Question

Fill in the blanks-
 ________ ensure steady income to the farmers?

Answer 1

Hint: Farmers depend on agriculture and grow crops for their income. For a steady income throughout the year, there is a need to grow crops on the agricultural land continuously. Growing crops regularly on the land decreases soil fertility and can also lead to infertile soil. There is a need for a technique through which crops can be grown with the least deterioration of the fertile soil layer.

Complete answer:
Mixed farming ensures a steady income to the farmers.
Mixed farming- Mixed farming is a technique through which we can increase the productivity of land without any harmful effects on soil.
Growing two or more crops on the same area of land simultaneously in the same growing season is known as mixed cropping. For instance wheat and gram or groundnut and sunflower.
The benefits of mixed cropping are:
1. Farmers can maintain continuous production in their lands throughout the year that leads to an increase in their profit.
2. Leguminous plants when used in mixed farming, they replenish the nitrogen availability of the soil.
3. Artificial fertilizers are a costlier option. They are chemicals that can enter the food chain and cause harmful effects after entering.
4. It also decreases the impact of dangerous weather and prevents any soil erosion because planting and harvesting are undertaken at different times of the year.
5. For the same amount of labor and tools used at the same time, more land can be farmed.

Note:
India is mainly an agricultural country. Agriculture in India accounts for approximately thirty-three percent of India’s GDP and it provides employment to nearly sixty-two percent of the total population.
Growing crops continuously on land leads to a decline in the nutrients enrichment of the soil and can make it infertile.