Lok Sabha Question No. 1734 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-03-08
Subject: Impact of Soil Erosion on Agriculture
Ministry: AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE
Asked by: AJAY NISHAD

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURAL RESEARCH & EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1734 TO BE ANSWERED ON 08/03/2016

## IMPACT OF SOIL EROSION ON AGRICULTURE

1734.  SHRI AJAY NISHAD:

Will the Minister of AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f"k vkSj d`'kd dY;k.k ea=h be pleased to state:

- (a) whether agricultural production has declined in certain parts of the country due to soil erosion, land degradation and desertification;
- (b) if so, the details thereof, State-wise;
- (c) whether any study has been conducted on soil erosion and land degradation/desertification in the country including Maharashtra;
- (d) if so, the details and the results thereof, State-wise; and
- (e) the measures being adopted to check land degradation and enhance soil fertility?

## A N S W E R

MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF AGRICULTURE AND FARMERS WELFARE d`f'k vkSj d`'kd dY;k.k ea=ky; esa jkT; ea=h

## (DR. SANJEEV KUMAR BALYAN)

(a) & (b): As such no specific  survey  on  decline  in  agricultural  production  due  to  soil erosion,  land  degradation  and  desertification  has  been  conducted.  However,  the  expected loss  of  potential  production  due  to  water  erosion  computed  by  Indian  Institute  of  Soil  & Water Conservation (IISWC) in red, black and alluvial soils of rainfed areas in India under major cereal, oilseed, and pulse crops comes out to be around 16%.  In other words had the erosion not taken place, the country could have got additional production to the tune of 13.48 million tonnes.  State-wise details are given in Annexure-I.

(c) & (d): Yes, Madam. As per the harmonized database, the extent of land degradation in the country is 120.4 million ha comprising of 82.6 million ha under water erosion, 12.0 million ha under wind erosion, 24.7 million ha under chemical degradation and 1.0 million ha under physical degradation. The state-wise details, including Maharashtra, are given in Annexure-II .

As per Desertification Status Map of  Space Application Centre, ISRO 2007, the area undergoing  desertification  is  81.45  million  ha,  which  constitutes  24.78%  of  country's geographical area. The state-wise details are placed at Annexure III .

(e) In order to prevent soil erosion and land degradation/ desertification, the Government of India, has been implementing several programs, namely; National Watershed Development Project for Rainfed Areas (NWDPRA), Soil Conservation in the Catchments of River Valley Project, Flood Prone River (RVP&FPR), Integrated Wastelands Development Programme (IWDP), Drought Prone Areas Programmes (DPAP) and Desert Development  Programme  (DDP)  across  the country. These programmes  have been amalgamated into a single modified programme called Integrated Watershed Management Programme  (IWMP)  with  effect  from  26.02.2009.  The  major  activities  taken  up  under IWMP inter  alia include  ridge  area  treatment,  drainage  line  treatment,  soil  and  moisture conservation, rainwater harvesting, nursery raising, afforestation, horticulture, pasture development  etc.  The  IWMP  has  now  become  one  of  the  major  components  of  Prime Minister's Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY).

The  Indian  Council  of  Agricultural  Research  through  IISWC  provide  technical backstopping  and organizes regular training courses for field functionaries and farmers on participatory watershed management.

The  Government  is  implementing  National  Mission  for  Sustainable  Agriculture (NMSA) since April 2014 with a component of Reclamation of Problem soils viz .,  saline, alkali and acid soils.

In order to improve soil health and fertility, the Government under the component of soil  health  management  of  NMSA  is  promoting  soil  test  based  balanced  and  integrated nutrient management  in the country through setting up/strengthening of soil testing laboratories,  establishment  of    bio-fertilizer  and  compost  unit,  use  of  micronutrients, trainings and demonstrations on balanced use of fertilizers etc. Recently, a National Mission on Soil Health Card has been launched to provide soil tested based fertilizer recommendation to all the farmers in the country.

*********

## Loss in potential production (cereals, pulses and oilseeds) due to soil erosion by water in rainfed areas in different states.

| State             |   Potential loss in Production (million tonnes per annum) |
|-------------------|-----------------------------------------------------------|
| Karnataka         |                                                      2.11 |
| Madhya Pradesh    |                                                      2.03 |
| Maharashtra       |                                                      1.6  |
| Andhra Pradesh    |                                                      1.17 |
| Orissa            |                                                      1.06 |
| Chhattisgarh      |                                                      1.01 |
| Uttar Pradesh     |                                                      0.8  |
| Assam             |                                                      0.64 |
| Gujarat           |                                                      0.52 |
| Rajasthan         |                                                      0.5  |
| Tamil Nadu        |                                                      0.35 |
| West Bengal       |                                                      0.34 |
| Jharkhand         |                                                      0.32 |
| Uttarakhand       |                                                      0.17 |
| Himachal Pradesh  |                                                      0.14 |
| Nagaland          |                                                      0.13 |
| Bihar             |                                                      0.12 |
| Manipur           |                                                      0.07 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |                                                      0.07 |
| Jammu &Kashmir    |                                                      0.07 |
| Kerala            |                                                      0.06 |
| Meghalaya         |                                                      0.05 |
| Goa               |                                                      0.04 |
| Sikkim            |                                                      0.03 |
| Mizoram           |                                                      0.03 |
| Tripura           |                                                      0.03 |
| Haryana           |                                                      0.01 |
| Punjab            |                                                      0.01 |
| Delhi             |                                                      0    |
| Total             |                                                     13.48 |

Table: State-wise extent of land degradation including soil erosion in India

| S.No.   | State                      |   Degraded lands ('000 ha) |
|---------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
| 1       | Andhra Pradesh (erstwhile) |                       9193 |
| 2       | Arunachal Pradesh          |                       2154 |
| 3       | Assam                      |                       4571 |
| 4       | Bihar                      |                       1371 |
| 5       | Chhattisgarh               |                       4784 |
| 6       | Goa                        |                        122 |
| 7       | Gujarat                    |                       3129 |
| 8       | Haryana                    |                        551 |
| 9       | Himachal Pradesh           |                       1065 |
| 10      | Jammu &Kashmir             |                       2094 |
| 11      | Jharkhand                  |                       3943 |
| 12      | Karnataka                  |                       8093 |
| 13      | Kerala                     |                       2608 |
| 14      | Madhya Pradesh             |                      14095 |
| 15      | Maharashtra                |                       9728 |
| 16      | Manipur                    |                       1768 |
| 17      | Meghalaya                  |                       1732 |
| 18      | Mizoram                    |                       1163 |
| 19      | Nagaland                   |                       1550 |
| 20      | Orissa                     |                       3722 |
| 21      | Punjab                     |                        494 |
| 22      | Rajasthan                  |                      20424 |
| 23      | Sikkim                     |                         60 |
| 24      | Tamil Nadu                 |                       2997 |
| 25      | Tripura                    |                        785 |
| 26      | Uttar Pradesh              |                      14405 |
| 27      | Uttarakhand                |                       1435 |
| 28      | West Bengal                |                       2140 |
| 29      | Delhi                      |                         28 |
| 30      | Andaman &Nicaobar Islands  |                         71 |
| 31      | Others*                    |                        125 |
|         | Total                      |                     120400 |

## Annexure-III

## [Part (c) & (d) of Lok Sabha USQ No.1734 for 08.03.2016]

Table: State-wise area under Desertification (in hectare)

| State             |   Area under Desertification |
|-------------------|------------------------------|
| A.P               |                      3971833 |
| Arunachal Pradesh |                            0 |
| Assam             |                            0 |
| Bihar             |                       414783 |
| Chattisgarh       |                      1844704 |
| Goa               |                            0 |
| Gujarat           |                     12744447 |
| Haryana/Delhi     |                       235010 |
| H.P.              |                      2210197 |
| J&K               |                     13497418 |
| Jharkhand         |                      1818886 |
| Karnataka         |                      1523462 |
| Kerala            |                            0 |
| M.P.              |                      2599018 |
| Maharashtra       |                     10687341 |
| Manipur           |                            0 |
| Meghalaya         |                            0 |
| Mizoram           |                            0 |
| Nagaland          |                            0 |
| Orissa            |                       546924 |
| Punjab            |                        10380 |
| Sikkim            |                            0 |
| Rajasthan         |                     22966167 |
| T.N.              |                       451028 |
| Tripura           |                            0 |
| U.P               |                      2125628 |
| Uttarakhand       |                      2685251 |
| W. Bengal         |                      1117480 |
| TOTAL             |                     81449957 |

*******