BiologyICSE Class 8 · Food Production

Food and Cash Crops, Horticulture, Green and White Revolutions, and Animal Husbandry (ICSE Class 8 Biology)

Updated 17 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Food crops (rice, wheat, pulses) feed people while cash crops (cotton, jute, tea) are grown for sale. Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon and rabi crops in winter. Horticulture grows vegetables, fruits and flowers. The green revolution raised grain output; the white revolution (Operation Flood) raised milk output. Animal husbandry covers milch, meat and draught animals, poultry, fish farming, sericulture and apiculture.

Kharif crops are sown with the monsoon and harvested in autumn; rabi crops are sown in winter and harvested in spring.

Illustration drawn for QuestionBuddy.

Understand Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry

Agriculture. Growing crops and rearing animals for food and other products.

Food crops feed people: cereals (rice, wheat, maize, millets such as jowar, bajra, ragi), pulses (gram, arhar, moong, urad), oilseeds (groundnut, mustard, soybean), vegetables and fruits.
Cash crops are grown mainly to sell: cotton, jute, sugarcane, tea, coffee, rubber, tobacco, spices.

Season	Sown	Harvested	Examples
Kharif (rainy)	June-July, with monsoon	September-October	rice, maize, cotton, groundnut
Rabi (winter)	October-November	March-April	wheat, gram, mustard, pea

Crops of India (widely grown): rice (West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab), wheat (Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana), tea (Assam, West Bengal), coffee (Karnataka, Kerala), jute (West Bengal), cotton (Gujarat, Maharashtra), sugarcane (Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra).

Horticulture. Growing garden crops: vegetables (tomato, brinjal, okra), fruits (mango, banana, grapes), flowers and decorative plants (rose, marigold, orchids, ferns, money plant).

Organic farming (in brief). Farming without chemical fertilisers and pesticides, using manure, compost, vermicompost, green manure, crop rotation (a pulse after a cereal adds nitrogen) and natural pest control (neem sprays). Keeps soil fertile and food free of residues, though yields may be lower.

Green revolution (in brief). The large rise in food-grain production, mainly wheat and rice, in India from the 1960s through high-yielding varieties of seeds, chemical fertilisers and pesticides, and better irrigation. Problems: overuse of chemicals and groundwater. M. S. Swaminathan is called the father of the green revolution in India.

Animal husbandry. Feeding, breeding, care and management of domestic animals.

Milch animals: cows, buffaloes, goats. Indigenous breeds (Sahiwal, Gir) are hardy; exotic breeds (Jersey, Holstein-Friesian) yield more milk; cross-breeding combines both. Murrah buffalo milk is rich in fat.
White revolution: rise in milk production through Operation Flood (started 1970), a national network of milk cooperatives, led by Dr Verghese Kurien.
Meat-providing livestock: goats, sheep, pigs, poultry.
Draught animals (for work): bullocks, male buffaloes, camels, horses, donkeys, yaks.
Poultry: hens and ducks for eggs and meat; layers (eggs) and broilers (meat).
Fish farming (pisciculture): rohu, catla and mrigal in ponds; composite fish culture rears fish that feed at different levels together so all food is used.
Sericulture (brief): rearing silkworms (*Bombyx mori*) that feed on mulberry leaves and spin silk cocoons.
Apiculture (brief): bee-keeping in hives for honey and beeswax; bees also pollinate crops.

Green grain, white milk. Green revolution is about grains; white revolution is about milk.

Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry: key facts

Crops: Food crops rice, wheat, pulses
Cash crops cotton, jute, tea
Kharif rice, June-July
Rabi wheat, October-November; Kharif with monsoon.
Revolutions: Green grains, HYV seeds
White milk, Operation Flood 1970, Kurien
Organic farming compost, no chemicals; Green grain, white milk.
Animal husbandry: $M i l c h : co w, b u f f a l o ∣ D r a ug h t : b u l l oc k, c am e l ∣ P o u l t r y : l a y er s, b r o i l er s ∣ P i sc i c u l t u r e : r o h u, c a tl a ∣ S er i c u l t u r e : s i l k ∣ A p i c u l t u r e : h o n ey$; Silk is sericulture; honey is apiculture.

Food crops	rice, wheat, pulses
Cash crops	cotton, jute, tea
Kharif	rice, June-July
Rabi	wheat, October-November

Green	grains, HYV seeds
White	milk, Operation Flood 1970, Kurien
Organic farming	compost, no chemicals

How to answer Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry questions

Expect classification of crops, identification of terms, differences between kharif and rabi, and short explanations of the revolutions and branches of animal husbandry.

1Classify a crop by purpose (food or cash) and by season (kharif or rabi).
2Match the term to its product: silk (sericulture), honey (apiculture), fish (pisciculture).
3For revolutions, give the product, the means and the leader.
4For organic farming, list inputs and the advantages and one limit.
5For breeds, link indigenous with hardiness and exotic with high yield.

Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry in real life

The idea, met in an everyday situation. Answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Two crops, two seasons

Suppose a farmer sows rice in July and wheat in November on the same field in the same year.

Name the season of each crop and say whether each is a food crop or a cash crop.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Rice sown in July with the monsoon is a kharif crop.
Wheat sown in November is a rabi crop.
Both are food crops; neither is mainly grown for sale to industries.

Answer: Rice: kharif; wheat: rabi; both are food crops.

Memory hook: Kharif starts with rain.

Composite fish pond

Suppose a pond of 2 hectares carries 3000 fish per hectare of three kinds, rohu, catla and mrigal, in equal numbers.

How many fish are there in all and how many of each kind, and why mix the three?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Total = 2 × 3000 = 6000 fish.
Each kind = 6000 ÷ 3 = 2000.
The three kinds feed at different levels, so the pond food is fully used.

Answer: 6000 fish, 2000 of each; mixing uses food at all levels.

Memory hook: Different mouths, different levels.

Tricks to remember Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

Kharif kicks off with rain
Kharif is sown in the monsoon; rabi in winter.
Use it when: Seasons.
Pisces, Silk, Apis
Pisciculture is fish, sericulture silk, apiculture bees.
Use it when: Terms.
Green grain, white milk
Green revolution is for grains; white revolution is for milk.
Use it when: Revolutions.

Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry: solved examples

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Try each one before you open the solution.

Example 1: Tea and coffee · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

Tea and coffee are examples of:
(a) pulses (b) cash crops (c) oilseeds (d) cereals

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

They are grown mainly to be sold.

Answer: (b).

Example 2: Terms · 2 marks · Short answerBoard level

Name the branch of animal husbandry concerned with (a) silk and (b) honey.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(a) Sericulture (1 mark).
(b) Apiculture (1 mark).

Answer: (a) Sericulture. (b) Apiculture.

Example 3: Rotation with a pulse · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

A farmer grows wheat on a field one year and gram the next year, in turn. Name this practice, explain how it helps the soil, and say why it suits organic farming.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

The practice is crop rotation (1 mark).
A pulse such as gram has bacteria in its root nodules that add nitrogen to the soil, which the next cereal crop uses (1 mark).
It keeps the soil fertile without chemical fertilisers, which organic farming avoids (1 mark).

Answer: Crop rotation; pulse adds nitrogen; replaces chemical fertiliser.

Example 4: Green and white · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level

Differentiate between the green revolution and the white revolution in terms of product, means and one leader.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

Green revolution: increase in food grains, mainly wheat and rice (1 mark).
Means: high-yielding seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, irrigation (1 mark).
White revolution: increase in milk through Operation Flood, a network of milk cooperatives (1 mark).
Leaders: M. S. Swaminathan for the green revolution; Verghese Kurien for the white revolution (1 mark).

Answer: Grains vs milk; seeds and chemicals vs cooperatives; Swaminathan vs Kurien.

Example 5: Dairy plan · 4 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency

A farmer wants a cow that gives much milk but also resists local diseases. (a) Which kinds of breeds should he cross? (b) Give an example of each. (c) Suggest two ways to look after the herd. (d) Which revolution helped milk producers to sell milk through cooperatives?

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

(a) An indigenous breed with an exotic breed (1 mark).
(b) Indigenous: Sahiwal or Gir; exotic: Jersey or Holstein-Friesian (1 mark).
(c) Clean airy sheds, balanced feed and water, vaccination (any two) (1 mark).
(d) The white revolution (Operation Flood) (1 mark).

Answer: Cross indigenous with exotic; Gir with Jersey; clean sheds and vaccination; white revolution.

Where students lose marks in Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

Mistake: Swapping kharif and rabi
Seasons are memorised without the sowing time.
Do this: Kharif is sown in the monsoon; rabi in winter.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Linking the green revolution with milk
Colours of the revolutions are mixed up.
Do this: Green: grains; white: milk.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Mixing sericulture and apiculture
Both involve insects.
Do this: Silkworm: silk; bee: honey.
Usually costs: 1 mark.
Mistake: Calling every crop a food crop
Crops grown for industry are ignored.
Do this: Cash crops such as cotton and jute are grown for sale.
Usually costs: 1 mark.

Exam tips

Classify crops by purpose and season.
Green: grains; white: milk (Operation Flood).
Organic farming and green revolution are brief; know definition and one limit.
Silk: sericulture; honey: apiculture; fish: pisciculture.

Practice questions on Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

Q1 · 1 mark · Very short answerBoard level
Name two rabi crops.
Hint
Winter sown.
Answer
Wheat and gram (or mustard, pea, barley).
Q2 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level
Assertion (A): Keeping bee hives near an orchard can increase the fruit harvest.
Reason (R): Bees pollinate the flowers as they collect nectar.
(a) (A) is true and (R) is false.
(b) (A) is false and (R) is true.
(c) Both (A) and (R) are true, and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(d) Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
Hint
Pollination.
Answer
(c).
Q3 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level
Distinguish between layers and broilers and name the product of each. What care does poultry need?
Hint
Eggs and meat.
Answer
Layers are hens kept for eggs (White Leghorn); broilers are chickens raised for meat, growing fast. Poultry need clean, airy sheds, good feed, clean water and vaccination.
Q4 · 4 marks · Long answerHarder board level
Explain what horticulture is, giving three groups of plants with two examples each, and say why it is a good use of small land.
Hint
Vegetables, fruits, flowers.
Answer
Horticulture is the growing of garden crops. Vegetables: tomato, brinjal; fruits: mango, banana; flowers and decorative plants: rose, marigold (or orchids, ferns). It gives nutritious food, beauty and good income even from a small plot.
Q5 · 3 marks · Case-basedHOTS / competency
Read and answer.
Suppose a village adopts sericulture on a small farm of mulberry trees.
(a) Name the insect that is reared. (1)
(b) What does it feed on and what does it make? (1)
(c) Which product is obtained after reeling? (1)
Hint
Silkworm.
Answer
(a) The mulberry silkworm (Bombyx mori). (b) It feeds on mulberry leaves and spins a cocoon of silk thread. (c) Silk thread, which is woven into silk cloth.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1.Name a cereal crop.Show answer
Rice, wheat or maize.
2.Who led Operation Flood?Show answer
Dr Verghese Kurien.
3.What is vermicompost?Show answer
Compost made with earthworms.
4.Name an Indian major carp.Show answer
Rohu, catla or mrigal.
5.What does apiculture give?Show answer
Honey and beeswax.

Agriculture, Horticulture, Organic Farming, Green Revolution and Animal Husbandry: frequently asked questions

Is the table of crop areas compulsory?

Know a few examples of crops grown in India; exact areas are less important.

Are the revolutions detailed?

They are awareness-level: definition, product, means and leader.

Is a tractor a draught animal?

No; draught animals are living animals used for work.

Where are bacteria and fungi covered?

In the previous topic.