Land Resources in India: A Comprehensive Exploration and Their Vital Role in Agriculture

Land is an important resource which is put for different uses. Efficient and sustainable utilization of land resources is essential to optimal growth.

Lets  first delve into the study of land resources, classification of land and its changing nature in India. 

Subsequently,  analysis delves into the inter relationship between these land resources and agriculture with detailed study of Indian agriculture.

Land Use Categories: A Comprehensive Analysis and Resource Management Perspective

• Land Use  records are managed by the land revenue department, and they categorize land for reporting purposes. 
• This reporting area may differ from the geographical area, which is measured by the Survey of India (Refer figure). 

Land Use Categories in India

• The Land Use  categories in Land Revenue Records are as follows:
• Forests: This category includes areas demarcated for forest growth, which may not necessarily represent actual forest cover.
• Barren and Wastelands: Land resources are classified as wasteland, including barren hilly terrains, desert lands, and ravines, unsuitable for cultivation.
• Land resources put to Non-agricultural Uses: This category encompasses land used for settlements (rural and urban), infrastructure (roads, canals, etc.), industries, and shops.
• Area under Permanent Pastures and Grazing Lands: Typically owned by village ‘Panchayats’ or the Government, with a small portion in private ownership.
• Area under Miscellaneous Tree Crops and Groves (Not included in Net sown Area): This includes land with orchards and fruit trees, primarily privately owned.
• Culturable Wasteland: Land left fallow (uncultivated) for over five years, can be reclaimed for cultivation.
• Current Fallow: Land left uncultivated for one agricultural year or less, allowing it to regain fertility naturally.
• Fallow other than Current Fallow: Land uncultivated for more than one year but less than five years;
  •  If left uncultivated for over five years, it becomes a culturable wasteland.
• Net Area Sown: The land area where crops are sown and harvested.
• The land revenue records reflect these categories, influencing Land Use  changes and resource management in India.

Factors Causing Land Use  Changes: Economic Growth, Composition Shifts, and Agricultural Pressures

Land Use  in a region is mainly influenced by economic activities and agricultural pressure. 

• Economic Growth: With population increase, rising income levels, and evolving technology, the economy grows, increasing pressure on land. Marginal lands may come into use.
• Economic Composition Shift: The secondary and tertiary sectors grow faster than agriculture, leading to a shift of land resources from agriculture to non-agricultural uses, especially around urban areas.
• Continued Agricultural Pressure: Despite a declining share of GDP, agriculture faces persistent land pressure due to a slow decline in the population dependent on it and an increasing population to feed.

Changes in India’s Land Use  (1950–51 to 2014–15): Economic Transitions, Forest Dynamics, and Agricultural Shifts 

• India’s land resources use has experienced many structural changes since independence. 
• Increase in Non-Agricultural Uses: The highest increase is in non-agricultural land use, driven by the changing economic structure, industrial growth, and urban expansion.
• Forest Cover Increase: The increase in forest area is mainly due to the demarcation of forest land, not an actual forest cover increase.
• Current Fallow Fluctuation: Current fallow land fluctuates due to rainfall and cropping cycles.
• Net Area Sown: Recently, net area sown increased due to culturable wasteland use for agriculture, reversing a slow decline. 
  • Declines include barren and wasteland, culturable wasteland, pastures and tree crops, and fallow lands, mainly due to pressure from agriculture and encroachment.
• These changes reflect the complex dynamics between economic growth, urbanization, and agricultural practices in India.(Refer figure)

Composition of Total Cultivable Land

Common Property :  A Crucial Link Between Community Livelihoods and Sustainable Land Resources Management”

• Definition: CPRs can be defined as a community’s natural resource, where every member has the right of access and usage with specified obligations, without anybody having property rights over them.
• Ownership: Common Property Resources (CPRs) are owned by the state and used by the community.
• Role of Common Property Resources:  These resources provide fodder, fuel, and other resources, vital for the livelihood of landless and marginalized farmers due to the fact that they have limited access to land resources..
  • CPRs also are important for women as most of the fodder and fuel collection is done by them in rural areas.
• Examples of  CPRs:  These resources include community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies, and public spaces managed collectively.

Thus, land management in India has experienced widespread changes in the last few decades, mainly due to India’s rising population. Now let’s analyze the relationship between these land resources and agriculture in India. 

Global Distribution of Arable Land

India’s Land Resources: A Comprehensive Exploration of Changes and Challenges

• Agriculture includes growing of crops, fruits, vegetables, flowers and rearing of livestock. 
• Land’s Vital Role in Agriculture: land is critical for agriculture and contributes significantly to rural livelihoods as quality of land directly affects agricultural productivity.
  • In India, around 50 per cent of persons are engaged in agricultural activity. 
  • Lack of access to land is directly correlated with incidence of poverty in rural areas.
• The Social Significance of Land: Land ownership in rural areas has social value, serves as security, and enhances social status.
• Assessing Total Agricultural Land Resources: This(total cultivable land) can be arrived at by adding net sown area, fallow lands, and culturable wasteland.
  • It has been observed . There has been a greater decline of cultivated land, in spite of a corresponding decline of cultivable wasteland
  • Also India faces limitations in expanding net sown area, necessitating land-saving technologies.
• The Imperative for Land-Saving Technologies: The scope for bringing in additional land under net sown area in India is limited and hence there is need to evolve and adapt land-saving technologies.
• Such technologies aim to increase crop yield per unit area and overall output per unit area, boosting Land Use  intensity.
• The Importance of High Cropping Intensity: Higher cropping intensity (CI) benefits India by utilizing limited land efficiently and reducing rural unemployment.
  • Cropping Intensity(CI) in percentage = (GCA/NSA)X100
  • Where, GCA is Gross Cropped Area and NSA is Net sown area.

• and contributes significantly to rural livelihoods as quality of land directly affects agricultural productivity.
  • In India, around 50 per cent of persons are engaged in agricultural activity. 
  • Lack of access to land is directly correlated with incidence of poverty in rural areas.
• The Social Significance of Land: Land ownership in rural areas has social value, serves as security, and enhances social status.
• Assessing Total Agricultural Land Resources: This(total cultivable land) can be arrived at by adding net sown area, fallow lands, and culturable wasteland.
  • It has been observed . There has been a greater decline of cultivated land, in spite of a corresponding decline of cultivable wasteland
  • Also India faces limitations in expanding net sown area, necessitating land-saving technologies.
• The Imperative for Land-Saving Technologies: The scope for bringing in additional land under net sown area in India is limited and hence there is need to evolve and adapt land-saving technologies.
• Such technologies aim to increase crop yield per unit area and overall output per unit area, boosting Land Use  intensity.
• The Importance of High Cropping Intensity: Higher cropping intensity (CI) benefits India by utilizing limited land efficiently and reducing rural unemployment.
  • Cropping Intensity(CI) in percentage = (GCA/NSA)X100
  • Where, GCA is Gross Cropped Area and NSA is Net sown area.

Also Read: Diverse Types of Agriculture: Understanding Forms and Practices Worldwide

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