Net Sown Area Research Articles

The vexed land issue: a triple jeopardy

In India, land is emerging as the binding constraint on growth, employment generation and poverty alleviation. The vexed land issue, self-evident from the newspaper space on the topic and the agitated debate, has triple jeopardies or three dangers associated with it: (i) determining land ownership and titles; (ii) land being needed most where it is most scarce; and (iii) how many of the people affected by the proposed land-acquisition for a project have to give their consent before it can go ahead. The paper elaborates these three jeopardies and concludes in favour of moving to a Torrens System of land registration. For digitisation of land records, it suggests the roadmap followed in the securities market for guideposts. Given the tight land–man ratio, there is no option but to industrialise and urbanise rapidly. Some land will have to be acquired for infrastructure, such as roads, ports and airports, and urbanisation. The land required will be a small fraction of roughly 140 million hectares of the net sown area, and the impact on agricultural output can be neutralised by improving agricultural productivity. It is imperative to improve governance, remove the trust deficit and move to a consent clause of the majority of project-affected persons for an efficient solution to the vexed land issue.

Cotton Cultivation in Punjab: An Economic Analysis

The present study was conducted to analyze the economics of cotton cultivation in south-western districts of Punjab at two different points of time viz. 2001–02 and 2009–10. The cross-section data collected from centrally sponsored “Comprehensive scheme to study the cost of cultivation of principal crops in Punjab ”from seven villages of different tehsils of south-western zone of Punjab having more than 50 percent of the net sown area under cotton were taken for the study. The cost structure changed significantly during the two study years. During 2001–02, the major share (50.09 percent) in total variable cost was of plant protection, followed by human labor (24.50 percent), machine labor (7.13 percent), fertilizer (5.34 percent) and seed (4.48 percent). While during 2009–10, the major share (45.92 percent) was of human labor followed by seed (15.13 percent), machine labor (8.25 percent) and fertilizers (7.95 percent). Due to higher yield advantage, picking in Bt cotton required more labor as this operation is done manually. So, mechanization of picking operation can provide solution to this problem. Adequate storage facility and credit facility will help the farmers to avoid distress sale during glut period and increase their income.

Factors Discriminating Credit Growth: A Comparison of Punjab and Kerala

The role of credit in commercial agriculture is inimitable. The study examined the factors discriminating credit growth in Punjab and Kerala from1983-84 to 2011–12. The credit growth is highly influenced by factors like net irrigated area per 1000 hectare of net sown area and average size of operational holdings. The reason was the dependency of Punjab on credit for irrigation needscompared to a rain fedagriculture in Kerala. Moreover the smaller size of the operational land holding in Kerala limits tractorization or other forms of mechanization. The next important factors differentiating the credit growth in both the states were area under high yielding varieties and fertilizer consumption per 1000 hectares of net sown area which had a substantial impact on the inter-state credit growth variability. The high input intensive agriculture in Punjab due to the advent of green revolution could be the root cause. Other factors like GSDP at constant prices, per capita income and number of tractors per 1000 hectare of net sown area also discriminate the credit growth. The main reason for the difference in credit growth between the two states is the variation in the climatic conditions, land distribution and cropping pattern.

Irrigation Development in Haryana

Irrigation is a most important input for agricultural development. The present study is an attempt to analyse and discuss about the growth rate of area under irrigation by the different sources of irrigation and gross area irrigated under principal crops during the different phases of time in Haryana state. The Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) is estimated by using log linear functions on the time series data. Main finding of this study shows that the growth rate in gross and net area irrigated is more than gross and net sown area in Haryana state.

Sugarcane Production Scenario in India with Particular Reference to Punjab

The present study, conducted to examine the over time changes in area, production and productivity of sugarcane in India with particular reference to Punjab, has been based on secondary data. The secondary data pertaining to the area, production and productivity of sugarcane for the study period 1980–81 to 2013–14 were culled from various published sources. The study highlighted that area as well as production of sugarcane in India nearly doubled during the study period. The production profile of sugarcane in major sugarcane producing states of India revealed that Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu are the major sugarcane producing states of India. In 2013–14, contribution of Punjab to sugarcane production of India has been reported as 1.8 per cent. The productivity of sugarcane in Punjab is less than that of India. The study further highlighted the declining compound annual growth rate for sugarcane area, production and productivity for India as well as Punjab during the later part (2000–01 to 2013–14) of the study period. Notwithstanding, the declining growth rates of area under sugarcane, the proportion of net sown area allocated to sugarcane cultivation has increased from what it was in the beginning of the study period, both in the case of India and Punjab. Decomposition analysis illustrated the role of increasing the sugarcane acreage in a bid to increase the sugarcane production in the country at large and Punjab in particular.

Estimating inter-annual diversity of seasonal agricultural area using multi-temporal resourcesat data

The present study aims at analysis of spatial and temporal variability in agricultural land cover during 2005–6 and 2011–12 from an ongoing program of annual land use mapping using multidate Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) data aboard Resourcesat-1 and 2.About 640–690 multi-temporal AWiFS quadrant data products per year (depending on cloud cover) were co-registered and radiometrically normalized to prepare state (administrative unit) mosaics. An 18-fold classification was adopted in this project. Rule-based techniques along with maximum-likelihood algorithm were employed to deriving land cover information as well as changes within agricultural land cover classes. The agricultural land cover classes include – kharif (June–October), rabi (November–April), zaid (April–June), area sown more than once, fallow lands and plantation crops. Mean kappa accuracy of these estimates varied from 0.87 to 0.96 for various classes. Standard error of estimate has been computed for each class annually and the area estimates were corrected using standard error of estimate. The corrected estimates range between 99 and 116 Mha for kharif and 77–91 Mha for rabi.The kharif, rabi and net sown area were aggregated at 10 km × 10 km grid on annual basis for entire India and CV was computed at each grid cell using temporal spatially-aggregated area as input. This spatial variability of agricultural land cover classes was analyzed across meteorological zones, irrigated command areas and administrative boundaries. The results indicate that out of various states/meteorological zones, Punjab was consistently cropped during kharif as well as rabi seasons. Out of all irrigated commands, Tawa irrigated command was consistently cropped during rabi season.

Coriander the Taste of Vegetables: Present and Future Prospectus for Coriander Seed Production in Southeast Rajasthan

Approximately 80% of the world total coriander seed is produced in India. This country is the largest producer, consumer and exporter of the spices. Among these coriander seed is one of the most important spices. Of which, more than 80% is produced in southeast Rajasthan. Even after introduction of advance production technologies for coriander still it is controlled by soil factors. The study was conducted in southeast Rajasthan for evaluation of soil capability to support coriander seed. The limitations considered for assessment of soil are climatic, topographic, wetness, salinity and alkalinity, soil fertility and physical limitation. The criteria of soil slope, erosion, depth, texture, available water content and length of growing period (LGP) were used for final assessment of soil suitability. Keeping these criteria, it was recorded that agroecological environment of this region and soil system environment of Baran, Bundi, Jhalawar and Kota is most suitable for cultivation of coriander seeds. The total geographical area of above four districts of Rajasthan is 2435 thousand hectares. Out of this 49 per cent is the net sown area. Considering the soil texture as one of the limiting factors, 453 thousand hectare area is suitable for coriander cultivation whereas considering the soil slope as second limiting factor 1322 thousand hectare area is suitable for coriander cultivation in above four districts of Rajasthan. The data from year the 2006–07 to 2010–11 indicated that about 200 (±50) thousand hectare area is being kept under coriander seed cultivation in Rajasthan out of this 99 per cent area is situated in southeast Rajasthan i.e. Baran, Bundi, Jhalawar and Kota. The study also indicated that the area under coriander cultivation in Chittorgarh district has increased by 160% over 2006–07 (1959 ha) and at present it crossed to 3000 hectares. If efforts are made to bring about 400 (±50) thousand hectare area under coriander seed cultivation of southeast Rajasthan with the existing productivity level of 1100kg/ha than these four districts can produce 440 thousand metric tons of coriander seeds. The present domestic consumption of coriander seed in India is below 200 thousand metric tons. If rest, 240 thousand metric tons of the produce are exported than India can earn foreign money equivalent to 12000 million considering the existing grocery store price of 50/- per kg.

Drought and Underdevelopment in Bundelkhand: A Public Policty Analysis

This paper is an attempt to analyse the public policy for drought management in India in general and Bundelkhand region of Central India in particular. Bundelhand has been in news for farmers’ suicide, starvation deaths and increasing level of poverty. Despite having adequate water and natural resources the region has been suffering from acute poverty and hunger. This study argues that the Ministry of Agriculture’s present policy for drought, based upon the principle of ‘one-size fits all,’ is narrow in nature. In measuring drought only two factors are taken into account – first, the precipitation level during the Monsoon season and second, net sown area during a particular season. In addition to this, it focuses only on short term strategies for drought mitigation. It ignores the long term issues like environmental sustainability and inclusive development. In case of Bundelkhand it is visible that ignoring these issues has serious implications not only for the economy of the region but also on the society and climate. Above all it has serious impact on the political and civil unrest, which has never been analysed while understanding drought. This paper argues that there is an immediate need of rethinking on government of India’s drought management strategies. It should rather adopt a holistic framework. It should focus, on the one hand, region specific drought strategies taking into account country’s diverse geographic terrain, variety of types of soil, uneven rainfall, and economic diversity. On the other hand it should look into various implications of drought including economic, social, environmental and political.

Agricultural Development in India since Independence: A Study on Progress, Performance, and Determinants

This paper evaluates performance and progress of Indian Agriculture since Independence. In addition, this paper also analyzes sources of agricultural growth and determinants of agricultural production. We use the decomposition test to analyze sources of agricultural growth and the production function approach to analyze determinants of agricultural production over the period 1950/51 through 2005/06. The study indicates that there is scope to increase both net sown area and gross sown area. The decomposition analysis indicates that rising output per hectare is the predominant source of agricultural growth for most of the crops and crop groups. The estimation of aggregate agricultural production function with both intercept and slope dummy indicates that land significantly affected the agricultural output growth during 1950/51-1964/65 and after that land became less significant and now labour and capital are significantly affecting the agricultural output growth.

Land use land cover classification of Orissa using multi-temporal IRS-P6 awifs data: A decision tree approach

An attempt has been made to understand the potential of temporal Advanced Wide Field Sensor (AWiFS) data aboard IRS-P6 (Resourcesat) to generate the land use land cover information along with the net sown area. The temporal data sets were georeferenced, converted to top of atmosphere reflectance and classified using decision tree classifier, See5. Results indicate that the temporal data set could give a better definition of training sites thereby resulting in good overall kappa (kappa=0.8651) as well as individual classification accuracies. However, co-registration of temporal datasets accuracies also has got a significant influence on the classification accuracy. Temporal variation in cloud infestation and availability of appropriate data sets within the season (before harvest of the crop) has also affected the classification accuracy.

Application of a checklisting technique for the assessment of impacts of the Chashma Right Bank Canal on land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan District, Pakistan

AbstractThis paper attempts to discover the ex post impact of the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC) on the land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan district. The CRBC commands 250 000 ha and is spread over two provinces. The CRBC project was completed in three stages. Stage I was commissioned in 1987–88, and stages II and III in 1989 and 2001, respectively. The CRBC brought radical changes in the land use and cropping pattern of D.I.Khan district. For this study, three variables were selected including land use, cropping pattern and land values. To discover these changes at micro‐level, five sample villages were randomly selected, four from within the CRBC command area and one outside. The analysis found that after commissioning of the CRBC, prime cultivable land was brought under non‐agricultural use. The net sown area was also enhanced. Dry farming crops were replaced by water‐intensive cash crops, which in effect caused the twin problem of waterlogging and salinity, particularly in stage I. Likewise, land values increased considerably. This study is a sort of ex post evaluation of the CRBC and provides policy guidelines for decision makers and for the proposed Chashma Right Bank 1st Lift Irrigation Project not to repeat the weaknesses of Chashma Right Bank Irrigation Project. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Agricultural Productivity in India: A Spatial Analysis

Abstract Three indexes of agricultural productivity-land productivity, labor productivity, and aggregate productivity-have been employed to measure and map productivity patterns in India. There are large regional inequalities in the levels of productivity. Regression analysis reveals that the spatial variation of land productivity is positively related to fertilizer use, irrigation, and urban-industrial development and is negatively related to population density. Labor productivity is positively associated with agricultural wages and fertilizer use and negatively with the density of agricultural workers on net sown area. Aggregate productivity is positively associated with fertilizer and irrigation use and negatively with the densities of population and agricultural workers. The significant explanatory variables in the regressions explain 61 percent of land productivity, 57 percent of labor productivity, and 42 percent of aggregate productivity.

Farm Size, Irrigation and Intensity of Land Use in Indian Agriculture

Rising land productivity is the only solid and enduring basis for Indian agriculture to achieve a continuous increase in production. A rise in land productivity can take place in many ways. One such possibility lies in increasing multiple cropped area, either by introducing new crops or by expanding area under existing ones. The underlying assumption is that every unit of the incremental cropped area gives some additional output, albeit small, so that output per acre of net sown area rises although it mayor may not give an increase in output per acre of gross cropped area.