Commercialisation of Agriculture and Agricultural Crops

What the official syllabus says

UPPCS Main Examination, General Studies VI.

Commercialization of agriculture and production of agricultural crops in UP.

Topics in detail

UP is the largest producer of food grains among the states and leads the country in several crops. Learn the crops by season and region, then the process by which farming in UP moved from subsistence to the market.

Agricultural base

• Agro-climatic zones of UP: nine zones (Bhabar and Terai, Western Plain, Mid-Western Plain, South-Western Semi-Arid, Central Plain, Bundelkhand, North-Eastern Plain, Eastern Plain, Vindhyan)
• Cropping seasons: kharif, rabi and zaid
• Cropping intensity and the role of irrigation
• Cropping patterns: rice-wheat in most of the plain, sugarcane-based systems in the west, pulses and oilseeds in Bundelkhand

Production of crops

• Wheat: UP as the largest producer; main districts of the western and central plain
• Rice: grown across the state, with fine and scented varieties such as Kalanamak (Siddharthnagar region) and basmati in the western districts
• Sugarcane: UP as the largest producer; the western belt and Lakhimpur Kheri, Sitapur and other central districts
• Potato: UP as the largest producer; Agra, Farrukhabad, Kannauj, Firozabad and neighbouring districts; cold storages
• Pulses: gram, pigeon pea (arhar), lentil, pea, urad and moong; Bundelkhand as a pulse region
• Oilseeds: mustard and rapeseed, groundnut, sesame, linseed
• Millets (coarse cereals): bajra, jowar, maize, and the state's programme to revive millets
• Fodder crops and their link to dairying
• Mentha (menthol mint) in districts such as Barabanki, Badaun, Sambhal and Rampur

Commercialisation of agriculture

• Meaning: production for the market rather than for home use, and the shift to cash crops
• Historical roots: indigo, opium and sugarcane under colonial rule
• Factors: irrigation, the Green Revolution in western UP, roads and markets, minimum support prices, agro-industries (sugar mills, cold storages)
• Cash crops in UP: sugarcane, potato, mentha, vegetables, fruits, flowers, oilseeds
• Marketing: regulated markets (mandis), the State Agricultural Produce Market Board, e-NAM, procurement centres
• Contract farming, farmer producer organisations (FPOs) and agri-start-ups
• Value addition: food processing, grading, packing and branding; GI-tagged produce
• Effects: higher incomes for some, risk of price crashes, debt, monocropping, depletion of groundwater

Supporting systems

• Agricultural universities and research: Chandra Shekhar Azad University of Agriculture and Technology (Kanpur), Acharya Narendra Deva University of Agriculture and Technology (Ayodhya), Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel University of Agriculture and Technology (Meerut), Banda University of Agriculture and Technology
• Krishi Vigyan Kendras and extension services
• Seeds, fertilisers, credit (Kisan Credit Card), crop insurance (Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana)
• Storage: warehouses and cold chains

Overlaps

Problems of farming and their solutions are on Agricultural Diversity and Problems of Agriculture; horticulture and allied activities on Aquaculture, Sericulture, Horticulture and Allied Sectors. Major crops, irrigation and marketing for India are in General Studies III.