Analysis of Land Use Pattern and Determinants of Fallow Land Across Various Agro-climatic Zones of Madhya Pradesh

Abstract

The study was undertaken to analyze the growth in different parameters of land use pattern and factors responsible for fallow land across various agro-climatic zones of Madhya Pradesh. The secondary data were collected for the last 14 years (2000-01 to 2013-14) for the 11 agro-climatic zones which covered all the 51 districts of Madhya Pradesh. It was found that net area sown, gross cropped area and cropping intensity showed increasing and highly significant trend whereas declining and highly significant trend was observed in area under uncultivated land, cultivable wasteland, current fallow of most of the agro-climatic zones as well as state. It was also found that rainfall, gross irrigated area, and cropping intensity were the factors which significantly reduced the area under fallow lands in some of the agro-climatic zones of Madhya Pradesh. Hence, it is important to bring the cultivable waste land and fallow land under cultivation to boost agricultural production.