Agricultural Development of Haryana since 1950

Haryana is primarily an agricultural region,more than 80 percent of its area is classified as net sown area. Since 1950 agriculture has been the main driver of the state's economic development. Haryana's agricultural development can be broken down into five phases that will help to illuminate changes in the state's land use patterns :

Phase I (1951–1966) - Population Pressure and Extensive Cultivation : Although Haryana's population grew slowly during the first half of the twentieth century (0.41 percent a year), population pressure began to intensify after 1950; from 1951 to 1966 the population increased at a rate of 2.85 percent a year. Agriculturally, this phase was characterized by extensive cultivation, facilitated by the more widespread use of irrigation through the canal system. Increased population pressures led to expansion of the net sown area from 3 million hectares in 1950 to 3.4 million in 1960,primarily to meet the food requirements of the fast-growing population.With the adoption of the double-cropping system, cropping intensity increased from 116 percent in 1950 to 135 percent in 1960. Public investments in canal irrigation systems also played an important role in creating favorable physical conditions for the intensification of agriculture. The net irrigated area, as a percentage of net sown area, increased from 30 percent in 1960 to 38 percent in 1966.During this early phase, canals irrigated most of the net irrigated area; wells irrigated a smaller portion.

Phase II (1966–1971) -Spread of the Green Revolution : After India faced a severe food crisis in the mid-1960s, the issue of food security assumed utmost priority. The national government implemented measures to facilitate the adoption of the new Green Revolution technology and to procure food from surplus areas such as Haryana, Punjab, and western Uttar Pradesh.Diffusion of Green Revolution technology was facilitated by the creation of infrastructure, including private investment in irrigation sources, and government regulation of wheat prices.

These activities benefited the economy of Haryana. The government expedited creation of the necessary infrastructure by increasing the number of regulated markets and opening branches of commercial banks outside large towns. Surplus supplies of wheat were sold mainly to public procurement agencies, and any remaining was sold in the open markets. Government intervention in the food market ensured that producers would receive fair prices and prevented wheat prices from crashing at the regional level.
During this phase the Green Revolution played a prominent role in land use change in Haryana. With the implementation of Green Revolution technology and the introduction of the high-yielding crop varieties over the period 1966–1971, the net sown area expanded by 5 percent and the irrigated area by 21 percent.

Phase III (1971–1981) - Consolidation of the Wheat Revolution and Beginning of the Rice-Wheat Rotation : Three aspects of this phase are noteworthy. First, the area allotted for rice cultivation increased throughout Haryana from 291,000 hectares in 1971 to about 505,000 hectares in 1981. Second, groundwater exploitation began in both the semiarid and arid regions, and the number of tube wells rose. Third, with continuation of the price support system for wheat and rice, the rice-wheat crop rotation became a lucrative proposition for the farmers.

Phase IV (1981–1991) - Intensive Cultivation and Depletion of Natural Resources : In the 1980s new environmental problems emerged in agriculture, including those related to groundwater depletion and soil degradation.During the 1980s about 60 percent of the area of Haryana faced a declining water table. Thus overutilization of groundwater was a major concern. The decline was more conspicuous in areas where freshwater was available (approximately 40 percent of the land area of the state). Almost 50 percent of the state area depended on groundwater that was marginal in quality; 9 percent depended on water that was brackish.

Phase V (1991–1997) - Stagnating Yield Levels and Depletion of Natural Resources : During the 1990s the highly intensive cultivation in Haryana began to face a crisis situation. The yields of major cereal crops were either stagnating or declining, and little increase in the rice yield had been observed since 1991.Although the value of wheat per hectare continued to increase in the 1990s, the value of rice per hectare showed a decline over the same period.

Another concern is soil degradation : According to the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS&LUP), which classifies soil by its physical and chemical degradation, one-third of the land area of Haryana has degraded soil, of which 23 percent suffers from medium-level degradation and 5 percent from high-level degradation.Chemical degradation, probably from the excessive use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, accounts for 6 percent of soil degradation.

Conclusion :

Agricultural growth and crop diversification is the major issue in agriculture in India.Haryana is one of the most agricultural advance state of India so it plays a major role in India’s agriculture sector. Lots of changes take place in Haryana’s agricultural sector due to economic reform.In brief Haryana has recorded a commendable progress in agriculture since its formation. This is attributed primarily to a continuing high priority given to agriculture in the planning framework, extension of irrigation, and the adoption of green
revolution technology.

By: Harman Sandhu