SUBJECT: GEOGRAPHY

CLASS: X

TOPIC: AGRICULTURE (Types of Farming)

Welcome to the class dear students. Children today we begin with the 4th chapter of your
Geography which is agriculture. Now children I don't have to introduce the topic to you
because obviously you know that agriculture is the most important activity which is being
conducted in the country. Now children as you must be aware that two third of the population
of the country is engaged in this primary activity which is known as agriculture. So firstly who
will tell me what is agriculture in your own words? You don't have to give a bookish definition
you can simply tell me what is the meaning of the term agriculture.

Student: Ma’am, it is the primary activity that produces food crops.

Teacher: Ok Deepansh, it is the primary activity which is producing food so what is

Now children what kind of raw material are we getting from agriculture for the industry?
Anybody? Anybody wants to try?

Student: Cotton.

Teacher: Ok very good Geeta, Cotton we are getting for the cotton textile industry so
children you have learnt that agriculture is not only giving us food crops but it is also giving
us raw material for the industry ok. Industry would not be able to survive if Agriculture
Products were not present. Now children we will come on to the different types of farming
systems which are present, now when you look at this picture given over here you can see
that basically there are two types of farming system or types of farming which are present
one is your subsistence farming and the other is your commercial farming, ok children. Now
subsistence farming as the word will suggest shows that we are using very primitive old
techniques of farming in which a lot of utilisation of human labour is present, ok children.
Then in commercial type of farming what is present is that a lot of machinery is being utilised
as well as a lot of money that is capital is being utilised so this is broadly the difference
between the two types of farming systems one is subsistence farming and the other is
commercial farming ok children. Now today in detail we will be studying about this
subsistence farming. You can see that the subsistence farming is having intensive farming
and then you are having the primitive farming, the two types. Intensive farming children
intensive farming will cover all the major areas of the country where small farmers are tilling
land and they are trying to produce as much as they can that is a lot of human labour is
being required, a lot of techniques are being, indigenous techniques are being utilised and a
few fertilizers and seeds are also being utilised ok children then secondly we have in
subsistence farming is you can see in this figure over here there is primitive farming now in
the category of primitive farming you have shifting cultivation and the nomadic cultivation ok
children. Now shifting cultivation as the word suggest, as we have learn in previous classes
also that shifting cultivation would be something which would be having things like slash and
Burn cultivation in which a small piece of land is clear for cultivation and then it is used for 1
or 2 years by the primitive communities living over there and then the communities move on
to the next area after the fertility of the land has gone, ok children. So this is basically what is
shifting cultivation and Nomadic herding as you know that along with little agriculture which
is practice, cattle is also being read by the farmers this is also being practiced by the
primitive tribal groups of the country. So children again when we look back at this table over
here you can see that there are basically in subsistence farming you have two categories
intensive subsistence farming in primitive subsistence farming ok. Now primitive farming you
please have to remember that there are two types slash and burn or shifting cultivation and
nomadic herding. So this is basically all that you have to remember by heart because then
you are aware of the categories you will be able to explain further what we mean by all of
this ok children then when you look at the other part of the table which is showing you the
commercial farming part you can see that it is again subdivided into commercial grain
farming, then you have mixed farming and then you have the plantation agriculture, ok
children there are three parts in which Commercial farming is divided into. We will be
learning about commercial farming a little later in this chapter. In today’s part of the module
we will be studying about subsistence farming, about these two techniques intensive
subsistence farming and primitive subsistence farming ok children. Now I hope this is clear
to you the two different types of subsistence farming ok. So can we move on? Ok children.
First we move on to a Primitive Subsistence Farming, now children as I told you already that
majority of the farmers in our country that is generally poor farmers in the country who are
having small land Holdings are practicing this sought of primitive subsistence farming, in
which what they do is they till the land, sow the seeds and then harvest the crop using a little
bit of fertilizers and a few HYV seeds etc., that is hybrid seeds etc. as much as they are, they
can afford ok, this technique is generally being followed by poor and mediocre level farmers
it is generally not being practiced by very highly developed or very rich farmers in the
countries so generally what is seen is that mediocre techniques are being utilised and a little
bit of fertilizers are utilised as much as the capacity of a particular farmer can go, ok children
so you have to remember that these are certain factors which if you get a short note on
primitive subsistence farming you should mention these points that they are majorly being
practiced in the Northern states of India or even the southern States where farmers are not
very rich is a one very important point. The technology there that they are using is not very
high a very medium level technology they are using, they are also using a few HYD seeds
and a little bit of fertilizers are being utilised ok children so these points have to be very clear
in your mind then you have to remember that this type of agriculture is generally practiced in
a family that is family members of the one family will want to practice this sort of agriculture
ok children so can you name any state of India which is practicing this sort of subsistence
farming, Mukesh?

Mukesh: Ma’am, Uttar Pradesh.

Teacher: Ok, good mukesh, that's good.

Uttar Pradesh is having this type of farming system which it is practicing, ok children. Now so
I hope you have understood this type of farming system in which not too much machines are
being utilized, not too much technology is being utilized, human labour is the major force, ok
children. Now we are coming onto the next type which is the primitive subsistence
agriculture, now when we come to primitive subsistence agriculture as I have discussed in
the previous part of the chapter also that it is generally being practiced by the scheduled
tribes of the far flung areas of the country, now children generally when we talk about
Scheduled Tribes we can understand that they are generally most of the time found the
North Eastern part, a few portions of Jharkhand, Orissa and a few Southern States also, so
you have to remember that this type of farming system is being practiced in those areas in
particular ok. When we look at the North Eastern states in particular what the tribal they are
doing over there is as I had explain previously also I will repeat once again that they will take
a small patch of land, ok children. They will farm, they will utilise it, they will cut the crops,
then when they see that they have you used for 1 or 2 years consecutive years when they
see that the production is not so high that is the productivity of the land has declined then
they will what they will do his cut down whatever trees are present over there and burn the
area and let the Ash go deep into the soil so that the productivity or fertility of the soil can be
regained by natural methods and then the leave that land that patch of land for 3, 4, 5, 6
years so that the fertility can come back and then they come back to that particular land ok
children. So this is what they are doing but this technique although is quite good and is
primitive in nature but this is harming a lot of land why because there is a lot of land wastage
which is practised, now obviously children you can see that one family is tilling a land, after 2
years they leave abandoned that land and for 5-6 years that land is vacant ok. Then they will
move to another adjoining land then they will again till that land, again harvest the crop and
again leave it for 5-6 years so that ways a lot land is being wasted, a lot of resources are
being wasted so although it is an eco-friendly technique which is not harming too much of
nature but because of the growing numbers of population it has a few disadvantages ok
because all the land is not being cultivated at the same time so you have to remember this
and that is why the name is given as slash and burn cultivation so children I hope you
understood why this is known as slash and burn cultivation. So who will explain this to me,
that why Jhumming or why this type of primitive cultivation is also known as slash and burn
cultivation?

Student: Don’t know.

Teacher: Ok, ok no problem, I'll explain it to you, as I just explained children, that the trees
are being cut down and they are burnt so that the soil fertility is restored and that is why it is
known as slash and Burn cultivation it is also known as Jhumming ok, now you can look at
this table given over here, diagram given over here which is showing you the different names
of this slash and burn cultivation in different parts of the country in certain North Eastern
states this is known Jhumming, by the name of what Jhumming, you have to remember this,
many a times this can be asked in the examination. In states of Meghalaya, Mizoram and
Nagaland it is known as Jhumming ok, then in the state of Manipur it is known as Pamlou,
then in the state of Bastar not exactly state, in the district of Chhattisgarh is known as Dipa,
ok children and it is also known as Dipa in Andaman and Nicobar Islands, you have to
remember these name then in certain parts of the world also this slash and burn cultivation
or Jhumming is being practiced, now there are very specific names that these areas have
given to the jhumming cultivation or slash and burn cultivation, again the names would
appear on the screen and you can remember it and take a note of it you have to learn it up
for your examination ok children, then we have Milpa, the name given to it is Milpa in Mexico
and Central America you have to remember this ok children, then Conuco in Vanzuela, then
it is known as Roca in Brazil ok, then Masole in Central Africa, lading in Indonesia so these
are the different names of the different slash and burn cultivation which is given around the
world so you should remember that not only is it being practiced in the North Eastern states
of India and a few more primitive states of India, parts of India, where primitive tribal are
living but it is also being generally practice world over, where certain primitive communities
are living, so children you have to remember that this is a very important type of agriculture
which has been practiced.

So children the other type is obviously as I told you is the Nomadic Herding which is again
being practiced by a few Scheduled Tribes of the country where the herders what they are
doing is that they are practicing or growing one small crop and then their main occupation is
keeping cattle, for their, for different uses ok, so their main activity is rearing of cattle and
utilising for the economic value and they also grow one agricultural crop for their own
subsistence ok children. So with this we come on to the end of this subsistence type of
agriculture in which we have learnt about two basic types the intensive subsistence
agriculture in which we learnt about how the intensive subsistence agriculture is being
practiced in small holdings in people or farmers, where they are having small holdings, when
they are not having very big farms, they are utilising small technology, they are using a little
bit of fertilizers also whatever little local knowledge is available to them and then they are
growing the crops, main activities growing crops ok children. Then we have learnt about the
intensive primitive agriculture in which there were two types, the shifting cultivation and the
nomadic herding. Shifting cultivation was, as I had explained it to you, also known as slash
and burn cultivation and there are different names that we have learn during the course of
the lecture. So these are the names that are appearing on the screen as slash and burn
cultivation is being called in India and also in different parts of the World. If you missed out
any you can copy it down because they are important for the point of view of examination ok
children. So with this we come to the end of this module in the next module we will be
learning about commercial agriculture ok children so I hope this part is very-very clear to you
because this was something which if you understand through the flow diagram and through
examples you will remember it always ok children. So with this we come to an end. Thank
you; hope to see you soon again.

Let’s recap whatever we have learnt in this module:-

 Jhumming is also known as “Slash and Burn” agriculture.