About Agricultural Land Use in India

1. The lack of access to land is closely linked to the prevalence of poverty in rural areas. In these areas, land is not only a vital resource for agricultural productivity but also plays a significant role in the socio-economic fabric.
2. The quality of land directly influences agricultural productivity, unlike other sectors where land quality might not have such a direct impact. High-quality land is crucial for higher yields, while poor-quality land can hinder economic development.
3. In rural communities, land ownership carries more than just economic value. It holds social significance, serving as a form of security against credit issues, natural disasters, or life uncertainties. Moreover, owning land often enhances one’s social status within the community, making it an important asset beyond its use in agricultural production.
4. The total stock of agricultural land resources (i.e. total cultivable land can be arrived at by adding up net sown area, all fallow lands and culturable wasteland.

• The scope for bringing in additional land under net sown area in India is limited. There is, thus, an urgent need to evolve and adopt land-saving technologies.
• Such technologies can be classified under two heads – those which raise the yield of any particular crop per unit area of land and those which increase the total output per unit area of land from all crops grown over one agricultural year by increasing land-use intensity.
• The advantage of the latter kind of technology is that along with increasing output from limited land, it also increases the demand for labour significantly.
• For a land scarce but labor abundant country like India, a high cropping intensity is desirable not only for fuller utilization of land resource, but also for reducing unemployment in the rural economy.

Agricultural Development in India

Strategy of Development

• During partition about one-third of the irrigated land in undivided India went to Pakistan. This reduced the proportion of irrigated area in Independent.
• After Independence, the immediate goal of the Government was to increase food-grains production by (i) switching over from cash crops to food crops; (ii) intensification of cropping over already cultivated land; and (iii) increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough.
• Agricultural production stagnated during late 1950s.
• To overcome this problem, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched.
• New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) known as high yielding varieties (HYVs) were available for cultivation by mid-1960s.
• India took advantage of this and introduced package technology comprising HYVs, along with chemical fertilizers in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat.
• Assured supply of soil moisture through irrigation was a basic pre-requisite for the success of this new agricultural technology.
• This strategy of agricultural development paid dividends instantly and increased the food grains production at very fast rate. This spurt of agricultural growth came to be known as „Green Revolution?.
• But green revolution was initially confined to irrigated areas only. This led to regional disparities in agricultural development in the country till the seventies, after which the technology spread to the Eastern and Central parts of the country.
• The Planning Commission of India initiated agro-climatic planning in 1988 to induce regionally balanced agricultural development in the country.
• It also emphasized the need for diversification of agriculture and harnessing of resources for development of dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, livestock rearing and aquaculture.
• Initiation of the policy of liberalization and free market economy in 1990s is likely to influence the course of development of Indian agriculture.
• Lack of development of rural infrastructure, withdrawal of subsidies and price support, and impediments in availing of the rural credits may lead to inter-regional and inter -personal disparities in rural areas.

Growth of Agricultural Output and Technology

• India ranks first in the production of pulses, tea, jute, cattle and milk. It is the second largest producer of rice, wheat, groundnut, sugarcane and vegetables.
• Expansion of irrigation has played a very crucial role in enhancing agricultural output in the country. It provided basis for introduction of modern agricultural technology such as high yielding varieties of seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery.
• The net irrigated area in the country has increased from 20.85 to 54.66 million ha over the period 1950-51 to 2000-01.
• Consumption of chemical fertilizers in India was 91 kg which was equal to its average consumption in the world (90 kg).
• But in the irrigated areas of Punjab and Haryana the consumption of chemical fertilizers per unit area is three to four times higher than that of the national average.
• Since the high yielding varieties are highly susceptible to pests and diseases, the use of pesticides has increased significantly since 1960s.

Problems of Indian Agriculture

1. Dependence on Erratic Monsoon

• Irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of the cultivated area in India.
• Poor performance of south-west Monsoon also adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation.
• Even the areas receiving high annual rainfall experience considerable fluctuations.
• This makes them vulnerable to both droughts and floods.
• Drought is a common phenomenon in the low rainfall areas which may also experience occasional floods.

2. Low productivity

• The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the international level.
• Per hectare output of most of the crops such as rice, wheat, cotton and oilseeds in India is much lower than that of U.S.A., Russia and Japan.
• Because of the very high pressure on the land resources, the labour productivity in Indian agriculture is also very low in comparison to international level. The vast rainfed areas of the country, particularly drylands which mostly grow coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds have very low yields.

3. Constraints of Financial Resources and Indebtedness

• Financial resource and indebtedness constraints in India affect agriculture by making it difficult for farmers to access credit and resources, which in turn reduces productivity

4. Lack of Land Reforms

• Indian peasantry had been exploited for a long time as there had been unequal distribution of land.
• Among the three revenue systems operational during British period i.e. Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari, the last one was most exploitative for the peasants.
• Lack of implementation of land reforms has resulted in continuation of iniquitous distribution of cultivable land which is detrimental to agricultural development.

5. Small Farm Size and Fragmentation of Landholdings

• More than 60 per cent of the ownership holdings have a size smaller than one (ha).
• Average size of land holding is shrinking further under increasing population pressure.
• The land holdings are mostly fragmented. There are some states where consolidation of holding has not been carried out even once.
• The small size fragmented landholdings are uneconomic

6. Lack of Commercialization

• A large number of farmers produce crops for self-consumption.
• Most of the small and marginal farmers grow food-grains, which are meant for their own family consumption. Modernization and commercialization of agriculture have however, taken place in the irrigated areas.

7. Vast Under-employment

• There is a massive under-employment in the agricultural sector in India, particularly in the un-irrigated tracts.
• There is a seasonal unemployment ranging from 4 to 8 months. Even in the cropping season work is not available throughout, as agricultural operations are not labor intensive.

8. Degradation of Cultivable Land

• One of the serious problems that arises out of faulty strategy of irrigation and agricultural development is degradation of land resources.
• This is serious because it may lead to depletion of soil fertility. The situation is particularly alarming in irrigated areas. A large tract of agricultural land has lost its fertility due to alkalization and salinization of soils and water-logging.
• Excessive use of chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides has led to their concentration in toxic amounts in the soil profile.
• Leguminous crops have been displaced from the cropping pattern in the irrigated areas and duration of fallow has substantially reduced owing to multiple cropping. This has obliterated the process of natural fertilization such as nitrogen fixation.
• Rainfed areas in humid and semi-arid tropics also experience degradation of several types like soil erosion by water and wind erosion which are often induced by human activities.