Net Sown Area (NSA) in India

The overall geographical range of India is around 3.28 million sq. km. However, land in use facts is only available for a total of 93% of the geographical range due to the unavailability of land in use data of some parts of the country, such as Assam, has not been inspected completely, so stats are not available. Furthermore, regions that are in dispute with other countries, such as Pakistan and China, claim some part of India as their territory, so those regions are not analysed too.

Land Use Pattern in India

Land use is surveyed and analysed to figure out the amount of land used for different purposes around India:

• Forests

National Forest Policy, as outlined in 1952, states that forests are essential for maintaining the ecosystem as India accounts for only 18.11% of the forest in the country, which is very low in comparison to the requirement of nearly 33% of geographical land. Forests are also a livelihood for millions of tribes who are living in the forests and depend on them only.

• Land Unavailable for cultivation

 Waste and Barren land in India is about 18%. Wasteland in India can be identified as desert, rocky, and arid areas; some other non-cultivation land can be used for railways, roads, and others.

For example, Roads, buildings, factories, etc. constitute 4.95%.

• Fallow Lands

Land which is lacking cultivation for a year or lower than an agricultural year is known as the current fallow year and is nearly 4.9%. Maximum land areas rather than the current fallow lands are of underprivileged quality or may be considered as high-cost cultivation. So that’s why these lands are cultivated very less maybe once or twice in the periods of two to three years and lowers the net sown area it added.

• Net Sown Area

The net sown area is defined as the land area which is used for cropped land once a year and is under consideration is known as the net sown area. The net sown area varies from area to area or state to state. More than 45.5% of the area in India is cropped once a year. States rich in the net sown area, such as Punjab, which accounts for 80% of the area as net sown area. While on the other hand, states like Mizoram, Andaman, Manipur, and Arunachal Pradesh account for only 10% of land as a net sown area.

What is Net Sown Area (NSA)?

The net sown area is defined as the total land down with the orchards and crops. The net sown area can be identified as an area that sowed crops more than one time in the same agricultural year. The net sown area in India is nearly 139.9 million hectares which account for 42.57% of the overall geographical land in the country. 

Agriculture plays multiple roles in the growth of India’s economy. Furthermore, nearly 53% of the total population is connected to agriculture directly or indirectly, according to the 2011 census, and also contributes to a great level of nearly 17% to the country’s GDP. Besides, agriculture is also the main source for various industries and delivers a huge market in industrial production because many agricultural items are considered essential raw materials for industrial production.

India has differentiated the land use as a total cropped area which is accounted for nearly 100,964.000 hectares in 2020, but the total extent is lesser than the previous year, which was 165,834.000 hectares in 2019. The total cropped area stats are updated yearly in India, averaging from 194,701.000 hectares from Mar 2003 to 2020, with overall 18 clarifications.

Crop Seasons Affecting Net Snow Area

The net sown area is known as the total cropped area in the agricultural year. Net sown area in India basically depends on the season of crops. There are mainly three cropping seasons in India which are known as Rabi, Kharif, and Zaid.

• Rabi:

Rabi is one of the cropping seasons of India and its parts. Rabi cropping season is known for crops such as mustard, wheat, gram, barley, peas, etc. these crops are mainly grown in the northern part of Indian states such as Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Himachal Pradesh, and Haryana. Rabi season is basically the wintertime season, and crops are planted from October to December and harvested during summer between April to June. The net sown area in India can vary depending on the availability of the winter months. The success of the green revolution in these areas has further increased the net sown area.

• Kharif:

The cropping season, which starts from the beginning of the monsoon in various parts of India, is known as the Kharif cropping season. Crops during the Kharif seasons are harvested between September to October. The main Kharif crops are as follows: Cotton, bajra, maize, groundnut, jute, urad, arhar, soyabean, moong, etc.

• Zaid:

The net sown area is very much dependent on the cropping season; earlier discussed two seasons, and now the cropping season between the Kharif and rabi season, which is known as the zaid cropping season. This is mainly responsible for the growth of various vegetable crops, fodder crops, watermelon, cucumber, muskmelon, etc. Zaid cropping season and crops associated with it are dependent on better irrigation practices.

Factors Affecting the NSA 

Some of the outlined factors which are affecting the growth and availability of Net sown area in India are as follows

• Dependency on unreliable monsoon
• Low yield 
• Restrictions of financial funds and gratitude
• Absence of appropriate land reforms
• Minor farm and disintegration of landholdings
• Nonexistence of commercialization
• Lack of employment
• Humiliation of cultivable land and others

Conclusion

The net sown area in India is nearly 139.9 million hectares which account for 42.57% of the overall geographical land in the country. Agriculture plays multiple roles in the growth of India’s economy. Furthermore, nearly 53% of the total population is connected to agriculture directly or indirectly, according to the 2011 census, and also contributes to a great level of nearly 17% to the country’s GDP.