Agricultural activities in India are the most important and primary sector of the economy. It only creates employment facilities and opportunities in rural India but also creates a good sum of revenue for the country.
Similarly, we bring you to a type of farming which is known as plantation farming. Plantation farming is typically a type of commercial farming in which a single or only particular type of a plant or crop is grown for say tea, coffee, banana, or cotton and plantation farming is mainly practised for commercial purposes to provide and sell the crops in the market.
What is Plantation Agriculture?
Plantation agriculture is an extensive type of agriculture where the large size of the farm is utilized to grow a single crop which is even known as monoculture.
The farming practice known as "plantation agriculture" involves the production of crops on a vast scale for financial gain. Although they can be found everywhere in the world, plantations are more frequently found in tropical and subtropical areas.
Plantation crops are typically cash crops, which means they fetch high prices when sold on the international market. Sugarcane, coffee, cocoa, bananas, and pineapples are some of the fruits and vegetables that are most frequently grown on plantations
What are the features of Plantation Farming?
Plantation farming requires a huge level of labour of workforce along with a good sum of capital.
Large areas of fields are required for growing cash crops as it is beneficial in exporting
Bananas, tea, coffee, sugarcane, elastic, cotton, and many more are grown in large areas of land for greater production of yield these harvests had to be transported to the industries that would process them.
A sizable amount of a single crop is grown in large fields.
Numerous crops are grown on plantations, including cotton, rubber, bananas, sugarcane, cashew, tea, and coffee.
A well-developed transportation and communication network linking plantation processing businesses and marketplaces promotes the growth of plantations.
Modern plantation agricultural methods are employed. crops that are exported and money used for other parts. Among the developed harvests are tea, espresso, sugarcane, and elastic
It cost a lot of money to do this. labour-intensive farming Crops are raised using advanced techniques.
Advantages of Plantation Agriculture:
Plantation agriculture is a source of employment: Plantation agriculture leads to the generation of employment. Due to their extensive size, plantations require a huge workforce to operate various machines in both the farm and processing facilities. Consequently, plantations offer a lot of employment opportunities, raising the level of living in the regions where they are located.
Plantation agriculture is a source of government revenue and taxes generation: When plantations sell their goods domestically and abroad, a portion of their profits are paid to the government in taxes, and the government may also receive extra income from them in the form of a skills development levy and other fees.
Plantation agriculture leads to foreign exchange reserves: Plantation agriculture provides a positive surge of high foreign exchange reserves.
Plantation agriculture promotes agricultural and research development: Plantation farms support research that results in better and higher-quality crops. Many plantations include research facilities that focus on creating high-yielding, disease-resistant seeds to secure high-quality crops.
Plantation agriculture leads to infrastructural development: Plantation farming is a sophisticated system that involves building not just industrial facilities but also public infrastructure such as roads, housing developments, educational institutions, medical facilities, administrative buildings, etc. Eventually, the rate of urbanization accelerates. Plantations Farms employ a large number of people, thus to keep them, they provide a variety of social services like hospitals, schools, and markets. Rural areas may become urbanized as a result of the development of these infrastructures.
Disadvantages of plantation agriculture:
The displacement of people from their land which makes them landless is a result of plantation agriculture: People in the areas where plantations are built are typically transferred to other areas since plantation agriculture requires enormous expanses. Plantations may also result in skyrocketing land prices and a dearth of land for people to grow and raise their families' food because they take up a lot of space.
Plantation agriculture is leading to deforestation: Large areas of land must be removed from their natural vegetation to establish plantations, which can cause issues including soil erosion, ecological disruption, and biodiversity loss. Plantation farming is bad for the environment. Soil fertility is depleted and soil erosion is accelerated by overuse and lack of crop rotation. The majority of plantation estate owners live outside of the country, especially in the early stages of development, therefore they have little stake in the area's growth.
Plantation agriculture leads to the multiplication of pests and diseases: Plantation agriculture's use of monoculture may encourage the spread of pests and illnesses. Profit repatriation results in less money flowing through the economy. Farmers that adopt monoculture on plantations lose soil fertility due to erosion and soil depletion. Even though they are capital-intensive and large-scale, the majority of East Africans live in poverty, which encourages foreign ownership. Due to the monoculture practised on these plantations, pests and illnesses are more likely to spread. Due to the product's reliance on the global market for sales, any changes in price or demand could have disastrous effects on agriculture. Following labour cuts, the local economy could suffer greatly, and unemployment could rise.
