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Characteristics
1. Low Rainfall:
Dry-land areas are those sub-humid parts of the country which receive 75 cm to 100 cm rainfall (therefore, face moisture deficiency for two-thirds of the year) and those semi-arid parts which receive 30-75 cm rainfall (therefore, face moisture deficiency throughout the year).
Such areas are found in parts of Punjab, Haryana, south-western Uttar Pradesh, western Madhya Pradesh, eastern Rajasthan, eastern Gujarat, interior regions of Maharashtra (Vidarbha Marathwada), Karnataka (the plateau region), Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh (Rayalseema and Telengana). Besides low rainfall, these regions face uncertainty in terms of failure of rainfall, late onset, early withdrawal or long dry spells between two wet spells.
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2. Lack of Assured Irrigation:
The crops grown and the cropping practices followed in dry-zone regions entirely depend upon rainfall which is often unpredictable and erratic. Therefore, dry-zone agriculture is also referred to as rain-fed agriculture.
3. Mainly Subsistence Farming Practised:
Farmers in the rain-fed area, especially the small and marginal farmers who form the bulk of the cultivator population in these areas, practise subsistence farming, as different from surplus oriented farming. Subsistence farming is characterised by low productivity, uncertain yields, low incomes and low capital formation. These regions coincide with the drought-prone belt of the country and the population here is faced with unemployment and under-employment during monsoon failure and during the lean season.
Significance of Dry-zone Agriculture:
The crops grown under dry-zone or rain-fed conditions include nutritionally vital crops like pulses (a source of proteins, nearly 80 per cent of pulses is grown in rain-fed areas), oilseeds (a source of fats, grown under rain-fed conditions); groundnut, jute and mesta (nearly the whole of it grown under rain-fed agriculture); staple food like jowar, bajra (about 90 per cent of it grown in the dry zones), maize and other millets.
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Even if the full irrigation potential available in the country is realised, nearly half the cultivated area in the country will remain under dry-zone agriculture. This underlines the importance of dryzone agriculture in the country’s economy.
Dry-zone agriculture contributes more than one- third of the total food-grains. Lower growth in production and productivity of the rain-fed crops has led to a decline in per capita availability of pulses and oilseeds. Thus it is important to give special attention to the rain-fed areas. This becomes even more clear if we consider that 90 per cent of the rise in food-grains production in recent times has been contributed by rice and wheat alone.
Considering the emerging trends of diminishing returns from agriculture, it becomes imperative to formulate a coherent strategy for dryzone areas, which will meet three objectives:
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(i) Food security;
(ii) Removal of inter-regional, inter-personal and inter-sectoral disparities and nutritional deficiencies; and
(iii) Rural employment.