Agriculture in Rajasthan : Introduction, Types, Classification, Importance

Introduction

• Indian (Rajasthan) agriculture is mainly based on monsoon, due to this agriculture is called ‘Gamble of Monsoon’.
• Agricultural productivity is high in the eastern plain of Rajasthan, due to this the eastern plain is called ‘heart of agriculture’ in Rajasthan.
• Year :-
  • The normal year period is from 1 January to 31 December.
  • The financial year period is from 1 April to 31 March.
  • The agricultural year period is from 1 July to 30 June.
• The North-Western region of Rajasthan, which is comprises of 61% of the total geographical area, is desert or semi-desert, as well as dependent on rainfall.
• The South-Eastern region of Rajasthan, which is about 39% of the total geographical area, is fertile.
• Rajasthan is divided into 10 Agro-Climatic Zones on the basis of climate. Such as-

Agro-Climatic Zones of Rajasthan

S. No.	Agro-Climatic Zones	District Covered	Major Kharif Crops	Major Rabi Crops	Features
1	Arid Western Plain (I-A)	Jodhpur City Jodhpur Rural Phalodi Barmer Balotara	Bajra, Moth & Sesamum	Wheat, Mustard & Cuminseed	This is the second largest Agro-Climatic Zone of Rajasthan.
2	Irrigated North Western Plain (I-B)	Srigangangar Hanumangarh Anoopgarh	Cotton & Guar	Wheat, Mustard & Gram	Most of the irrigation in this zone is done through canals. This is the second smallest Agro-Climatic Zone of Rajasthan.
3	Hyper arid partial irrigated Western Plain (I-C)	Bikaner Jaisalmer Part of Churu (Ratangarh, Sardarsahar, Bidasar & Sujangarh Tehsil)	Bajra, Moth & Guar	Wheat, Mustard & Gram	This is the newest Agro-Climatic Zone of Rajasthan. This is the largest Agro-Climatic Zone of Rajasthan.
4	Transitional Plain of Inland Drainage (II-A)	Sikar Neem ka Thana Churu (Exclusive of Ratangarh, Sardarsahar, Bidasar & Sujangarh Tehsil) Jhunjhunu Nagaur Dhidwana and Khuchaman	Bajra, Gura & Pulses	Mustard & Gram
5	Transitional Plain of Luni Basin (II-B)	Jalore Sanchor Sirohi (Exclusive of Pindwara, Aburoad Tehsil) Part of Beawar (Jaitaran & Raipur Tehsil)	Bajra, Guar & Sesamum	Wheat, Mustard & Gram
6	Semi-arid Eastern Plain (III-A)	Ajmer Beawar (Exclusive of Jaitaran, Raipur Tehsil) Jaipur City Jaipur Rural Dausa Tonk Dudu Kekri Khairthal Tizara Kotputli-Behror	Bajra, Guar & Jowar	Wheat, Mustard & Gram
7	Flood Prone Eastern Plain (III-B)	Alwar Deeg Bharatpur Dholpur Karauli Gangapur City Sawai Madhopur	Bajra, Guar & Groundnut	Wheat, Barley, Mustard & Gram
8	Sub-humid Southern Plain (IV-A)	Udaipur Chittorgarh (Exclusive of Badi Sadri Tehsil) Rajasamand Bhilwara Shahpura Part of Sirohi (Pindwara & Abu road Tehsil)	Maize, Pulses & Jowar	Wheat & Gram
9	Humid Southern Plain (IV-B)	Banswara Dungarpur Pratapgarh Salumber Chittorgarh (Badi Sadri Tehsil)	Maize, Paddy, Jowar & Blackgram	Wheat & Gram	This is the smallest Agro-Climatic region of Rajasthan.
10	Humid South Eastern Plain (V)	Kota Baran Bundi Jhalawar	Jowar & Soyabean	Wheat & Mustard

Types of Agriculture

• Agriculture is divided into two types. Such as-
  1. General Type
  2. Scientific Type

1. General Type

S. No.	Type of Agriculture	definition/meaning	Features
1	Mixed Farming	Doing agriculture and animal rearing jointly.	In Rajasthan, it is done mostly in Barmer (Western Rajasthan).
2	Barani Agriculture	Agriculture based on monsoon	In Rajasthan, it is done mostly in Barmer (Western Rajasthan).
3	Arid Agriculture	Agriculture based on less than 75 cm rainfall like- millet, moong, moth, cluster bean, gram
4	Humid Agriculture	Agriculture based on rainfall more than 75 cm like- sugarcane, rice, wheat, cotton
5	Monoculture	Producing one crop in one field in one agricultural year.
6	Duoculture	Producing two crops in one field in one agricultural year.
7	Oligoculture	Producing three crops in one field in one agricultural year.
8	Relay Culture	This is a system of multiple cropping in which another crop is sown along with the already sown crop.
9	Khadeen Agriculture	Agriculture done by Paliwal Brahmins in western Rajasthan	It is popular in Rajasthan, mainly in Jaisalmer.
10	Jhooming Agriculture	Agriculture done by cutting and burning trees	In Rajasthan, shifting agriculture is mainly done in Banswara, Dungarpur and Udaipur. Other names :- 1. Shifting agriculture 2. Slash-Burn Agriculture 3. Walra in Rajasthan 4. Chimata in the Aravalli region of Rajasthan 5. Dajiya in the plains of Rajasthan 6. Agriculture of tribals 7. enemy of the environment (Safeda tree is called enemy of environment.)

2. Scientific Type

S. No.	Type of Agriculture	Production	Features
1	Sericulture	Silk or Silkworm/Rearing	Most of the silk production in India takes place in Karnataka.
2	Pisciculture	Fish
3	Apiculture	Honey/Bee
4	Viticulture	Grapes
5	Horticulture	Gardening like fruits, flowers, vegetables
6	Pomoculture	Fruit
7	Floriculture	Flowers
8	Olericulture	Vegetables
9	Silviculture	Forest
10	Vermiculture	Rearing of Earthworm or Vermicompost

Classification of agriculture

• Classification of agriculture is done in two ways. For example-
  1. Classification of agriculture on the basis of seasons
  2. Classification of agriculture on the basis of uses

1. Classification of agriculture on the basis of seasons

S. No.	Type of crops	Crops	Sowing	Harvesting
1	Kharif (Kharif crop is also called Syalu depending on the season of harvesting.)	Food Grain Crops : Millet, Rice, Maize, Jowar/Sorghum, Ragi Pulse Crops : Moong, Moth, Arhar/Toor, Chawla/Lobiya, Black Gram Oilseed Crops : Groundnut, Sayabean, Sesame, Castor, Sunflower Cash Crops : Cotton, Sugarcane, Guar, Jute/Patson	June – July	September – October
2	Rabi (Rabi crops are also called Unalu depending on the season of harvesting.)	Food Grain Crops : Wheat, Barley Pulse Crops : Masoor/Red Gram, Gram, Pease Oilseed Crops : Mustard, Cumin, Rai, Fannel Vegetable : Onion, Garlic, Ginger Spice Crops : Chilly, Coriander, Turmeric, Fenugreek Other Crops : Taramira, Isabgol, Opium, Tabacco, Flaxseed, Barseem	October – November	March – April
3	Zaid	Vegetables, Musk Melon, Water Melon, Cucumber, Animal Fodder Crops	March – April	May – June

2. Classification of agriculture on the basis of uses

S. No.	Type of crops	Definition/Meaning	Crops	Features
1	Food Grain Crops	Those crops which are useful for eating.	Kharif Crops : Millet, Rice, Maize, Sorghum Rabi Crops : Wheat, Barley	The main food grain crop of the world is rice. The main food grain crop of India is rice. The main food grain crop of Rajasthan is millet.
2	Pulse Crops	Those crops which make the land fertile or increase the fertility of the land.	Kharif Crops : Moong, Moth, Lobiya, Black Gram Rabi Crops : Masoor, Gram, Pease Exception : Arhar/ Toor dal	The main pulse crop of Rajasthan is gram.
3	Oilseed Crops	Crops from which oil is obtained.	Kharif Crops : Groundnut, Soybean, Castor, Sunflower Rabi Crops : Mustard, Rai, Flaxseed	The main oilseed crop of Rajasthan is mustard.
4	Cash/Commercial Crops	Those crops which are useful in industries i.e. those crops which are in high demand in industries.	Cotton, Sugarcane	Food grains and pulses are not included in cash crops.
5	Fiber Crops	Crops from which fibre is obtained.	Cotton, Jute/ Patson, Flaxseed, Bamboo	Jute is also called golden fibre. Bamboo is also called Green Gold of Tribes.
6	Beverage Crops	Those crops which are useful for drinking purposes.	Tea, Coffee, Tobacco, Sugarcane, Opium

Importance of agriculture

1. Contribution in Employment :-
   • 54.6% of the total population of India is dependent on agriculture.
   • 62% of the total population of Rajasthan is dependent on agriculture.
2. Contribution in Trade :-
   • Export : Food Grain
   • Import : Edible Oil
3. Contribution in Industries :-
   • About 15% of the total industries in Rajasthan are agriculture based, in which the biggest industries are-
     1. The biggest agriculture based industry is the cotton textile industry.
     2. The second biggest agriculture based industry is the sugar industry.

4. Gross State Value Added (GSVA)

Financial Year	Constant Price	Current Price
2022-23	28.50%	28.95%
2023-24	26.21%	26.72%

Other important facts related to agriculture

Agriculture Research Center :-

• (A) Central Agricultural Research Center
• (B) State Agricultural Research Center

(A) Central Agricultural Research Center :-

• The following are the Central Agricultural Research Centres working in Rajasthan under the ‘Indian Council of Agricultural Research’ (ICAR)-
  1. Central Institute for Arid Horticulture (CIAH) :-
     • Located : Bichhwal, Bikaner
     • Establishment :  1993 AD
  2. Central Arid Zone Research Institute (CAZRI) :-
     • Located : Jodhpur
     • Establishment : 1952 AD (as Desert Afforestation Research Station)
     • Desert Afforestation Research Station was established as CAZRI in 1959 i.e. CAZRI was established in 1959 AD.
     • Research on plants and agricultural crops is conducted in CAZRI.
     • 5 sub-centres of CAZRI are located in India. Such as-
       1. Bikaner (Rajasthan)
       2. Jaisalmer (Rajasthan)
       3. Pali (Rajasthan)
       4. Bhuj (Gujarat)
       5. Leh (Ladakh)
  3. National Research Centre on Seed Spices (NRCSS) :-
     • Located : Dumara-Tabiji Village, Ajmer
     • Established : 22 April, 2000 (by ICAR)
  4. National Rapeseed Mustard Research Centre (NRCRM) :-
     • Located : Sewar, Bharatpur
     • Establishment : 20 October, 1993
     • In February 2009, it was renamed as ‘Directorate of Rapeseed Mustard Research’ (DRMR) by the ICAR.

(B) State Agricultural Research Center

S. No.	State Agricultural Research Center	Located	Features
1	RARI (Rajasthan Agricultural Research Centre)	Durgapura, Jaipur	Establishment : 1943 AD
2	Sorghum Research Centre	Vallabhnagar, Udaipur
3	Maize Research Centre	Banswara
4	Rice Research Centre	Banswara
5	Millet Research Centre	Jodhpur
6	Isabgol Research Centre	Jodhpur
7	Ber Research Centre	Bichwal, Bikaner
8	Date Research Centre	Bichwal, Bikaner

Agriculture Excellence Center

S. No.	Agriculture Excellence Center	Located
1	Centre of Excellence for Date	Sagra-Bhojka, Jaisalmer
2	Centre of Excellence for Millet	Jodhpur
3	Centre of Excellence for Custard Apple	Chittorgarh
4	Centre of Excellence for Vegetable	Bundi
5	Centre of Excellence for Citrus	Nanta, Kota
6	Centre of Excellence for Citrus, Spice and Medicinal Plant	Jhalawar
7	Centre of Excellence for Guava	Sawai Madhopur-Tonk (Devdawas)
8	Centre of Excellence for Flower	Sawai Madhopur
9	Centre of Excellence for Mango	Khemari, Dholpur
10	Centre of Excellence for Pomegranate	Bassi, Jaipur
11	Centre of Excellence for Olive	Bassi, Jaipur
12	Centre of Excellence for Dragon Fruit	Bassi, Jaipur
13	Centre of Excellence for Fig/Anjeer	Sirohi
14	Centre of Excellence for Apiculture	Tonk

Agriculture Policies

S. No.	Policy	Implemented
1	Agriculture Policy	26 June, 2013
2	Organic Agriculture Policy	June, 2017
3	Rajasthan Agro-Processing, Agri-Business and Agri-Export Promotion Policy	December, 2019

High Yielding Variety of Crops

S. No	Crops	High Yielding Variety (HYV)
1	Wheat	Kalyan Sona-1482 Sonalika Lerma Malvika Kohinoor Durgapura-65 Chambal-65 Nabi-Maru Wheat (Nabi-MG) : This is a variety of black wheat.
2	Barley	Karan Kailash Kedar Jyoti
3	Maize	Mahi Kanchan Mahi Dhawal Arun Kiran Prabhat Pusa HM-4 Pusa HM-8 Pusa HM-9
4	Millet	Raj-171 RCB-2 RHB-30 RCB-911
5	Cotton	Narma American Cotton Bikaneri Cotton
6	Sugar Cane	CO-419 CO-449 CO-1111

Position of Rajasthan in production of various agricultural crops :-

1. First Position : Bajra, Rape & Mustard, Total Oilseeds, Guar
2. Second Position : Nutri-cereals, Groundnut
3. Third Position : Gram, Total Pulses, Jowar, Soyabean

Production of major crops in India

S. No.	Crops	First Position	Second Position	Third Position	Contribution of Rajasthan in total production of Country (in percentage)
1	Bajra	Rajasthan	Uttar Pradesh	Haryana	38.98%
2	Rape & Mustard	Rajasthan	Madhya Pradesh	Haryana	46.63%
3	Nutri-Cereals	Karnataka	Rajasthan	Maharashtra	13.89%
4	Total Oilseeds	Rajasthan	Madhya Pradesh	Gujarat	22.25%
5	Total Pulses	Madhya Pradesh	Maharashtra	Rajasthan	14.51%
6	Groundnut	Gujarat	Rajasthan	Tamil Nadu	16.83%
7	Gram	Maharashtra	Madhya Pradesh	Rajasthan	19.28%
8	Jowar	Maharashtra	Karnataka	Rajasthan	12.67%
9	Soyabean	Maharashtra	Madhya Pradesh	Rajasthan	7.12%
10	Guar	Rajasthan	–	–	87.69%

Production of major crops in Rajasthan

S. No.	Crops	First Position	Second Position	Third Position
1	Wheat	Hanumangarh	Sri Ganganagar	–
2	Barley	Sri Ganganagar	Jaipur	–
3	Millet	Alwar	Barmer	Jaipur
4	Maize	Bhilwara	Chittorgarh	Udaipur
5	Cotton	Hanumangarh	Sri Ganganagar	–
6	Sugar Cane	Sri Ganganagar	Chittorgarh	Bundi