AGRICULTURE

WHAT IS AGRICULTURE?

The process of preparing the land for the cultivation of crops, and the rearing of livestock is called agriculture.

It is the most fundamental activity that is practiced in the modern civilization.

On the basis of the aim of the cultivation, there are two main types of agriculture:-1. subsistence2. commercial

COMMERCIAL AGRICULTURE

• Agriculture done with the aim of selling the product and earning profit is called commercial agriculture.

EXTENSIVE AGRICULTURE

WHAT IS EXTENSIVE FARMING? Extensive farming is a form of farming that will

make use of relatively low inputs of capital and labor in relation to the land that is being used for farming (it usually has a large farm). It does not make use of external factors like machinery and fertilizers, but will depend on the availability of water and the elements of nature to produce the yield. While it is ideal for rearing animals, it can also be used for growing crops which do not require very fertile soil.

ADVANTAGES• As the plants are planted with a distance

between them, they get• a) A lot of space to grow• b) Root and shoot system grow properly• c) As fertilizer is not used in large quantities the

soil is not infested with chemicals and hence the growth of the plant is organic.

• d) Fully mechanized farming• e) Lesser use of labourers

DISADVANTAGESa) This technique of agriculture cannot be used in the

densely populated placesb) Very few human labourers are required so it cannot be

used in places where there is lack of employmentc) It is fully mechanized, so a lot of electricity is consumedd) Total production from the farm is very large but per

hectare production is low.e) Large land requirements limit the habitat of different

species of fauna (in some cases, even very low stocking rates can be dangerous, as is the case with intensive farming).

TYPES OF CROPS

Wheat is the most important crop.Other crops are corn, barley, oats, rye, and cotton.

BARLEY

CORN

WHEAT

OATS RYE

COTTON

AREAS• EXTENSIVE AGRICULTURE IS COMMON IN

REGIONS WHERE THERE IS ABUNDANT LAND BUT VERY SPARSE POPULATION.

• PARTICULARLY IN THE MID LATITUDE GRASSLANDS- PRAIRIES OF N.AMERICA, PAMPAS OF ARGENTINA, STEPPES OF EUROPE, AND THE DOWNS OF AUSTRALIA.

(in comparison to the land)(In comparison to the land)

By-Subhanjali Saraswati (39)

Poorvi Sahoo (37)Ishita Saraf (38)