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CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Statement of the Problem
Agricultural development is multidimensional in nature. It includes a variety of
aspects like agricultural land utilisation, intensity of cropping, crop productivity, crop
concentration, crop diversification, crop combination, commercialization of agriculture,
nature of agrarian relationship, maintenance of ecological balance and so on.
Agriculture plays an essential role in the process of economic development of less
developed countries like India. Besides providing food to nation, agriculture provides
employment and savings, contributes to market economy and earns foreign exchange.
Agricultural development is an integral part of overall economic development. In India,
agriculture is the main source of national income and occupation. Agriculture and allied
activities have contributed nearly 50 percent to India’s national income. Around 72
percent of total working population was engaged in agriculture and allied activities. All
these confirm that Indian economy is primarily based on agriculture and it has been
socio-economically much behind many countries of the developed world including even
china. However, since Independence India has made considerable progress in the field
of agriculture. Indian agriculture, which grew at the rate of about 1 percent per annum
during the fifty years before Independence, has grown at the rate of about 2.6 percent
per annum in the post Independence era.
In North East India, the process of agricultural development has been very slow.
However, there is distinct spatial variation within the region. A major part of North East
India is covered by the hills with mountains with fertile soil experiencing remarkable
production of horticultural crops on the steep slopes. A significant aspect of agricultural
development in this region is the prevalence of a variety of agricultural systems, which
are controlled by the topographic features, soil and climatic conditions. For example,
traditional shifting cultivation on hill slopes and extensive settled cultivation in the river
valleys including Brahmaputra plains are major features of agricultural development.
The hill agricultural system and as well as intensive crop production systems of the
plains are controlled by different factors of landscape. In this part of the country the
agricultural practice is still determined by the physical factors. Within the region there
has been significant variations in the agricultural system such as hills have shifting
cultivation while the plains have subsistence agriculture, though major parts of the
built-up area covered by old alluvium have plantation agriculture. Depending on the
availability of facilities attitude of the farmers the development of agriculture in the
region is not uniform.
Agriculture is the main source of livelihood of the people of Assam, where more
than 80 percent of the total population are rural and about two thirds of the working
population are directly engaged in agriculture and its allied activities. The farmers of the
area cultivate HYV as well as traditional varieties of rice which is the staple food. In
addition to this some plantation crops, horticultural crops and cash crops also cover
sizable area of Assam. At present, there has been also blue revolution and white
revolution in some parts of the state. However, there are distinct variations in the
magnitude and importance of these aspects both in space and time. It is worth
mentioning that the importance of white revolution and blue revolution is not very
significant in the district. Thus in the respect of agricultural development Nagaon
district of Assam is therefore selected here where the farmers cultivate mainly crops and
agricultural development after seventies of the last century is significantly high. So, in
order to understanding of the nature of agricultural development, scientific investigation
and evaluation of aspects of development both in spatial and temporal dimensions such
a study has become highly necessary, which may definitely help us to have a clear
picture of nature of agricultural development in the study area. Keeping these facts in
view, the farming practices, productivity, intensity of cropping, production of crops,
innovation in agriculture etc. in Nagaon district of Assam have been discussed in the
present work.
Nagaon district is situated in the middle part of Assam and it has three sub
divisions and ten revenue circles which form essentially an important agroeconomic
region. The study area Nagaon district is located between 25043 N latitude and 26
045 N
latitude and 93025 E longitude and 93
020 E longitude. It is bounded by Sonitpur district
and the river Brahmaputra in the north, Karbi Anglong and North Cachar hills in the
south, Karbi Anglong and Golaghat district in the east and Morigaon district in the west.
The mighty river Brahmaputra flows along the northern periphery of the district.
Other major tributaries such as Kalong, Kapili etc. meandering through the district drain
into the Brahmaputra. Nagaon town constitutes a vital corridor linking the Upper Assam
districts of Golaghat, Jorhat, Sibsagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and the North Assam
districts of Sonitpur and North Lakhimpur. It is important to note that the central
location of the study area facilitates for the movement of the people and agricultural
products to and from different directions. Nagaon district has covered an area of 3,975
sq. km in 2011. About more than half of the populations in the district belong to Muslim
community and the rest belong to Hindu, Christian and Sikh communities. According to
1991 census, the total population of Nagaon district was 18,93,171. The population is
Figure 1.1
Figure 1.2
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increasing day by day. According to 2001 census, the population increased to 23,14,629
which has further increased to 28,26,006 in 2011 census, with a male population of
14,40,307 and female population of 13,85,699.
It may be mentioned here that Nagaon district has been experiencing tremendous
change in the landuse in general and agricultural in particular. The district has engaged
more than half of the total workforce in agriculture and its allied activities. In the last 100
years the district has been witnessing a rapid growth of population resulting in a
tremendous pressure of population on agricultural land resource. This is because agriculture
is the main source of economy in rural areas, and it is the main occupation of the people of
the study area. With the growing population, utilisation of land has been changing in the
district. Area under agriculture as well as settlement has been increasing while areas under
grazing reserves, forest and fallow land have been declining. Moreover, size of operational
holding per agricultural family has been declining. Thus, there have been problems faced
by the agricultural households, who are dependent only on limited available land. It is
therefore, essential to increase productivity of land by its proper use through systematic
planning. Though after Independence agricultural development has been taking place in the
study area and productivity it is not at per the demand of the growing population. However,
significant innovation in agriculture has changed the agricultural scenario of Nagaon
district. Modern agriculture like HYV seeds especially of rice covers 57.05 percent of the
rice area. Out of the total agricultural area 34.40 percent used chemical fertilizer, viz. N.P.K
(Nitrogen Phosphorous, Potassium) 36.05 percent used biofertilizer. Pesticides used 17.02
percent of the land and 12.53 percent of the agricultural land of the study area had irrigation
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facilities. These innovative measures were totally absent in the fifties of the last century.
Majority of farmers even in the seventies and eighties are dependent on climogenetic
supply of water i.e. rainfall. With the progress of irrigational facilities, intensity of cropping
or reuse of land in an agricultural year has been increasing. On the other hand along with
extension of irrigational facilities and intensity of crops help to enhance the agricultural
productivity of crops in the area. Moreover, horticultural crops especially vegetables on
commercial basis are cultivated in the agricultural field. As a result, significant development in
agriculture has been witnessing by the study area. However, there has been spatio-temporal
variation in the landuse pattern as well as development of agriculture in the study area. It is
observed that the attitude of peasants belonging to different social groups in different spatial units
play an important role in agricultural development.
1.2 Significance of the Study
The study of landuse considered to be more important in Nagaon district not only
because there is practically no other significant source of economy except agriculture, but
also because thousands of immigrants peasants have settled in the district during the
twenties and thirties of the twentieth century. These immigrants have altered the
agricultural landuse pattern through the commercial cultivation of jute and vegetables
creating a need for a thorough revision of the land utlisation plan. Even in the post
Independence period because of the execution of ‘Benor Plan’ in 1966 there has been
significant changes in agriculture mid sixties of last century. New crops like banana
plantation, citronella plantation, patchouli plantation etc. are introduced in the nineties on
commercial basis resulting a radical change in the agricultural land use pattern.
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Nagaon district has a high man-land ratio. The arithmetic density of population of
Nagaon stood at 604 persons/ km2 in 2001, which is highest among all the districts in
Assam (340 persons/ km2 of Assam and 325 persons/ km
2 of India). It has increased to 711
persons / km2 in 2011 in Nagaon (397 persons/ km
2 of Assam and 382 persons/ km
2 of
India). The rural density of population as well as the physiological and agricultural
densities of the district are comparatively higher than majority of the districts of Assam.
The bulk of the rural households are constituted by small, marginal and sub marginal
farmers. The method of cultivation is mostly traditional and sizes of agricultural holdings
are decreasing through fragmentation. Though there has been development of agriculture
the above mentioned factors stand as a barrier in some areas of the district. There has been
however significant variation in the innovation and attitude of peasant of different
communities for agricultural development. The spatio temporal pattern of agricultural
development is to be observed in the district. As the present study deals with the spatio-
temporal pattern of agricultural development, the agricultural weaker and stronger area can
be easily identified. This study is very significant in this regard.
1.3 Objectives of the Study
The main objectives of the study are-
i) to analyze the change of landuse pattern in general and agricultural landuse in particular
in different periods of time and their spatial variations in the study area;
ii) to examine physical and socio-economic factors affecting agricultural development in
the study area;
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iii) to analyze critically the spatio-temporal pattern of intensity of cropping and
productivity in the study area;
iv) to explore the problems of agricultural development in the study area and evolve
strategies for sustainable development;
v) to study the spatio temporal pattern of agricultural development in the study area.
1.4 Research Questions
In the light of the above objectives the following research questions are inquired
into-
i) What are the main causes of spatio-temporal changes in land utilisation and cropping
pattern in Nagaon district?
ii) In what ways physical and socio-economic factors have been influencing the
agricultural development in the district?
iii) Is there any impact of irrigation and rural population density on intensity of cropping?
iv) How do the various innovative measures adopted in agriculture like use of fertilizer,
pesticides etc. help in the development of agriculture in the study area?
v) In what ways use of innovative measures differs from one social group to another?
vi) How does the attitude of peasants of different social group towards agricultural
development differ?
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vii) Are the fragmentation of landholding and small size of agricultural landholdings in the
district hindering agricultural development?
viii) What are the major problems of agricultural development in the study area?
ix) Is there any significant spatial variation of agricultural development in the study area?
1.5 Database and Methodology
Agricultural geography is mainly devoted to describing, classifying and explaining
the agricultural activities and their results as they occur in different parts of the world.
In the case of the present study also the existing facts are examined systematically and a
comprehensive presentation is made in this thesis. The data related to the research work has
been collected from two different sources. One is primary and the other is secondary data
sources.
The present study has been carried out in three phases. In the first phase the research
problem is formulated based on the pre-field work. In order to get comprehensive
knowledge of the problem a thorough study has been made of the relevant works done by
different authors. In addition, books, journals, bulletins, reports, newspapers, internet,
published and unpublished monographs relating to the agriculture of the world, as also
those of India and Assam in general and Nagaon district in particular have been gone
through in different libraries. Besides, the toposheets, revenue circle map and cadastral
maps of the area concerned have been thoroughly studied.
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In the second phase of the works are field survey and collection of data. After
acquiring a thorough knowledge of the theoretical aspects of the subject, designs of the
field survey have been worked out in order to collect necessary information within the time
limit. As time is limited to survey the whole study area, the examination of various aspects
of landuse, land utilisation and agricultural development have been confined to 28 sample
survey villages within the study area. With the help of stratified random sampling method
the survey has been conducted in the field. For this purpose, village information scheduled
and household questionnaire as shown in Appendix I and Appendix II have been used.
Considering the two major physical conditions, viz. built-up area and charlands the 28
villages area selected for primary survey. It is important to note that in addition to physical
environment, the different social groups inhabited in the area and their attitude towards
agricultural development is equally important. Out of 28 sample villages, 4 village
inhabited by indigenous general Hindu from built-up area, 4 villages inhabited by Muslim
peasants of immigrant origin from built-up area, 5 villages inhabited by Muslim peasants of
immigrant origin from the charlands, 4 villages inhabited by indigenous Muslim from
built-up area, 4 villages inhabited by Scheduled Castes in the built-up area, 4 villages
inhabited by Scheduled Tribes in built-up area and 3 villages inhabited by other social
groups, viz. Satnami, Manipuri and Nepali (Immigrant Hindu) are surveyed.
As distance from the urban centre always plays an important role in case of
cropping pattern as discussed in Von Thunen’s model, four zones are considered in the
present study. The first zone is considered up to 20 km from Nagaon town, which is the
main market and headquarter of the district, the second zone is 20-40 km the third zone is
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40-60 km and fourth zone is above 60 km are considered. Moreover, char area mostly
dominated by Muslim peasants of immigrant origin, where agricultural development is
significant is considered in the present study.
The secondary data has been collected from different Government offices like
Revenue circle offices of Nagaon; District Economics and Statistics office, Nagaon;
Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Government of Assam, Guwahati; District
Agricultural office, Nagaon; Directorate of Agriculture, Government of Assam, Guwahati;
Census of India, Guwahati, Assam; Assam Land Revenue Department Nagaon, Land
Record Branch, Nagaon; Deputy Commissioner office, Nagaon; Irrigation Department and
Ten Revenue circle offices of Nagaon district etc. Moreover, in the study, the base map
wherein the revenue circles of the district are considered to show the spatial pattern of
agricultural development is prepared with the help of cadastral map prepared by Revenue
Department, Government of Assam and Remote Sensing Application Centre (ARSAC),
Guwahati.
The third phase basically deals with the post field works. The collection of data
from field and offices have been compiled, processed and summarized with the help of
some statistical methods. Relevant quantitative methods like standard deviation,
co-efficient of correlation and co-efficient of variation etc. Bhatia’s method of
diversification of cropping and intensity of cropping, crop concentration and Nelson’s
crop-combination method have been used to analyses the data. In order to find out the
agricultural productivity of Nagaon district Kendall’s ranking method has been applied. In
addition to the above mentioned methods other methods like Z-Score and Principal
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Component Analysis (PCA) with the help of SPSS have been used to find out the spatio-
temporal variation and disparity in the level of agricultural development of the study area.
Moreover, Geographical Information System (GIS) techniques have been used for
digitization of relevant maps and diagrams and there from necessary analysis are being
carried out to acquire meaningful results. The other important steps like cartographic works
in preparing maps, diagrams, graphs, charts etc. report writing, data processing and analysis
etc. have been carried out through computer operations.
1.6 Review of Literature
The beginning of agricultural geography as a distinct field of study is a very recent
development. Eminent geographers and scholars have long devoted to the study of the
problems of landuse in different countries of the world with a view to finding out existing
maladies and potentialities. The study is as old as that of agriculture itself. It is interesting
to observe that most of the studies on landuse were mainly related to the cropping pattern,
because in an agricultural society, other types of land uses were of little importance. Urban
places were unimportant in the landscape and viewed as parasitic on the vast agricultural
region. Urban landuse have been studied since late nineteenth century.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, Von Thunen (1826) developed the
theory of location on differential rent of land and built a model to study agricultural
location on a scientific basis. Von Thunen model of agricultural location was based on the
decline of economic rent or land rent with distance from the market. Based on this theory
Von Thunen predicted a concentric series of agricultural zones around a central market.
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Baker (1926) in the United States, Stamp (1930) in Britain and Lossing Buck (1937) in
China contributed towards the dynamic studies of landuse. But the real development in this
direction started with the establishment of British Land Use Survey in 1930 under the
Directorship of Stamp. The British Landuse Survey Department created a good impact on
the country by solving the agrarian problem during the first world war. This gave impetus
to the geographers to establish a commission on the World–wide landuse survey at the
International Geographic Congress, Lisbon in 1949 under the chairmanship of Valkenburg.
This survey proposed a scheme for the delineation of landuse classification on a uniform
scale for all countries of the world (Stamp 1949). Again the eighteenth conference of the
IGU at Rio-de Janeiro (1956) recommended to set up a commission under the chairmanship
of Stamp to organize a landuse survey in all parts of the world. Grigg (1969) dealt with
many of the concepts dealing with agricultural regionalization. During the decades of
sixties and seventies geographers made several conceptual, methodological and thought-
provoking studies which strengthened the theoretical base of agricultural geography. The
works of Bunge (1962), Brookfield (1964), Franklin (1962) and Franklin (1969) are worth
mentioning here. The Quantitave Revolution of the fifties encouraged and gradually
hypothetico-deductive treatment of problems leading to the building of models and
formulation of theories used to gain ground. In the recent period, a tendency among some
of the agricultural geographers to adopt the structural mode of explanation based on radical
thinking has also been observed. The renowned work on of Whittlesey (1936) on
agricultural regions of the world where he attempted to classify the types of agricultural
landuse over the world in terms of agricultural element complexes is considered to be
significant to the subfield.
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Landuse studies in India is still at younger stage. Before the fifties, the study in this
field was limited to regional description of some major crops. But during the last few
decades, the Indian geographers have been trying to apply quantitative techniques in the
study and analysis of landuse and agriculture as a result of which there have been some
notable changes both in content and methodology.
Siddiqui (1946) studied the influence of physical environment and socio-economic
factors on land utilization. Chatterjee (1952) dealt with the scarcity of foodgrains in India
and gave a comparative idea of food-grain supply of India and the world. Besides, one of
the most important advances made by Weaver (1954) who tried to apply the ‘Least
Deviation Model’ for delineation of crop-combination regions. However, Jasbir Singh
(1976) have shown that ‘Least Deviation Model’ can be modified to overcome its
limitations. T.J. Coppock (1964) prepared the agricultural Atlas of England, Wales and
Scotland, which is also highly significant in this regard.
Dayal (1950) analyzed the various aspects of agriculture in Bihar and identified
some agricultural regions. Shafi (1951) made a strong effort to carry out a land capability
survey combined with land capability survey of the country. Landuse surveys were carried
out by the students of the Department of Geography, Aligarh Muslim University (1956),
Madras University and Calcutta University in different areas of the country. Banerjee
(1954) analysis the influence of physical environment on the distribution of tea plantation
in West Bengal. Mukerji (1957) assessed the importance of food crops, cash crops and land
tenure system of the Meerut District. Again Mukerji (1962) studied the field pattern of a
village in Telengana and established the relationship between the size, situation and form of
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the fields. Hussain (1970) studies how the distribution of rainfall determines the
agricultural activities of the Upper Ganga–Yamuna Doab. With the comparative study of
the physical conditions and their possible effects on the type of landuse, it may be possible
to ascertain the quality and character of the present landuse i.e. whether the land is under
proper use or being misused. In this regard Shafi (1969) points out that there is a need to
raise uniformly the food production efficiency of land and if land is used properly it can
feed as many as five terms the India’s population. Mohammad (1975) delimited the crop-
combination regions in Ganga-Tapti Doab. Safi (1972) critically analyzed the earlier
approaches to measure the agricultural productivity and presented a new method for
determining the productivity co-efficient of crops. Singh (1975) has analyses the natural,
economic and cultural variables as the basis of farming and studied in detail some
environmental problems and their solutions. He has made a comprehensive study of the
form of surface, climate, soil, water resources, crop distributions and yields, cropping
pattern, crop status, crop-combination and agricultural efficiency in association with
livestock for the delimitation of crop producing regions and delineations of “weaker areas”.
Pathak (1977) studied the role of crop association regions in agricultural
regionalization in a case study of U.P. Himalayas. Singh and Chauhan (1977) applied a
composite index method to find out the agricultural productivity in Uttar Pradesh. Singh
(1981) evolved a new technique for measurement of agricultural productivity in Haryana.
Singh and Dhillon (1982) in their book “Agricultural Geography” emphasized a number of
aspects of the sub-discipline. Besides, the “Agricultural Geography” by Hussain (1979) has
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been widely accepted as precise book for higher level. In addition to these works, a number
of books in India on agricultural geography have been published in recent years.
Patnaik (1979) made an attempt to establish the relationship between the
geomorphological character and the pattern of agricultural development in Meghalaya. The
impact of irrigation on the yield of rice in Manipur was studied by Devi (1988).
Being a dominant sector of economy and life-line of people, agriculture has
considerably drawn the attention of geographers practicing in the state of Assam. This is
well reflected in the attempts of geographers to unfold the local and regional realities
connected with agrarian practices and pattern. The pioneering works on agricultural
geography of the region was made by Das (1984). He has analyzed the general and
agricultural landuse in detail in his structural analysis of peasant agriculture in Assam. The
spatial pattern of agricultural landuse is delineated in all its aspects. The problems of
agriculture in Assam are compounded by recurrence of floods, drought and soil erosion,
which are also discussed at length. Exploring another dimension of the problem, the study
investigates the socio-economic structure and the socio-cultural institutions that typify
peasantry-family, caste and class structure, the role of existing laws of inheritance and the
stronghold of religion. The study of the infrastructure reveals lacunae in all aspects, viz.
rural electrification, irrigation, agronomic credit, transport and communication and
marketing. Das and Datta (1986) tried to present the picture of landuse in the states of
North East India. Based on secondary data, this work provided some clues towards
investigating landuse problems in different parts of the region. Datta’s (1983) work relating
to agricultural occupance of Nowgong district is another valuable contribution to
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agricultural geography. Datta (1985) works on physiographic framework and intensity of
agricultural landuse in Nagaon District. Bhagabati (1990) presented an exhaustive study on
the land problems of Assam with special reference to Nalbari district. Saikia’s is concerned
(1987) study concerned with the relation between the size of landholding and the crop
productivity level in the thickly populated Nagaon district of the state. Barman and Das
(1978) by applying the Weaver’s method delineate the crop-combination regions in Assam.
Nath (1984) in a micro level study of the Mangaldai region of Assam gives a detailed
analysis of agricultural development of the region. Bhagabati (1984) examines the levels of
agricultural productivity of the Brahmaputra Valley. Devee (1981) dealt with the land-
based rural economy of a village in the Barpeta district. Another attempt to access the
pressure of population on the agrarian land within the Pagladiya basin of Assam was made
by Das (1985).
With the introduction of innovative measures in agriculture on one hand and
growing demand for agricultural produces on the other the topics relating to cropping
pattern, intensity of cropping and changes in agricultural practices use to attract the
attention of the agricultural geographers. Datta (1983,1985),Das and Das (1989), Bhagabati
(1990) analyzed the cropping intensity pattern and established their relation with population
structure, density, irrigation facilities and physical bases etc.
The rate of growth and pattern of agricultural development indicate the economic
dynamism of an area. Encouragingly, a number of geographical studies are directly
concerned of with various aspects of agricultural growth and development in Assam. Das
(1978) carried out a study on the problems of agricultural growth in Assam. While
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assessing various facts of agricultural development, Bhagabati (1984, 1990) developed a
model in order to identify the complex pattern of agricultural development in Assam.
Sharma (1976) delineated Brahmaputra valley, Assam by applying suitable quantitative
techniques. In respect of planning for agricultural development, the work Taher (1975) on
regional basis of agricultural planning in the Brahmaputra valley was important. Kakoti
(1985) discussed the pattern of agricultural innovation and its impact on agricultural
changes in Bajali Block of Barpeta district, Assam. Konwar (1986) analyzed the problems
of agricultural development in Morigaon sub-division of Assam and called for removal of
structural and socio-economic constraints of agricultural development in the area. In an
ecology-oriented study Goswami (1989) discussed various aspects of flood and its impact
on agriculture of Assam and advocated for reorganization of the cropping pattern and crop
rotation according to the flood environment to ensure sustainable development of
agriculture.
Chattaraj and Sahu (1983) studied the intra-district variations in agricultural
development of Kamrup District, Assam at micro-level. Based on the use of inputs,
improved seeds and crop productivity. Gopalkrishnan (1989) presented the picture of
agricultural development in Assam. Mipun (1988) worked on an important cultural aspects
of agricultural development, i.e. immigration which, according to him brought about a
positive change in the agricultural scenario of the Lower Brahmaputra valley, Assam.
Talukdar (1992) in his M.Phil dissertation attempted to investigate and analyze the land use
pattern, cropping pattern, crop production and some of the factors like irrigation that
determine the patterns of agricultural performance in the command area of Kaldiya
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irrigation project, Barpeta district, Assam. Dutta (1992) made an analysis of the changes in
landuse and cropping pattern during a span of about twenty years in Morigaon Town,
Assam. The work of Saikia (2000) aims at studying the pattern of agricultural landuse
change, changes in productivity and many other aspects of agricultural activity in Sonitpur
district of Assam. Saikia’s (2004) in her M.Phil Dissertation analyzed the population
growth and changing landuse pattern of Nagaon Town, Assam. Sharma (2006) in her
M.Phil. Dissertation analyzed the pattern of agricultural development in Tezpur
Subdivision, Assam. A study on shifting cultivation in Assam laying emphasis on
management approach was made by Bora and Saikia (2007). Datta (2007) examined the
pattern of population growth and its pressure on agricultural land resource in Assam. Saikia
and Datta (2010) dealt with impact of population pressure on agricultural landuse in
Nagaon district of Assam. Bora, Datta and Barthakur (2009-11) made to examine the
agricultural development in Sonitpur district with special reference to its spatial variation.
1.7 Organization of the Work
The whole work is organized in nine chapters.
The Chapter I is devoted to Introduction, statement of the problem, significance of
the study, objectives of the study, research questions, database and methodology, review of
relevant works, organization of the work and terms and terminology.
Chapter II deals with the Geographical background of the study area with a brief
description of physical background, physiography and drainage, climate, soil, natural
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vegetation, overview of socio-economic background, population, industries, land revenue
administration and historical background of the study area.
Chapter III is devoted to factors of landuse and agricultural development, physical
factors includes soil erosion, flood and drought situation etc. While socio-economic factors
covers growth of population pressure on agricultural landuse, size of operational holding
and fragmentation of landholding, labour force, capital investment in agriculture, transport,
communication and marketing facilities, agricultural marketing.
Chapter IV deals with landuse pattern and changes. This chapter containing four
sub-chapters like general landuse pattern, spatio-temporal changes in general landuse at
revenue circle level, agricultural landuse pattern and spatio-temporal changes in
agricultural landuse at revenue circle level. This chapter reflects mainly the changes in
general and agricultural landuse both over space and time.
Chapter V is devoted to cropping pattern mainly underlines the cropping pattern
over space and time, distribution of major crops, crop-combination analysis, intensity of
cropping, crop concentration, diversification of cropping, introduction of commercial crops
and crop rotation and interculture.
Chapter VI deals with the use of various innovative measures for agricultural
development in the study area like cultivation of HYV crops, irrigation practices, use of
manures and fertilizers, crop protection measures and infrastructural facilities.
Chapter VII examines the participation of different social groups in agricultural
development based on survey of some selected villages. This chapter includes cropping
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pattern of selected villages inhabited by different social groups, innovation in agriculture in
selected villages, landholding structure of households belonging to different social groups
and attitude of peasants belonging to different social groups towards innovation.
Chapter VIII deals with the pattern of agricultural development. This chapter
analysis the agricultural productivity and spatial pattern of agricultural development based
on some selective factors and indicators.
In Chapter IX the summary and conclusion, findings of the study and suggestions
are incorporated.
1.8 Terms and Terminologies
ahu : Summer rice, sown mostly by broadcast method in the months of March-
April and harvested in the months of June –July.
sali : Winter rice, transplanted during the rainy season in June- September and
harvested in November- December.
boro : Spring rice, transplanted in the month of January and harvested in April.
kharif : Crops grown during the rainy season and harvested in Autumn and early
winter.
rabi : Crops grown in winter largely in the absence of water and harvested in late
winter or spring.
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charland and chapari: Sandy flood plain on the immediate bank of the Brahmaputra or
other large rivers. Charland is generally flooded every year.
Literate : A person, who can both read and write in any language with understanding.
Kankary: Very hard soil containing a high proportion of calcareous nodules.
Cultivator : A person engaged directly in cultivation or in its supervision or direction in
one’s capacity as the owner or lesser of land. He may hold land either from
Government or from a private person or an institution as a tenant.
Agricultural Labourer: A person engaged in agricultural work of a landlord in lieu of
given in each or kind, with no right on the land he works on.
Peasant: A peasant is a self-employed agricultural worker, other than an agricultural
wage labourer or plantation labourer. He is largely dependent on his own
labour and also on the labour of his family members. Whatever be the type of
tenure, he has, at least, an operational holding of his own.
District: A primary administrative unit of the states of India, administered by the
Government through a Deputy Commissioner (District Collector) in
collaboration with other district department heads. There are 27 districts in
Assam.
Village: A unit of settlement. It is also the smallest unit. In the plains where most of the
area has been cadastrally surveyed, a cadastral unit is taken as a ‘census
village’. In case of the char and forest areas, the village is an area covering a
�
cluster of settlement. In the hills, where no cadastral survey has been done, a
village covers an area around a collection of houses and is demarcated with a
boundary traditionally recognized by the local tribal society.
Social group: Group of people belonging to some social divisions based on as cultural
constitutional provision as well cultural characteristics like indigenous general
Hindu population, Muslim peasants of immigrant origin, Indigenous Muslim,
Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes and other social groups, viz.
Satnami, Manipur and Nepali (Immigrant Hindu).
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