NCERT Solutions Class 10 Social Science Contemporary India Chapter 4

NCERT Solutions Class 10 Geography Chapter 4 Agriculture 

Class 10 Geography Chapter 4 is based on Agriculture. Agriculture is a primary activity in a country that helps produce most of the food we consume. It is an important activity because it produces food and helps produce raw materials that are a staple requirement of the industrial sector. Agriculture is an important activity for India. It is also a sector involved in actively exporting products such as tea, coffee, spices, grains, etc. Moreover, two-thirds of the country’s entire population depends on agriculture for sustenance.

A thorough understanding of agriculture is important for students to understand and analyse the state of agriculture in India. It will not only help them to understand the various types of farming involved in agriculture but also the cropping patterns and the major crops that are grown in the country. Students also take a closer look at the contribution made by agriculture towards national income and employment in Chapter 4 of Class 10 Geography. Students can take the help of the Agriculture Class 10 Solutions provided by Extramarks to fully comprehend the entire chapter without any hassles.

It is commonly advised that students read through the NCERT Solutions for each chapter to better understand and grasp the topics of the chapter. For many students, it can be difficult to figure out the solutions to the NCERT exercises. Extramarks has prepared Agriculture Class 10 Solutions to encourage students to learn, frame their answers, and further improve them with the assistance of solutions. These Agriculture Class 10 NCERT Solutions were developed by subject experts who followed the most recent CBSE guidelines and created them in a way that fulfils the needs of all students, regardless of their proficiency level. It provides students with a solid understanding of the content and encourages them to perform well on exams.

The Extramarks website offers a wide range of study resources in addition to the Agriculture Class 10 Solutions. It includes NCERT books, CBSE study guides, practice exams, exam questions from past years, and more.

Key Topics Covered in Agriculture Class 10 Solutions

The chapter on Agriculture holds immense importance for students studying Class 10 Geography. Agriculture is an important activity for the country. The Agriculture Class 10 Solutions will give the students an in-depth understanding of the essential topics covered in Chapter 4. Students can easily practise the entire chapter with the Agriculture Class 10 Questions And Answers.

Some key topics covered in Agriculture Class 10 Solutions are:

• Types of Farming
• Cropping Pattern
• Major Crops in India
• Food Crops Other than Grains
• Non Food Crops
• Some Technological and Institutional Reforms
• The Contribution of Agriculture to the National Economy, Employment and Output
• Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture

Let us now look at the detailed information on each of the above-listed subtopics in the Agriculture Class 10 Solutions:

Types of Farming

Cultivation methods have evolved greatly, depending on the physical environment, technological know-how and socio-cultural norms. Farming can range from subsistence to commercial. As mentioned in Agriculture Class 10 Solutions, the following types of farming are practised in India:

1. Primitive Subsistence Farming

• In primitive subsistence farming, a plot of ground is first cleared, and then food crops are planted there. When the soil fertility declines, the farmers relocate to another patch, allowing the former patch to restore nutrients and provide a new fertile area for cultivation.
• The other name of primitive farming is ‘Slash and Burn’ farming.
• It involves using primitive tools such as the hoe, dao and digging sticks and is also usually practised on small patches of land. Primitive farming mainly involves the use of family labour.
• The role is nature and the environment is significant in primitive subsistence farming. The fertility, monsoon and suitability of other environmental factors will all directly impact the output.
• Different names in different countries know it; for example, it is called jhumming in the northeastern states.
• In primitive subsistence farming, land productivity is quite low and only practised in some parts of India.

2. Intensive Subsistence Farming

• Intensive subsistence farming is practised in areas having a high population pressure on land.
• Modern irrigation methods and various biochemical additives are employed to boost output in intensive subsistence farming.

3. Commercial Farming

• The fundamental feature of commercial farming is the use of higher doses of sophisticated inputs, such as high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides and pesticides, to increase output. For example, rice is a commercial crop in Punjab.
• Plantation farming is a kind of commercial farming as well. A single crop is cultivated across a large area with this type of farming. Agricultural and industrial activity coexist on the plantation. Plantations cover vast areas of land with capital-intensive inputs and the support of migrant labourers.
• Tea, coffee, rubber, sugarcane and banana are all important plantation crops in India. Some of the most important plantation crops farmed in these states include the tea of Assam and the North Bengal coffee of Karnataka.

Cropping Pattern

India has three major cropping seasons. These include the following:

1. Rabi
2. Kharif
3. Zaid

A detailed explanation of the above three cropping seasons, as mentioned in the Agriculture Class 10 Solutions, is mentioned below:

1. Rabi

• Rabi crops are planted in the winter months of October through December and harvested in the summer months of April through June.
• Major rabi crops include wheat, barley, peas, gramme and mustard.
• Most wheat and other rabi crops are grown in northern and northwestern regions such as Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

2. Kharif

• Kharif crops are planted with the arrival of the monsoon season and harvested between September and October.
• Paddy, maise, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soybean are significant crops farmed during this period.
• Assam, West Bengal, coastal areas of Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Maharashtra, particularly the (Konkan coast), together with Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are some of the most significant rice-growing regions.

3. Zaid

• The Zaid season is a brief period in the summer that falls between the Rabi and Kharif seasons.
• Some of the most important zaid crops include watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber, vegetables and fodder.

Major Crops in India

Depending on the soil, temperature, and cultivation practices, different food and non-food crops are grown in different locations in India. The following are the major crops harvested in India:

• Rice
• Wheat
• Millets
• Pulses
• Tea
• Coffee
• Sugarcane
• Oil seeds
• Cotton
• Jute

The following detailed explanation is given in Agriculture Class 10 Solutions provided by Extramarks.

1. Rice

• After China, India is the second-largest rice producer in the world.
• It is a Kharif crop that needs high temperatures (over 25 °C), high humidity levels, and yearly rainfall of at least 100 cm.
• Rice production is concentrated in the plains of north and northeastern India, along the coast and deltaic areas.

2. Wheat

• Wheat is a rabi crop that demands a chilly growing season and bright sunlight during ripening.
• It requires 50 to 75 cm of yearly rainfall distributed uniformly throughout the growing season.
• India’s two primary wheat-growing regions are the northwestern Ganga-Satluj plains and the Deccan’s black soil region.
• In the north and northwestern regions of the country, it is the second most significant cereal crop and the main food crop.

3. Millets

• The three most significant millets in India are jowar, bajra and ragi.
• Jowar is a rain-fed crop grown in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, among other places. It is the third most essential food crop in terms of area and productivity.
• Bajra grows well in sandy soils and black soil. Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana were the major Bajra-producing States.
• Ragi grows well on dry red, black, sandy, loamy or shallow black soils. It is a crop grown in arid areas. Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh are the major ragi-producing states.

4. Maise

• It is a Kharif crop that requires temperatures ranging from 21°C to 27°C.
• Maise flourishes in old alluvial soil.
• It can be utilised as both food and fodder.
• Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are the major maise-producing states.

5. Pulses

• India is both the world’s greatest producer and consumer of pulses. In a vegetarian diet, pulses are the primary source of protein.
• The most common pulses in India are Tur (Arhar), Urad, Moong, Masur, Peas and Gram.
• Most of the time, pulses are cultivated in rotation with other crops to help the soil regain fertility.
• The major pulse-producing states are Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.

Food Crops Other than Grains

The following list, as mentioned in the Agriculture Class 10 Solutions, includes a detailed explanation of food crops other than grains:

1. Sugarcane

• It grows in both tropical and subtropical climates.
• Sugarcane thrives in hot, humid climates with temperatures between 21°C and 27°C.
• A rainfall of 75 cm to 100 cm is essential for the optimum cultivation of sugarcane.
• Khansari, molasses, gur (jaggery) and sugar are all primarily produced from sugarcane.
• After Brazil, India is the world’s second-largest producer of sugarcane.
• Major sugarcane-producing states include Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.

2. Oil Seeds

• In 2008, India was the world’s second-largest producer of groundnuts after only China.
• The country’s 12 per cent of total cultivated land is dedicated to producing various oil crops.
• Groundnut, mustard, coconut, sesame (til), soybean, castor seeds, cotton seeds, linseed and sunflower are the main oil seeds produced in India.
• Groundnut is a kharif crop. The top three groundnut-producing states are Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.
• Mustard and linseed are rabi crops.
• In the north, sesamum is a Kharif crop, whereas, in the south, it is a rabi crop.
• Castor seed is grown in both the Rabi and Kharif seasons.

3. Tea

• Tea production is a labour-intensive industry. It is also a significant beverage crop introduced by the British to India.
• The tea plant flourishes in tropical and subtropical regions with rich, organic soil that is deep, fertile, and well-drained. Tea bushes require a year-round climate that is warm, humid and frost-free.
• India’s top tea-producing states include Assam, the hills of Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri regions, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Other tea-producing states in the country include Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Meghalaya, Andhra Pradesh and Tripura.
• In 2008, India was the third-largest tea producer after China and Turkey.

4. Coffee

• India accounted for 3.2% of global coffee production in 2008.
• It is grown in the Nilgiris region of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

5. Horticulture Crops

• India was the world’s second-largest producer of fruits and vegetables in 2008, after only China.
• The mangoes of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, the oranges of Cherrapunjee (Meghalaya) and Nagpur,the bananas of Mizoram, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra, the litchi and guava of Uttar Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, the pineapples of Meghalaya and the grapes of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Maharashtra, and the apples, pears, apricots and walnuts of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir are in great demand around the world.
• India generates 13% of the world’s vegetable production.

Non-Food Crops

1. Rubber

• Rubber is an equatorial crop.
• It is a significant industrial raw material thrives in a humid, wet climate with more than 200 cm of annual rainfall and temperatures above 25 °C.
• It is cultivated in the states of Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and the Garo Hills of Meghalaya.
• India is the fourth-largest producer of natural rubber in the world.

2. Fibre Crops

The four main fibre crops grown in our country are cotton, jute, hemp and natural silk. The first three are created from crops grown in the soil, whereas the final is derived from silkworm cocoons fed on green leaves, specifically mulberry.

a.Silk

• It is derived from the cocoons of silkworms that feed on mulberry leaves.
• Sericulture is the activity of cultivation of silkworms to produce silk fibre.

b. Cotton

• In 2008, India was the world’s second-largest cotton producer behind China.
• It grows well in the drier parts of the black cotton soil of the Deccan plateau. It requires 210 days without a frost, a high temperature, little irrigation and rainfall and lots of sunshine.
• It is a Kharif crop that matures in 6 to 8 months.
• The major states that produce cotton include Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.

c. Jute

• Jute is most often known as the “golden fibre.”
• It requires a high temperature to grow.
• It is used to manufacture gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other items.
• The primary jute-producing states are West Bengal, Bihar, Assam, Odisha and Meghalaya.

Technological and Institutional Reforms

More than 60 per cent of the country’s population depends on agriculture for their livelihood; hence this industry requires significant technical and administrative improvements. People made measures to improve agriculture, such as the Green Revolution and the White Revolution.

• In the 1980s and 1990s, a major land development programme was launched, encompassing administrative and technical improvements.
• Important efforts include the establishment of cooperative societies, banks and Grameen banks to provide lending facilities to the farmers at lower interest rates as well as providing crop insurance against a cyclone, droughts, floods, fires and various diseases.
• On the radio and television, the government launched specific weather reports and agricultural programmes for farmers.
• Other programmes launched by the Indian government for farmers’ benefit include the Kissan Credit Card (KCC) and the Personal Accident Insurance Scheme (PAIS).
• To boost farmers’ profits and encourage them to plant additional crops, the government also establishes minimum support, and remunerative, and procurement prices for significant products.

The Contribution of Agriculture towards National Economy, Employment and Output

• In 2010-11, the farming sector employed around 52% of India’s workforce.
• The livelihood of more than half of India’s people depends on agriculture.
• The growth rate of agriculture has slowed, which is a concerning issue. Indian farmers face significant challenges from global competition and a decline in public investment in the agriculture sector.
• Fertiliser subsidies are being cut down, which raises production costs. Furthermore, the country’s agriculture has suffered due to the drop in import taxes on agricultural goods.
• Farmers are decreasing their agricultural investments, causing a decline in employment in the sector.
• Thus, priority was given to creating the (ICAR) or Indian Council of Agricultural Research, agricultural universities, veterinary clinics and breeding facilities, horticultural development, meteorological research and development, and other initiatives aimed at enhancing Indian agriculture.

Impact of Globalisation on Agriculture

• Farmers in India encountered new challenges in the worldwide market after 1990 due to globalisation.
• Despite being a major producer of cotton, rice, tea, coffee, rubber jute and spices, Indian agricultural products cannot compete with those of the industrialised world due to heavily subsidised agriculture in those countries.
• Genetic engineering is a potent tool for developing new hybrid types of seeds that can boost yield and make farming more profitable.
• In reality, organic farming is very popular because it encourages organic farming and is done without using chemicals created in factories, such as pesticides and fertilisers.

Agriculture Class 10 Solutions: Exercise and Solutions

The Extramarks provides students with dependable, useful and trustworthy study materials. Agriculture Class 10 Solutions includes multiple-choice (MCQs), short answer and long answer questions. Students may use them to ace their examinations and enhance their marks.

Students can view Agriculture Class 10 Solutions by clicking on the links below:

Class 10 Geography Chapter 4: Very Short Answer Type Questions

Class 10 Geography Chapter 4: Short Answer Type Questions

Class 10 Geography Chapter 4: Long Answer Type Questions

Students may access Agriculture Class 10 Solutions and other chapters by clicking on the links below. In addition, students can also explore NCERT Solutions for other classes below.

Key Features of Agriculture Class 10 Solutions

The Agriculture Class 10 Solutions from Extramarks make it easier to grasp the major concepts of the chapter. Using this resource, students can quickly review all the important ideas covered in class, which will help them perform well on their tests.

The following are some benefits of solving the Agriculture Class 10 Solutions.

• Students can address end-text problems with the help of the solutions provided in the Extramarks solutions, which include full answers to the chapter questions and even example test questions to help students become well-versed in their subject areas.
• The Agriculture Class 10 Solutions is created by highly skilled and experienced professors who meticulously follow the latest NCERT textbooks to give students authentic and reliable study materials.
• Extramarks updates its NCERT solutions frequently following the CBSE Board. Because most of the questions on CBSE board question papers come from the NCERT exclusively, students can also use these helpful notes in the future.
• Agriculture Class 10 Solutions assist in removing the student’s concerns and obstacles by providing a framework and outlining the essential ideas of the chapter.