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SAI INTERNATIONAL SCH              OOL, BHUBANESWAR.
                                Class VIII: SOCIAL STUDIES – GEOGRAPHY

                                         CHAPTER - 4- AGRICULTURE

                                               (VIRTUAL CLASSES)


                                       NOTES FOR CHAPTER-4- AGRICULTURE

              SUBTOPIC-  INTRODUCTION.-  Agriculture word comes from Latin word ‘ager’ or ‘agri’
               meaning field and ‘culture’ meaning, cultivation.
              Agriculture, also known as farming, is the art and science of cultivating the soil, raising crops
               and rearing livestock.
              The transformation from a plant to a finished product involves three types of economic
               activities
                     Primary Activities
                          1.  are those activities which are connected with extraction and production of natural
                              resources, for example – agriculture and fishing
                     Secondary Activities
                          1.  are concerned with the processing of natural resources to manufacturing
                              products like baking of bread, weaving of cloth and steel manufacturing
                     Tertiary Activities
                          1.  provide services like transport, trade, banking, insurance and advertising
              Agriculture is a primary activity which includes growing crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and
               rearing livestock.
                     50% of persons in the world are engaged in agricultural activity.
                     2/3 of India’s population is dependent on agriculture as India has the land and climatic
                      conditions favourable for carrying out agricultural activities.
                     The land which can be used for cultivation and on which the crops are grown is known
                      as arable land.
                     Apart from soil conditions, different climatic factors that affect the cultivation of
                      crops in an area are rainfall or precipitation, temperature, and light. Different crops
                      require different climatic conditions for a healthy growth.
              Other forms of cultivation are
                   Sericulture
                          1.  is the art and science of rearing silk worms to produce raw silk
                     Pisciculture
                          1.  is the science of breeding fish in specially designed ponds, tanks or lakes
                     Viticulture
                          1.  is the science of study and production of grapes
                     Horticulture
                          1.  is the science or art of cultivating fruits, vegetables, flowers or ornamental plants


        Farm System
        The farming system has three components:


              Input includes seeds, fertilisers, machinery and labour.
              Process is the processing activities, like tilling, ploughing, sowing, irrigating, weeding and
               harvesting or breeding in case of an animal farm, by which the output is obtained.
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