General Land Use Categories 1960-61 And 2008-09

[Tyrell Baskerville]

Comparethe diagrams given below and find out the land use category which had the highest, increase during the period 1960-61 to 2008-09 and the category Which had the highest decrease during the period. Give one major reason for each.

The highest increase was in forest cover category and the highest decrease was in barren and unculturable waste land category:

It is discouraging to note that in spite of massive efforts made by the government to increase forest cover, the area under other non-agricultural uses is still increasing. It is probably due to deforestation, overgrazing and natural hazards etc that forest cover is still below the outline which was set in the National Forest Policy (1952), The decline in barren and waste land can essentially be attributed to the increase in area under non-agricultural use due to massive urbanization and development of roads, railways and canals etc.

However, the agricultural yield (quantity of a crop produced per unit of land) is found to be lower in the case of most crops, as compared to other top producing countries such as China, Brazil and the United States.

Agricultural productivity depends on several factors. These include the availability and quality of agricultural inputs such as land, water, seeds and fertilizers, access to agricultural credit and crop insurance, assurance of remunerative prices for agricultural produce, and storage and marketing infrastructure, among others. This report provides an overview of the state of agriculture in India. It discusses factors related to the production and post-harvest activities in agriculture.

As of 2009-10, more than half of the total workforce (53%) of the country, i.e. 243 million persons were employed in agriculture.[1] The share of population depending on agriculture for its livelihood consists of landowners, tenant farmers who cultivate a piece of land, and agricultural labourers who are employed on these farms. Agricultural output has been volatile over the past 10 years, with annual growth ranging from 8.6% in 2010-11, to -0.2% in 2014-15 and 0.8% in 2015-16.[2] Figure 3 shows the trend in the growth of agricultural sector over the past 10 years.

Total production of food grains increased from 51 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 252 million tonnes in 2015-16.[4] According to the second advance estimate by the Ministry of Agriculture, food grains production is estimated to be 272 million tonnes in 2016-17.[5]

Although India is the second highest producer of paddy (rice) in the world (as of 2013), its yield is lower than China, Brazil and the USA. It is also the leading producer of pulses, but its yield is the lowest.[8],[9]

Besides providing for the livelihood of farmers and labourers, the agricultural sector also addresses food security for the nation. The Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) of the United Nations defines food security as a situation where all people have, at all times, physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food that meets the dietary needs and food preferences for a healthy and active life.[10] Despite high levels of production in the country, 15% of the population continues to be under-nourished, as per 2014 estimates.[11],[12]

India enacted the National Food Security Act in 2013. The 2013 Act aims to provide food and nutritional security to people by ensuring access to adequate amount of quality food at affordable prices.[13] Under the 2013 Act, persons belonging to certain categories are provided with food grains (wheat, rice and coarse cereals) at subsidised prices. As of 2015, 68% of the population, i.e. 81 crore persons (of which 77% are in rural areas and 23% in urban areas) are covered under the Act.[14]

Over the past few decades, with increasing per capita income and access to a variety of food groups, the consumption pattern of food in the country has been changing. Dependence on cereals for nutrition has decreased and the consumption of protein has increased.[15] Sources of protein include pulses, meat, seafood, and eggs, among others. According to a Finance Ministry report on incentivising the production of pulses in the country, poor levels of nutrition suggest that increasing the consumption of proteins should be the policy priority for the government.[16] The report estimates that the cost of pulses as a source of protein is lower than other sources. Under the current domestic scenario, India is facing a shortage of pulses which is being plugged by imports.

140 million hectare of land is used as agricultural area, as of 2012-13.[19] Over the years, this area has been fragmented into smaller pieces of land. As seen in Table 3, the number of marginal land holdings (less than one hectare) increased from 36 million in 1971 to 93 million in 2011.[20] Marginal and small land holdings face a number of issues, such as problems with using mechanisation and irrigation techniques.

Since smaller land holdings are either fragments of larger holdings which have been passed on within the family or have been informally leased by a large holder, farmers who cultivate these holdings often do not have a formal lease agreement. The absence of such land records does not allow these farmers to access formal credit or be eligible for government benefits such input subsidies or crop insurance schemes.

Of the total agricultural area under operation, 10% of land has been given out on agricultural leases, with the percentage of leased out land varying across states.[21] 34% of the land in Andhra Pradesh, 25% in Punjab, 21% in Bihar and 18% in Sikkim has been leased out. In the past, states such as Karnataka and West Bengal have attempted to provide legal rights to tenant farmers by forming electronic records of land holdings and giving tenant farmers the right to their produce.[22],[23]

Currently, laws of tenancy of agricultural land vary across different states.21 States such as Kerala, Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur completely prohibit the leasing of agricultural land. Others such as Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Telangana and Odisha allow land leasing only by certain categories of land owners. On the other hand, states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Assam do not explicitly prohibit leasing, and allow the tenant to purchase the land from the owner after a specified period of tenancy. In Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal, there is no legal ban on leasing land. Different states also have different ceilings on the area of land which may be leased.21

The West Bengal Land Reforms Act, 1955 provides certain rights to Bargadars or land tenants. Bargadars are persons lawfully cultivating any land belonging to another person (who is not a family member). Under the Act, produce from the farm is divided between the tenant and owner in a 50:50 proportion if the cattle, manure and seeds are provided by the landowner, and 75:25 in all other cases. Illegal eviction of tenants is a cognizable offence punishable with imprisonment or fine, under the Act. However, it does not provide any ownership rights to the tenant.

The NITI Aayog has proposed a Model Land Leasing Law to provide for the legalisation of land leasing.21 This would ensure that land owners have the security of ownership rights, and land tenants are secure in their tenancy. Legalisation of land tenancy would also ensure that farmers get access to formal credit, insurance, and inputs such as fertilizers. Table 16 in the Annexure provides details regarding land leasing restriction and the extent to which the Model land leasing law has been adopted in states.[24] Only Madhya Pradesh has adopted the Model land leasing law so far.

Access to agricultural credit is linked to the holding of land titles. As a result, small and marginal farmers, who account for more than half of the total land holdings, and may not hold formal land titles, are unable to access institutionalized credit.[25] Farmers may require credit for short term uses such as purchasing inputs, weeding, harvesting, sorting and transporting, or long term uses such as investing in agricultural machinery and equipment, or irrigation. Table 4 shows the distribution of agricultural loans according to sources, as of 2013.

Farmers with land holdings of less than a hectare primarily borrow from informal sources of credit such as moneylenders (41%), whereas those with land holdings of two or more hectares primarily borrow from banks (50% or more). Other major sources of agricultural credit include shopkeepers, relatives or friends, and co-operative societies. Key issues relating to agricultural credit are lack of access to formal credit owing to unclear land records, skewed ratio between short term and long term agricultural credit, and inadequate access to crop insurance. These are summarized below.25

Short term credit is generally taken for pre-harvest and post-harvest activities such as weeding, harvesting, sorting and transporting. Long term credit is generally taken in order to invest in agricultural machinery and equipment, irrigation and other developmental activities, etc. Over the past few decades, the trend of short term and long term agricultural credit in the country has reversed. In 1990-91, a majority of crop loans taken was long term credit, whereas short term credit accounted for only about a quarter of all agricultural loans.[26] As of 2011-12, 61% of crop credit was short term, whereas long term credit had a share of 39%.[27]

In addition, small and marginal farmers, who account for about 86% of total land holdings, take more short term loans than farmers with medium or large land holdings. This group of farmers also has the highest share of borrowings from informal sources of credit such as moneylenders, family and friends.

As of 2011, about 10% of Indian farmers were covered under a crop insurance scheme.[28] Some persistent issues with the crop insurance system include (i) unawareness about insurance schemes, (ii) inadequate coverage of insurance schemes, (iii) assessment of the extent of damages in case of crop losses, and (iv) timely settlement of claims.[29]

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