What is agriculture?

Agriculture is the art and science of cultivating the soil, growing crops
and raising livestock. It includes the preparation of plant and animal
products for people to use and distribute to markets.

Before agriculture became widespread, people spent most of their lives

searching for food—hunting wild animals and gathering wild plants. About
11,000 years ago, people gradually learned how to grow cereal and root
crops, and settled down to a life based on farming.

Agriculture enabled people to produce surplus food. They could use this

extra food when crops failed or trade it for other goods. Food surpluses
allowed people to work at other tasks unrelated to farming, because they
were not constantly preoccupied by food production.

Agriculture kept formerly nomadic people near their fields and led to the
development of permanent villages. These became linked through trade.
New economies were so successful in some areas that cities grew and
civilizations developed. The earliest civilizations based on intensive
agriculture arose near the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in Mesopotamia
(now Iraq and Iran) and along the Nile River in Egypt.

Agriculture in india
is the main occupation in India. Two-third of population is
dependent on agriculture directly or indirectly.

It is not merely a source of livelihood but a way of life. It is the main

source of food, fodder and fuel. It is the basic foundation of
economic development.

India's agriculture is composed of many crops, with the foremost

food staples being rice and wheat. Indian farmers also grow pulses,
potatoes, sugarcane, oilseeds, and such non-food items as cotton,
tea, coffee, rubber, and jute
Contribution to National Income

Contribution to national income from agriculture, forests and other

primary activities is 24%.

Main source of Food

Industrial development

For industrial development, agriculture plays active role. It provides

essential raw materials to many industries like cotton textiles, jute,
sugar, vegetables, oil, tinned food, Cigarettes and rubber etc.

Sources of Revenue:
Land revenue, excise duty on agro-based goods, taxes on production
and sale of agricultural machinery forms a goods part of sources of
Govt. Revenue.

Source of Foreign trade:

Foreign trade is associated with agriculture. We export tea, tobacco,
spices and coffee etc. Other agricultural exports include cotton,
textiles, jute goods and sugar etc. So total share of agricultural
exports becomes 70%.

Source of saving:
Green revolution has increased the production manifold and
farmers become rich. The additional income earned by these
farmers can be saved and invested in Banks.

Capital formation:
Agriculture also helps in capital formation. Surplus income from
agriculture production can be invested in other sources like banks,
shares etc. Use of tractors and harvesters increase capital formation.
Land revenue, agricultural income tax, irrigation tax and
some other types of taxes are being levied on agriculture
by the state governments.

International importance:
India ranks top position in production of groundnuts and
sugarcane. It has second position in production of rice and staple
cotton. It has third position in production of tobacco. Our
agricultural universities are working as role model for other
developing nations.

Contribution to Gross Domestic Product (or National

Income):
In 1950-51 agriculture contributed about 55 p.c. of India’s national
income (GDP).

However, the percentage gradually dropped down to 19.4 p.c. in

2007-08. 

Source of Livelihood:
In India the main occupation of our working population is
agriculture. About 70 per cent of our population is directly
engaged in agriculture

Vast Employment Opportunities:

The agricultural sector is significant as it provides greater
employment opportunities in the construction of irrigation
projects, drainage system and other such activities.

Importance in Transport:

Agriculture is the main support for railways and roadways

which transport bulk of agricultural produce from farm to
the mandies and factories.
Essay

Agriculture constitutes the backbone of the Indian

economy. It contributes around 32 per cent of the national
income and provides employment to 70 per cent of Indian
working force. Further, agricultural product constitutes 50
per cent of our exports and manufactures with agricultural
content (cloth, sugar and manufactured jute) contributes
another 20 per cent of India’s export.

Thus around 70 per cent of our exports consist of

agricultural product. The role of agriculture in the industrial
development of the economy is no less important.
Agricultural sector supplies raw materials to the agro-based
industries like sugar, jute, cotton, ground-nut and oilseeds.
Failure of agricultural crops spells a disaster for the Indian
industries.

Agriculture also directly and indirectly provides a market

for the industrial products. Directly, agricultural sector
consumes industrial products like chemical fertilizers,
pesticides, insecticides and small tools and equipments
Indirectly, the success in agricultural sector increases the
purchasing capacity of the people to purchase industrial
products.

Thus, agriculture occupies a pivotal position in the Indian

economy. And, a rapid development of the economy
depends on a smooth and sustained growth in the
agricultural sector.

What is a crop?
A crop is a plant grown by the farmers which can be consumed by animals and humans.
Grains, vegetables and fruits are some of the crops grown by the farmers.
How are the crops classified?
The crops can be classified as:

 Food crops such as fruit and vegetables, are harvested for human

consumption through agriculture..- wheat, rice, maize, millets, pulses
 Cash crops- A cash crop is an agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. sugarcane,
tobacco, jute, cotton, oilseeds
 Horticultural crops include the vegetables, fruits, and nuts which are directly used
by man for food, the flowers and other ornamental plants for aesthetic uses or visual
enjoyment, and those used for medicinal purposes. - Fruits and vegetables
 Plantation crops constitute a large group of crops that are not consumed for food are
grown for sale in distant markets, rather than for local consumption . - tea, coffee,
coconut, rubber
The crops can be classified into three types depending upon their growing season:

 Kharif - Kharif crops are the crops that are grown at the end of monsoon or at the
beginning of the winter season. For eg., rice, maize, sorghum, millets, etc.
 Rabi - Rabi crops are grown in the winter season in the month of November to April. For
eg., wheat, barley, gram, mustard.
Zaid - Such crops are grown between the Kharif and Rabi seasons, i.e., between March
and June.These crops mature early.eg.Cucumber, pumpkin, bitter gourd, and watermelon
are zaid crops.

Specific crop

Natural rubber is a polymer of isoprene along with some other impurities. It is mainly
harvested in the form of latex from the rubber tree. The latex is refined and processed to
make commercial natural rubber. The economically productive life of rubber tree begins from
age 7 and it remains that for around 25 years till age of 32 years. In India, most rubber
plantations are in Kerala.  India stands at fourth position in Rubber production.

Rubber is a coherent elastic solid obtained from latex of a number

of tropical trees of which Hevea brasiliensis is the most important.
Rubber is a Rabi crop.
This crop is sown in June-July and is cut in November-December.

Uses
Rubber is used for a variety of purposes from erasing pencil marks
to manufacturing of tyres, tubes and a large number of industrial
products. The first rubber plantations in India were set up in 1895
on the hill slopes of Kerala. However, rubber cultivation on a
commercial scale was introduced in 1902.
After proper chemical treatment, rubber wood provides enough strength and
durability of any semi-hard wood available in India and can be used for the
manufacture of useful articles like door and window components, furniture,
wall panelling, interior decoration, tool handles etc.

This tree is sturdy, tall and quick growing. It has a well developed tap root
and laterals. The leaves are trifoliate, with long petioles. Flowers are
unisexual, small and fragrant. Staminate flowers are small and numerous.
Pollination is by insects. Latex vessels are present in all parts of the tree
except in the wood.

Types

There are many different kinds of rubber, but they all fall into two broad
types: natural rubber (latex—grown from plants) and synthetic rubber
(made artificially in a chemical plant or laboratory). Commercially, the most
important synthetic rubbers are styrene butadiene (SBR), polyacrylics, and
polyvinyl acetate (PVA); other kinds include polyvinyl chloride (PVC),
polychloroprene (better known as neoprene), and various types of
polyurethane. Although natural rubber and synthetic rubbers are similar in
some ways, they're made by entirely different processes and chemically
quite different.

Natural rubber is made from a runny, milky white liquid

called latex that oozes from certain plants when you cut into them.
Although there are something like 200 plants in the world that
produce latex, over 99 percent of the world's natural rubber is made
from the latex that comes from a tree species called Hevea
brasiliensis, widely known as the rubber tree.
Conditions of Growth:
Rubber tree (Hevea brasiliensis) is a quick growing tall tree
acquiring 20-30 metre height. It begins to yield latex in 5-7
years after planting. It requires hot and humid climate with
temperature of 25°-35°C and annual rainfall of over 200
cm. The rainfall should be well distributed throughout the
year.
Dry spell and low temperatures are harmful. Daily rainfall
followed by strong sun is very useful. Deep well drained
loamy soils on the hill slopes at elevation ranging from 300
to 450 metres above sea level provide best conditions for its
growth. The yields decline at higher elevations and no
rubber plantations are found above 700 m elevation.

Rubber exacts in its climatic requirements. The regions lying within

100 latitude on either side of the Equator is highly suitable for rubber
cultivation. It requires a temperature ranging from 200 to 300C with a
well distributed rainfall of 200-250cm over the year. It comes up in
plains and also in slopes of mountainous regions ranging from 300-
800m above sea level. This specific climate is available only in
Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, which constitute the
traditional area. It thrives well in deep well drained acidic soils of red
lateritic loams or clayey loams with a pH varying from 4.5 to 6.0.

Production and Distribution:

India is the third largest natural rubber producing country
of the world, next to Thailand and Indonesia, producing
about 9 per cent of the global output. From about 200
hectares in 1902-03, the total area under rubber plantations
increased to about 5.9 lakh hectares in 2003-04.

Similarly, the production that was 80 tonnes in 1910

increased to about 6, 90,000 tonnes in 2003-04. The most
important and noteworthy achievement has been the
increase in productivity from 354 kg/hectare in 1960-61 to
1663 kg/hectare in 2003-04 (see Table 24.30).
Though the rubber plantation sector was dominated by
large estates during the initial five decades, it has
subsequently undergone important structural
transformation leading to dominance of small holdings.

Today small holdings account for 88 per cent of area and

production of rubber in India. The average size of small
holding is 0.49 hectares only. However, the average
productivity realised by small holders during 2001-02 was
much higher at 1,580 kg/hectare than that of 1,509
kg/hectare produced by the estates. Table 24.30 gives the
production trends of rubber in India. This table shows that
India has made phenomenal progress in all the three
aspects of rubber i.e. production, area and yields.

Table 24.31 shows the distribution of natural rubber in

India. This table makes it clear that almost entire rubber is
produced in Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Kerala is the largest producer of natural rubber producing

595 thousand tonnes or 92 per cent of total rubber
production of India in 2002-03. Kottayam, Kollam,
Ernakulam, Kozhikode districts produce practically all the
rubber of this state. Tamil Nadu is the second largest
producer of rubber but lags far behind Kerala producing
only 22 thousand or 3.39 per cent of the total Indian
production in 2002-03.
Nilgiri, Madurai, Kanniyakumari, Coimbatore and Salem
are the chief rubber producing districts of Tamil Nadu.
Karnataka produced 14 thousand tonnes or 1.85 per cent of
total Indian production in 2002-03. Chikmagalur and
Kodagu are the main producing districts. Tripura and
Andaman & Nicobar Islands also produced small quantities
of rubber respectively in 2002-03.

In India, these conditions are favorable traditionally in a narrow belt extending from

Kanyakumary district in Tamil Nadu in the south to Dakshin Kannada and Kodagu districts

of Karnataka state in the Western Ghats. Normally the life span of rubber tree is 35 years and

starts yielding i.e., tapping** on an average after 6 to 7 years depending on clones. Unlike

other crops, NR fetches yield through out the years.

Natural Rubber cultivation in India has been traditionally concentrated in Kerala and to some

extent in the adjoining states of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The agro-climatic conditions in

these states were very favorable for rubber cultivation. Since mid eighties, rubber cultivation

was extended to the northeastern states of Tripura, Assam, Meghalaya and Nagaland. It has to

be noted that rubber plantations were established in India from the beginning of the twentieth

century. Kerala, being the largest producer of natural rubber in India, accounted for 83% of

the area under cultivation during 2003-04. During the same period, Tripura was the second

largest rubber producing state with 5% of total area under rubber cultivation, followed by

Karnataka (3.6%) and Tamil Nadu (3.3%).

Propagation
i) Seeds: Propagation through seed is practised to raise seedlings for
rootstock purpose or to raise polyclonal seedling progenies. Seeds
normally ripen during July-September in South India. As the viability is
very short (8 weeks), they are to be sown immediately raised beds of
river sand of 1m width and of convenient length are formed and the
seeds are sown in a single layer toughing one another and pressed
firmly with the surface of the seed just visible above. Nursery may be
protected from direct sun by providing a temporary shade. Regular
watering is attended to maintain the moisture in the beds. Seeds start
germinating within 6 to 10 days. Such raise seedling stumps or at
60x90cm or 60x120cm to raise bud wood nursery or stumped budding.
Otherwise, sprouted seeds can be directly planted in the field.

ii) Budding: The scions of a particular clone is maintained in the bud

wood nursery by planting the budded stumps or by budding the clone
on the seedlings in situ at nursery. Budded stump often refers to the
budded plant whose scion shoot is cut very close to the budding zone
leaving few dormant buds in the scion shoot. On the other hand, if the
root stock is cut as a stump and budding is done, usually green
budding at four to five months stage, then it is known as stumped
budding.
When the budwood nursery plants are one year old, about 1m of usable
budwood can be obtained. The budwood is cut when atleast 1m of
brown bark has developed. The immature green portion should be
removed to a point about 1m below the terminal bud, leaving the leaf
stalks in position. The budwood may be cut off about 15cm at the base,
leaving a few dormant buds to develop into bud shoots for the
subsequent season. Two such sprouting shoots may be allowed for
next year, from one metre shoot, 15 to 20 buds may be obtained.
Modified forket method is followed and is done during April-May, when
the weather is not dry or wet. Two types of budding techniques are
practiced. Brown budding is done by using buds taken from bud wood
of one year growth on to a stock plant of ten months old. Green
budding on the other hand involves young green budwood and stock.
Bud wood of 6-8 weeks old is used on stock seedlings of 2 to 6 months
old.

Recently, polybag plants are raised as such plants reach tapping stage
quickly. Black polythene bags of 60x30cm with 400 guage are filled
with topsoil alone along with 25g of rock phosphate. Green budded
stumps are planted in these polybags and the scions are allowed to
develop 2 to 3 whorl of leaves.

Tapping:
The trees are regularly tapped to get the latex. The work on the plantation
starts early in the morning and is completed before the mid-day rains.The
tapper makes a cut about 2 mm deep and about 11/2 metres above the
ground, which slants downwards.Latex is collected in a metal cup. The
workers, after completing the tapping work, collect the latex from the cups
into large buckets.A skilled worker can tap up to about 300 trees in a day.
Tapping of trees is generally done on alternate days. It is avoided on rainy
days.The fresh latex must be protected from the sun. It should be taken to
the rubber processing unit immediately.
Processing

Rubber processing consists of four basic steps: (1) mastication, when

the elastomer is sheared and the molecules are broken down to give easier
flow, (2) mixing, usually carried out immediately after mastication, when
additives are incorporated, (3) shaping of the viscous mass, for example,
by extrusion or molding, and (4) curing, when the polymer molecules
become interlinked and the shape is fixed.
Mastication
Mastication and softening are usually carried out in batches. The operation
is done either in large enclosed mixing machines or on rubber mills. The
preeminent example of an enclosed machine is the Banbury (registered
trademark) mixer, consisting of heavy steel counterrotating paddles in an
hourglass-shaped chamber, holding up to one-half ton of rubber. Rubber
mills have two large horizontally opposed, closely spaced steel cylinders,
up to 3 metres (10 feet) long, that are rotated slowly in opposite directions
and at somewhat different speeds. Rubber is sheared and softened in the
gap between the paddles and wall of the Banbury mixer and in the gap
between the two cylinders in the roll mill.

The Banbury mixer, used for the mixing of polymers and additives in the manufacture of plastic and
rubber.Courtesy of Farrel Corporation

Mixing
Mixing is carried out on machines similar to those used in mastication,
sometimes immediately after softening. Reactive materials, fillers, oils,
and protective chemicals of various kinds, as described above, are
incorporated into the base elastomer by a combined shearing and mixing
action. An enclosed Banbury-type mixer can produce up to one-half ton of
mixed compound in a few minutes. The compound is then sheeted out,
coated with a release soap to prevent sticking, and stored until use on steel
pallets that can hold up to one ton of rubber.
Shaping
Shaping of the mixture into the desired form takes place in several
ways. Extruders are used to produce long continuous products such as
tubing, tire treads, and wire coverings. They are also used to produce
various profiles that can later be cut to length. Multiroll calenders are used
to make wide sheeting. In transfer and injection molds, the rubber mix is
forced through channels into a mold chamber of the required shape, where
it is cured under pressure. Tires are made of several components: bead
wire, sidewall compound, inner liner, cord plies, belt package, and tread;
these are brought together and assembled as a complete tire before being
transferred to the curing press.
Curing
Curing is carried out in pressurized steel molds, which are heated
by steam or electricity to temperatures at which the interlinking
reaction takes place. Typical cure conditions are several minutes at
a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F). Because heat penetrates rubber
slowly, thick articles must be allowed longer curing times, up to
several hours, at lower temperatures. Pressures of 1 megapascal
(145 pounds per square inch) or more are normally imposed in
order to maintain the desired shape and to force trapped air to
dissolve in the compound. Other methods of curing the rubber mix
after it has been shaped include steam heating in autoclaves,
microwave irradiation, and passage through a heated bath of
molten metal salts or a fluidized bed. In these cases curing is
carried out at near-atmospheric pressure.
Export
Indian Rubber is an export promotion strategy promoted by the Board since 2011 with
an objective of distinguishing Indian rubber in international market with its discerning
quality features. The board is promoting export as a market intervention strategy to
adjust imbalances in the domestic market owing to unscrupulous imports of rubber.
Exports during this peak production period are at high level from December 2016 to
March 2017. The exports of rubber from India jumped to 650 tonnes during April 2018 to
October 2018. The price of natural rubber (NR) in India had been ruling high over
international market prices since December 2013. The surge in international rubber price
was due to the amplified demand for rubber from China. United States and the European
Union together contribute nearly 70 % of India's overall rubber products' exports. Indian
exporters, however, are looking to raise India's share in the world market to 5 per cent in
the next couple of years from the existing 1.48 per cent compared to China's market
share of 11 per cent. The average growth rate is 132 percent. The average percentage of balance
of trade is 67.74 favourable.

The Indian rubber

industry is a key donor
to the country’s
Value of Exports (Rs. in
year Crores)
2010 – 2011 7.85
2011 – 2012 5.36
2012 – 2013 5.69
2013 – 2014 11.35
 2014 – 2015 185.89
2015 – 2016 225.36
2016 – 2017 318.25
2017 – 2018 458.17

Positive strengths
Indian rubber industry has many positive strengths. An extensive plantation sector with
highest yield and indigenous availability of basic raw materials like natural rubber,
synthetic rubber, reclaim rubber, carbon black, rubber chemicals, fatty acids, rayon,
nylon yarn, steel cord, bead wire, rubber machinery and testing equipments are a boon
to Indian rubber industry.
The quality of Indian rubber products has been globally accepted as exports have been
growing at more than 20% Year over year for the past more than 10 years.
Experience of entrepreneurs in rubber product manufacturing catering to a large
domestic market, availability of quality technologists made available from more than 40
institutes catering only to Rubber Technology, and low cost of experienced labour (which
is now rapidly changing) are other positive factors.

Problems faced by the rubber industry in india :

In recent years, natural rubber production in India is facing sharp decline.

Currently, India is world’s fifth largest natural rubber producer and fourth
largest consumer behind China, the US and Japan. In 2012, however, India
was on 4th rank after Thailand, Indonesia and Malaysia. Before that India
ranked third on the production table after Thailand and Indonesia. The
major reason for fall in production includes:

A serious fall in the productivity per hectare of rubber Constant fall in prices
of natural rubber, coupled with high labour cost has forced many of t of
interests of Rubber Growers and Tyre Companies. The unrestricted
massive imports by larger tyre companies pushed down domestic demand;
however at the growers (75 per cent small and marginal farmers) to keep
away from tapping Further, this industry is marred by several problems
such as: Conflict of interests of Rubber Growers and Tyre Companies. The
unrestricted massive imports by larger tyre companies pushed down
domestic demand; however at the same time; MSME and other small
industries which depend on domestic supply of natural rubber demand for
urgent measures. Other reasons including high input costs; bizarre duty
structure, cheap imports and signing of Free Trade Agreements with
countries from which import of finished rubber product s to India is
encouraged.
The variables Shortage of labour. Lack of finance, Monsoon failure. Diseases, Inadequate irrigation
facilities are considered to be the major problems of cultivation. The variables Lack of storing
facilities, High labour cost, Lack of pest control. Quality of seedlings. Soil fertility. Lack of technology
application and the cost of manure, Lack of Processing facilities, are considered as minor problems

Suggestions 1. Stability of Rubber Price As the fanners in the district

face some problems of uncertainty due to the fluctuations in the
price level of rubber, the government can take viable 265 steps to fix
stable price for rubber. Often the downward pressure on rubber
prices putting the rubber growers to much stress. Hence, the price
thus fixed should be remunerative and stable to the cultivators.
Export Potentiality

the country consumed almost the entire quantity of indigenously produced rubber, there has been a
chance for export when production outstripped consumption and the natural rubber become
surplus.As India, especially Tamilnadu in which Kanyakumari District has been blessed with the
opportunity of producing more natural rubber, the export potentialities can be explored for the
betterment of the nation.

Rubber Processing Packaging and presentation of rubber need improvement to make them meet
international standards. To overcome theses weaknesses, a scheme to modernize the processing
facilities in the country and to make Indian rubber competitive both in quality and quantity has to be
formulated and implemented. As one of the major problems reported by the sample rubber
cultivators of the district is high processing cost the robber board which has a direct control over the
rubber related activities of the district can consider the matter seriously to find a valid solution for
the same.

Byproducts of Rubber Rubber wood is the major byproduct of rubber plantations. Currently, rubber
wood is used as firewood and for low value added products like packing cases. Rubber wood, if
chemically treated, can be value added and used in various applications including furniture making,
flooring, paneling, interior decorations, and the like. A market economy offers opportunities to
promote sustainable income to rubber growers and make natural rubber cultivation a viable income
generating activity. Proper awareness regarding the usage of byproducts can be imparted among the
rubber growers of the district to grow economically viable farmers.
Adoption of Technology

One of the problems reported by the sample rubber growers of the district is lack of technical
knowhow and the survey reveals that many of the farmers till depend on the primitive or traditional
way of cultivation. This situation has to be reversed by the application of suitable technologies to
yield better benefits fi-om the rubber cultivation.

The Department headed by the Rubber Production Commissioner is responsible

for planning, formulation and implementation of schemes for improvement and
expansion of rubber cultivation and production. Extension/advisory service,
supplies of inputs, demonstration and training for small growers etc. are also
undertaken by the RP Department.

The important development schemes and activities undertaken

through the Department are the following:

1. Rubber Plantation Development Scheme.

2. Production and distribution of improved planting materials.
3. Advisory and extension services to growers.
4. Demonstration of scientific planting and production.
5. Supplies of equipment and materials requiring popularisation.
6. Identification of non-traditional areas suitable for rubber and planning
and undertaking  activities for its promotion in such areas.
7.                Schemes for productivity enhancement in small holdings
8. Schemes for improvement of quality of small holder rubber.
9.                Schemes for extra income generation form rubber plantations
- Apiculture
10. Block planting, group planting etc. for promotion of rubber among
scheduled caste/scheduled tribe members.
11. Promotion of activities of voluntary associations (Rubber Producers'
Societies) and self help groups among small growers.
12. Training of tappers.