Top 5 differences between Traditional and modern farming | Impact & Types

20 May, 2022

Farming is an integral part of the Indian economy. With technological advancements and improvements in various structures, there has been a gone debate between traditional approaches to farming and modern approaches to farming which leaves the farmers and consumers stuck to choosing what over which?

Agriculture is the industry that provides food, which is the most basic human necessity. Agriculture was closely associated with civilizations all over the world, and international economies were predominantly agricultural during the post-industrialization period.

Although traditional agriculture is still practiced in some regions of the world, modernization has changed the face of agriculture. Traditional agriculture relies on outdated information, outdated tools, and organic fertilizers, whereas contemporary agriculture relies on technologically improved tools and machinery.

Traditional farming practices and expertise become outdated as globalization and modernization forces increase. Due to these pressures, the food system has shifted from one dependent on millions of farmers to one dominated by a few agribusinesses. Production, capital gain, input intensity, and crop consistency are all important aspects of modern agricultural methods.

Traditional agricultural practices, on the other hand, place a premium on localization, biodiversity, shared genetic resources, and a cultural appreciation for a diverse range of crops. Changes in agriculture from traditional to contemporary will have a substantial impact on the biodiversity of cultivated and wild plants.

Agriculture must stay resilient in the face of global environmental concerns to sustain and expand food security. Agricultural resilience requires cultural and biological diversity; if one method or crop fails, there are many others to compensate. If the urge to modernize is minimized and the number of conservation projects continues to rise, cultural variety can help to preserve biodiversity.

What is traditional farming?

Traditional farming is defined as a primitive way of farming that involves the use of labour-intensive, traditional knowledge, tools, natural resources, organic fertilizer, and old customs and cultural beliefs of the farmers.

What is the impact of traditional farming on the environment?

As with the modern era, the name and significance of traditional farming are getting reduced but we have forgotten the impact of traditional farming on our environment.

Some of them are worth mentioning here,

1. Traditional farming practices deforestation.

Deforestation is the process of cutting down trees for agricultural and productive activities. It is the process of removing a forest or a stand of trees from a piece of land to convert it into farms, pastures, or urban usage. Tropical rainforests have the highest concentration of deforestation.

Slash and burn agriculture, commonly known as shifting cultivation, is a type of primitive subsistence agriculture. Crops are planted at predetermined intervals, frequently in between other plants, so that the crop can be staggered to provide sustenance throughout the year.

2. Depletion of the nutrient content of the soil.

Slash and burn farming depletes the organic matter in the soil and increases the nutrient content of the soil taken up by the crops in a short period. As a result, the farmers are forced to relocate their farming operations to a new location.

Different methods of traditional farming.

1. Agroforestry

Agroforestry blends agricultural and forestry themes. The idea behind this strategy is to grow trees that can give acceptable climatic conditions for the crops in their area. It controls the temperature, the amount of sunlight, and the wind. We profit from this method on our Cow Farm in Chennai since it prevents soil erosion and improves soil quality. This strategy provides a favorable microclimate for the crops, allowing them to produce more.

2. Crop rotation

Crop rotation is practiced for planting a variety of crops on the same land at different times of the year. This type of agriculture boosts the land's output. Without the use of herbicides or pesticides, we may increase our production.

3. Mixed Cropping

In such circumstances, mixed cropping is used. On farms, two or more crops are planted together. Row cropping, in which a single crop is cultivated in each row on the farm, is also an option for farmers.

What is modern farming?

Modern farming methods refer to a type of agricultural production that involves a lot of money, manpower, and a lot of farm equipment like threshers, winnowing machines, and harvesters, as well as a lot of technology like selective breeding, insecticides, chemical fertilizers, and pesticides.

The impact of modern farming on the environment is as follows.

1. Modern farming leads to soil erosion.

Soil erosion is the removal of the top fertile layer of the soil. Modern farming leads to soil erosion as repeated deep plowing is used to turn over the ground, and heavy rains can carry the top fertile soils leaving the ground unfit for cultivation.

2. Modern farming evokes the production of fuels.

Modern methods of farming use chemical fertilizers for the yields to grow which on the other hand leads to a rise in having fuels that cause greater damage to the environment.

3. Animals life’s are at stake.

All animals are packed together indoors on most "modern" farms. Feeding them necessitates complex machines, while disease prevention necessitates constant treatment. The cruelty involved in today's farm animal management, breeding, growing, and murdering is utterly ugly and horrible.

Modern farming methods in India.

1. Aeroponics

Aeroponics is a method of growing plants without the use of soil in an air or mist environment. It is a subtype of hydroponics that works by suspending the plant root in the air. Farmers will have more control over the amount of water they consume if they utilize this strategy.

2. Hydroponics

The hydroponics method of farming uses less soil and does not require any form of soil. The process requires growing healthy plants without the use of solid media, employing nutrients such as a mineral-rich water solution. Hydroponic farming is a subset of hydroculture, and the nutrients employed in these systems come from a variety of places.

3. Monoculture

This approach requires the cultivation of a single crop in a specified farming region. In a country like India, however, the Monoculture farming approach isn't extensively used. Monoculture refers to indoor farming, such as the cultivation of therapeutic plants. Monoculture is a modern agricultural approach in which only one crop or plant is produced.

Top 5 major differences between Traditional and Modern Farming.

Traditional Farming	Modern Farming
Traditional farming is mainly based on labor-intensive.	Modern farming is entirely based on capital intensive.
Crop rotation, agroforestry, slash, and burn cultivation are some of the techniques which are practiced under traditional farming	Monocropping, and precision agriculture is some of the techniques practiced under modern farming.
The traditional method of farming is environment friendly as natural manure is used as fertilizers	Modern method of farming is not environment friendly as chemical fertilizers and pesticides are used.
Traditional farming takes a longer duration for a crop to yield as a result the rate of production is low	Modern farming is a fast method of farming as it yields the crop at a faster duration, as a result, the rate of production is high.
Under traditional farming, high inputs are required	Under modern farming low inputs are required.