India is an agriculturally important country. Two-thirds of its population is engaged in agricultural activities. Agriculture is a primary activity, which produces most of the food that we consume.

India is an agriculturally important country. Two-thirds of its population is engaged in agricultural activities. Agriculture is a primary activity, which produces most of the food that we consume.

It is jhumming in north-eastern states like Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland, Pamlou in Manipur, Dipa in Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, and in Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Intensive Subsistence Farming is type of farming is practised in areas of high population pressure on land. It is labour- intensive farming, where high doses of biochemical inputs and irrigation are used for obtaining higher production.

Rice is the principal crop grown in areas of Intensive Subsistence Farming.

The degree of commercialisation 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.

Kharif crops are grown with the onset of monsoon in different parts of the country and these are harvested in September-October. Important crops grown during this season are paddy, maize, jowar, bajra, tur (arhar), moong, urad, cotton, jute, groundnut and soyabean.

In between the rabi and the kharif seasons, there is a short season during the summer months known as the Zaid season. Some of the crops produced during ‘zaid’ are watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber etc.

In states like Assam, West Bengal and Odisha, three crops of paddy are grown in a year. These are Aus, Aman and Boro.

Sugarcane is a tropical as well as a subtropical crop. It grows well in hot and humid climate with a temperature of 21°C to 27°C. Sugarcane is an annual crop.