CBSE · Class 10 · Social Science · Geography: AgricultureExplain the major types of farming practices followed in India. Discuss subsistence farming, intensive subsistence farming, and commercial farming in detail.

Introduction\nAgriculture is a primary activity in India, and two-thirds of its population is engaged in agricultural activities. Over the years, cultivation methods have changed significantly depending upon the characteristics of physical environment, technological know-how, and socio-cultural practices. Farming in India varies from subsistence to commercial type.

1. Primitive Subsistence Farming

• Characteristics: This type of farming is practiced on small patches of land with the help of primitive tools like hoe, dao, and digging sticks, and family/community labour.
• Dependence: This type of farming depends upon monsoon, natural fertility of the soil, and suitability of other environmental conditions to the crops grown.
• Slash and Burn Agriculture: It is also known as 'Jhumming' in northeastern states. Farmers clear a patch of land for cereal and other food crops to sustain their family. When the soil fertility decreases, the farmers shift and clear a fresh patch of land for cultivation.

2. Intensive Subsistence Farming

• Characteristics: This type of farming is practiced in areas of high population pressure on land.
• Labour Intensive: It is labour-intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for obtaining higher production.
• Land Holdings: Though the 'right of inheritance' leading to the division of land among successive generations has rendered size of landholding uneconomical, the farmers continue to take maximum output from the limited land in the absence of alternative source of livelihood.

3. Commercial Farming

• Characteristics: The main characteristic of this type of farming is the use of higher doses of modern inputs, e.g., high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, insecticides, and pesticides in order to obtain higher productivity.
• Degree of Commercialization: The degree of commercialization of agriculture varies from one region to another. For example, rice is a commercial crop in Haryana and Punjab, but in Odisha, it is a subsistence crop.
• Plantation: Plantation is a type of commercial farming where a single crop is grown on a large area. Plantations have an interface of agriculture and industry. Tea in Assam and coffee in Karnataka are important plantation crops in India.