Big picture
Land is India's most important resource: more than half of its workforce depends on agriculture. How land is used, for forests, farms, cities or pastures, shapes the economy and the environment.
This chapter explains how land use is classified, how it has changed, how Indian agriculture is organised by season and water supply, where the major crops are grown, and the problems agriculture faces.
Learning goals
Describe the nine land-use categories used in Indian land records.
Explain changes in land use and common property resources.
Explain cropping seasons and types of farming based on water supply.
Calculate cropping intensity.
Describe the major crops, their seasons and leading states.
Explain agricultural development and the problems of Indian agriculture.
Core ideas
1. Land-use categories
Land revenue records classify land into nine categories:
Category | Meaning |
|---|---|
Forests | Land classified and managed as forest, whether or not trees actually grow on it |
Land put to non-agricultural uses | Settlements (rural and urban), infrastructure (roads, canals), industries, shops |
Barren and wastelands | Land that can't be cultivated with available technology: barren hills, deserts, rocky land |
Area under permanent pastures and grazing lands | Mostly owned by village panchayats or the government; used for grazing |
Area under miscellaneous tree crops and groves | Land under orchards and fruit trees, not included in net sown area |
Culturable wasteland | Land left fallow (uncultivated) for more than five years; it can be brought under cultivation after improvement |
Current fallow | Land left uncultivated for one year or less, to restore fertility |
Fallow other than current fallow | Cultivable land left uncultivated for more than a year but less than five years |
Net sown area | The physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested |
2. Changes in land use
As the economy grows, land use changes: the share of land put to non-agricultural uses increases (urbanisation, industries, roads), and forests have increased in records because of demarcation and afforestation.
The share of barren and wastelands, culturable wasteland, pastures and grazing lands has declined, as land is brought under cultivation or other uses.
Net sown area has increased only slightly.
3. Common property resources (CPRs)
Common property resources are lands owned by the state or community, used by all members of a community, such as community forests, pastures, village water bodies and other public spaces.
They provide fodder for livestock and fuel, fruits, nuts, fibre and medicinal plants. They are especially important for landless and marginal farmers and women, who collect fuel and fodder.
4. Cropping seasons
Season | Northern states | Southern states | Major crops |
|---|---|---|---|
Kharif | June–September (monsoon) | June–September | Rice, cotton, bajra, maize, jowar, tur |
Rabi | October–March (winter) | October–March | Wheat, gram, rapeseed and mustard, barley |
Zaid | April–June (summer) | April–June | Vegetables, fruits, fodder (watermelon, cucumber) |
In southern India, temperatures are high enough to grow tropical crops such as rice in any season if water is available.
5. Types of farming based on water supply
Irrigated farming has two purposes:
Protective irrigation protects crops from adverse effects of soil moisture deficiency; it supplements rainfall.
Productive irrigation aims to provide sufficient soil moisture to obtain high productivity; it uses more water.
Rainfed farming depends on rainfall:
Dryland farming in regions with annual rainfall below 75 cm; drought-resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar are grown; moisture conservation is important.
Wetland farming in regions where rainfall is more than the soil's moisture requirement; crops such as rice, jute and sugarcane are grown; flooding and soil erosion can be problems.
6. Cropping intensity
Cropping intensity measures how intensively land is used: how many times crops are grown on the same land in a year.
Cropping intensity = (Gross cropped area ÷ Net sown area) × 100
Net sown area (NSA): land sown at least once in a year.
Gross cropped area (GCA): total area sown once and/or more than once in a year (land sown twice is counted twice).
Example. NSA = 140 million hectares; GCA = 200 million hectares. Cropping intensity = 200 ÷ 140 × 100 = 142.9%. Higher cropping intensity means more efficient use of land, often made possible by irrigation.
7. Major crops
Crop | Season | Leading states and notes |
|---|---|---|
Rice | Mainly kharif | West Bengal is the largest producer; Punjab and Haryana have high yields (irrigation); grown in three seasons in some southern states |
Wheat | Rabi | Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan |
Jowar (sorghum) | Kharif and rabi | Maharashtra (largest), Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh |
Bajra (pearl millet) | Kharif | Rajasthan (largest), Maharashtra, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh; drought-resistant |
Maize | Kharif | Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Bihar, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana; used as food and fodder |
Pulses (gram, tur) | Gram in rabi, tur in kharif | Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra; legumes fix nitrogen in soil |
Groundnut | Mainly kharif | Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu |
Rapeseed and mustard | Rabi | Rajasthan, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh |
Cotton | Kharif | Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana; needs black soil and a frost-free period |
Jute | Kharif | West Bengal, Bihar, Assam; known as the "golden fibre" |
Sugarcane | Planted early in the year; long duration | Uttar Pradesh (largest), Maharashtra, Karnataka |
Tea | Plantation | Assam (largest), West Bengal (Darjeeling), Tamil Nadu (Nilgiris), Kerala |
Coffee | Plantation | Karnataka (largest), Kerala, Tamil Nadu |
8. Agricultural development
After independence, agriculture faced low productivity and food shortages. Land reforms, irrigation projects and agricultural research were undertaken.
In the mid-1960s, the Green Revolution introduced high-yielding variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides and irrigation, first in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh. India became self-sufficient in food grains.
Later strategies promoted agro-climatic planning, dryland farming, horticulture, animal husbandry and aquaculture.
9. Problems of Indian agriculture
Dependence on erratic monsoon: a large share of cropped area is rainfed; droughts and floods hit production.
Low productivity compared with other countries, because of small farms, poor inputs and limited irrigation.
Constraints of financial resources and indebtedness: small farmers can't afford inputs and borrow at high interest; crop failures lead to debt and distress.
Lack of land reforms: unequal distribution of land and insecure tenancy.
Small farm size and fragmentation of landholdings, which makes mechanisation difficult.
Lack of commercialisation: many farmers grow crops mainly for self-consumption.
Vast underemployment in agriculture, especially in rainfed areas.
Degradation of cultivable land: salinity, alkalinity and waterlogging from excessive irrigation; soil erosion; loss of soil fertility from overuse of chemicals.
A reliable approach to questions
Define each land-use category, especially the three types of fallow and culturable wasteland.
Match crops to seasons and leading states.
Calculate cropping intensity using GCA and NSA.
Distinguish protective and productive irrigation, and dryland and wetland farming.
List and explain the problems of agriculture.
Connections that matter
Primary activities describes types of agriculture worldwide.
India: water resources explains irrigation.
Economics: Indian economy 1950–1990 explains land reforms and the Green Revolution.
Common mistakes
Mixing up current fallow (up to one year), other fallow (one to five years) and culturable wasteland (more than five years).
Writing cropping intensity as NSA ÷ GCA. It is GCA ÷ NSA × 100.
Placing wheat in the kharif season. Wheat is a rabi crop.
Saying Punjab is the largest rice producer. West Bengal is the largest; Punjab has high yields.
Revision checklist
I can describe the nine land-use categories.
I can explain changes in land use and common property resources.
I can explain cropping seasons and types of farming.
I can calculate cropping intensity.
I can match major crops to seasons and states.
I can explain agricultural development and problems.