South Asia: India, Giant of the Subcontinent - Dragons and Tigers: A Geography of South, East and Southeast Asia - page 228

Figure 8-9
Areas of Naxalite activity known as the “Red
Corridor .” These exceedingly violent Maoist
rebels have varying degrees of control in some
of the poorest regions in northeast and eastern
India.

The Red Corridor
Naxalite affected districts of India
(2007)
Severely affected Districts - 51
Moderately affected Districts - 18
Marginally affected Districts - 62
T Targeted Districts - 34

Agricultural Landscapes

enhancements such as a television. T Technical improve-
ments may not be appropriate in all settings. What
about cases where different religious or caste groups
are not willing to cooperate in the acquisition and
sharing of such equipment?
A fundamental problem in India' s agricultural sector
is farm size. There are too many marginal and small
farms. In fact, nearly 60 percent of farms are too small to
be efficient and are often on poorly producing land.
Small and medium-size farms make up 40 percent and
large farms comprise a mere 2 percent. Most farmers do
not own their own land but are at the mercy of zamindars
(landlords similar to those that we discussed in the
previous chapter).
Water availability has increased via tube wells, stor-
age tanks, and canal irrigation. More pumps have been
installed, and wells now are the major source of irriga-
tion water. Farmers have been able to put more acreage
under production and use high-yielding seeds. Some

Figure 8-10 illustrates the wide variety of crops culti-
vated in India. While crop yields have risen significantly
in the latter half of the twentieth century , they do not
equal those achieved elsewhere nor, because of inade-
quate distribution facilities, are they sufficient to meet
population requirements. Human and animals continue
to dominate labor even as the use of tractors and other
machines becomes more common (Figure 8-11).
India manufactures 30 percent of the world' s trac-
tors, more than any other country . However, India' s farm-
ers do not have many tractors. The United States has 27
tractors per 247 acres (1,000 ha) of arable land. India has
11. The global average is 19.
Most of India' s farms are too small for large ma-
chinery . Most farmers would have to go into serious
debt to buy a tractor. Government grants for mecha-
nization frequently are diverted to purchase lifestyle