Land Use and Types of Farming
NCERT Class 8 • Resources and Development • Chapter "Agriculture" | NCERT Class 10 • Contemporary India II • Chapter "Agriculture"
Land Use and Types of Farming
Land is a limited natural resource, and how it is used decides how many people it can support. India's land is classified into forest, land not available for cultivation, fallow land, pasture and the net sown area, which is the land actually cropped in a year. Farming systems differ according to rainfall, soil, capital and market access.
Land Use Categories
- Forest land is the area recorded as forest, which is still below the level considered desirable for an ecological balance.
- Land not available for cultivation covers barren rocky land and land put to non-farm uses like buildings, roads and factories.
- Fallow land is cropland left uncultivated to recover fertility; current fallow is left for one year and other fallow for two to five years.
- Permanent pasture is grazing land, which has been shrinking under pressure from cultivation.
- Net sown area is the land sown at least once in a year; gross cropped area counts it again for every crop taken from it.
- Cropping intensity rises when the same field gives two or three crops a year through irrigation.
Types of Farming
- Primitive subsistence farming uses simple tools and family labour; jhum shifting cultivation of the north-east belongs here.
- Intensive subsistence farming uses small holdings, high labour and high doses of fertiliser, common in the densely settled plains.
- Commercial farming grows crops for sale with modern inputs, high yielding seeds and machinery, as in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh.
- Plantation agriculture grows a single crop such as tea, coffee, rubber or sugarcane on a large estate with capital and hired labour.
- Mixed farming combines crops with dairy or poultry to spread risk.
| Farming Type | Main Feature | Example Region |
|---|---|---|
| Primitive subsistence | Simple tools, shifting plots | North-eastern hills |
| Intensive subsistence | Small plots, heavy labour | Ganga plain |
| Commercial | Market oriented, machinery | Punjab, Haryana |
| Plantation | Single crop, large estate | Assam tea, Kerala rubber |
Net sown area — the land actually sown with crops at least once during an agricultural year.
Hindi me samjhein
शुद्ध बोया गया क्षेत्र वह भूमि है जिस पर वर्ष में कम से कम एक बार फसल बोई गई। सकल फसली क्षेत्र में उसी भूमि को हर फसल के लिए फिर से गिना जाता है, इसलिए यह अधिक होता है।
Exam me kaise aata hai
- Land sown at least once a year is called — net sown area
- Shifting cultivation of the north-east is called — jhum
- Tea and coffee are grown under which farming type — plantation
- Land left uncultivated for one year is called — current fallow
UPSC/State PSC ke liye
- Cropping intensity is the ratio of gross cropped area to net sown area, so assured irrigation raises it directly.
- Shrinking permanent pasture is one reason for overgrazing on the remaining commons and for growing fodder scarcity.
Yahan confuse hote hain
✗ Net sown area is larger than gross cropped area | Gross cropped area is the larger figure | ✓
✗ Plantation farming is subsistence farming | Plantation farming is commercial and market oriented | ✓
✗ Fallow land is permanently uncultivable | Fallow land is cropland resting temporarily | ✓
Ek nazar me
- Land use: forest, not available, fallow, pasture, net sown area.
- Gross cropped area counts multiple crops on the same field.
- Farming types: primitive and intensive subsistence, commercial, plantation, mixed.
- Irrigation raises cropping intensity.