Hinglish

India's Farming Landscape and Its Long Past

Class 7 Social Science · Chapter 13: The Story of Indian Farming · NCERT Exploring Society: India and Beyond section 13.1

Learn

Every chapati, bowl of rice or spoon of dal began on a farm. Agriculture means growing crops and raising animals for food, fibre and other products. Together with allied activities such as dairy, fishing and forestry, it gives a little over 18% of India's GDP but supports about 46% of all workers. In rural India, more than 75% of agricultural workers are women, who do most work from sowing to threshing.

Indian farming is very old. Rice was grown in the Ganga plain by the 7th–8th millennium BCE, and barley and millets at Mehrgarh about the same time. The Harappans grew barley and wheat, and a field at Kalibangan (around 2800 BCE) has furrows in two directions, a sign of intercropping, growing two crops together. The Vedas name barley (yava), wheat (godhūma) and rice (vrīhi). Later texts such as the Arthaśhāstra, Kṛiṣhiparāśhara, Vṛikṣhāyurveda and Bṛihatsamhitā describe seasons, seeds, soils and even grafting trees.

Explore: ancient or today?

  1. Sort each item.

Remember

  • Agriculture and allied activities give about 18% of GDP but employ about 46% of workers.
  • Farming in India goes back over 8,000 years, from Mehrgarh and Kalibangan to old farming texts.

Quick check

Who do most of the farm work in rural India?

  1. women
  2. children
  3. machines alone
  4. city workers
Answer

women. More than 75% of rural agricultural workers are women.

Think about it

Why might growing two crops together in one field be useful?

One answer

If one crop fails the other may survive, the crops can use soil and space differently, and some (like pulses) even enrich the soil for the other.

Practice

Practise with fresh questions at three levels (easy, medium, hard), some answered hands-on, with hints and worked answers. Get 4 of your last 5 right to finish the topic.