Agriculture land in J&K continues to shrink, making the state more dependent on imports to meet food requirements, reveals the latest National Agriculture Census.
According to the census report by Union Agriculture Ministryaverage size of holding has shrunk from 0.62 hectares (ha) per person to 0.59ha, from 2011 to 2016. The report has come on the heels of Economic Surveyreport which has highlighted that unabated conversion of agriculture land inJammu and Kashmir for non-agriculture purposes was making 60% of the Statepopulation poorer by the day.
“This sector ironically supports more than 60% of employmentand the effects can be easily seen in the disparity ratio between averageincomes of agriculturists and non-agriculturists, which has been increasingsince long,” the report reads.
“This means that a major population (60% people) of
J&K is becoming poorer. Also, keeping in considerationthe scope of expansion in manufacturing sector and service sector (primarilywith tourism industry under its kitty) the major bottleneck that can hold usback is the Agriculture sector,” the report adds.
From 2004-05 to 2011-12, the report says that share ofagriculture in GDP has fallen approximately one third from 28% to 16%, whereasshare of industry has remained almost constant. The share of services hasimproved from 43.71% to 57%.
As per the report, the arable land in J&K has shrunkfrom 0.14 hectare per-person in 1981 to 0.08 hectare per-person in 2001 andfurther to 0.06 hectare per-person in 2012.
“Factors like small holdings create problems in farmmechanization operations and make farming non-remunerative. Apart frompopulation growth, urbanization process leads to shrinkage in per capita arableland,” the ES report says.
Experts cautioned that conversion of agricultural land wastaking place in both rural and urban Kashmir, raising alarm bells.
In 2011, the Government had set up a committee under thechairmanship of then Horticulture Minister to frame a bill that would addressspecifically the issue of use of agricultural land for non-agriculturalpurposes.
But the proposed legislation wasn’t finalised allegedlyowing to political pressure.
In April 2012, the J&K High Court had passed directionsagainst misuse of agricultural land, on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL)filed by a non-governmental organization.
The Court had directed all Deputy Commissioners to ensureprovisions of J&K Agrarian Act and J&K Land Revenue Act are implementedto stop conversion of agricultural land.