We know that food is essential for life. Rice and wheat are staple food in India. Besides, we also take vegetables and other cereals, pulses and oilseeds. We seldom think about the sources of food. The farmers work hard in fields. They work in fields irrespective of heat, rain or cold. They work hard in all types of conditions. The farmers grow cereals like rice, wheat, corn, maize and bajra. They are the main food crops.
Wheat is used to make chapatis, bread, cake and other things. Rice is either boiled and eaten or ground to make idlis, dosas, etc.
Beverages like cocoa, tea and coffee are also obtained from plants. Coffee powder is made from coffee beans.
Oilseeds and nuts like coconut, mustard, soyabean, groundnuts and sunflower are obtained from plants. Their oil is used in cooking.
We get pulses like different kinds of beans, dal, black and green grams and pea from plants. They are cooked and eaten with cereals.
Plants give us spices like chilli, cloves, cardamom, pepper, ginger, cumin and turmeric. They add flavour to the food.
We get vegetables like cabbage, brinjal, cauliflower, potato and carrot from plants. Most of the vegetables are cooked before eating.
Plants give us fruits like mango, orange, banana, grapes and apple. Most of the fruits are eaten raw.
Cultivation of Food
All crops do not grow in all seasons. Different crops grow in different seasons. The process of growing crops is called cultivation.
Farmers plough the fields, add manure and water the crops regularly. They protect the crops from insects, animals and birds. Traditionally farmers used mainly cowdung and decayed leaves as manure. They also used ash and neem leaves to drive away the insects.
But nowadays the farmers use chemical fertilisers for the fast growth of plants. They also use chemical pesticides to drive away insects.
Chemical Fertilisers are Harmful
Use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and insecticides is not a good practice. The chemical fertilisers deplete the quality of the soil. Pesticides are highly poisonous and not good for health. The chemicals get into our food and enter our body. Crops should be cultivated in the traditional and natural way.
When crops are ready, they are harvested. The cutting of crops is called harvesting. The grains are separated from the plants. It is called threshing.
Then the chaff is removed by winnowing. The farmers store grains in their barns. They keep some produce for their personal use and the surplus produce is sent to local markets for sale. Some seeds are kept aside to be planted during the next season. Local markets are found in many of our villages.
Farmers who produce crops on large scale sell their crops in the wholesale markets, transported by trucks, tractors or bullock carts. A big wholesale market is called mandi.
Different kinds of grains, vegetables and fruits are brought there for sale. From the wholesalers, the retailers purchase products. The retailers sell the products to us through shops or push carts. This is the way the products reach us.
