CHAPTER 5 - LAND RESOURCES AND AGRICULTURE

LAND USE CATEGORIES

Land-use records are maintained by land revenue department as:-
1. Forests: area under actual forest cover is different from area classified as forest. The latter is the area
which the Government has identified and demarcated for forest growth. The land revenue records are
consistent with the latter definition.
2. Land put to Non-agricultural Uses: Land under settlements (rural and urban), infrastructure (roads,
canals, etc.), industries, shops, etc. are included in this category.
3. Barren and Waste lands : 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.
4. 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’.
5. 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.
6. Culturable Waste-Land: Any land which is left fallow (uncultivated) for more than five years is
included in this category. It can be brought under cultivation after improving it through reclamation practices.
7. Current Fallow: This is the land which is left without cultivation for one or less than one agricultural
year. Following is a cultural practice adopted for giving the land rest. The land recoups the lost fertility
through natural processes.
8. Fallow other than Current Fallow: This is also a cultivable land which is left uncultivated for more than
a year but less than five years. If the land is left uncultivated for more than five years, it would be
categorised as culturable wasteland.
9. Net Area Sown: The physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested is known as net sown
area.

LAND-USE CHANGES IN INDIA :

● Three types of changes that an economy undergoes, which affect land-use are
1. The size of the economy
2. The composition of the economy
3. Though the contribution of the agricultural activities reduces over time, the pressure on land for
agricultural activities does not decline.
● The reasons for continued pressure on agricultural land are:
a. In developing countries, the share of population dependent on agriculture usually declines much
more slowly compared to the decline in the sector’s share in GDP.
b. The number of people that the agricultural sector has to feed is increasing day by day.
● India has undergone major changes within the economy over the past four or five decades, and this
has influenced the land-use changes in the country. Four land-use categories have undergone
increases, while four have registered declines.
Increased Land use Categories:
i. The rate of increase is the highest in case of area under non-agricultural uses. This is due to the
changing structure of Indian economy. The area under non-agricultural uses is increasing at the expense
of wastelands and agricultural land.
ii. The increase in the share under forest, as explained before, can be accounted for by increase in the
demarcated area under forest rather than an actual increase in the forest cover in the country.
iii.The increase in the current fallow cannot be explained from information pertaining to only two
points. The trend of current fallow fluctuates a great deal over years, depending on the variability of
rainfall and cropping cycles.
iv. The increase in net area sown is a recent phenomenon due to use of culturable waste land for
agricultural purpose.
Declined Land use Categories:
The four categories that have registered a decline are barren and wasteland, culturable wasteland, area
under pastures and tree crops and fallow lands. The following explanations can be given for the declining
trends:

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(i) As the pressure on land increased, both from the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors, the wastelands
and culturable wastelands have witnessed decline over time.
(ii) The decline in land under pastures and grazing lands can be explained by pressure from agricultural land.
Illegal encroachment due to expansion of cultivation on common pasture lands is largely responsible for
this decline.
COMMON PROPERTY RESOURCES
● According to its ownership, land can broadly be classified under two broad heads – private land and
common property resources (CPRs)
● CPRs provide fodder for the livestock and fuel for the households along with other minor forest
products like fruits, nuts, fibre, medicinal plants, etc.
● CPRs also are important for women as most of the fodder and fuel collection is done by them in rural
areas
● CPRs can be defined as community’s natural resource, where every member has the right of access
and usage with specified obligations, without anybody having property rights over them. A group
larger than a household or family unit exercises rights of use and carries responsibility of
management. For example: Community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies and other public
spaces.
SIGNIFICANCE OF LAND RESOURCE
Land resource is more crucial to the livelihood of the people depending on agriculture:
(i) Agriculture is a purely land based activity unlike secondary and tertiary activities. Lack of access
to land is directly correlated with incidence of poverty in rural areas.
(ii) Quality of land has a direct bearing on the productivity of agriculture, which is not true for other
activities.
(iii) In rural areas, aside from its value as a productive factor, land ownership has a social value and
serves as a security for credit, natural hazards or life contingencies, and also adds to the social
status.
AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN INDIA
● The total stock of agricultural land resources (i.e. total cultivable land can be arrived at by adding up
net sown area, all fallow lands and culturable wasteland.
● The scope for bringing in additional land under net sown area in India is limited. There is, thus, an
urgent need to evolve and adopt land-saving technologies.
● Such technologies can be classified under two heads – those which raise the yield of any particular
crop per unit area of land and those which increase the total output per unit area of land from all crops
grown over one agricultural year by increasing land-use intensity.
● The advantage of the latter kind of technology is that along with increasing output from limited land,
it also increases the demand for labour significantly.
● For a land scarce but labour abundant country like India, a high cropping intensity is desirable not
only for fuller utilisation of land resource, but also for reducing unemployment in the rural economy.
● The cropping intensity (CI) is calculated as follows :
Cropping Intensity in percentage =
GCA : Gross Cropped Area
NSA : Net Sown Area
CROPPING SEASONS IN INDIA
Cropping Season Major Crops Cultivated
Northern States Southern States
Kharif Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Rice, Maize, Ragi,
June - September (Southwest Monsoon) Maize, Jowar, Tur Jowar, Groundnut
Rabi Wheat, Gram, Rapeseeds Rice, Maize, Ragi,
October – March (Onset of winter) and Mustard, Barley Groundnut, Jowar
Zaid Vegetables, Fruits, Rice, Vegetables,
April – June (short duration summer) Fodder Fodder

TYPES OF FARMING
On the basis of main source of moisture for crops, the farming can be classified as
i. Irrigated Farming
ii. Rainfed (barani) Farming

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 I.IRRIGATED FARMING : It is further divided based on the objective of irrigation as
● PROTECTIVE IRRIGATION: The objective of protective irrigation is to protect the crops from adverse
effects of soil moisture deficiency which often means that irrigation acts as a supplementary source of
water over and above the rainfall.
● PRODUCTIVE IRRIGATION : It is meant to provide sufficient soil moisture in the cropping season to
achieve high productivity. In such irrigation the water input per unit area of cultivated land is
higher than protective irrigation.
II. RAINFED (BARANI) FARMING: On the basis of adequacy of soil moisture, it is further divided into
● DRY LAND FARMING is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm. These
regions grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar (fodder
crops) and practice various measures of soil moisture conservation and rain water harvesting.
● In WETLAND FARMING, the rainfall is in excess of soil moisture requirement of plants during rainy
season. Such regions may face flood and soil erosion hazards. These areas grow various water
intensive crops such as rice, jute and sugarcane and practise aquaculture in the fresh water bodies.
FOOD GRAINS
The importance of food grains in Indian agricultural economy may be gauged from the fact these crops
occupy about two-third of total cropped area in the country. On the basis of the structure of grain the food
grains are classified as cereals and pulses.
1. Cereals:
● The cereals occupy about 54 per cent of total cropped area in India.
● The country produces about 11 per cent cereals of the world and ranks third in production
after China and U.S.A.
● India produces a variety of cereals, which are classified as fine grains (rice, wheat), and coarse
grains (jowar, bajra, maize, ragi), etc.
Rice
● Rice is a staple food for the overwhelming majority of population in India.
● Though, it is considered to be a crop of tropical humid areas,
● These are successfully grown from sea level to about 2,000 m altitude and from humid
areas in eastern India to dry but irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, western U.P. and
northern Rajasthan.
● In southern states and West Bengal the climatic conditions allow the cultivation of two or
three crops of rice in an agricultural year. In West Bengal farmers grow three crops of rice
called ‘aus’, ‘aman’ and ‘boro’.
● But in Himalayas and north western parts of the country, it is grown as a kharif crop during
south west Monsoon season.
● India contributes 22 % of rice production in the world and ranks second after China.
● About one-fourth of the total cropped area in the country is under rice cultivation.
● West Bengal, Punjab and Uttar Pradesh were five leading
rice producing states in the country in 2009-10.
● They yield level of rice is high in Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh,
Telangana, West Bengal and Kerala.
● Punjab and Haryana are not traditional rice growing areas. Rice cultivation in the irrigated
areas of Punjab and Haryana was introduced in 1970s following the Green Revolution.
● Genetically improved varieties of seed, relatively high usage of fertilisers and pesticides
and lower levels of susceptibility of the crop to pests due to dry climatic conditions are
responsible for higher yield of rice in this region.
● The yield of this crop is very low in rainfed areas of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and
Orissa.
Wheat
● Wheat is the second most important cereal crop in India after rice. India produces about 12 per
cent of total wheat production of world. It is primarily a crop of temperate zone. Hence, its
cultivation in India is done during winter i.e. rabi season.
● About 85 per cent of total area under this crop is concentrated in north and central regions of
the country i.e. Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau and Himalayas up to 2,700 m altitude.
Being a rabi crop, it is mostly grown under irrigated conditions.
● But it is a rain fed crop in Himalayan highlands and parts of Malwa plateau in Madhya
Pradesh.
● About 14 per cent of the total cropped area in the country is under wheat cultivation.
● Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh are five leading wheat
producing states. The yield level of wheat is very high (above 4,000 k.g. per ha) in Punjab and
Haryana whereas, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Bihar have moderate yields.

Jowar
● The coarse cereals together occupy about 16.50 per cent of total cropped area in the country.
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 ● Among these, jowar or sorghum alone accounts for about 5.3 per cent of total cropped area. It
is main food crop in semi-arid areas of central and southern India.
● Maharashtra alone produces more than half of the total jowar production of the country. Other
leading producer states of jowar are Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
● It is sown in both kharif and rabi seasons in southern states. But it is a kharif crop in northern
India where it is mostly grown as a fodder crop.
Bajra
● Bajra is sown in hot and dry climatic conditions in northwestern and western parts of the
country.
● It is a hardy crop which resists frequent dry spells and drought in this region. It is cultivated
alone as well as part of mixed cropping.
● Leading producers of bajra are the states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan
and Haryana.
● Being a rainfed crop, the yield level of this crop is low in Rajasthan and fluctuates a lot from
year to year. Yield of this crop has increased during recent years in Haryana and Gujarat due
to introduction of drought resistant varieties and expansion of irrigation under it.
Maize
● Maize is a food as well as fodder crop grown under semi-arid climatic conditions and over
inferior soils.
● This crop occupies only about 3.6 per cent of total cropped area.
● Maize cultivation is not concentrated in any specific region. It is sown all over India except
eastern and north-eastern regions.
● The leading producers of maize are the states of Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka,
Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
● Yield level of maize is higher than other coarse cereals. It is high in southern states and
declines towards central parts.
2. Pulses:
● Pulses are a very important ingredient of vegetarian food as these are rich sources of proteins.
● These are legume crops which increase the natural fertility of soils through nitrogen fixation.
● India is a leading producer of pulses and accounts for about one-fifth of the total production of
pulses in the world.
● The cultivation of pulses in the country is largely concentrated in the dry lands of Deccan and
central plateaus and north western parts of the country.
● Pulses occupy about 11 per cent of the total cropped area in the country.
● Being the rainfed crops of dry lands, the yields of pulses are low and fluctuate from year to
year.
● Gram and tur are the main pulses cultivated in India.
Gram
● Gram is cultivated in subtropical areas. It is mostly a rainfed crop cultivated during rabi
season in central, western and north western parts of the country.
● Just one or two light showers or irrigations are required to grow this crop successfully.
● It has been displaced from the cropping pattern by wheat in Haryana, Punjab and northern
Rajasthan following the green revolution.
● Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan are the main
producers of this pulse crop. The yield of this crop continues to be low and fluctuates from
year to year even in irrigated areas.
● At present, gram covers only about 2.8 per cent of the total cropped area in the country.
Tur (Arhar)
● Tur is the second important pulse crop in the country. It is also known as red gram or pigeon
pea.
● It is cultivated over marginal lands and under rainfed conditions in the dry areas of central and
southern states of the country.
● Maharashtra alone contributes about one-third of the total production of tur.
● Per hectare output of this crop is very low and its performance is inconsistent.
● This crop occupies only about 2 per cent of total cropped area of India.

OILSEEDS
Groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, soya bean and sunflower are the main oilseed crops grown in India

1. Groundnut
● India produces about 17 per cent the total of groundnut production in the world.
● It is largely a rainfed kharif crop of dry lands. But in southern India, it is cultivated during rabi season
as well.
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 ● Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the leading producers.
● Yield of groundnut is comparatively high in Tamil Nadu where it is partly irrigated. But its yield is
low in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
2. Rapeseed and Mustard
● Rapeseed and mustard comprise several oilseeds as rai, sarson, toria and taramira.
● These are subtropical crops cultivated during rabi season in north-western and central parts of India.
● These are frost sensitive crops and their yields fluctuate from year to year. But with the expansion of
irrigation and improvement in seed technology, their yields have improved and stabilized to some
extent. About two-third of the cultivated area under these crops is irrigated.
● Rajasthan contributes about one-third production while other leading producers are Uttar Pradesh,
Haryana, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh.
● Yields of these crops are comparatively high in Haryana and Rajasthan.
3. Other Oilseeds
● Soyabean and sunflower are other important oilseeds grown in India. Soya bean is mostly grown in
Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra
● It is a minor crop in northern parts of the country where its yield is high due to irrigation.
FIBRE CROPS
These crops provide us fibre for preparing cloth, bags, sacks and a number of other items. Cotton and jute are
two main fibre crops grown in India.
1. Cotton
● Cotton is a tropical crop grown in kharif season in semi-arid areas of the country. India lost a large
proportion of cotton growing area to Pakistan during partition. However, its acreage has increased
considerably during the last 50 years.
● India grows both short staple (Indian) cotton as well as long staple (American) cotton called „narma‟
in north-western parts of the country.
● Cotton requires clear sky during flowering stage.
● India ranks fourth in the world in the production of cotton after China, U.S.A. and Pakistan.
● Cotton growing areas, i.e. parts of Punjab, Haryana and northern Rajasthan in north-west, Gujarat and
Maharashtra in the west and plateaus of in south. Leading producers of this crop are Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
● Per hectare output of cotton is high under irrigated conditions in north-western region of the country.
Its yield is very low in Maharashtra where it is grown under rainfed conditions.
2. Jute
● Jute is used for making coarse cloth, bags, sacks and decorative items.
● It is a cash crop in West Bengal and adjoining eastern parts of the country. India lost large jute
growing areas to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) during partition.
● At present, India produces about three-fifth of jute production of the world. West Bengal accounts for
about three-fourth of the production in the country. Bihar and Assam are other jute growing areas.
Other Crops
Sugarcane
● Sugarcane is a crop of tropical areas. Under rainfed conditions, it is cultivated in sub-humid and
humid climates. But it is largely an irrigated crop in India.
● India is the second largest producer of sugarcane after Brazil.
● Uttar Pradesh produces about two-fifth of sugarcane of the country.
● Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are other leading producers of this crop
where yield level of sugarcane is high.
● Its yield is low in northern India.
Tea
● Tea is a plantation crop used as beverage. Black tea leaves are fermented whereas green tea leaves are
unfermented.
● Tea leaves have rich content of caffeine and tannin.
● It is an indigenous crop of hills in northern China. It is grown over undulating topography of hilly
areas and well- drained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics and sub-tropics.
● In India, tea plantation started in 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of Assam which still is a major tea
growing area in the country.
● Later on, its plantation was introduced in the sub-Himalayan region of West Bengal (Darjiling,
Jalpaiguri and Cooch Bihar districts). Tea is also cultivated on the lower slopes of Nilgiri and
Cardamom hills in Western Ghats.
● India is a leading producer of tea.
● India’s share in the international market of tea has declined substantially. At present, it ranks third
among tea exporting countries in the world after Sri Lanka and China.

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 ● Assam accounts for about 53.2 per cent of the total cropped area and contributes more than half of
total production of tea in the country. West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are the other leading producers of
tea.
Coffee
● Coffee is a tropical plantation crop. Its seeds are roasted, ground and are used for preparing a
beverage.
● There are three varieties of coffee Arabica, Robusta and Liberica.
● India mostly grows superior quality coffee, Arabica, which is in great demand in International market.
● But India produces only about 4.3 per cent coffee of the world and ranks seven after Brazil, Vietnam,
Colombia, Indonesia, Ethiopia and Mexico in 2008 – 09.
● Coffee is cultivated in the highlands of Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
● Karnataka alone accounts for more than two- third of total production of coffee in the country
AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA
● Agriculture continues to be an important sector of Indian economy.
● In 2001 about 53 per cent population of the country was dependent on it.
● The importance of agricultural sector in India can be gauged from the fact that about 57 % of its land
is devoted to crop cultivation, whereas, in the world, the corresponding share is only about 12 %.
● In spite of this, there is tremendous pressure on agricultural land in India.
● Despite various constraints, Indian agriculture has marched a long way since Independence.
STRATEGY OF DEVELOPMENT
● During partition about one-third of the irrigated land in undivided India went to Pakistan. This
reduced the proportion of irrigated area in Independent.
● After Independence, the immediate goal of the Government was to increase food grains production by
(i) Switching over from cash crops to food crops;
(ii) Intensification of cropping over already cultivated land; and
(iii) Increasing cultivated area by bringing cultivable and fallow land under plough.
● Agricultural production stagnated during late 1950s.
● To overcome this problem, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive
Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched.
● New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) known as high yielding varieties (HYVs)
were available for cultivation by mid-1960s.
● India took advantage of this and introduced package technology comprising HYVs, along with
chemical fertilizers in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and
Gujarat.
● This strategy of agricultural development paid dividends instantly and increased the food grains
production at very fast rate. This spurt of agricultural growth came to be known as ‘Green
Revolution’.
● Assured supply of soil moisture through irrigation was a basic pre-requisite for the success of this
new agricultural technology
● But green revolution was initially confined to irrigated areas only. This led to regional disparities in
agricultural development in the country till the seventies, after which the technology spread to the
Eastern and Central parts of the country.
● The Planning Commission of India initiated agro-climatic planning in 1988 to induce regionally
balanced agricultural development in the country.
● It also emphasized the need for diversification of agriculture and harnessing of resources for
development of dairy farming, poultry, horticulture, livestock rearing and aquaculture.
● Initiation of the policy of liberalisation and free market economy in 1990s is likely to influence the
course of development of Indian agriculture.
● Lack of development of rural infrastructure, withdrawal of subsidies and price support, and
impediments in availing of the rural credits may lead to inter-regional and inter -personal disparities
in rural areas.
GROWTH OF AGRICULTURAL OUTPUT AND TECHNOLOGY
● India ranks first in the production of pulses, tea, jute, cattle and milk. It is the second largest producer
of rice, wheat, groundnut, sugarcane and vegetables.
● Expansion of irrigation has played a very crucial role in enhancing agricultural output in the country.
It provided basis for introduction of modern agricultural technology such as high yielding varieties of
seeds, chemical fertilizers, pesticides and farm machinery.
● The net irrigated area in the country has increased from 20.85 to 54.66 million ha over the period
1950-51 to 2000-01.
● Consumption of chemical fertilizers in India was 91 kg which was equal to its average consumption
in the world (90 kg).
● But in the irrigated areas of Punjab and Haryana the consumption of chemical fertilizers per unit area
is three to four times higher than that of the national average.

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 ● Since the high yielding varieties are highly susceptible to pests and diseases, the use of pesticides has
increased significantly since 1960s.
PROBLEMS OF INDIAN AGRICULTURE
1. Dependence on Erratic Monsoon
⮚ Irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of the cultivated area in India.

⮚ Poor performance of south-west Monsoon also adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation.

⮚ Even the areas receiving high annual rainfall experience considerable fluctuations.

⮚ This makes them vulnerable to both droughts and floods.

⮚ Drought is a common phenomenon in the low rainfall areas which may also experience occasional floods.
2. Low productivity
⮚ The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the international level.

⮚ Per hectare output of most of the crops such as rice, wheat, cotton and oilseeds in India is much lower than
that of U.S.A., Russia and Japan.
⮚ Because of the very high pressure on the land resources, the labour productivity in Indian agriculture is also
very low in comparison to international level. The vast rainfed areas of the country, particularly dry lands
which mostly grow coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds have very low yields.
3. Constraints of Financial Resources and Indebtedness
⮚ The inputs of modern agriculture are very expensive which become unmanageable for marginal
and small farmers as they have no saving to invest in agriculture.
⮚ To tide over these difficulties, most of such farmers have resorted to availing credit from various
institutions and money lenders.
⮚ Crop failures and low returns from agriculture have forced them to fall in the trap of
indebtedness.
4. Lack of Land Reforms
⮚ Indian peasantry had been exploited for a long time as there had been unequal distribution of land.

⮚ Among the three revenue systems operational during British period i.e. Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari,
the last one was most exploitative for the peasants.
⮚ Lack of implementation of land reforms has resulted in continuation of inequitous distribution of cultivable
land which is detrimental to agricultural development.
5. Small Farm Size and Fragmentation of Landholdings
⮚ More than 60 per cent of the ownership holdings have a size smaller than one (ha). average size of land
holding is shrinking further under increasing population pressure.
⮚ The land holdings are mostly fragmented. There are some states where consolidation of holding has not been
carried out even once.
⮚ The small size fragmented landholdings are uneconomic.
6. Lack of Commercialization
⮚ A large number of farmers produces crops for self-consumption.

⮚ Most of the small and marginal farmers grow food grains, which are meant for their own family consumption.
Modernisation and commercialisation of agriculture have however, taken place in the irrigated areas.
7. Vast Under-employment
⮚ There is a massive under-employment in the agricultural sector in India, particularly in the un-irrigated tracts.

⮚ there is a seasonal unemployment ranging from 4 to 8 months. Even in the cropping season work is not
available throughout, as agricultural operations are not labour intensive.
8. Degradation of Cultivable Land
⮚ One of the serious problems that arises out of faulty strategy of irrigation and agricultural development is
degradation of land resources.
⮚ This is serious because it may lead to depletion of soil fertility. The situation is particularly alarming in

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 irrigated areas. A large tract of agricultural land has lost its fertility due to alkalisation and salinisation of
soils and water logging.
⮚ Excessive use of chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides has led to their concentration in toxic amounts
in the soil profile.
⮚ Leguminous crops have been displaced from the cropping pattern in the irrigated areas and duration of fallow
has substantially reduced owing to multiple cropping. This has obliterated the process of natural fertilization
such as nitrogen fixation.
⮚ Rainfed areas in humid and semi-arid tropics also experience degradation of several types like soil erosion by
water and wind erosion which are often induced by human activities.

Question for Practice

1. How is land resource more crucial to the livelihood of the people depending on agriculture in
India? Explain. 3
2. Explain the three types of changes that have affected land use in India. 3
3. Classify Indian farming into two groups on the basis of main source of moisture for crops. Write
two features of each. 3
4. Explain three factors responsible for land degradation in India. 3
5. “Degradation of cultivable land is one of the most serious problems that arise out of faulty
strategy of irrigation and agricultural development in India.” Explain. 3
6. Describe any six land use categories in India. 3
7. “Land degradation caused by human made processes is more harmful than natural processes in
India.” Explain with example. 3
8. Distinguish between ‘dry land farming’ and ‘wet land farming’. 3
9. Distinguish between protective farming and productive farming. 3
10. Explain the characteristics of Green Revolution. 5
11. Name two fibre major crops in India. Write two characteristics of each crop. 5
12. Write an account of strategy of development of agriculture in India. 5
13. Describe any five major problems related to Indian Agriculture. 5

PREVIOUS YEARS BOARD QUESTIONS

1 marks
1. How is the productive irrigation able to achieve high productivity in India? 2009
3 marks
2. How is the degradation of cultivable land one of the serious problems in India? Explain in any three
points. 2010
3. Explain the three types of changes that have affected land use in India. 2010
4. “Land resource is more crucial to the livelihood of the people depending on agriculture.” Support this
statement with any three suitable arguments. 2012
5. Explain any three features of ‘dry land farming’ in India. 2013
6. Describe any three characteristics of ‘wetland farming’ in India. 2013
5 marks
7. Analyse any five major problems of Indian agriculture. 2014
8. Explain the term ‘cropping intensity’. Describe the three cropping seasons in India.2014

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