Agriculture as a base of Indian civilization includes different types of farming, combination of trees, cereal crops, leguminous pulses and oilseeds along with a mix of livestock and their interrelationships with each other.
Salient Features of Indian Agriculture
1.Subsistence agriculture
- In subsistence agriculture, cultivation techniques are primitive and little surplus remains to sell in the market.
- Subsistence agriculture is a traditional farming method that has been prevalent in India for several centuries and continues to be practiced, even after the implementation of modern agricultural techniques post-Independence.
2. Pressure of population on agriculture
- The population in India is increasing at a rapid pace and exerts heavy pressure on agriculture.Despite increase in urbanization and industrialization, majority of population is still directly or indirectly dependent on agriculture.
3. Mechanization of farming
- The Green Revolution occurred in India during the late 1960s and early 1970s. Despite more than four decades having passed since the Green Revolution, as well as advances in agricultural machinery and equipment, full mechanization of the agriculture industry remains an elusive goal.
4. Uncertainity of Monsoon
- Indian agriculture is mainly dependent upon monsoon which is uncertain, unreliable and irregular.Sometimes, the monsoon is too late and sometimes it arrives earlier. In both the situations, the Indian farmer is at risk.
5. Importance of animals
- Animal force has always played a significant role in agricultural operations such as ploughing, irrigation, threshing and transporting the agricultural products which have been practiced in India for the last several hundreds of years.
6.Variety of crops:
- Since India has both tropical and temperate climate, crops of both the climate are found in India. There are very few countries in the world that have variety comparable to that of India which is responsible for variety of crops in India
7.Seasonal patterns-
- India has three distinct agricultural/cropping seasons.These 3 seasons are kharif, rabi and zaid In India there are specific crops grown in these three seasons. For example rice is a kharif crop whereas wheat is a rabi crop.
8.Predominance of food crops
- Since Indian agriculture has to feed a large population, production of food crops is the first priority of the farmers almost everywhere in the country. Therefore there is dominance of food crops in India
9.Insignificant place of fodder crops
- India has the highest population of livestock globally, but unfortunately, fodder crops are not given significant importance in our cropping pattern. A meager four percent of the total area is allocated for permanent pastures and grazing lands. This is primarily because there is a high demand for land for growing food crops.
Land Holding In India
Different Types of Land Holdings
There are Total 5 Types of Land Holdings In India and Their Share as per Census 2011 is as Follows
1.Marginal holdings:
- Size 1 hectare or less
- Share- 67%
2.Small holdings:
- Size 1 to 2 hectares
- Share-16 %
3.Semi-medium holdings :
- Size 2 to 4 hectares
- Share- 10%
4.Medium holdings:
- Size 4 to 10 hectares
- Share-04%
5.Large holdings:
- Size above 10 hectare
- Share- 1%
Approximately 85% of operational land holdings in the country are made up of marginal and small land holdings, and these holdings also account for 44% of the total operated area.
Average Size of Land
- The average size of operational land holdings has reduced by half from 2.28 ha in 1970-71 to 1.16 ha in 2010-12
- The average size of operational holdings is highest in Nagaland (5 hectares) and lowest in Kerala (0.18 hectares).
What is Operational Land Holdings
- The term "operational holding" refers to a piece of land that is utilized for agricultural production, either entirely or partially, and is managed as a single technical entity by an individual or a group of individuals, irrespective of its title, legal structure, size, or geographical location.
Land Use Categories
Some Basic Terms
Land-use records ,reporting area & Geographical Area
- The land revenue department is in charge of keeping records of land use.
- The reporting area is determined by combining various land use categories and may differ from the geographical area.
- The Survey of India is responsible for measuring the geographical area of administrative units within India.
Difference B/W Geographical area and Reporting area-
The two concepts differ in that the former may vary based on estimates derived from land revenue records, whereas the latter remains constant and is determined by measurements conducted by Survey of India.
Land Use Categories ( As per Revenue record)
1.Net Area Sown -
- Net sown area refers to the physical land used for crop cultivation and harvesting.
- Rajasthan boasts the largest NSA in India, with 18.35 million hectares, equivalent to 12.96% of the country's total reporting NSA, followed by Maharashtra.
- Punjab and Haryana have some of the highest proportions of NSA to total area.
- Cultivated areas in large parts of the Satluj, Ganga plains, Gujrat plains, Kathiawar plateau, Maharashtra plateau, and West Bengal basin have high proportions of NSA.
- The extensive availability of flat terrain in India has resulted in NSA accounting for 46% of the country's total geographic area.
2.Current Fallow -
- This refers to the land that remains uncultivated for a period of one agricultural year or less.
- The practice of fallowing is employed to provide the land with a period of rest.
- The land recoups the lost fertility through natural processes.
- Andhra Pradesh have maximum area under current fallow land
- It occupies Area of 5%
3.Fallow other than Current Fallow -
- "Fallow other than current fallow" refers to cultivable land that has been left uncultivated for one to five years.
- If the land remains uncultivated for more than five years, it is considered "culturable wasteland".
- Rajasthan has the largest area of fallow other than current fallow.
- Area - 23%
4.Culturable Waste-Land
- This category refers to land that has been left uncultivated for over five years.
- Through reclamation practices, such land can be made suitable for cultivation.
- In India, there have been land reclamation schemes that have contributed to a decline in wasteland since independence.
- Gujrat have maximum Culturable Waste-Land
5.Forests
- It include Forest cover of any region
Difference between forest area and forest cover-
- The term 'forest area' denotes the legal status of the land as per the government records, whereas the term 'forest cover' indicates presence of trees over any land.
- Madhya Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Andaman Nicobar islands are reporting more area under forest. It is due to heavy rainfall and relief features
- In contrast Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Haryana, Punjab and Goa states have less area under forests
- About 22% area of the country is under forest cover
6.Land put to Non-agricultural Uses :
- Land under settlements (rural and urban), infrastructure (roads, canals, etc.), industries, shops, etc. are included in this category.
7.Barren and Wastelands :
- The land which may be classified as a wasteland such as barren hilly terrains, desert lands, ravines, etc. normally cannot be brought under cultivation with the available technology.
- The largest amount of land in this category is in Andhra Pradesh, followed by Rajasthan,
- Barren and un-culturable waste land amount to about 8.5%.
8.Area under Permanent Pastures and Grazing Lands :
- Most of this type land is owned by the village ‘Panchayat’ or the Government. Only a small proportion of this land is privately owned.
- The land owned by the village panchayat comes under ‘Common Property Resources’.
- About one-third of reporting area in Himachal Pradesh is under Pastures
9.Area under Miscellaneous Tree Crops and Groves(Not included is Net sown Area) :
- The land under orchards and fruit trees are included in this category. Much of this land is privately owned.
Some of the crops produced during ‘zaid’ -
- watermelon, muskmelon, cucumber,vegetables and fodder crops.