ragi, potatoes, chillies and vegetables are also grown.
Land Capability

Land capability survey was devised by the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial
research Organisation (CSIRO) for demarcation of land capability regions of Australia.
Subsequently the capability survey was widely applied in European and AngloAmerican
countries and in some of the Third World Countries.

Land capability may be defined as the ability of the land surface to support natural plant
growth/ wildlife habitat or artificial crop growth/ human habitat. Thus, it indicates
the type of land use [viz., human habitation, agriculture, pastures, forests, wildlife
habitat, etc.] that is suitable over a particular type of land.

Land capability survey helps in ascertaining the usefulness of land, its utility for
agriculture, forest, industry, tourism, and other land use purpose.

For the delineation of land capability regions, only physical parameters are taken into
consideration. The demarcation of these regions in fact is on the basis of texture,
structure of soil, terrain, slope, run-off, temperature, and precipitation. Thus, in the
land capability survey, there is a heavy reliance on the results of soil survey in
pedological conditions.

In general each soil group has its own physical and chemical properties. These properties
determine the land capability and land suitability. For example, the regur soil is good
for the cultivation of cotton, sugarcane and citrus fruits, while the alluvial soil is utilised
for wheat, rice, maize, sugarcane, pulses, and oilseeds.

In India, the basic objective of the soil survey was to achieve the land capability
classification. The All India Soil and land Use Survey Organization attempted the land
capability survey in 1960 which identified eight land use capability classes.
Land Suitable For Cultivation

Class I: Very good arable land with no specific difficulty in farming. It is nearly levelled,
well drained, easily worked soil. These soils are very productive.

Class II: Good cultivation land which needs protection from erosion or floods,
drainage improvement and conservation of irrigation water, intensive drainage, and
protection from floods.

Class III: Moderately good cultivation land where special attention has to be paid to
erosion control, conservation of irrigation water, intensive drainage, and protection from
floods.

Class IV: Fairly goof land suited for occasional and limited cultivation. It needs
intensive erosion control, intensive drainage and very intensive treatment to overcome
the soil limitations.
Land Not Suitable For Cultivation

Class V: Very well suited for grazing and forestry but not for cultivation of crops. It
has very good carrying capacity of livestock but needs protection from gullying.

Class VI: Well suited for grazing and forestry but not for cultivation of crops. It has
moderately carrying capacity of livestock. This land has steep slope, severe erosion, and
stoniness, poor moisture retaining capacity, salinity and severe climate.

Class VII: Fairly well suited for grazing or forestry with little carrying capacity of
livestock.

Class VIII: Suited only for wildlife. This land has severe climate, wet soil, stones,
badlands, sandy beaches, marshes, deserts, and nearly barren lands.
Significance Of Land Capability Classification In Landuse Planning

The land capability classification determines the use ceiling for any piece of land and
helps to define the conservation problems and possible treatments. Keeping this in
mind, a piece of land can be put to the most efficient land use. For instance, all
agricultural activity must be confined to classes I to IV and others, such as pasturelands,
energy plantation, buildings, roads, etc., to classes V to VIII. Within this scheme, one can
select the most suitable crop for a particular piece of land.

The land capability classes can change towards better classes, if the existing
limitations can be permanently removed or reduced in extent by economically feasible
reclamation measures, such as providing irrigation, providing proper drainage,
constructing flood-control measures or stabilising, gullies. A further deterioration of
existing conditions can, on the other hand, shift the capability to poorer classes.
Crop Combination

Crop combination refers to the aggregate of various crops grown/cultivated in an area
at a given point of time.

Crop combination is the analysis of the total percentage acreage area occupied by
different crops in a given region in an agricultural year.

The study of crop combinations constitutes an important aspect of agriculture.

It provides a good basis for agricultural regionalization and helps in the formulation of
strategy for agricultural development.

Crops are generally grown in combinations and it is rarely that a particular crop occupies
a position of total isolation.

The distribution maps of crops and their concentration are interesting and help in
knowing the density and concentration of individual crops, but it is even more important
to view the integrated assemblage of the various crops in a region.

For example, the demarcation of India into rice or wheat region does not explain the
agriculturally significant fact that very often the wheat/rice region also has mustard,
gram, pulses, and maize.
Calculation Of Crop Combination

For a comprehensive and clear understanding of the agricultural mosaic of a region, a
systemic study of the crop combinations has great planning significance. The methods
applied for the demarcation of crop combination regions may be summed up under two
categories:
1. The arbitrary choice method
2. The statistical method
The Arbitrary Choice Method

In the arbitrary choice method, the first two or the first three crops in the area are
included and the rest of the crops are excluded from the combination. This is an
unscientific method as the crops are excluded from the combination without any
consideration of their percentage area and their monetary value.
The Statistical Method

This method being based on the statistical formula is more scientific and reliable for
the objective grouping of crops.

In the field of agricultural geography, Weaver (1954) was the first to use the statistical
techniques for the demarcation of crop combination regions of the Middle West (USA).

In his attempt to demarcate the agricultural regions of the Middle West (USA), Weaver
based his analysis on acreage statistics.

Weaver computed the percentage of total harvested cropland occupied by each crop that
held as much as one percent of the total cultivated land in each of the 1081 counties
covered in his research work.

He devised a rigorous approach that would provide an objective, constant, and precisely
repeatable procedure and would yield comparable results for different years and
localities.

In his work, Weaver calculated deviation of the real percentages of crops (occupying
one percent of the cropped area) for all the possible combinations in the component
areal units against a theoretical curve for the standard measurement was employed as
follows:

For the determination of the minimum deviation the standard deviation method was
used:

Where‘d’ is the difference between the actual crop percentage in a given country (areal
unit) and the appropriate percentage in the theoretical curve and ‘n’ is the number of
crops in a given combination.

As Weaver pointed out, the relative, not absolute, the value being significant, square
roots were not extracted; so the actual formula used was as follows:

To illustrate Weaver’s technique an illustration can be given from the Gorakhpur
district where the percentage share of crops in the total harvested area in a year was
as follows: rice-48 percent, wheat-23 percent, barley-15 percent, sugarcane- 6 percent,
and pulses-5 percent.

The deviation of the actual percentage from the theoretical curve is seen to be the
lowest for a 3-crop combination. This result established the identity and the number
of crops in the basic combination for the district of Gorakhpur as rice-wheat and barley.

Weaver’s technique when applied at the district level for the data of 2003-06 gives the
following eight-crop combinations to India.

An examination shows that the lower Brahmaputra Valley, West Bengal, Odisha, and
coastal Andhra Pradesh has the monoculture of rice while in Western Rajasthan, Bajra
is the dominant crop.

In Punjab and Haryana rice and wheat enter into the combination and in western Uttar
Pradesh wheat, rice, and sugarcane constitute the combination.

In the remaining parts of the country, crop combinations vary between four to eight.
In these combinations, wheat, rice, maize, gram, barley, ragi, pulses, oilseeds, cotton,
sugarcane, bajra, and millets from different crop associations.

Weaver’s method has admirably been accepted and applied for the demarcation of
crop combination regions as its application results into the suitable and accurate
grouping of crops. The technique, however, gives the most unwieldy combinations for
the units of high crop diversification. This method, however, suffers from the setback
of laborious calculations.
Crop Combination Regions in India

The method of least squares used by J.T. Coppock in 1964 has been employed in
ascertaining the crop combination regions.

There are 11 first ranking crops occupying areas large enough to merit-separate
treatment; i.e. rice, wheat, jowar, maize, bajra, ragi, gram, pulse, sugarcane, cotton,
oilseed.

The first ranking crops are those crops that occupy the highest percentage of the
cropped areas in the component areal unit.

Thus India has been divided into 11 crop zones or regions of the first order. The crop
zones thus derived have been sub-divided into dominant crop combination regions; to
bring out the agricultural land use of the transitional areas in a more meaningful way.