AP gains farmland even as neighbours lose it

NEW DELHI: India has converted a whopping 4,91,000 hectares of agricultural land into non-agricultural land in the the last five years (2006- 2011), but Andhra Pradesh is one of only three states in the country to buck this trend.While all the other southern states have lost vast tracts of agricultural land, data compiled by the agriculture ministry show that AP has actually increased its area under cultivation by 17,000 hectares during this period. The other two states that have so gained are Uttarakhand (38,000) and Madhya Pradesh (2,000 hectares).Among the southern states, Kerala has been the biggest loser of agricultural land, having converted 25,000 hectares for nonfarming purposes. It’s the fourth highest such loser nationally, a table topped by the former Left bastion West Bengal, Haryana and UP. If West Bengal has lost 62,000 hectares of farm land in five years, Haryana has lost 54,000 hectares and UP 39,000 hectares.AP’s southern neighbours Tamil Nadu and Karnataka have also been marginal losers: 2,000 hectares each.“The figures are depressing,” said an official of the agriculture ministry. “The only solace is that the country’s traditional food bowls like Punjab, MP and Andhra Pradesh have not been affected much by this negative trend.’’The data show that only a little over 45 per cent of the country’s area is under cultivation at present with the net sown area declining by around 2 per cent between 2000 and 2010.Conversion of food-generating land to other uses is certain to become more problematic with the Union government getting ready to enact the National Food Security Bill which guarantees food for all. As per the estimates, around 65 million tonnes of foodgrain would be required if the right to food is to be implemented in letter and spirit.At present, the government’s annual foodgrain procurement is around 55 million tonnes. Which means that an additional production of 10 million tonnes of foodgrains is necessary to implement the Food Security Bill.Officials said that agriculture minister Sharad Pawar has been raising this issue on all forums. “The minister is quite concerned and is planning to raise the matter with the Prime Minister so that a meeting of all the state chief ministers is convened,’’ said the ministry official.