agriculture and types of farming

agriculture and types of  farming

agriculture refer to the process of preparing the man for the cultivation of crops and to the rearing of a livestock agriculture also called farming is a one of the oldest occupation known to human.  it is the primary activity nearly 50% of the people of the world are engaged in farm agriculture. in India 2/3 of the people depend on agriculture directly or indirectly for their livelihood.

 factor influence the agriculture

agriculture development depends on different factors such as soil,climate, irrigation,size of land holding and techniques and methods of farming.

climate: climate controls the pattern of agriculture Around The World.  the temperature and the amount of rainfall place gets are important determining factors. for certain crop need hot and wet climate to grow like rice, while some of grow in dryer cooler climate like wheat. 

soil: the kind of soil found in a place affect the kind of a crop grow there . clayey soils retain water, which is suitable for a crop like rice and cotton.  fertile  Alluvial soil is ideal for agriculture and supports most of a kind of Crops. riverbank which have deposit of Alluvial soil therefore are the most heavily cultivated area Around The World. sandy soil which allow water to seep through rapidly are more suited to grow crop like groundnut and jowar and soya beans.

relief:  flat land like plains,valley, the flat top of the plateau And The Delta are better suited for farming than mountain .  the hilly areas are more situated for cattle rearing and for crop which needed well drained soil like tea and coffee.

 other factor: other factor like availability of irrigation facilities, size of  land holding, transport facility, nearest of market, availability of loan etc., also influence the nature of agriculture practiced in area.

 farm system

 agriculture is a productive system by itself. what are the input for agricultural development? what are the output?  there are several important activities which farmer has to do to harvest a good crop. he has to plough the field, sow  the Seeds,irrigate the land, apply for fertilizers,guard the crop from pest,weed out unwanted plants, harvest, store, and then transport the crops to the market for selling.

 types of farming

 the type of farming practice in a particular place is influence as you have seen by various factors. the different kind of farming practice around the world can be broadly group as follows:

 Nomadic farming

 Nomadic farming refer to the practice of farming in which herdmen move from one place to another, with their families and their livestock, in search of pastures,fodder and water. camels, sheeps and goats are the animals that are most commonly reared by nomads.  the animal provide Milk, meat,wool,hides and other animal products.

 Nomadic herding is practised in the area and the semi-arid region of the Sahara, Central Asia and some part of the India like Rajasthan, Jammu and Kashmir.

 shifting cultivation

 In shifting cultivation a small area of a forest is cleared by cutting down all the trees and the area is Burned. the Ashes are mixed with the soil to make it more fertile and this land is used for growing crops. shifting cultivation is practised mainly in the thick forest of North-East India, South-East Asia, and the Amazon basin. shifting agriculture is known different in different places- jhumming in the north-eastern state of India, roca in Brazil in South Africa, milpa  in the Mexico and the Central America. 

 subsistence farming 

 subsistence farming is carried out by a farmer to satisfy the need of his family alone. there is nothing left over for sale. they use primitive method and archaic technology in the field and do not use hired labour . only the number of the farmer's household work on the field. 

 subsistence farming and classified into 

(a) intensive subsistence agriculture

(b) primitive subsistence agriculture 

intensive subsistence agriculture  is the type of farming where farmers cultivate small lot of a land using a simple tools and  large amount of a labour. they  practices intensive method of a cultivation, like using manure and artificial irrigation and better quality seed to get maximum yield from the land it is usually possible to grow more than one crop in the same plot.

 intensive subsistence agriculture is practiced in the densely populated region of monsoon asia, South Asia, east asia. rice is the chief crops grow here. wheat, Maize ,pulses  and oil seeds are  some other crops grown here.

 in primitive subsistence agriculture farmer also practiced herding to meet a person needs. it enable a farmer get an additional income to  needs.

 commercial farming 

In commercial farming the farmers cultivate crops and rears animals for commercial purpose, for selling. the main motive of the farmer here is making profit. most of the work is done by the machine and the area under cultivation and as well as capital involved, are huge. commercial farming include commercial grain farming, plantation and mixed farming.

 crop like wheat and Maize grown on a large scale under commercial grain farming or extensive farming. important regions where commercial grain farming is prevalent are the temperate grassland of North America, Mexico, Europe and eurasia.   these farm are huge,spread over hundred of hectares and are thinly populated. massive machine like seed drillers, combine harvester and the Threshers are used. however due to the severity of winter only one crop can be harvested during summers.

 plantation agriculture was introduced by the European in their colonies situated in the tropical regions. under this type of cultivation, vast lands are brought under a single crop. large amount of capital, cheap but skilled labour, scientific techniques, efficient transport Network, and the managerial and marketing skill are employed.

 the farm produce is either process that in their factories or sold as a raw material to the other industry. some of the farm produce is exported too.

 major plantation found in the tropical regions are rubber plantation in a West Malaysia, coffee in brazil, and  tea in India and Sri Lanka.

 mixed farming  refers to the cultivation of a food crop, fodder crop and the rearing of livestock at the same time on the same land. the combination of different in primary activities here is complementary to each other and add to the farmer's  profitability.

 it is practiced in Europe, Eastern USA, Argentina, south-east Australia, New Zealand, West Africa and South Africa.

sheep

 ranching refers to  raising livestock for meat or wool on privately owned land, along with the use of some public land. the practice is common in Australia, Western USA and Tibet. in India ranching is a prevalent to some extent in the hilly region that are rich in pastures.