Tamil Nadu Agriculture Online Test 9th Social Science Lesson 17 Questions in English

Most of the people of Tamil Nadu depended on agriculture even after 40 years of Independence. This situation has been changed in recent years. As per 2011 census data the number of Farmers in Tamil Nadu has got reduced during the last 10 years.

According to the 2001 census 49.3% out of the total population of workers were involved in agriculture.

In 2011 there were three crore 29 lakh workers in Tamil Nadu of which 96 lakh were agriculture workers. Thus the percentage has been reduced from 49.3% to 42.1% in the year 2011.

In 2011, nearly 55% of the women were involved in agriculture whereas nearly one third of the male population which is 35.3% was involved in agriculture during the same year.

A major portion of the workers involved in agricultural activities are landless laborers.

All the land holders do not have the same amount of land. Many people have very little land and very few people hold large areas of land.

During 2015-16, there were 79, 83,000 cultivators in Tamil Nadu. But five years earlier there were 81, 18,000 cultivators. There was a reduction of 1, 80,000 cultivators in these five years.

The Area under cultivation reduced from 64.88 lakh hectares to 59.71 lakh hectares during the last 5 years. Tamil Nadu had lost nearly 1, 03,400 hectares on an average during these five years.

In 2011 nearly 55% of the women workers were involved in agriculture. 17% of the land is used for non-agriculture usage. Micro farmers account to around 78% of the total cultivators. The Agriculture workers in the year 2011 were 42.1% of the total workers population.

Most of the cultivators in Tamil Nadu are micro farmers who cultivate in an area less than 1 hectare. They account to 78% of the total cultivators, while the area cultivated by these micro farmers is just 36%.

The area cultivated by the micro farmers is just 36%. Small farmers cultivating 1-2 hectares of land covers 14% of the total cultivation, while the land cultivated by them is 26%.

The Total agriculture area is shrinking vastly not only in Tamil Nadu but also throughout India. The number of marginal farmers has increased in India.

Cultivators of schedule caste farmers are only one percent in Tamil Nadu and 96% of this is small and micro farmers. The number of marginal farmers has increased in India. In contrast, the number of marginal farmers is decreasing in Tamil Nadu. This shows that the farmers are doing other occupations.

The Total geographical area of Tamil Nadu is 1, 30, 33,000 hectares. Out of this only one third of land that is 45, 44,000 hectares is used for agriculture.

Out of the total geographical area only one third of land is used for agriculture. 17% of the land is used for non-agricultural use and about 4% of the total land is unusable. Other fallow lands are 13% so nearly one fourth of the land is barren. Grazing land and cash crops occupy slightly more than 5% of the total land area.

17% of the land is used for non-agricultural use in the total geographic area of Tamil Nadu. Nearly the same size of 2125 thousand hectares of land is forests.

One tenth of the total land in Tamil Nadu is barren and other fallow lands are 13%. So nearly one-fourth of the land is barren and we have to be concerned of the increasing size of the barren land.

The size of the total cropping land in Tamil Nadu keeps on changing ever year. Sufficient rainfall in proper period will increase this extent of land.

Sufficient rainfall at correct period will increase the extent of cultivatable land. A small part of this area gives a chance to crop more than once in a year. The extent of this area also changes every year.

The extent of this cultivatable land is varying every year. This area will be more or less stable only when there is a stable and reliable water source.

If one hectare land is cultivated once in a year, then the net cultivated land is also one hectare only. In some land two or three crops can be cultivated in a year then the net land area also accounts to two hectare.

When the reliable water supply increases, the possibility of cultivating the land more than once increases. Thus when the total area of cultivatable land area increases, it results in the increase of agricultural production.

In 2012-13, out of the total cultivated land, nearly 72% is used for food crops and the remaining for non-food crops.

When the South West monsoon rains are high in the catchment areas of the Cauvery river in Karnataka, the dams get filled by these and in turn the Cauvery river in Tamil Nadu gets enough water.

Northeast Monsoon from October to December month is major source of water for Tamil Nadu.

Conventional water bodies like lakes, ponds and canals provide water for agriculture in Tamil Nadu.

The area of land that is irrigated using water from lakes is very low in Tamil Nadu compared to other available water bodies.

There are 2,239 canals which covers a length of 9,750kms in Tamil Nadu. There are 7,985 small lakes and 33,142 large lakes, 15 lakh open wells and 3, 54,000 bore wells in the state where agriculture is carried out with the help of these water resources.

Agriculture in Tamil Nadu is dependent mostly on Ground water. This usage of ground water for agriculture purposes creates many hardships too.

There are no perennial rivers in Tamil Nadu and it receives the required water from the Northeast and Southwest monsoons.

Usage of ground water for agriculture creates many hardships. There would be no sufferings if the amount of water taken from ground and the water goes into the underground during the rainy season are equal. On the contrary, as this amount of water is not equal it results in complete dryness and change into unusable water.

The Union Ground Water Board is constantly monitoring the level and nature of the ground water.

The continuous monitoring of Union Ground water board categorized the Panchayat Union in terms of the amount of ground water used.

The Panchayat Union is categorized in terms of the amount of ground water used. 139 blocks in Tamil Nadu are identified as excessive users of ground water and 100 blocks as nearing the stage of excessive usage of ground water. 11 blocks have been identified with reduced water quality. Only 136 blocks have enough quantity and quality water for usage.

Agriculture in Tamil Nadu is dependent mostly on Ground water. This usage of ground water for agriculture purposes creates many hardships too. The Ground water usage is decreasing in the unsatisfactory levels. Regulating the usage of ground water is important for sustainable farming.

All cultivated crops can be classified as Food crops and Non-food crops.

River Cauvery is the third largest river in South India. It is also known as the Ganges of South India.

In Tamil Nadu about 57% of the total land under food grain cultivation is irrigated.

The Dams constructed across Cauvery in Tamil Nadu are Mettur Dam and Kallanai. The Mettur Dam is one of the largest dams in India and the largest in Tamil Nadu.

Tony Allen is a British geographer. He introduced the term Virtual Water in 1990 and he was awarded the Stockholm Water Prize in 2008 for his revolutionary virtual water concept.

India is the largest global fresh water user and it has been the fifth largest exporter of virtual water in the world.

Paddy cultivation is carried out at a large scale of 30% cultivated land area in Tamil Nadu.

Millets are cultivated in a very low percentage of area. Sorghum (Cholam) cultivation in 7% land area, cumbu in 1% and ragi in 1.7%. Other millets occupy 6% in the year 2014-15.

The Cultivatable area land changes every year as a result of many factors such as rainfall, weather, availability of water and also market prices.

The total quantity of paddy produced in the year 2014-15 is about 80 lakh tones in Tamil Nadu. It is about 62% of the total production of food grains.

The Contribution of paddy to the total amount of food production is 62%. Maize production was 20%, corn is 7%, ragi 3% and another 3% occupied by black gram. While the other food crops contributed a very meager amount to the total for production in Tamil Nadu for the year 2104-15.

Micro Irrigation technology is a very good remedial method to tackle the shortage in irrigational water.

The Micro irrigation technology helps to have a higher yield when compared to the traditional irrigation methods. As only required amount of water is supplied at regular intervals, it increases the ability of water usage and productivity.

Water is supplied at regular intervals so it increases the ability of water usage and productivity of the crop which results in reduction of labor expenses and weed growth in the field. Fertilizers are also distributed along with the water; it increases the usage of fertilizer and the yield.

As Tamil Nadu gets insufficient rainfall, the government has taken many steps to implement Micro Irrigation technology for proper distribution of water to crops that require more water.

Production capacity of paddy in Tamil Nadu was 4,429 kg per hectare in the year 2014-15. This capacity was 3,309 kg/ hectare in the year 2010-11 revealing the increase in productivity.

Maize stands second in the production with 8,824kg/hectare in Tamil Nadu.

Black gram one of the largest cultivated pulses, produced 645 kg per hectare in Tamil Nadu in the year 2014-15.

The Productivity of paddy in the year 1965-66 was 1409 kg. it has been increased to 4,429 kg in the year 2014-15. Thus in the past fifty years, the productivity of paddy has increased more than three times.

In 1965-66, the total food grain production was slightly more than 50 lakh tones and in 2014-15 it has been increased to one crore 28 lakh tones.

The area under food grain cultivation has reduced in the past years in Tamil Nadu yet the total amount of production has been maintained and there is an increase of productivity.

Major food crops of Tamil Nadu are paddy, maize and ragi. Coconut stands first in Non-food crops.

In 2014-15, 59% of food crops and 50% of non-food crops were irrigated in Tamil Nadu.

The period June to September is referred as the Southwest Monsoon period. This is the principal rainy season for the Indian subcontinent.