Natural Resources Management for Sustainable Agriculture Production-Status and Strategies
2022
Shamsher Singh
The population of 1027 million of the country (2001), of which 26% is below the poverty line, is likely to increase to 1400 million by 2025. The demand for food, energy and other human requirements are met from the limited natural resources which are being over exploited. India has about 18% of world’s population and 15% of livestock population to be supported only from two per cent of geographical area and 1.5% of forest and pasture lands and four per cent of water resources. Indian Agriculture provides livelihood to two-third of the population and contributes one-fourth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). About one-third of cultivated land is irrigated producing 55% of foodgrain and remaining cultivated area which is mainly dryland / rainfed contribute 45%. The net sown area of about 140 million hectare provides food to over one billion population. The increasing human and animal populations have reduced the availability of land over the decades. The per capita availability of land has declined from 0.90 hectare in 1951 to 0.32 hectare in 2001 and is projected to slide down to 0.23 hectare in 2025. As far as agricultural land is concerned, the per capita availability has declined from 0.33 hectare in 1951 to 0.2 hectare in 1981 and 0.14 hectare in 2001-02.It is likely to decline further to about 0.05 hectare in 2035.
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