Agricultural Profile of Uttarakhand :

Agriculture development for Uttarakhand was re-examined when the state was separated from Uttar Pradesh. Since the ecosystem of the hill regions is very different from the plains, it was essential to focus on the agriculture of the hill districts of Uttarakhand in a different manner. The Green Revolution of the 1960s benefited those  areas that already had irrigation facilities, but this was not possible in the hills because of a lack of these resources.

Uttarakhand is primarily an agricultural state although its share in the country’s total area and production is very small. The contribution of agriculture to the state’s domestic product is about 22.4 per cent and the population dependent on agriculture for their livelihood is about 75-85 per cent. The development of the hills is primarily linked to the development of agriculture and its allied activities. Since the hills are constrained in the development of large-scale industrialisation, and due to infrastructure constraints the development of the service sector is also constrained, the growth and development of the agriculture sector remains the prime focus. People in the hills have been primarily engaged in subsistence agriculture. The contribution of Uttrakhand to the country’s total foodgrain and sugarcane production is negligible.

The low agricultural yield reflects the small size and scattered land holdings, difficult terrain, unfavorable climatic conditions for some crops, lack of or inadequate availability of improved inputs and technology, and lack of credit and marketing facilities. The status of operational land holdings in Uttarakhand in highlights the small fragmented land holdings in the state.

Uttarakhand’s, average land holding trends are similar to the national average. But the overall land holding average is lower than the national average because almost 70 per cent of the land holdings in Uttarakhand are marginal and 18 per cent are small.

With the state’s limitations in land and water resources, yields need to be improved through scientific transformation and modernization of agriculture. Thus, the development policies for the agriculture sector of the state in particular have to be oriented towards marginal and small landholders. For sustainable development, additional investment is crucial.

The prime objective of the development of the agriculture system is to increase sustainability of this sector in such a manner that it provides a better livelihood option and makes the population dependent on it move from subsistence farming to a well-knit higher-income farming system and alternatives to the farming system in a diversified manner.

In many countries, there is considerable scope for bringing new areas under cultivation, but in India the scope for extension of cultivation to new land is limited. The area under culturable wasteland does not represent the area which is really culturable, as it may not be possible to bring under cultivation large parts of the area, except at a huge cost.

Uttarakhand, in contrast, has only 14.5 per cent of its area under cultivation and almost 60 per cent area under forest. Culturable wasteland is around 7.2 per cent. Most of this area is occupied by marginal and sub-marginal lands, and the extension of cultivation to this area will be expensive, since it requires extensive work for soil and water conservation, irrigation and reclamation.