Class — VIII Social Science Ch 20 - Agriculture (QA) 3. Answer the following questions in 30 to ¢0 words only, Ql. What do you understand by the term agriculture? Ans: A systematic practice of tilling and cultivation of soil, raising crops, rearing animals and practicing fishing is Jomtly called agriculture. az, Name the factors which influence cultivation of crops nan area. Ans: Physical factors like climate, soil and relief influence cultivation of crops inanarea, Q3. Name three factors which have boosted agriculture in the 20th century. Ans: Transportation facilities, capital availability and government policies have boosted agriculture in the 20th century. QY, List down the conditions required for cultivation of rice. Ans: The conditions required for cultivation of rice are as follows: e It requires temperature over 20 degrees celsius during the growing season and over 25 degree celsius at the time of ripening. e Rainfall between 100 to 150 cmis necessary, e Plenty of water is required for the rice cultivation, e Alluvial and loamy soil with subsoil of clay helps grow it better.Q5. What type of farming activity is carried on in the USA? Ans: Commercial grain farming is mostly carried on in the USA. Most parts of USA use extensive agriculture method. Qb. Name three major fibre crops grown in the world, Ans: The three major fibre crops grown in the world are cotton, jute and silk. C. Answer the following questions in 60 to 80 words each. Q3, How does the government help farmers in the development of agriculture? Ans: The government helps farmers by providing improved facilities for storage, processing and transportation of farm products. The use of cold storage and refrigerators help in the safe delivery ofperishable food items. Q¢, List of the chief characteristics of Indian agriculture as it 1s today. Ans: The chief characteristics of Indian agriculture as of today are as follows: e Anordinary farm in India ts quite small in area as compared to big farms of developed nations. © Division of land, generation after generation, has lead to fragmentation and small size of land holdings. e Lack of funds prevents farmers from carrying out reforms in their fields. e There ts lack of credit and marketing facilities in Indian agriculture, e Indian agriculture still depend mostly on the monsoon, But with combined ef forts of central and state governments, India has now seen great revolution in agriculture. Agriculture along with his other activities forms 33% of the Gross Domestic Product.| rs D. Distinguish between. |, Subsistence farming and Commercial farming, Ans: Subsistence farming: It is « form of primitive agriculture. It is mainly found in equatorial and tropical forests. Crop specialisation is not possible in this system, This system includes three types of agricultural practices, i.e. nomadic herding, shifting cultivation and intensive agriculture, Commercial farming: The main aim of the farmer is to produce crops for sale in the market, Crop specialisation is one of its characteristics. Two major forms of this type of agriculture found in the world are the commercial grain farming in middle latitudes and the plantation agriculturein tropical regions. Extensive agriculture, mixed farming and dairy farming are also parts of commercial farming. 2. Extensive farming and Intensive farming, Ans: Extensive farming: It is a farming system in which large farms are being cultivated. The farming operations are fully mechanised and the number of human labourers is very low. The major regions tf this type of agriculture are Prairies of Canada and United States of America, Pampas of Argentina, Steppes of Kazakhstan and Kyrgystan and Downs of Australia. Intensive farming: This type of farming is confined to monsoon lands of Asia. China, Japan, Korea, India etc practice this type of farming. Here the the land sizes are small. Farmers use Improved varieties of seeds, farm manure, chemical fertilizersfor soil fertility. 3. Fibre crops and Beverage crops: Ans: Fibre crops: Fibre is a material produced from vegetables, animals, minerals and chemicals. Examples of vegetable fibre are cotton and jute, animal fibre ts silk, mineral fibre is glass etc, Beverage crops: Beverage is a drink other than water for human consumption. The two important beverage crops are tea and coffee. Tea Is obtained from the young leaves of the tea plant. China tea, Assam tea, Darjeeling tea are some of its varieties. India, Sri Lanka, China, Japan Indonesia are some tea producing countries. Coffee ts the second largest beverage after tea, It is obtained from the beans of the plants, also known as coffee seeds, The largest producer ofcoffee ts Brazil. In India, tt is mainly grown In western ghats of Karnataka and Tamilnadu, 4. Green Revolution and Commercial farming: Ans: Green Revolution: The Green Revolution was a period when agriculture in India was converted into an industrial system due to the adoption of modern methods and technology, such as the use of high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, tractors, irrigation facilities, pesticides, and fertilizers. Green Revolution in India was founded by M$ Swaminathan, Commercial farming: same as ql,