How much farmland has India lost?

Economic Times ^ | 11/12/2013 | Economic Times

[TexGrill]

Due to the buying spree in rural land, how much farmland has India lost? According to the ministry of agriculture, almost none.

It says India lost 16,000 sq km, or 0.8% of her gross cropped area, in the 10-year period to 2010-11. The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), in fact, says land under cultivation stayed constant in the last 10 years.

Another number comes from the Census Department, which says area under urban use jumped by 24,000 sq km during the same period. Much of this would have been at the expense of rural land. "As cities grow, agricultural area around them comes down," says a senior official of the National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC), on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorised to speak to the press.

[TexGrill]

Global business tip

[Alas Babylon!]

Another number comes from the Census Department, which says area under urban use jumped by 24,000 sq km during the same period. Much of this would have been at the expense of rural land.

Well, it's not necessarily a zero-sum game, either. Unused forest and jungle areas could have been converted to cropland. Same with underused or fallow areas within cropland areas.