Part - 2 CH - 3 Land Resources and Agriculture — Geography STD 12 Humanities & Commerce — Question

The nature of problems faced by •Indian agriculture varies according to agro-ecological and historical experiences of its different regions. But there are some problems which are common and range from physical constraints to institutional hindrances. Some problems are:

• Dependence on Erratic Monsoon: 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. Spatio- temporal variations in rainfall causes fluctuations in steady supply of water and makes them vulnerable to both drought and floods.
• Low productivity: The yield of the crops in the country is low in comparison to the international level. Because of the very high pressure on the land resources, the labour productivity in Indian agriculture is also very low in comparison to international level.
• Constraints of Financial Resources and Indebtedness: The inputs of modem agriculture are very expensive for marginal and small farmers for them to invest in agriculture. Crop failures and low returns from agriculture have forced them to fall in the trap of indebtedness.
• Lack of Land Reforms: In India there had been unequal distribution of land over the years. Though land reforms were made after independence, they were not implemented affectively due to lack of strong political will. Lack of implementation of land reforms resulted in unequal distribution of cultivable land.
• Small Farm Size and Fragmentation of Landholdings: There are a large number of marginal and small farmers in the country. The average size of land holding is shrinking due to law of inheritance. The land holdings are mostly fragmented. Even the states where consolidation of land holdings was carried out once, second consolidation is required. The small size fragmented landholdings are uneconomic.
• Lack of Commercialization: A large number of farmers produce crops for self-consumption. These farmers do not have enough land resources to produce more than their requirement. Most of the small and marginal farmers grow food grains, which are meant for their own family consumption.
• Vast Under-employment: There is a massive under-employment in the agricultural sector in India, particularly in the un-irrigated tracts. The people engaged in agriculture do not have the opportunity to work round the year.
• Degradation of Cultivable Land: Degradation of land resources is a serious problem caused due to faulty strategy of irrigation and agricultural development which leads to depletion of soil fertility.Excessive use of chemicals such as insecticides and pesticides has made the soil toxic. Absence of leguminous plants and decrease in duration of fallow land has reducd natural fertilization of soil.