(i) Most of the problems of land resources in India are region specific. Yet, there are some problems, which are common.
(ii) Before Independence, Indian agricultural economy was largely subsistence and witnessed severe droughts and famines. After partition, about one-third of the irrigated land reduced. Therefore, the government took several steps to increase the production of food grains. Government of India to achieve this goal adopted following three strategies.
However, agricultural production stagnated during late 1950s. To overcome this problem, Intensive Agricultural District Programme (IADP) and Intensive Agricultural Area Programme (IAAP) were launched. India began its own Green Revolution program in the early 1960s. Government introduced package technology comprising HYVs, along with chemical fertilizers in irrigated areas of Punjab, Haryana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat. This strategy made the country self-reliant in foodgrain production. The Planning Commission of India initiated agro-climatic planning in 1988 and emphasised the need for diversification of agriculture and harnessing of resources for development of dairy farming, horticulture, poultry, aquaculture and livestock rearing.
(i) The Barren land covers all barren and uncultivated lands in mountains, hilly terrains, desert lands, ravines, degraded forests, overgrazed pastures, drought-struck pastures, eroded valleys, hilly slopes, waterlogged marshy lands, etc.
Cultivable wastelands are the lands, which are not being utilised to their full potential or mismanaged due to various reasons. It includes gullied lands, marshy lands, saline lands, shifting cultivation areas, sand dunes or mining spoils, etc.
(ii) Net sown area is the cropped area in which crops are sown and harvested. However, gross cropped area includes net sown area and area sown more than once. Gross cropped area is always more than the net sown area.
(iii) Agricultural production and productivity can be increased in two ways: by expending cropping areas and by increasing the intensity of cropping. Since much of the suitable land is under the agriculture, there is little scope for bringing in additional land under net sown. Therefore, a high cropping intensity is desirable not only for fuller utilisation of land resource, but also for reducing unemployment in the rural economy.
(iv) Total cultivable land is measure by adding culturable wasteland, fallow other than the current fallow, current fallow, and net sown area.
(v) The dry land farming is largely confined to the regions having annual rainfall less than 75 cm; but in the wetland farming, the rainfall is in excess of soil moisture requirement of plants during rainy season.
In the dryland farming regions, farmers grow hardy and drought resistant crops such as ragi, bajra, moong, gram and fodder crops; but in the wetland farming, farmers grow various water intensive crops such as rice, jute and sugarcane and practise aquaculture in the fresh water bodies.
In the dry land farming regions, farmers practise various measures of soil moisture conservation and rainwater harvesting; but in the wetland areas, sometime farmers face flood and soil erosion hazards.
(i) (b) Marginal land
(ii) (c) Increase in notified area allocated for forest growth
(iii) (c) Salinisation of soils
(iv) (d) Sugarcane
(v) (c) Mexico and Philippines
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