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Here is an essay on ‘Land Resources’ for class 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. Find paragraphs, long and sort essays on ‘Land Resources’ especially written for school and college students.
Essay on Land Resources
Essay Contents:
- Essay on the Introduction to Land Resources
- Essay on the Classification of Land
- Essay on Cultivated Land Areas
- Essay on Uncultivated Land Areas
- Essay on Land Reclamation Schemes
- Essay on Optimal Land-Use Pattern
Essay # 1. Introduction to Land Resources:
Land resources form the most important natural wealth of the country and their proper utilization is a matter of utmost concern to its people. The utilization of the land according to its use capability ensures that this resource is utilised to the best advantage. Its improper use leads to wastage and can lead to progressive deterioration and loss of productivity of this vital resource. It is the moral obligation of the present generation to pass this valuable resource on to future generations as nearly unimpaired and over-exploited as possible, calligraphically.
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One of the most significant features of land use in India is the large proportion of area suitable for agriculture that already has been brought under cultivation. About 11 per cent of the surface area is made up of mountain land over 7,000 ft. in elevation almost all of which is too steep or too cold or agriculture.
Another 18 per cent of the surface is hill land between 1,000 and 7,000 ft. above sea level, there quarters of which is too steep to farm. Plateaus of relatively low relief, between 1,000 and 3,000 ft. form 28 per cent of all land in India, all but a quarter of which is topographically usable. In the low lands, less than 1,000 ft. in elevation, which make up 43 per cent of the total area in India, only one acre in 20 is unusable because of roughness of topography.
Essay # 2.
Classification of Land:
Classification of land is “a process which assigns each body or tract of land in an area to its proper class in a system of classes. The classes in the systems are defined in terms of the qualities or characteristics with which the classification is concerned.” In India, the classification of land has had its roots in agricultural statistics.
Till 1950, the land in India was broadly classified into five categories:
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(i) Area under forests,
(ii) Area not available for cultivation;
(iii) Uncultivated lands including current fallows;
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(iv) Area under current fallows; and
(v) Net area sown.
But then it was realised that such a classification did not give a clear picture of the actual area under different categories of land use required for agricultural planning. Hence, a reclassification was adopted from March 1950.
Under it, land in India is now classified under nine different categories, viz.:
(i) Forests,
(ii) Barren and uncultivable lands,
(iii) Land put to non-agricultural uses,
(iv) Culturable wastes,
(v) Permanent pastures and other grazing lands;
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(vi) Miscellaneous tree crops and groves not included in the net area sown;
(vii) Current fallows;
(viii) Other follows; and
(ix) Net area sown.
The total geographical area of India is 328.88 million hectares, but land use statistics are available for 304.1 m. hectares or 93.6 per cent of the total geographical area. The net area sown is 138.3 m. hectares (or 44.7 per cent) of which only 25.5 m. hectares or about 8.1 per cent bear crop more than once. 52.8 per cent of the land area is under crops and fallow. It means that among large nations of the Orient, India is one of the best endowed with agricultural land.
Wasteland, land under urban or village settlement, and land put to other non-agricultural uses comprise 14.3 per cent of the total area; forest land makes up another 22.0 per cent. The remainder 10.9 per cent is made up of village pastures and grazing land, and firewood groves, jungle scrub and bamboo, private rests and culturable waste.
Within the total geographical area, it is the arable land area which is of particular importance in an agricultural country like India. For all the countries of the world 32 per cent of the total geographical area falls under this category. The corresponding figure of India is larger at 46.3 per cent. In USSR, it is 27.4 per cent; in USA 40.0 per cent ; in Canada 6.4 per cent and in Brazil 16.1 per cent respectively.
Further, on every hectare of arable land, India has to support 3 persons. The corresponding figure for the U. K. and West Germany is 7; for Belgium it is 11, for the Netherlands it is 14 and for Japan the figure is 17; i.e., about six times as large as that of India. Thus, while India is highly populated, the arable land available in relation to the population is much better than in countries like U. K., West Germany and Japan. However, the per capita cultivable land available in India is only 0.27 hectares as against 0.90 hectares in U. S. A., 0.92 hectares in USSR, 1.01 hectares in Argentina, 1.95 hectares in Canada and 3.40 hectares in Australia.
There has been a tremendous increase in population with the result that not only the total land per capita but also the proportion of cultivated land per capita has been steadily shrinking in size. The per capita cultivated land went down from 1.09 acres (0.44 hectares) in 1921, to 1.04 acres (0.42 hectares) in 1931, to 0.94 acres (0.34 hectares) in 1941, to 0.84 acres (0.34 hectares) in 1951, to 0.74 acres (0.30 hectares) in 1961; and to 0.27 hectares in 1971, with this decline in the cultivated land per capita, the share of food and other produce of cultivation available to each individual is declining.
The population density per hectare of gross area sown varies considerably from 7.7 in Kerala, 5.7 in West Bengal, 5 in Tamil Nadu to 1.8 in M. P., 2.2 in Maharashtra, 2 in Punjab, 4.2 in Bihar, 3.5 in U. P. and 1.5 in Rajasthan, all India average being 3. The population density per hectare of gross area sown is higher in about half the states than All-India basis in Gujarat, M. P., Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab and Rajasthan, the population density is lower than All-India average. Andhra Pradesh and Orissa have the same density as All-India.
If the cultivated area per capita is computed the situation remains similar. The cultivated area per capita varies from 0.14 hectares in West Bengal to 0.11 hectares in Kerala, 0.17 hectares in Assam, 0.21 hectares in U. P., 0.31 hectares in Orissa, 0.3 hectares in Punjab, 0.68 hectares in Rajasthan, 0.41 hectares each in Maharashtra and Karnataka, 0.19 hectares in Tamil Nadu and 0.48 hectares in M. P.
With the increase in population the net area shown has increased during the year 1950-51 to 1982-83 by about 23.1 million hectare, i.e., the net cultivated area increased from 118.7 million hectares to 141.8 million hectares. This increase has been due to increased facilities of irrigation, reduction in fallow lands, and improved methods of cultivation, besides expansion in multiple cropping, use of better strains of seed and the reclamation of land for agricultural purposes.
Essay # 3. Cultivated Land Areas:
Cultivation in India is mostly confined to Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Maharashtra, West Bengal, U. P., Punjab, Bihar, Orissa, M. P., Haryana and Kerala. About 14.3 per cent of the total cropped area of the country is in U. P. The second highest percentage of agricultural area is in Maharashtra (12.3 per cent) followed by M. P. (11.9 per cent) Rajasthan (9.6 per cent). Andhra Pradesh (8.3 per cent), Bihar (7.2 per cent), Karnataka (6.9 per cent), Punjab, (6.5 per cent), and Haryana (6.5 per cent), Gujarat (5.3 per cent), Tamil Nadu (4.7 per cent), West Bengal (4.2 per cent) and Assam (1.8 per cent).
The percentage of sown area to total land area varies between different parts of the country and is mainly determined by physical condition of topography, soil and climate. The Indo-Gangetic plain and the coastal plains record the highest percentages, from 80 to 90, under cultivation. The proportion is substantially low in mountainous or arid regions i.e., 10 per cent or even lower.
The states of West Bengal, Bihar, U. P. and Orissa together account for about 33 per cent of the net area sown in the country though they form 27 per cent of the total land area. The proportion of sown area varies in these states between 70 and 89, and may be even higher if the hilly and mountainous sections are included.
The following table shows trends in cultivated area:
With a rapid increase in population, the total percentage of cultivable area to the total reporting area has now reached the phenomenal figure of 81 per cent in Haryana to 56 per cent in Kerala. The respective percentage for other States are- Tamil Nadu 47, Gujarat 51, Orissa 39, Punjab 81, West Bengal 63, Bihar 49 and U. P. 58.
Dr. Mukherjee speaking about the conditions in the Ganga valley observes that, the densities of cultivation and population in many districts of the Ganga plain are extraordinary- forest, meadows, and marshes all are now invaded by the plough due to population increase, which also leads to scarcity of fodder and grazing ground.
The proportion of cropped area to the total area in the States of Peninsular India are much lower than in the plains and vary from 30 to 50 per cent. In M. P., Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh the percentage of cropped land is 41, 54, 47 and 43 respectively. In mountainous area and zones the acreage under crops in quite low, ranging from 10 to 20 per cent of the land area. For example, it is only 11 per cent in H.P., 16 per cent in J. and K., 7 per cent in Meghalaya and Nagaland each, and 8 per cent in Manipur.
The percentage of sown area more than once is greater in these States than in most other, ranging from 22 per cent in Bihar to 23 per cent in West Bengal and 24 per cent in U. P., and over 42 per cent in Punjab, when compared to the average of 11 per cent for the whole country. The significant fact brought about by the size of the total cultivated area is the low percentage of area sown more than once. The limiting factor is to be found in the deficiency of moisture and insufficient application of manures and fertilisers.
Double cropping is generally undertaken where water is available either through rains or by irrigation. In the eastern coastal regions, double cropping is made possible by the prevalence of suitable temperature and rainfall from the retreating monsoons. Area sown more than once has increased from 13.2 m. hectares in 1950-51 to 25.5 m. hectares in 1974-75, i.e., from 5.2 per cent of the reported area to 8.5 per cent.
Land not Available for Cultivation:
Of the total geographical area, 41.24 million hectares are not available for cultivation. Such areas consist of land put to non-agricultural uses and barren and unculturable waste. Of this hectare, 34.8 per cent consists of the former and 65.2 per cent of the latter type of land.
Land put to non-agricultural uses stands for land occupied by buildings, roads, and railways, or under water e.g., rivers canals and other lands put to uses other than agricultural. M. P. has 10 per cent of the total land put to non-agricultural uses. The percentages for U. P. are 12, Tamil Nadu 17, Karnataka 12 and Orissa 13.
The barren land covers all barren and uncultivable lands like mountains, hills, deserts and hill slopes i.e., all land which cannot be brought under cultivation except at a high cost is classed as uncultivable—whether such land lies in isolated blocks or within cultivated holdings. Large areas of such land existing in Assam (38 per cent of the State), Gujarat (30 per cent), Rajasthan (20 per cent), Orissa (18 per cent) and Manipur (64 per cent). But in Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra such areas are small.
It may be true that whole of this land may not be fit for cultivation or afforestation, but if trees of different types, suitable for different soils, are selected, a large proportion of these lands can be put under fuel and fodder trees, and pastures. During the planning period some of the barren land has been brought under cultivation.
It is estimated that 4,124 million hectare of land was not available for cultivation in 1988-89. It was 13.6 per cent of the total geographical area. Area not available for cultivation was 50.75 million in 1960-61. Pressure of population and expansion of economic activities are pulling the barren land under cultivation.
Areas Difficult for Cultivation:
The areas where cultivation of land is difficult are:
(a) Eastern Maharashtra and the Madhya Pradesh where highlands are generally infertile excepting the black cotton soil areas;
(b) Assam’s unhealthy climate in several districts as well as dense forests and mountains restrict cultivation to definite areas;
(c) The Himalaya, where mountainous nature of the land prevents large cultivation;
(d) Rajasthan, an arid region which is in the west due to Thar desert, and in south due to hilly tract where lack of water supply cultivation is extremely difficult;
(e) Orissa, where malaria is highly prevalent;
(f) Madhya Pradesh, large parts of which are infested with kans weed; and
(g) The whole country in the south between Western Ghats and the sea-ports from Goa to Cannanore, which though rich in commercial crops and enjoy good rainfall, is at present backward due to unhealthy climate, prevalence of malaria, inadequacy of communication and scarcity of labour. If these conditions can be improved, Malnad may contribute substantially towards raising agricultural production.
It has been estimated that out of about 5 m. hectares of wasteland, one-third of the area is damaged by water-logging and soil salinity; another one-third is affected by salinity and alkalinity with low sub-soil water table, and the balance of the area is threatened by the water-table rising to less than 25 cms. from the surface. These require reclamation measures.
There can be no better evidence of the present backwardness of agricultural production in India than the fact that 9.1 m. hectares of land is returned as current fallow lands. This class of land comprise cropped areas which are kept fallow as a part of the normal crop rotation during the current year.
The areas of current fallows range from 2 m. hectares each in Andhra to 1.2 m. hectares in Rajasthan and about 1 m. hectares in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka. A subsistence type of production naturally involves a productive resources compelling the farmer to grow food in all kinds of soil as a mode of living and to attempt to conserve fertility of the soil by the practice of fallowing.
Possibilities of Extension of Cultivated Area:
The total geographical area per capita in India comes to 2.2 acres (or 225 cent) as against 30 acres in USSR; 12 acres in USA, 6 acres in Indonesia, 5 acres in China and 3 acres in France. Of the total per capita area, lots of areas are usable. On the basis of the Pearson and Harper’s formula that 95 per cent of the mountains, 75 per cent of the hills, 25 per cent of the plateaus and 5 per cent, of the plains are usable, only 1.51 acre per capita is left which can be termed as topographically usable.
Or, in other words, only 4.3; 37.7; 168.6 and 293.7 m. acres—a total of 504 m. acres (out of 86.9 acres of mountains, 150.9 m. acres of hills, 224.8 acres of plateaus and 349.9 m. acres of plains of land is topographically usable. Whole of this land is not fit for agriculture since it includes the sandy waste of Rajasthan dry area, Rann of Kutch and similar land in north western and Western India totalling about 45.5 m. acres). Excluding this type of area only 1.40 acre per capita is left which should be considered as topographically usable.
Whole of this area cannot be regarded as really arable because a considerable portion of it is under village and town sites, roads, and watercourses etc. Further, sandy soils are below the minimum degree of agricultural productivity. After making allowances of all these, only 0.97 acre per capita is left which can be regarded as arabic.
Possibilities of extension seems to be not very bright. However it may be pointed out that the cultivated area is about 46.0 per cent of the total geographical area and 72.6 per cent of the maximum possible agricultural area. These ratios of cultivated area are lower than the corresponding All-India ratios in Assam; M. P., Orissa, Rajasthan, and Himachal Pradesh. But in Punjab, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Bihar and Delhi, the ratio of such area is very great; while U. P., Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka stand in between where the maximum potentially is between 20 and 25 per cent of the cultural area.
This shows that the scope for extension is somewhat larger in some states and narrower in others. No doubt large areas in Sudarbans, Tarai, Western Rajasthan and major parts of the Deccan have large areas of wasteland available for cultivation but the main difficulty is that of drainage in some areas, of dense forests in others and unhealthy climate in yet others, besides limitations of irrigation, soil and topography.
Several million hectares of land is infested by mosquitoes and malaria. This area can be made agriculturally fit by making it malaria-free. The rice growing areas in India are coincident with endemic malarial tracts and are uncultivated though fertile. Such tracts are- (i) a horizontal strip of the sub-Himalayan tract, Tarai, (ii) a vertical strip along the Eastern Ghats enlarging into a wide belt at the top merging into Tamil Nadu, Orissa, M. P. and Andhra Pradesh.
In all these areas rice cultivation may be very profitable as the rainfall is between 76 cms. to 250 cms. per year. Malaria affects man but not the soil. Mosquitoes and rice plants are both sub-aquatic. One is aquatic fauna and the other is aquatic flora. They grow under the same conditions of high temperature, high humidity and heavy rainfall. It is possible to control mosquitoes and suppress malaria and to grow more rice to feed the country.
Thus as a long-term programme and efforts should be made to increase the production of rice by controlling malaria. The findings of the Wasteland Survey and Reclamation Committee shows that only about 2 million acres of wasteland can be brought under cultivation and that too at a very prohibitive cost.
To sum up, it appears that 50 per cent of the total geographical area is either under crops or is fallow. Prima facie, it may appear from this that it is possible, in due course, to extend cultivation over the other 50 per cent of the land. This is not so. Already about 20 per cent of the total geographical areas is under forests; the need in fact, is to extent this proportion to about 33 per cents. About another 10 per cent would be taken up by human settlements, mines, railway lines, roads, rivers, mountains, etc.
Therefore, while some expansion of the area under cultivation—say from 50 per cent to 60 per cent of the geographical area—might be possible in the coming decades, the main emphasis would have to be on increasing the per hectare yields, i.e., reliance will have to be placed on intensification of agriculture and increasing productivity per hectare on the present cultivable area.
Development of hybrid seeds and greater use of chemical fertilizers along with land improvement measures by reclamation of ravines, saline and arid lands, levelling and bunding by ensuring better drainage, by taking other measures of soil conservation and by improving the chemical and biological quality of soil.
Essay # 4. Uncultivated Land
Areas:
31.9 million hectares of land in India is returned under the heading “other uncultivated land excluding fallow land.” Of this, 51 per cent (or 16.3 million hectares) comprise of cultivable waste, 11.3 per cent (or 11.9 m. hectares) of permanent pastures and other grazing lands and the rest 37.2 per cent (i.e., 3.6 m. hectares) is under miscellaneous tree crops and groves etc.
Trends in Other Un-Cultivated Land:
Figure in brackets indicate percentage to total reporting area.
Culturable Waste Land:
Culturable Waste land includes all lands available for cultivation but not taken up for cultivation or abandoned after a few years for one reason or the other. Such land may be fallow for more than 5 years and may be covered with shrubs and jungles. They may be assessed or unassessed and may lie in isolated patches or blocks or within cultivated holdings. Land reserved for pastures are not included under this head.
Reh, Bhur, Usar and Khola Land:
Reh, Bhur, Usar and Khola land of U. P., Haryana and Punjab and several other tracts are not cultivated due to soil deficiency or otherwise. About 25 per cent of the area in Goa, Daman and Diu and 18 per cent in Rajasthan are culturable waste. The area ranges from 9 per cent in Bihar to less than 1 per cent in Kerala, and Tripura and negligible in Manipur, Meghalaya Nagaland, West Bengal etc.
Permanent Pastures and Other Grazing Land:
Permanent pastures and other grazing land cover all grazing lands whether permanent pastures and meadows or not, such as village common and grazing lands within forest areas and other uncultivated land. About 23 per cent of the area is under permanent pastures and grazing land in H. P. The proportion varies from 9 per cent to 5 per cent in Karnataka, M. P., Gujarat, Rajasthan, Orissa and Maharashtra.
Miscellaneous Tree Crops:
Miscellaneous Tree Crops cover all cultivated land which is not included under ‘net area sown’ but is put to some agricultural use. Lands under casurina trees, bamboo bushes, thatching grass and other groves for fuel come under this category. The proportion of land under this category varies from 8 per cent in Tripura to negligible in Gujarat, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Haryana, Goa, Daman and Diu, U. P., Assam, Orissa and J. and K. have 2 to 7 per cent of the area under this category, in other States it is less than 2 per cent.
Thus, it should be noted that under culturable wasteland, neither the land for pastures and grazing is included nor that under miscellaneous tree crops. Wastelands for purposes of extension of cultivation can be found only for the categories “other uncultivated land excluding fallow”—which totals about 34.0 hectares.
The culturable wastelands if brought under cultivation, can be one of the important factors for augmenting the country’s agricultural production.
The chief reason for leaving such lands uncultivated are:
(1) Deep rooted grasses and weeds,
(2) Unhealthy conditions chiefly due to malarial climate.
(3) lack of drainage,
(4) Low fertility of the soil,
(5) lack of water supply,
(6) Salinity and alkalinity and
(7) Damage by wild animals.
Besides, there exists a vast area which has gone out of cultivation due to ravages of soil erosion. Such land exists in the states of M. P., Rajasthan and Gujarat on the bank of Chambal, Mahe, Kali Sindh, Sabarmati; in the alluvial plains of Northern India (especially in U. P. and Punjab). In all about 70 m. hectares of land requires protection of soil conservation measures.
The Wastelands Survey and Reclamation Committee has observed that the area of wasteland available for cultivation in blocks of 100 hectares or more (in the seven important states surveyed by them) is reckoned at nearly 0.8 m. hectares. These wastelands comprise of kans-infested wasteland saline and alkali lands water-logged land and eroded land.
Such lands account for about 23.6 m. hectares, comprising 14.1 m. hectares of ‘current fallows’ and the remaining 9.5 m. hectares of ‘fallows other than current fallows’. Current fallows are those lands which are not cultivated for one year and are given rest so that fertility could be restored.
Other fallow lands include those lands which are left fallow for 1 to 5 years due to inadequate water supply, unfavourable climate, poverty of the cultivator and unremunerative nature of farming. Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu have over 10 per cent of land under this category. It is between 4 to 10 per cent in states like A. P., Karnataka, Bihar, M. P., Maharashtra, Gujarat, U. P., West Bengal, Orissa, Assam, Haryana, Kerala and H. P. In others it is less than 4 per cent.
Fallow lands may be reduced with the introduction of new crops, intelligent crop rotations, technical improvement on land and use of fertilizers and supply of irrigation facilities.
Essay # 5. Land Reclamation Schemes
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These schemes are those schemes which are of multipurpose character and cover a wide range of activities.
According to Pillai and Pannikar. “These are the schemes which provide not only for drainage and levelling of lands for cultivation or habitation but for linking up and co-ordinating these with the current of water courses, irrigation, road construction, organisation of communications, electricity undertakings, supply of drinking water, sanitation, housing establishment of rural centres, agricultural industries and multitude of other amenities. Thus, land reclamation has come to be recognised not merely as a measure of land utilisation but as a complex policy contributing to overall social and economic welfare.”
It is through land reclamation measures that culturable wastelands are brought under the plough.
The land covered with jungles and shrubs cannot be brought under cultivation without the aid of adequate labour and capital. The deep-rooted grasses like kans cannot be eradicated without the assistance of tractors, and the drawing of marshy lands is frequently an expensive operation.
Provision of irrigation facilities involves heavy capital outlay and there is a limit to the rate at which open wells and tube-wells can be constructed. Lack of suitable fencing and fire-arms protection against wild animals also present difficulties in addition to these, unhealthy tracts provide problems difficult to tackle.
Essay # 6. Optimal Land-Use Pattern:
We should have an optimal land use pattern which may remove the disequilibrium that has spoilt soil-plant and water relationship through utilisation of marginal and other lands for grain cultivation bringing about tremendous loss of fertile soil in the watershed areas and silting-up of the river beds leading to serve floods.
For securing optimal land-use pattern, the following line of action may be suggested:
(1) New cropping patterns should be in agreement with the soil and water requirements of the area. Crops standing longer on the land and needing more water could be easily substituted by leguminous crops, forages, soyabeans etc. which are ready within a comparatively shorter period.
(2) In the irrigation command areas of North and South India, water consuming crops like paddy and sugarcane; crops like hybrid maize, hybrid jowar, groundnuts and oilseeds could be successfully planted.
(3) Areas like West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Eastern U. P., and Assam and the eastern coastal regions, which practice mono-culture, should resort to multi-cropping practice, where facilities of irrigation could be made use of. In areas producing jute, a combination of jute-rice-wheat or maize may be adopted, followed by a variety of market gardening crops.
(4) Dry-farming could be successfully undertaken in areas of low rainfall and with proper conservation of the available moisture, and reduce loss of moisture by evaporation through deep ploughing and harrowing, crops like millets, pulses, oilseeds and forage crops may be raised. In such areas, drought-resistance varieties may be bred and cultivated. Sunflower may be successfully grown.
(5) In arid and semi-arid regions, fast growing fuel trees may be planted along road, railway lines and along the canal banks, and pastures raised so that line-stock farming could be a useful vocation for the local people.
(6) Hill slopes in Northern India may be developed with the cultivation of temperature fruits like peach, plum, apricot, apple, walnut, pears which are in great demand; and in Southern India banana, pineapple, mango, custard apple may be raised, besides growing a large number of vegetables like peas, cabbage, cauliflower, etc.,
(7) The hill areas in the north can also be utilised for mixed farming and raising of sheep and goat herds.
Charges in cropping pattern requires that certain basic conditions be fulfilled such as:
(a) The collection of reliable information about soil and water resources, availability of necessary inputs like seeds, manures, manpower, technological advice, and other materials for optimal use of these resources.
(b) Research on soil fertility, cropping pattern, water-use, and water management, dry farming techniques, soil conservation methods should be constantly pursued by the agriculture departments.
(c) Land use plants for plains and hilly regions, salt-affected land, water-logged lands and dry areas need be properly drawn up by experts and communicated through demonstration projects, to the cultivators.
(d) Necessary provision for the needed capital, either by using of loans, grants or subsidy should be made available to the peasant when needed.