Question : AGRICULTURAL LAND

(a) whether a large portion of the agricultural land in the country including Uttar Pradesh gets affected by erosion and natural disasters which leads to downfall in agricultural production and productivity;

(b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;

(c) the details of agricultural land available in the country along with the percentage of such land which is prone to natural disasters;

(d) whether the Government proposes to protect, increase the fertility and expand the area of such agricultural land; and

(e) if so, the details thereof along with the funds allocated for the purpose during each of the last three years and the current year, State-wise?

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRIES (SHRI TARIQ ANWAR)

(a) to (c): As per assessment made by Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR-2010), about 92.39 million hectare area (excluding area eroded under forest) is affected by soil erosion caused by water and wind across the country (including 13.07 million hectare area of Uttar Pradesh). Soil erosion is one of the factors which affects productivity of agricultural land and may result in land degradation in upper reaches of the river system, whereas when deposited at various locations of river systems, may increase soil fertility. ICAR, estimates indicate loss in production due to soil erosion by water in rainfed areas of about 13.48 million tonnes per annum. State-wise details of available agricultural land, area prone to erosion, percentage of area prone to erosion and average annual loss in production due to soil erosion are given in Annexure-I.

(d) & (e): With a view to prevent soil erosion and land degradation, Government of India, Ministry of Agriculture is implementing various watershed development programmes, namely; National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley Project and Flood Prone River (RVP & FPR), Reclamation and Development of Alkali & Acid Soils (RADAS) and Watershed Development Project in Shifting Cultivation Areas (WDPSCA) across the country. Parts of such developed lands are also brought under cultivation to maintain balance in different types of land uses. State-wise central assistance provided under these programmes of Department of Agriculture & Cooperation in last three years (2009-12) and current year (2012-13) are given in Annexure-II.