The science of the practice of farming and rearing of animals can be defined as agriculture. It includes dairy, fruit cultivation, forestry, harvesting of honey and many more things. Agriculture is so important to our country that we cannot survive without it.
Agriculture is important to us in many ways. It gives food security to our country. With agriculture, we have enough food to feed our families. We not only produce for ourselves but we export too. Agriculture forms a large part of our exports. We export tea, cotton, textiles, tobacco, sugar, jute products, spice, rice, and many more items.
Agriculture is the main occupation in India. Two-third of the population is dependent on agriculture directly or indirectly. Farmers of our country work day and night to earn their livelihood from agriculture.
Agricultural development is essential for our economic development. The Agriculture sector is one of the major contributors to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and national income of our country. Agriculture is important for industrial development too. It provides a number of raw materials to industries.
Industries like cotton, sugar, jute, and textiles depend on agriculture for their raw material. Some industries depend directly and some depend indirectly on agriculture for their raw material. Industries that depend directly on agriculture are the plantation industries like tea, coffee, and rubber. The industries that are indirectly dependent on agriculture are crushing oil, the weaving of handloom and khadi cloth, husking of rice, etc.
Other than the above factors, it is the climate, fertile soil and multiple seasons that are responsible for good produce and make agriculture so important to us. It is not just the source of livelihood but it has become a way of life. Our fairs, festivals, and customs are also influenced by agriculture.
