Land Resources and Agriculture, Class 12 Geography

What Land Resources and Agriculture is about

Weightage: India: People and Economy, Unit III: Resources and Development carries 10 of the 70 theory marks; this chapter shares them with Water Resources, Mineral and Energy Resources and Planning and Sustainable Development in Indian Context.Source: CBSE Geography (029) syllabus 2026-27, course structure

Key concepts

Land-use categories

NCERT section Land Use Categories

Records: land-use records are kept by the land revenue department; categories add up to the reporting area, which differs slightly from the geographical area measured by the Survey of India (the latter stays fixed; the former changes with revenue estimates).

Nine categories:
1. Forests: area classified as forest (identified and demarcated by government), which differs from actual forest cover; this category can rise without any real increase in cover.
2. Barren and wastelands: barren hills, deserts, ravines: cannot be cultivated with available technology.
3. Land put to non-agricultural uses: settlements, infrastructure (roads, canals), industries, shops; grows with secondary and tertiary activities.
4. Permanent pastures and grazing lands: mostly owned by the village panchayat or government; panchayat land is a common property resource.
5. Miscellaneous tree crops and groves (not in net sown area): orchards and fruit trees; mostly private.
6. Culturable wasteland: left fallow for more than five years; can be reclaimed.
7. Current fallow: left uncultivated for one year or less; fallowing rests the land to recover fertility naturally.
8. Fallow other than current fallow: uncultivated for more than one year but less than five.
9. Net area sown: the actual area of land that is sown and harvested, counted once.

Worked example

Differentiate between barren and wasteland and culturable wasteland. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Barren and wasteland includes barren hilly terrain, deserts and ravines that cannot normally be cultivated with available technology.
2. Culturable wasteland is land left fallow (uncultivated) for more than five years.
3. Culturable wasteland can be brought under cultivation after reclamation, whereas barren land cannot with current technology.

Answer: Barren land is uncultivable; culturable wasteland is long-fallow land that can be reclaimed.

Land-use changes in India

NCERT section Land-use Changes in India

Land use reflects economic activities, but land area is fixed. Three economic changes affect land use:
1. Size of the economy grows (population, income, technology), raising pressure on land and bringing marginal lands into use.
2. Composition changes: secondary and tertiary sectors grow faster than agriculture, shifting land from agricultural to non-agricultural uses, sharply around large cities.
3. Pressure on agricultural land does not decline: the share of people dependent on farming falls more slowly than agriculture's share of GDP, and the number of people to feed keeps rising.

Changes, 1950-51 to 2019-20 (shares of reporting area):

• Increased (5): forests, non-agricultural uses, permanent pastures and grazing land, current fallow, net area sown.
• Non-agricultural uses rose at the highest rate: industrial and service growth, infrastructure and expanding settlements, at the expense of wastelands and farmland.
• Forests rose due to more demarcated area, not actual cover.
• Current fallow fluctuates with rainfall and cropping cycles.
• Net sown area rose recently by using culturable wasteland; earlier it was slowly declining due to non-agricultural uses.
• Declined (4): barren and wasteland, culturable wasteland, tree crops and groves, fallow other than current fallow: due to pressure on land from both agricultural and non-agricultural sectors; tree crops lost to agriculture.

Rate of increase = (terminal year value - base year value) / base year value x 100.

Worked example

Why has the share of area under forests increased in India's land records? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Land revenue records show area classified as forest, i.e. demarcated by the government for forest growth.
2. This differs from actual forest cover.
3. So the increase reflects more notified area allocated for forest growth rather than real afforestation.

Answer: Because more area was notified for forest growth, not because forest cover actually grew.

Common property resources

NCERT section Common Property Resources

By ownership, land is private (individual or group) or common property resources (CPRs), owned by the state for community use.

Uses: fodder for livestock, fuel for households, and minor forest products like fruits, nuts, fibre and medicinal plants.

Importance:

• Vital for the livelihood of the landless, marginal farmers and weaker sections, who depend on livestock income because they have limited land.
• Important for women, who collect most fodder and fuel, spending long hours in degraded CPRs.

Definition: a community's natural resource where every member has the right of access and use with specified obligations, but nobody has property rights. Examples: community forests, pasture lands, village water bodies and other public spaces managed by a group larger than a household.

Worked example

What are common property resources? Why are they important for the rural poor? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. CPRs are community natural resources owned by the state where every member can access and use them with obligations, but no one has property rights (community forests, pastures, village ponds).
2. They provide fodder, fuel and minor forest products like fruits, nuts, fibre and medicinal plants.
3. The landless, marginal farmers and weaker sections depend on them for livestock-based livelihoods, and women collect most fuel and fodder from them.

Answer: Shared community resources that sustain the landless, marginal farmers and women.

Agricultural land use and cropping intensity

NCERT section Agricultural Land Use in India

Why land matters more for farm livelihoods:
1. Agriculture is purely land-based; lack of access to land is directly linked with rural poverty.
2. Land quality directly affects farm productivity.
3. In rural areas, land ownership has social value, serves as security for credit, natural hazards or contingencies, and adds to status.

Total cultivable land = net sown area + all fallow lands + culturable wasteland.

• Table 3.1: total cultivable land fell slightly from 59.5% to 57.7% of reporting area (1950-51 to 2019-20); within it, net sown area rose from 70% to 79%, while culturable wasteland fell from 13.4% to 6.8%.
• Scope to add more land to net sown area is limited, so land-saving technologies are urgently needed: those that raise yield per unit area of a crop, and those that raise total output per year by increasing land-use intensity. The latter also raise labour demand, valuable for land-scarce, labour-abundant India, reducing rural unemployment.

Cropping intensity (CI) = (Gross cropped area / Net sown area) x 100.

Worked example

A district has a net sown area of 80,000 ha and a gross cropped area of 1,20,000 ha. Find its cropping intensity and explain why raising it is important for India. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. CI = (GCA / NSA) x 100 = (1,20,000 / 80,000) x 100 = 150 per cent.
2. This means on average the land is cropped 1.5 times a year.
3. Since India cannot add much land to net sown area, higher cropping intensity raises output from limited land and increases demand for labour, reducing rural unemployment.

Answer: 150 per cent; higher intensity uses scarce land fully and creates rural jobs.

Cropping seasons and types of farming

NCERT section Cropping Seasons in India; Types of Farming

Three seasons in northern and interior India:

• Kharif (June-September): with the south-west monsoon; tropical crops: rice, cotton, jute, jowar, bajra, tur (north: rice, cotton, bajra, maize, jowar, tur; south: rice, maize, ragi, jowar, groundnut).
• Rabi (October-March): begins with winter in October-November, ends March-April; low temperatures suit temperate and subtropical crops: wheat, gram, mustard (north: wheat, gram, rapeseed and mustard, barley).
• Zaid (April-June): short summer season after rabi harvest; watermelons, cucumbers, vegetables and fodder on irrigated land.
• In the south, temperatures allow tropical crops any time if soil moisture is available, so the same crop can be grown thrice a year.

Types of farming (by source of moisture):

• Irrigated: protective irrigation supplements rainfall to protect crops from moisture deficiency over the maximum area; productive irrigation supplies enough moisture for high productivity, using more water per unit area.
• Rainfed (barani):
• Dryland farming: areas with annual rainfall under 75 cm; hardy, drought-resistant crops (ragi, bajra, moong, gram, guar); soil moisture conservation and rainwater harvesting.
• Wetland farming: rainfall exceeds soil moisture needs; flood and soil erosion hazards; water-intensive crops (rice, jute, sugarcane) and aquaculture.

Worked example

What is the difference between dryland and wetland farming? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Both are rainfed, classified by adequacy of soil moisture during the cropping season.
2. Dryland farming is in areas with less than 75 cm annual rainfall, growing hardy crops (ragi, bajra, moong, gram, guar) with moisture conservation and rainwater harvesting.
3. Wetland farming is where rainfall exceeds plants' needs; such areas face floods and erosion and grow water-intensive crops like rice, jute and sugarcane, with aquaculture.

Answer: Dryland: low rainfall, hardy crops; wetland: surplus rainfall, water-intensive crops.

Major food crops: rice and wheat

NCERT section Foodgrains: Rice; Wheat

Foodgrains occupy about two-thirds of the total cropped area; cereals about 54 per cent. India produces about 11 per cent of the world's cereals and ranks third after China and the USA.

Rice:

• Staple food for most Indians; though a tropical humid crop, its varieties grow from sea level to about 2,000 m and from humid eastern India to irrigated Punjab, Haryana, western UP and northern Rajasthan.
• Southern states and West Bengal grow two or three crops a year; West Bengal grows aus, aman and boro. In the Himalayas and north-west, it is a kharif crop.
• India produces 22.07 per cent of world rice, second after China (2018); about one-fourth of cropped area.
• Leading states: West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Punjab.
• High yields: Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Kerala (first four almost fully irrigated). Rice came to Punjab and Haryana in the 1970s with the Green Revolution (improved seeds, more fertilisers and pesticides, fewer pests in dry climate). Low yields in rainfed MP, Chhattisgarh, Odisha.

Wheat:

• Second most important cereal; India produces about 12.8 per cent of world wheat (2017).
• A temperate crop grown in rabi; about 85 per cent of its area is in the north and centre: Indo-Gangetic Plain, Malwa Plateau, Himalayas up to 2,700 m. Mostly irrigated, but rainfed in Himalayan highlands and parts of Malwa.
• About 14 per cent of cropped area.
• Leading states: Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan.
• Yields: very high (above 4,000 kg per ha) in Punjab and Haryana; moderate in UP, Rajasthan, Bihar; low in rainfed MP, Himachal Pradesh and J&K.

Worked example

Why are rice yields high in Punjab and Haryana though they are not traditional rice areas? (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Rice was introduced in irrigated Punjab and Haryana in the 1970s with the Green Revolution, and almost all rice land there is irrigated.
2. Farmers use genetically improved seeds and relatively high doses of fertilisers and pesticides.
3. The dry climate makes the crop less susceptible to pests, raising yields.

Answer: Irrigation, improved seeds, fertilisers and a dry, pest-light climate.

Fibre and other crops: cotton, jute, sugarcane, tea, coffee

NCERT section Fibre Crops; Other Crops

Cotton:

• A tropical kharif crop of semi-arid areas; India lost much cotton area to Pakistan at Partition but acreage has risen greatly in 50 years.
• Grows short-staple (Indian) and long-staple (American) 'narma' cotton (north-west); needs clear sky during flowering.
• India ranks second after China; about 4.7 per cent of cropped area. Three areas: Punjab, Haryana, northern Rajasthan; Gujarat and Maharashtra; plateaus of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu.
• Leading states: Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana. Yields high under irrigation in the north-west; very low in rainfed Maharashtra.

Jute:

• For coarse cloth, bags, sacks and decorative items; a cash crop of West Bengal and adjoining east; large areas lost to East Pakistan at Partition.
• India produces about three-fifths of world jute; West Bengal about three-fourths of national output; also Bihar and Assam; only 0.5 per cent of cropped area.

Sugarcane:

• Tropical; rainfed in sub-humid and humid climates, but largely irrigated in India. Concentrated in Uttar Pradesh (Indo-Gangetic plain), Maharashtra and Gujarat (west), irrigated tracts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh (south).
• India was second after Brazil (2018), about 19.7 per cent of world output; only 2.4 per cent of cropped area.
• Uttar Pradesh produces about two-fifths; others: Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh (high yields); low yields in the north.

Tea:

• A plantation beverage crop; black tea fermented, green unfermented; rich in caffeine and tannin; indigenous to hills of northern China.
• Needs undulating hilly land and well-drained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics and subtropics.
• Plantations began in the 1840s in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam; later sub-Himalayan West Bengal (Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar); also lower slopes of the Nilgiri and Cardamom hills.
• India produces about 21.22 per cent of world tea (2018); its export share has declined; second among exporters after China.
• Assam has about 53.2 per cent of tea area and over half of production; West Bengal and Tamil Nadu follow.

Coffee:

• A tropical plantation crop; varieties arabica, robusta, liberica; India mostly grows superior arabica.
• India produces only about 3.17 per cent of world coffee, ranking eighth (2018).
• Grown in the highlands of the Western Ghats in Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu; Karnataka produces over two-thirds.

Worked example

Describe the distribution of tea cultivation in India. (3 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Tea grows on undulating hilly land with well-drained soils in humid and sub-humid areas; plantations began in the 1840s in the Brahmaputra valley of Assam.
2. It spread to sub-Himalayan West Bengal (Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri, Cooch Behar) and the lower slopes of the Nilgiri and Cardamom hills.
3. Assam has about 53.2 per cent of tea area and over half the output; West Bengal and Tamil Nadu are other leading producers.

Answer: Mainly Assam, then sub-Himalayan West Bengal and the Nilgiri and Cardamom hills of the south.

Agricultural development and the Green Revolution

NCERT section Agricultural Development in India; Growth of Agricultural Output and Technology

Before Independence: largely subsistence; dismal performance, severe droughts and famines. At Partition, about one-third of undivided India's irrigated land went to Pakistan.

After Independence (immediate goal: more foodgrains):
1. Switching from cash crops to food crops.
2. Intensifying cropping on cultivated land.
3. Bringing cultivable and fallow land under the plough.
Output rose but stagnated in the late 1950s; IADP and IAAP were launched. Two droughts in the mid-1960s caused a food crisis and imports.

Green Revolution: HYV seeds of wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) became available by the mid-1960s. India introduced a package technology (HYVs + chemical fertilisers) in irrigated Punjab, Haryana, western UP, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat; assured irrigation was a prerequisite. Foodgrain output rose very fast; agro-inputs, agro-processing and small industries grew; India became self-reliant in foodgrains. But it was first confined to irrigated areas, creating regional disparities until the 1970s, when it spread east and centre.

Later: in the 1980s the Planning Commission focused on rainfed areas; agro-climatic planning (1988) for balanced development; diversification into dairy, poultry, horticulture, livestock and aquaculture. Liberalisation in the 1990s also influenced agriculture.

Growth of output and technology (last 50 years): big rises in rice and wheat production and yield, and in sugarcane, oilseeds and cotton; irrigation expansion was crucial, enabling HYVs, fertilisers, pesticides and machinery; fertiliser use rose 15 times since the mid-1960s; pesticide use rose as HYVs are pest-prone.

Schemes: National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA): productive, sustainable, remunerative, climate-resilient farming with integrated systems and soil and moisture conservation; organic farming through PKVY and RKVY. Farmer's Portal: information on insurance, storage, seeds, pesticides, machinery, prices and schemes.

Worked example

What were the important strategies for agricultural development after Independence? (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Initial strategy: switch from cash to food crops, intensify cropping and bring cultivable and fallow land under cultivation.
2. When output stagnated in the late 1950s, IADP and IAAP were launched; mid-1960s droughts forced food imports.
3. Green Revolution: HYV wheat (Mexico) and rice (Philippines) with fertilisers in irrigated Punjab, Haryana, western UP, Andhra Pradesh and Gujarat made India self-reliant.
4. 1980s: focus on rainfed areas; agro-climatic planning from 1988 and diversification into dairy, poultry, horticulture, livestock and aquaculture.
5. 1990s liberalisation; later NMSA for sustainable, climate-resilient farming and organic farming schemes (PKVY, RKVY).

Answer: From food-crop expansion to the Green Revolution, then regional balance, diversification and sustainability.

Problems of Indian agriculture

NCERT section Problems of Indian Agriculture

Problems are often region-specific, but common ones range from physical to institutional:
1. Dependence on erratic monsoon: irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of cultivated area; poor monsoons also cut canal water; Rajasthan's rain is meagre and unreliable; high-rainfall areas fluctuate, causing droughts and floods (flash floods in drylands of Maharashtra, Gujarat and Rajasthan in 2006 and 2017).
2. Low productivity: yields of rice, wheat, cotton and oilseeds are much lower than in the USA, Russia and Japan; labour productivity is low due to pressure on land; drylands (coarse cereals, pulses, oilseeds) have low yields.
3. Financial constraints and indebtedness: modern inputs are expensive; marginal and small farmers borrow from institutions and moneylenders; crop failures trap them in debt.
4. Lack of land reforms: unequal land distribution; of the British systems (Mahalwari, Ryotwari, Zamindari), Zamindari was most exploitative; post-Independence reforms were poorly implemented for lack of political will.
5. Small farm size and fragmentation: many marginal and small farmers; holdings shrinking and fragmented; consolidation incomplete; small fragmented holdings are uneconomic.
6. Lack of commercialisation: many farmers grow foodgrains for self-consumption; commercialisation mainly in irrigated areas.
7. Vast underemployment: especially in unirrigated tracts, with seasonal unemployment of 4 to 8 months.
8. Degradation of cultivable land: from faulty irrigation and development: alkalisation, salinisation and waterlogging in irrigated areas; toxic chemical buildup; legumes displaced and fallows shortened, ending natural nitrogen fixation; water and wind erosion in rainfed humid and semi-arid areas.

Worked example

Explain the environmental problems of land resources in India. (5 marks)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. Faulty irrigation and farming strategies have degraded land, depleting soil fertility.
2. In irrigated areas, large tracts have lost fertility through alkalisation, salinisation and waterlogging.
3. Excessive insecticides and pesticides have accumulated to toxic levels in the soil profile.
4. Leguminous crops have been displaced and fallow periods shortened by multiple cropping, ending natural fertilisation such as nitrogen fixation.
5. Rainfed humid and semi-arid areas suffer soil erosion by water and wind, often induced by human activities.

Answer: Salinisation, alkalisation, waterlogging, chemical toxicity, loss of natural fertility and erosion.

Land Resources and Agriculture in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Land Use Categories and Common Property Resources
• Major Crops of India
• Problems of Indian Agriculture

Land Resources and Agriculture: key facts

Nine land-use categories

$Forests;barrenandwasteland;non-agriculturaluses;permanentpastures;treecropsandgroves;culturablewasteland(>5yrsfallow);currentfallow(<=1yr);otherfallow(1-5yrs);netareasown$

Reporting area vs geographical area.

Land-use change 1950-51 to 2019-20

Up: forests, non-agricultural (fastest), pastures, current fallow, net sown area; Down: barren, culturable waste, tree crops, other fallow

Forest rise = demarcation, not cover.

Total cultivable land

Net sown area + all fallows + culturable wasteland

59.5% to 57.7% of reporting area.

Cropping intensity

$CI=(Grosscroppedarea/Netsownarea)x100$

Raises output and rural jobs.

Seasons

$Kharif(Jun-Sep,monsoon:rice,cotton,jute);Rabi(Oct-Mar,winter:wheat,gram,mustard);Zaid(Apr-Jun,irrigated:vegetables,fodder,melons)$

South can grow crops thrice.

Farming types

Irrigated (protective vs productive); Rainfed: dryland (<75 cm rain) vs wetland (surplus rain)

Dryland: ragi, bajra, moong, gram, guar.

Rice

22.07% of world, 2nd after China; 1/4 of cropped area; leading: West Bengal, UP, Punjab

Aus, aman, boro in West Bengal.

Wheat

12.8% of world; 14% of cropped area; leading: UP, MP, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan

>4,000 kg/ha in Punjab, Haryana.

Cotton and jute

Cotton: 2nd after China, 4.7% area; leading Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana; Jute: 3/5 of world; West Bengal 3/4

Narma = long staple.

Sugarcane

2nd after Brazil, 19.7% of world; UP 2/5; also Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh

2.4% of cropped area.

Tea and coffee

Tea: 21.22% of world; Assam 53.2% area, >1/2 output; WB, TN; Coffee: 3.17%, 8th; Karnataka >2/3; Kerala, TN

Arabica mostly.

Green Revolution

HYV wheat (Mexico), rice (Philippines) + fertilisers + irrigation in Punjab, Haryana, W UP, AP, Gujarat

Agro-climatic planning 1988.

Problems

Erratic monsoon (irrigation 33%); low productivity; debt; land reforms; small fragmented holdings; subsistence; underemployment (4-8 months); land degradation

Region-specific mostly.

Land Resources and Agriculture: map work

The places on the official CBSE map list for this chapter. Find each one on an outline map of India and practise marking it.

How the board asks Land Resources and Agriculture

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Land Resources and Agriculture

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Fallow timeline

  "1-5-more": current (<=1 yr), other (1-5 yrs), culturable waste (>5 yrs).

  Use it when: Fallow categories.

• Seasons

  "Kharif = Kicks off with monsoon; Rabi = Rests in winter; Zaid = Zips through summer".

  Use it when: Seasons.

• Leading states

  "Rice WUP, Wheat UMP, Cotton GMT, Jute W, Cane U, Tea A, Coffee K".

  Use it when: Map items.

• Green Revolution seeds

  "Wheat from Mexico, Rice from Manila (Philippines)".

  Use it when: HYV origin.

Land Resources and Agriculture: board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Case-study practice (Section E style)

Read the situation, then answer every part. In the board paper this is a 3-mark question split into 1 + 1 + 1 marks.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is split into step marks. Show every step: a right final answer alone rarely earns full marks.

Where students lose marks in Land Resources and Agriculture

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Mixing up the three fallow-related categories

  Similar time limits.

  ✓Do this: Current fallow: 1 year or less; other fallow: 1-5 years; culturable wasteland: over 5 years.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Explaining forest increase as afforestation

  Intuitive.

  ✓Do this: It reflects more demarcated forest area in records, not actual cover.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Writing about coarse cereals, pulses and oilseeds in crop answers

  They are in the textbook.

  ✓Do this: The syllabus limits major crops to wheat, rice, tea, coffee, cotton, jute, sugarcane and rubber.

  Usually costs: Relevance.

• ✗Mistake: Wrong leading states on the map

  Many states per crop.

  ✓Do this: Rice: WB, UP, Punjab; wheat: UP, MP, Punjab; cotton: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana; jute: WB; sugarcane: UP; tea: Assam; coffee: Karnataka.

  Usually costs: 1 mark per item.

NCERT exercise guide: Land Resources and Agriculture

What each exercise in the NCERT chapter tests, how to approach it, and a question of the same kind solved step by step. Questions here are written in our own words.

Practice questions on Land Resources and Agriculture

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   HYVs of wheat and rice were developed in:
   (a) Japan and Australia
   (b) USA and Japan
   (c) Mexico and Philippines
   (d) Mexico and Singapore

   Hint

   Green Revolution seeds.

   Answer

   (c).

2. Q2 · 1 mark · MCQBoard level

   Which state produces more than two-thirds of India's coffee?
   (a) Kerala
   (b) Tamil Nadu
   (c) Karnataka
   (d) Assam

   Hint

   Western Ghats.

   Answer

   (c).

3. Q3 · 1 mark · Assertion-reasonHarder board level

   Assertion (A): India has limited scope to increase net sown area.
   Reason (R): Total cultivable land as a share of reporting area has declined marginally while non-agricultural uses have grown.
   Choose (a)-(d).

   Hint

   Table 3.1.

   Answer

   (a) Both are true and R explains A.

4. Q4 · 1 mark · MCQHarder board level

   Land left uncultivated for more than one year but less than five years is called:
   (a) Current fallow
   (b) Fallow other than current fallow
   (c) Culturable wasteland
   (d) Barren land

   Hint

   Between 1 and 5 years.

   Answer

   (b).

5. Q5 · 3 marks · Short answerBoard level

   Distinguish between net sown area and gross cropped area. (3 marks)

   Hint

   Physical extent vs total area cropped.

   Answer

   Net sown area is the physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested, counted once. Gross cropped area counts land as many times as it is cropped in an agricultural year, so land sown twice is counted twice. Cropping intensity = (GCA / NSA) x 100 shows how intensively land is used.

6. Q6 · 3 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Suppose a small farmer with two scattered plots of land borrows from a moneylender to buy fertilisers and seeds, but his crop fails in a poor monsoon year. Identify the problems of Indian agriculture this illustrates. (3 marks)

   Hint

   Several problems together.

   Answer

   Dependence on erratic monsoon (irrigation covers only about 33 per cent of cultivated area); small and fragmented landholdings that are uneconomic; financial constraints and indebtedness, as costly modern inputs force small farmers to borrow and crop failure traps them in debt.

7. Q7 · 3 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   Explain the distribution of sugarcane in India. (3 marks)

   Hint

   North, west, south.

   Answer

   Sugarcane is a tropical crop, largely irrigated in India. In the Indo-Gangetic plain it is concentrated in Uttar Pradesh, which produces about two-fifths of India's sugarcane. In the west it grows in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and in the south in irrigated tracts of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, where yields are high; yields are low in northern India.

8. Q8 · 5 marks · Long answerHOTS / competency

   Discuss any five problems of Indian agriculture. (5 marks)

   Hint

   Physical to institutional.

   Answer

   (1) Dependence on erratic monsoon: only about 33 per cent irrigated; droughts and floods are twin menaces. (2) Low productivity: yields far below the USA, Russia and Japan; low labour productivity. (3) Financial constraints and indebtedness: costly inputs push small farmers into debt. (4) Lack of land reforms: unequal distribution persists due to weak political will. (5) Small, fragmented holdings that are uneconomic. Others: lack of commercialisation, underemployment of 4-8 months in unirrigated tracts, and degradation of land through salinisation, waterlogging and erosion.

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.Who measures the geographical area of administrative units in India?Show answer

   The Survey of India.

2. 2.What is the formula for cropping intensity?Show answer

   (Gross cropped area / Net sown area) x 100.

3. 3.What are the three crops of rice in West Bengal?Show answer

   Aus, aman and boro.

4. 4.What share of India's cultivated area is irrigated, as per the textbook?Show answer

   About 33 per cent.

5. 5.When did agro-climatic planning begin?Show answer

   In 1988.

6. 6.By how many times has fertiliser use risen since the mid-1960s?Show answer

   15 times.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you list the nine land-use categories?
• ☐Can you explain why forest share rose in records?
• ☐Can you explain three economic changes affecting land use?
• ☐Can you define CPRs and their importance?
• ☐Can you calculate cropping intensity?
• ☐Can you describe kharif, rabi and zaid seasons?
• ☐Can you distinguish protective and productive irrigation, dryland and wetland farming?
• ☐Can you state leading states for rice, wheat, cotton, jute, sugarcane, tea and coffee?
• ☐Can you explain the Green Revolution and later strategies?
• ☐Can you list eight problems of Indian agriculture?

Land Resources and Agriculture: frequently asked questions