Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
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*
33.
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Norm
* PgEn
Agriculture is the mainstay of more than 70% of India's more than 1 bil-
lion population. Indian agriculture is predominantly rain-fed and depends
on the spatial and temporal distribution of rains from southwest (June-
September) and northeast (October-December) monsoons. A monsoon
refers to seasonal alteration of atmospheric flow. The Indian subcontinent
is predominantly characterized by a tropical monsoon climate, where cli-
matic regimes are governed by rainfall rather than by temperature. The
southwest monsoon accounts for 70-90% of the annual rainfall. The Tech-
nical Committee on Drought Prone Areas Program (DPAP) and the Desert
Development Program (DDP) identified about 120 million ha of the coun-
try's land spread in 185 districts (in 13 states; figure 23.1) as drought prone
(DPAP/DDP,1994).
Though the country as a whole receives an average annual rainfall of
1100 mm, the arid regions receive between 100 and 500 mm, and semiarid
regions receive between 350 and 1500 mm of rainfall. Arid and semiarid
regions of the country experience frequent droughts. The arid region in
Rajasthan state produces 76% of pearl millet production of the country,
but the average productivity is only 267 kg/ha for the whole of Rajasthan
compared to 452 kg/ha for the country. Drought frequency is once in 2.5
years in arid zones and once in 4 years in semiarid regions (table 23.1).
India experienced droughts in 1792, 1804, 1812-13, 1833-34, 1838-
39, 1848-49, 1850-51, 1853-54, 1868-69, 1877, 1891, 1896, 1899,
1905, 1911, 1915, 1918, 1920, 1941, 1951, 1965, 1966, 1972, 1974,
1979, 1982, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1999, and 2000. A higher frequency of
drought occurred during 1891-20, 1965-90, 1997-2000, and 2002.
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