NCERT Book Class 9 EVS Reducing farmers woes alternate cropping

2. Reducing farmer’s woes: alternate cropping

Background

Increasing demand for food due to everrising population has created a pressure on agriculture for more production. Excessive use of fertilisers and water for increasing production may be counterproductive for sustainable agriculture. There is a need, therefore, to adopt alternative method  so as to make agriculture more productive. Cropping patternssuch as mixed cropping and inter-cropping are alternatives to monocropping and are helpful in retaining the fertility of the soil. This is also a possible solution to farmer’s woes of crop failure.

Methodology 

1. Visit a crop field nearest to your village or locality and talk to the farmers.

2. Interview them and find out the types of crop they sow in their farms and also the area they cultivate.

3. Find out what each farmer is growing and note if they are growing one or many crops.

4. Find out if any farmer has switched over to mixed cropping and intercropping in recent past. If so, what were the reasons and how has that benefited the farmer.

5. If they are growing more than one crop, ask the farmer about the pattern of sowing – is it at random or in rows.

6. Enquire from the farmers the yield they obtain per unit area in each case.

7. Ask them about the type of fertilisers or manures they use and the amount of each type used. Also find out the type of irrigation used.

8. Find out the various alternatives that farmers plan in case of a crop failure.

9. Tabulate the information.

Conclusion

Prepare a report based on your observations and data collected about the form of agri/cropping pattern that gives more yield and is more economical.

Please refer to attached file for NCERT Class 9 EVS Reducing farmer’s woes-alternate cropping