Agricultural trade in South Asian agriculture

South Indian agriculture

Ancient South Asian Agriculture

The agriculture scene of South India was equally bright in Ancient India. The Tamil people cultivated a wide range of crops such as rice, sugarcane, millets, black pepper, various grains, coconuts, beans, cotton, plantain, tamarind and sandalwood, Jackfruit, coconut, palm, areca and plantain trees etc.

Systematic ploughing, manuring, weeding, irrigation and crop protection was practiced for sustained agriculture in South India.

Water storage systems were designed during this period. Kallanai (1st-2nd century AD), a dam built on river Kaveri, is considered the as one of the oldest water-regulation structures in the world that is still in use.

Agriculture Trade in Ancient India

Foreign crops were introduced to India and Indian products soon reached the world via existing trading networks. Spice trade involving spices such as cinnamon and black peppergained momentum and India started shippingthem to the Mediterranean.

The detailed archaeological record and the Periplus of the ErythraeanSea show that India’s trade with Roman Empire flourished. During the early centuries of the Common Era, Chinese sericulture attracted Indian sailors.

The agrarian societyThe earliest reference of candied sugar or crystallized sugar comes from the time of the Guptas (320-550 AD). Soon the traveling Buddhist monkstransmitted the process of making sugar to China. Chinese documents confirm at least two missions to India, initiated in 647 AD, for obtaining technology for sugar-refining.

Indian spice exports find mention in the works of IbnKhurdadhbeh (850), al-Ghafiqi (1150), Ishak bin Imaran (907) and Al Kalkashandi (fourteenth century).