Chapter 5

Land resources and agriculture

Q-1 Explain the land-use changes in India ?
Ans- 1. The size of the economy (measured in terms of value for all
the goods and services produced in the economy) grows over time as
a result of increasing population, change in income levels, available
technology and associated factors. As a result, the pressure on land
will increase with time and marginal lands would come under use .
2.a Secondly, the composition of the economy would undergo a
change over time. In other words, the secondary and the tertiary
sectors usually grow much faster than the primary sector, specifically
the agricultural sector.
b. This type of change is common in developing countries like India.
C. This process would result in a gradual shift of land from agricultural
uses to non-agricultural uses.
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.
Q-2 NAME AND EXPLAIN THE FOUR CATEGORISE HAVE UNDERGONE
INCREASES .
Ans. . Share of area under forest, area under non-agricultural uses,
current fallow lands and net area sown have shown an increase.
 1. 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, which is increasingly depending on the contribution
from industrial and services sectors and expansion of related
infrastructural facilities. Also, an expansion of area under both
urban and rural settlements has added to the increase.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. The increase in net area sown is a recent phenomenon due to
use of culturable waste land for agricultural pupose. Before
which it was registering a slow decrease. There are indications
that most of the decline had occurred due to the increases in
area under non agricultural use.
Q-3 NAME & EXPLAIN THE FOUR CATEGORIES THAT HAVE
REGISTERED A DECLINE IN LAND USE PATTERN IN INDIA .
Ans. 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:
(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.
Q-4 WHAT IS COMMAN PROPERTY RESOUCES ? EXPLAIN IN DETAIL.
Ans. 1. Land, according to its ownership can broadly be classified under
two broad heads – private land and common property resources
(CPRs).
2. While the a group of individuals, the latter is owned by the state
meant for the use of the community.
3. CPRs provide fodder for the livestock and fuel for the households
along with other minor forest products like fruits, nuts, fibre, medicinal
plants, etc.
4. CPRs also are important for women as most of the fodder and fuel
collection is done by them in rural areas.
5. 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.
6. Community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies and other
public spaces where a group larger than a household or family unit
exercises rights of use and carries responsibility of management are
examples of CPRs.
Q-5 EXPLAIN THE AGRICULTURE LAND USE IN INDIA .
Ans. 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. In other words, contribution of land in agricultural
output is more compared to its contribution in the outputs in the other
sectors. Thus, 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.
Q-6 Why is the strategy of increasing cropping intensity important in a
country like India?
Ans. 1. land-use intensity that along with increasing output from
limited land, it also increases the demand for labour significantly.
2. 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.
Q-7 what is the formula of CI ?
Ans. The cropping intensity (CI) is calculated as follows :
Cropping Intensity in percentage =GCA/NSA X 100
Q-8 Name and Explain the three cropping season in INDIA.
Ans.
Cropping Major crops cultivated
seasons
Northern states Southern states
KHARIF Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Maize, Rice, maize, ragi, jowar,
Jowar, Tur groundnuts
JUN-SEP
RABI Wheat, gram, rapeseeds Rice, maize, ragi, groundnuts,
and mustard, barley jowar
OCT-MAR

ZAID Vegetables, fruits, fodder Rice, vegetables ,fodder

APR-JUN
Q-9 difference between DRYLAND FARMING and WETLAND FARMING.
Ans.
Dryland farming Wetland farming
1. dryland farming is largely 1. In wetland farming, the rainfall
confined to the regions having is in excess of soil moisture
annual rainfall less than 75 cm. requirement of plants during
2. These regions grow hardy and rainy season.
drought resistant crops such as 2. Such regions may face flood
ragi, bajra, moong, gram and guar. and soil erosion hazards.
3. practise various measures of 3. These areas grow various water
soil moisture conservation and intensive crops such as rice, jute
rain water harvesting. and sugarcane and practise
aquaculture in the fresh water
bodies.

Q-10 Write a note on pulses cultivation of India .

Ans. 1. Pulses are a very important ingredient of vegetarian food as
these are rich sources of proteins.
2. These are legume crops which increase the natural fertility of soils
through nitrogen fixation.
3. The cultivation of pulses in the country is largely concentrated in
the drylands of Deccan and central plateaus and north western parts
of the country.
4. Pulses occupy about 11 per cent of the total cropped area in the
country.
5. Gram and tur are the main pulses cultivated in India.
Q-11 write a note on sugarcane cultivation of India.
Ans. 1. Sugarcane is a crop of tropical areas.
2. Under rainfed conditions, it is cultivated in sub-humid and humid
climates.
3. But it is largely an irrigated crop in India. In Indo-Gangetic plain, its
cultivation is largely concentrated in Uttar Pradesh.
4. Sugarcane growing area in western India is spread over
Maharashtra and Gujarat.
5. it is fertilliser intensive .
6. it grows only in alluvial and black soil .
Q-12 Name the two beverage crop of india & write their distribution
under the heading compare their geographical conditons.

Ans. Tea
1. Tea is a plantation crop used as beverage.
2. Black tea leaves are fermented whereas green tea leaves are
unfermented.
3. 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.
4. In India, tea plantation started in 1840s in Brahmaputra valley of
Assam which still is a major tea growing area in the country.
5. 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 .
Coffee
1. Coffee production in India is dominated in the hill tracts of South Indian
states, with Karnataka accounting for 71%, followed by Kerala with 21%
and Tamil Nadu (5% of overall production with 8,200 tonnes).
2. Indian coffee is said to be the finest coffee grown in the shade rather
than direct sunlight anywhere in the world.
3. There are about 250,000 coffee growers in the country; 98% of them are
small growers.
4. As of 2009, Indian coffee made up just 4.5% of the global production.
Almost 80% of Indian coffee is exported;70% is bound for Germany,
Russia, Spain, Belgium, Slovenia, United States, Japan, Greece,
Netherlands and France.
5. Italy accounts for 29% of the exports. Most of the export is shipped
through the Suez Canal.

Q-13 What are the important strategies for agricultural development

followed in the post-independence period in India?
Ans. 1. After Independence, the immediate goal of the Government
was to increase foodgrains 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.
2. Initially, this strategy helped in increasing foodgrains production.
But agricultural production stagnated during late 1950s.
3. To overcome this problem, Intensive Agricultural District
Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP)
were launched.
4. But two consecutive droughts during mid-1960s resulted in food
crisis in the country.
5. New seed varieties of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) known
as high yielding varieties (HYVs) were available for cultivation by mid-
1960s.
6. Assured supply of soil moisture through irrigation was a basic pre-
requisite for the success of this new agricultural technology.
Q-14 Explain the problems of INIAN agriculture .
Ans. 1. Dependence on Erratic Monsoon
a. Irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of the cultivated area in
India. The crop production in rest of the cultivated land directly
depends on rainfall. Poor performance of south-west Monsoon also
adversely affects the supply of canal water for irrigation. On the other
hand, the rainfall in Rajasthan and other drought prone areas is too
meagre and highly unreliable.
b. Droughts and floods continue to be twin menace in Indian
agriculture.
2. Low productivity
a. The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the
international level.
b. the labour productivity in Indian agriculture is also very low in
comparison to international level.
3. Constraints of Financial Resources and Indebtedness
a. The inputs of modern agriculture are very expensive. This resource
intensive approach has become unmanageable for marginal and
small farmers as they have very meagre or no saving to invest in
agriculture.
B. Crop failures and low returns from agriculture have forced them to
fall in the trap of indebtedness.
4. Lack of Land Reforms
a. Among the three revenue systems operational during British
period i.e. Mahalwari, Ryotwari and Zamindari, the last one was most
exploitative for the peasants.
b. Lack of implementation of land reforms has resulted in
continuation of inequitous distribution of cultivable land which is
detrimental to agricultural development.
5. Vast Under-employment
There is a massive under-employment in the agricultural sector in
India, particularly in the un-irrigated tracts. In these areas, 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.
6. Lack of Commercialisation
a. A large number of farmers produce crops for self-consumption.
b. Most of the small and marginal farmers grow foodgrains, which
are meant for their own family consumption. Modernisation
and commercialisation of agriculture have however, taken place
in the irrigated areas.
Q-15 What are the different types of environmental problems of land
resources in India?
Ans 1. One of the serious problems that arises out of faulty strategy
of irrigation and agricultural development is degradation of land
resources.
2. This is serious because it may lead to depletion of soil fertility. The
situation is particularly alarming in irrigated areas.
3. A large tract of agricultural land has lost its fertility due to
alkalisation and salinisation of soils and waterlogging.
4. Excessive use of chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides has
led to their concentration in toxic amounts in the soil profile.
5. Leguminous crops have been displaced from the cropping pattern
in the irrigated areas and duration of fallow has substantially reduced
owing to multiple cropping.