2. India is a country in South Asia. It is the largest country by area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the south-west, and the Bay of Bengal on the south-east, it shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the north-east; and Burma (Myanmar) and Bangladesh to the east. In the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives; in addition, India's Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a maritime border with Thailand and Indonesia.

3. The written history of agriculture in India dates back to the Rigveda, written about 1100 BC.Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 13.7% of the GDP(Gross Domestic Product) in 2013,about 50% of the total workforce. The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the country's broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India. India exported $39 billion worth of agricultural products in 2013, making it the seventh largest agricultural exporter worldwide, and the sixth largest net exporter. Most of its agriculture exports serve the developing and least developed nations of the world. The written history of agriculture in India dates back to the Rigveda, written about 1100 BC.Today, India ranks second worldwide in farm output. Agriculture and allied sectors like forestry and fisheries accounted for 13.7% of the GDP(Gross Domestic Product) in 2013,about 50% of the total workforce. The economic contribution of agriculture to India's GDP is steadily declining with the country's broad-based economic growth. Still, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India. India exported $39 billion worth of agricultural products in 2013, making it the seventh largest agricultural exporter worldwide, and the sixth largest net exporter. Most of its agriculture exports serve the developing and least developed nations of the world. FACTS AND INFORMATION

4. China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a sovereign state in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Chinese Communist Party, with its seat of government in the capital city of Beijing. It exercises jurisdiction over 22 provinces, five autonomous regions, four direct-controlled municipalities (Beijing, Tianjin, Shanghai and Chongqing), and two mostly self-governing special administrative regions(Hong Kong and Macau). The PRC also claims the territories governed by the Republic of China (ROC), a separate political entity today commonly known as Taiwan, as a part of its territory, which includes the island of Taiwan as Taiwan Province, Kinmen and Matsu as a part of Fujian Province and islands the ROC controls in the South China Sea as a part of Hainan Province. These claims are controversial because of the complex political status of Taiwan.

5. Although China's agricultural output is the largest in the world, only about 15% of its total land area can be cultivated. China's arable land, which represents 10% of the total arable land in the world, supports over 20% of the world's population. Of this approximately 1.4 million square kilometers of arable land, only about 1.2% (116,580 square kilometers) permanently supports crops and 525,800 square kilometers are irrigated. The land is divided into approximately 200 million households, with an average land allocation of just 0.65 hectares (1.6 acres). FACTS AND INFORMATION

6. INDIA CHINA

7. Similarities of crops grown in China and India Rice and Wheat India is the second largest producer of rice and wheat after China, with China producing about 40% more rice and wheat than India India’s wheat yield was higher than China’s. But after the mid-70s, China’s yield started to outpace India’s and the disparity is the highest in the most recent decade. Cotton Cotton production, where India has made impressive strides, Chinese production of raw cotton is more than 40% higher than in India, and China’s cotton yield is about 2.5 times higher than India’s. Fruits and Vegetables India is also the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China, but China’s fruit production is three times India’s production. India is first in the production of mangoes and bananas.

8. Similarities of crops grown in China and India Aquaculture and catch fishery It is amongst the fastest growing industries in India and China. Between 1990 and 2010, Indian fish capture harvest doubled, while aquaculture harvest tripled. In 2008, India was the world's sixth largest producer of marine and freshwater capture fisheries, and the second largest aquaculture farmed fish producer. India exported 600,000 metric tonnes of fish products to nearly half of all the world's countries.

9. Differences of crops grown in China and India Difference 1. The productivity of Indian agriculture is low. On average, acreage devoted to paddy cultivation declined by 6 million hectares between 1970-1979 and 2000- 2009 in China while it increased by 4.6 million hectares over the same period in India. Difference 2. India has had more land under paddy cultivation than China every year since 1960. Yet, China out-produces India by a wide margin.

10. Common threats faced by farmers of India and China A more recent government report noted that small farms have gotten even smaller, and that 85% of farmers lack access to farm inputs and credit. This is not surprising as the rural population has grown but the available farm acreage has not. However, the average Chinese farm holdings are even smaller, averaging just 0.6 hectares India and China has very poor rural roads affecting timely supply of inputs and timely transfer of outputs from Indian farms. Both in China and India, small farm sizes inhibit mechanization. But fertilizer usage is much higher in China than India. In addition, China invests significantly more in agricultural research and development compared to India to produce high-yield and quicker-growing crop varieties. This, along with better irrigation and more intensive cultivation of the land by double or even triple cropping, are the primary reasons for China’s superior yields. Not surprisingly, the yield from rainfall- dependent land is much lower compared to the yield from irrigated land. To supplement rainfall, farmers mostly depend on water from wells dug on farmland. Although use of ground water has been a major factor in the rapid growth of Indian agriculture, water depletion and wastage have become significant problems. The water table in many areas has eroded, requiring deeper and deeper wells.