Land Resources and Agriculture

2.1 Core concepts

• Reporting area vs geographical area — land-use records are maintained by the land revenue department; the sum of land-use categories adds up to the reporting area, which is somewhat different from the geographical area measured by the Survey of India. Reporting area changes with revisions of land-revenue estimates; geographical area is fixed (NCERT §Land Use Categories, p. 21).
• Nine land-use categories in Indian Land Revenue Records (NCERT pp. 21–22): (i) Forests — area classified as forest (demarcated by Government for forest growth) is different from actual forest cover; an increase here may not mean an actual increase in cover. (ii) Barren and Wastelands — barren hilly terrain, desert lands, ravines etc. not cultivable with current technology. (iii) Land put to Non-agricultural Uses — settlements (rural and urban), infrastructure (roads, canals), industries, shops; expands as secondary/tertiary sectors grow. (iv) Area under Permanent Pastures and Grazing Lands — most owned by the village Panchayat or Government; only a small share privately owned; panchayat land falls under Common Property Resources. (v) Area under Miscellaneous Tree Crops and Groves (not included in Net Sown Area) — orchards and fruit trees, mostly privately owned. (vi) Culturable Wasteland — left fallow (uncultivated) for more than five years; can be brought under cultivation after reclamation. (vii) Current Fallow — land left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural year; a cultural practice for soil recoupment. (viii) Fallow other than Current Fallow — cultivable land left for more than a year but less than five years; beyond five years it becomes culturable wasteland. (ix) Net Area Sown — physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested.
• Land-use changes 1950–51 to 2019–20 (Fig. 3.1, p. 23) — five categories rose: Forests 17 → 23.4%, Area under non-agricultural use 3.2 → 9.1%, Permanent pasture 2.3 → 3.4%, Current fallow 3.7 → 4.5%, Net Area Sown 41.7 → 45.6%. Four declined: Barren/uncultivable wasteland 13.4 → 5.4%, Area under misc. tree crops 6.9 → 1.0%, Culturable wasteland 8.0 → 3.9%, Fallow other than current fallow 6.1 → 3.7%.
• The rate of increase is highest for non-agricultural use because of the changing structure of the Indian economy and the expansion of urban/rural settlements and infrastructure. The increase in the share under forest reflects increase in demarcated area rather than an actual rise in forest cover. The recent rise in net area sown is largely from converting culturable wasteland to agricultural use (NCERT pp. 23–24).
• Common Property Resources (CPRs) — community-owned natural resources where every member has the right of access and use with specified obligations but no individual property rights. Examples: community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies and other public spaces. CPRs provide fodder for livestock and fuel for households, as well as minor forest products (fruits, nuts, fibre, medicinal plants). They are crucial for landless and marginal farmers and especially for women, who collect fodder and fuel (NCERT §Common Property Resources, p. 24).
• Total cultivable land = Net Area Sown + All Fallow Lands + Culturable Wasteland. As a percentage of reporting area it has declined marginally from 59.5% (1950–51) to 57.7% (2019–20); within total cultivable land, the share of Net Area Sown rose from 70.0% to 79.0% (NCERT Table 3.1, p. 25).
• Cropping Intensity (CI) = (Gross Cropped Area / Net Sown Area) × 100. A high cropping intensity is desirable in a land-scarce but labour-abundant country like India because it raises output and reduces rural unemployment (NCERT p. 25).
• Three cropping seasons in northern and interior India (NCERT Table 3.2, p. 25):
• Kharif (June–September) — coincides with the south-west monsoon. Northern states: rice, cotton, bajra, maize, jowar, tur. Southern states: rice, maize, ragi, jowar, groundnut.
• Rabi (October–March) — begins with winter; low temperatures facilitate temperate and subtropical crops. Northern: wheat, gram, rapeseed and mustard, barley. Southern: rice, maize, ragi, groundnut, jowar.
• Zaid (April–June) — short summer cropping season starting after rabi harvest; watermelons, cucumbers, vegetables, fodder, grown on irrigated land. In southern India, where temperature is high year-round, the season distinction does not exist and the same crop can be grown thrice in an agricultural year if soil moisture is sufficient.
• Types of farming:
• Irrigated farming — main source of moisture is irrigation; can be protective (irrigation supplements rainfall over maximum area, providing soil moisture to maximum possible area) or productive (provides sufficient moisture in the cropping season to achieve high productivity; water input per unit area is higher) (NCERT pp. 25–26).
• Rainfed (barani) farming — divided into dryland (annual rainfall < 75 cm; hardy, drought-resistant crops like ragi, bajra, moong, gram, guar — fodder crops; practices soil-moisture conservation and rainwater harvesting) and wetland (rainfall exceeds soil-moisture demand; faces floods and soil erosion; grows water-intensive crops like rice, jute, sugarcane and practises aquaculture) (NCERT §Types of Farming, p. 26).
• Foodgrains occupy about two-thirds of total cropped area; dominant crops everywhere. Classified into cereals (~54% of cropped area) and pulses. India produces about 11% of world cereals and ranks third after China and the U.S.A. Cereals are fine grains (rice, wheat) and coarse grains (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi) (NCERT §Foodgrains, p. 26).
• Rice — staple food. Grown from sea level up to about 2,000 m altitude, from humid eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab/Haryana/W-UP/N-Rajasthan. In West Bengal three crops are grown — aus, aman, boro; in Himalayas, only one kharif crop. India contributes 22.07% of world production and ranks second after China (2018). About one-fourth of total cropped area is under rice. Leading states: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab. Yield is highest in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, AP, Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala. Punjab and Haryana are not traditional rice areas — rice was introduced there in the 1970s following the Green Revolution (NCERT §Rice, pp. 26–28).
• Wheat — 2nd most important cereal. India produces 12.8% of world wheat (2017). About 14% of total cropped area is under wheat. Primarily a rabi crop of the temperate zone; about 85% concentrated in the Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas up to 2,700 m. Leading producers: UP, MP, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan. Yield is very high (above 4,000 kg/ha) in Punjab and Haryana; UP, Rajasthan, Bihar have moderate yields; HP and J&K have low yield because of rainfed conditions (NCERT §Wheat, p. 28).
• Coarse cereals together occupy about 16.50% of cropped area.
• Jowar (sorghum) — 5.3% of cropped area; main food crop in semi-arid central and southern India. Maharashtra alone produces more than half of national jowar. Other leading states: Karnataka, MP, AP, Telangana. Sown in both kharif and rabi seasons in southern states; kharif (mostly fodder) in northern India (NCERT §Jowar, p. 28).
• Bajra — 5.2% of cropped area; hardy crop of northwestern and western hot/dry parts. Leading producers: Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana (NCERT §Bajra, p. 28).
• Maize — 3.6% of cropped area; food + fodder crop under semi-arid climate on inferior soils. Grown all over India except Punjab and eastern/north-eastern parts. Leading producers: Karnataka, MP, Bihar, AP, Telangana, Rajasthan, UP (NCERT §Maize, p. 28).
• Pulses — ~11% of cropped area; legumes that fix nitrogen and improve soil fertility. Rainfed crops of drylands of Deccan and central plateaus and north-western India. Yields are low and fluctuate. Gram and tur are the main pulses (NCERT §Pulses, p. 28).
• Gram — subtropical, rainfed rabi crop in central, western and northwestern India; 2.8% of cropped area. Displaced from Haryana, Punjab and N-Rajasthan by wheat after the Green Revolution. Main producers: MP, UP, Maharashtra, AP, Telangana, Rajasthan (NCERT §Gram, p. 30).
• Tur (Arhar / red gram / pigeon pea) — second important pulse; 2% of cropped area. Maharashtra alone contributes about one-third of total tur production; other leading states: UP, Karnataka, Gujarat, MP (NCERT §Tur, p. 30).
• Oilseeds — together occupy about 14% of cropped area. Drylands of Malwa Plateau, Marathwada, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Telangana, Rayalseema region of AP and Karnataka plateau are oilseed-growing regions. Main crops: groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, soyabean, sunflower (NCERT §Oilseeds, p. 30).
• Groundnut — India produces 18.8% of world (2018); largely a rainfed kharif crop of drylands but also rabi in southern India; 3.6% of cropped area. Leading producers: Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, AP, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra. Yield is comparatively high in TN (irrigated) but low in Telangana, AP, Karnataka (NCERT §Groundnut, p. 30).
• Rapeseed and Mustard — comprises rai, sarson, toria and taramira; subtropical rabi crops in north-western and central India; frost-sensitive. About one-third of cultivated area is irrigated. 2.5% of cropped area. Rajasthan contributes about one-third of production; other leading producers: Haryana, MP. Yield is higher in Haryana and Rajasthan (NCERT §Rapeseed and Mustard, p. 30).
• Soyabean — mostly grown in MP and Maharashtra; together about 90% of total output. Sunflower — concentrated in Karnataka, AP, Telangana and adjoining Maharashtra; minor crop in north (high yield under irrigation) (NCERT §Other Oilseeds, pp. 30–32).
• Fibre Crops
• Cotton — tropical kharif crop of semi-arid areas. India ranks 2nd in the world after China. Occupies about 4.7% of cropped area. Three growing zones: NW (parts of Punjab, Haryana, N-Rajasthan), West (Gujarat, Maharashtra), South (AP, Karnataka, TN). Leading producers: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana. India grows both short-staple (Indian) cotton and long-staple (American) 'narma' in the north-west. Per-hectare output is high under irrigation in the NW; yield is very low in rainfed Maharashtra (NCERT §Cotton, p. 32).
• Jute — cash crop in West Bengal and adjoining eastern parts. India lost large jute-growing areas to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) during partition. Now produces about three-fifths of world jute; West Bengal accounts for about three-fourths of national production. Other producers: Bihar and Assam. Only about 0.5% of cropped area (NCERT §Jute, p. 32).
• Sugarcane — tropical crop; under rainfed conditions in sub-humid/humid climates but largely irrigated in India. In the Indo-Gangetic plain cultivation is concentrated in Uttar Pradesh; in western India it is spread over Maharashtra and Gujarat. India ranks 2nd in the world after Brazil (2018) with about 19.7% of world production. UP produces about two-fifths of national sugarcane; also significant in Maharashtra, Karnataka, TN, AP. Occupies about 2.4% of cropped area (NCERT §Sugarcane, pp. 32–34).
• Tea — indigenous to N. China; plantation started in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in the 1840s. India is leading producer with 21.22% of world output (2018); Assam alone contributes about 53.2% of area and more than half of national tea; sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Nilgiris are other belts. India ranks 2nd among exporters (NCERT §Tea, p. 34).
• Coffee — tropical plantation crop. Three commercial varieties: arabica (superior, mostly grown in India), robusta, liberica. India grows 3.17% of world coffee and ranks 8th. Karnataka alone produces more than two-thirds; also Kerala and TN — Western Ghats belt (NCERT §Coffee, p. 34).
• Agricultural development — pre-Independence to present: Indian agriculture at Independence was traditional and subsistence-oriented. After late-1950s stagnation, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched in selected districts. From the mid-1960s the Green Revolution brought HYVs of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) along with chemical fertilisers; success was concentrated in Punjab, Haryana, Western UP, AP, Gujarat because these had irrigation. Regional disparities widened until the 1970s, after which the strategy spread to eastern and central India. Planning Commission focused on rainfed areas in the 1980s, and agro-climatic planning was initiated in 1988. The 1990s liberalisation influenced agriculture (NCERT §Agricultural Development, pp. 34–36).
• NMSA — National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture promotes integrated/composite farming, soil and moisture conservation, and integrated nutrient and pest management. Government schemes include Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) (NCERT §NMSA box, p. 36).
• Problems of Indian agriculture (NCERT pp. 37–39):
• Dependence on erratic monsoon — irrigation covers only about one-third of cultivated area; rest is rainfed.
• Low productivity — per-hectare yields of most crops are below world averages despite the Green Revolution.
• Financial constraints and indebtedness — farmers depend on moneylenders; high cost of inputs.
• Lack of land reforms — Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari systems; Zamindari was the most exploitative.
• Small and fragmented landholdings — limit scope of mechanisation and economies of scale.
• Lack of commercialisation — most small farmers grow for subsistence.
• Vast underemployment — seasonal underemployment for 4–8 months among a large share of rural workers.
• Degradation of cultivable land — in irrigated areas, alkalisation, salinisation and waterlogging; in rainfed/dryland areas, gully erosion and wind erosion.

2.2 Definitions to memorise

2.3 Diagrams / processes to remember

• Fig. 3.1 (p. 23) — Bar graph comparing land-use category shares in 1950–51 vs 2019–20. Memorise direction of change for each of the nine categories.
• Table 3.1 (p. 25) — Composition of Total Cultivable Land: Culturable Waste 8.0 → 3.9%; Fallow other 6.1 → 3.7%; Current Fallow 3.7 → 4.5%; Net Area Sown 41.7 → 45.6%; Total 59.5 → 57.7%. As % of total cultivable land, NSA rose from 70.0% to 79.0%.
• Table 3.2 (p. 25) — Cropping Seasons in India: Kharif/Rabi/Zaid major crops in Northern vs Southern states.
• Fig. 3.3 (p. 27) — India: Distribution of Rice — major belt across eastern India (West Bengal, Bihar, Odisha, Assam), coastal plains (AP, Tamil Nadu, Kerala), with smaller belts in Punjab/Haryana.
• Fig. 3.4 (p. 29) — India: Distribution of Wheat — concentrated in Indo-Gangetic Plain (Punjab, Haryana, UP, MP).
• Fig. 3.6 (p. 31) — India: Distribution of Cotton and Jute — Cotton (NW Punjab/Haryana, Gujarat–Maharashtra, southern peninsula) and Jute (West Bengal cluster, parts of Bihar and Assam).
• Fig. 3.9 (p. 33) — Sugarcane distribution — UP/Bihar belt + Maharashtra/Gujarat + southern peninsula.
• Fig. 3.11 (p. 35) — Tea (Assam, sub-Himalayan W. Bengal, Nilgiris) and Coffee (Western Ghats — Karnataka, Kerala, TN).
• Process — Total cultivable land breakdown: NSA + all fallow lands + culturable wasteland = total cultivable land (declined marginally from 59.5% to 57.7% of reporting area).
• Process — Green Revolution: HYV seeds (wheat Mexico, rice Philippines) → chemical fertilisers + assured irrigation → introduced in Punjab/Haryana/W-UP/AP/Gujarat → regional disparities → spread to East/Central India after 1970s → cropping pattern shift (gram → wheat in Haryana/Punjab/N-Rajasthan).

2.5 Key data table (NCERT figures from this chapter)

2.4 Common confusions / NTA trap points

• "Area classified as forest" vs "actual forest cover" — the increase in forest share reflects increased demarcation, not actual rise in cover (NCERT p. 23).
• "Marginal land" is NOT a land-use category — students confuse it with culturable wasteland or fallow (NCERT Exercise 1(i), p. 39).
• Sugarcane is NOT a dryland crop — it is largely irrigated; trap distractor in dryland-farming questions (NCERT Exercise 1(iv)).
• HYVs of wheat came from Mexico, of rice from Philippines — not USA or Japan (NCERT p. 36).
• Punjab/Haryana entered rice cultivation only after the 1970s Green Revolution — they are NOT traditional rice areas (NCERT p. 26).
• Reporting area ≠ Geographical area — Survey of India measures geographical area; revenue department maintains reporting area.
• India ranks 2nd in rice after China, 2nd in cotton after China, 2nd in sugarcane after Brazil, 3rd in cereals (after China and USA), 8th in coffee — these ranks are frequently swapped.
• Maharashtra leads Jowar and Tur; UP leads Sugarcane and Wheat; West Bengal leads Jute and Rice; Assam leads Tea; Karnataka leads Coffee — geographic mismatches are a classic trap.
• Coarse cereals share is 16.50%, not 6.5% or 60% — and jowar 5.3%, bajra 5.2%, maize 3.6% — students invert the order.
• Soyabean is concentrated in MP + Maharashtra (90%), NOT Karnataka or UP.
• Current fallow vs Fallow other than current fallow vs Culturable wasteland — < 1 year, 1–5 years, > 5 years — a three-way distinction NTA exploits.
• Protective vs Productive irrigation — protective spreads thinly over max area to supplement rainfall; productive provides full water requirement for high productivity.
• Salinisation/Alkalisation/Waterlogging are degradation forms in irrigated areas; gully erosion / wind erosion are characteristic of rainfed/dryland tracts — do not swap.