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Land use planning and strategic measures in
North Eastern Region of India
UTPUL BARUAH1, S. BANDYOPADHYAY2 AND S.K. REZA1
1ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Jorhat-7850 04, India
2ICAR-National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning, Regional Centre,
Salt Lake, Kolkata, West Bengal 700 091, India
Introduction
Land use planning (LUP) is an iterative process
based on the dialogue amongst all stakeholders aiming
at the negotiation and decision for a sustainable form of
land use as well as initiating and monitoring its imple-
mentation. The LUP process covers all steps starting from
the collection of data and information through its pro-
cessing, analysis, discussion and evaluation right up to
the negotiation for a consensus concerning the form of
land use to be practiced (Amler et al. 1999). LUP pur-
sues basic steps viz. land resource evaluations, interpre-
tation of socio-economic factors, integration of land re-
source data base with socio-economic appraisals, simu-
lation of various crop models to extract best possible crop-
Agropedology 2014, 24 (02), 292-303
Abstract: Land use planning (LUP) is an iterative process between stakeholders aiming
at the negotiation and decision for a sustainable land use as well as initiating and moni-
toring its implementation. Despite richness in natural endowments, the North Eastern
Region (NER) of India is one of the most backward areas of the country, home for a very
high proportion of the poor. Agriculture is highly risky and productivity is low. Acceler-
ated agricultural development of the NER states can be achieved by identification and
prioritization of the constraints, resolving issues related to crop production and transfer
of appropriate agro-technologies. A case study of district level land use planning showed
that optimum utilization of available farm level resources with scientific farm mechani-
zation techniques and adequate extension services will certainly elevate the agricultural
productivity of the NER many folds.
Key words: Decision support system, Natural resources, Jhum cultivation, District
Level land use planning
ping options with economic viability and finally, a Deci-
sion Support System (DSS) so that the planners are able
to take suitable decisions in relation to the ground reali-
ties. The necessity of developing comprehensive land use
plans at different levels has been increasingly felt and
emphasized in different five years plans.
Conceptually, LUP involves altering the land
area allocations over alternative uses through suitable
technological and institutional devices like supplies of
the various commodities and service which follow from
the stipulated land use pattern, broadly conforming to
the projected demand for such items. The proposed land
uses are sustainable in the sense that the current uses by
one group does not jeopardise the uses of another group
293
or those of the future generation and the bio-mass pro-
duction, i.e. the streams of output which follow from the
stipulated land use pattern (and even income and em-
ployment following from the streams of output) are maxi-
mized (Datta and Chakrabarti 1998).
The NER of India comprise eight states viz.
Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya,
Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Sikkim covering 25.509
M ha, which is about 8% of country’s geographical area.
More than 64 % of the total geographical area is covered
by thick and mixed deciduous and semi ever green for-
est. Except the Brahmaputra valley covering about 30 %
land of NER, the rest is hilly and mountainous track with
steep slopes. Despite the richness in natural endowment,
the NER is the most backward area of the country, home
for a very high proportion of the poor, and agriculture is
highly risky and productivity low. The abundant and rich
natural resources are neglected in the past but must be
put to efficient use now to catalyse developmental pro-
cess. In the absence of concerted efforts, the state is un-
able to provide necessary support system to manage these
resources for the benefit of the people.
Conflicts on land use planning in NER
Large stock of natural resources, abundant wa-
ter resources, number of perennial river system and the
precious human capital is under-utilised. As a result, the
region suffers from drought situation on one hand and
frequent floods inundating vast plain areas on the other
hand. Under the circumstances, if the resources are not
properly developed and managed, the food security in
the predominantly agrarian economy will be endangered.
Therefore, the missing policy link between effective sup-
porting infrastructure, coordination and implementation
of the developmental schemes is a major cause of con-
cern requiring urgent attention.
Lethargic growth pattern and low-production
agriculture in the region illustrate extremely depressing
future, making food insecurity most grievous in the face
of harshly growing population. Hit by frequent natural
disasters such as floods, erratic rainfall, increasing food
deficits, low and unstable productivity in agriculture and
livestock, the region poses a serious development ques-
tion to the policy makers. Access to institutional and in-
frastructure support (including effective delivery system
and credit institutions), lack of people’s participation in
the development process and management have been the
inhibiting factors for development. The present circum-
stances require special attention for developing strategic
measures against the burning issues of the region with
concurrent policies to be developed by the policy mak-
ers.
Keeping in view the numerous constraints
(elaborated inside), the critical priorities for accelerated
agricultural development of the NE states can be identi-
fied into four sections. The first section presents a report
of the status of economy, particularly the agricultural sec-
tor (agriculture, horticulture, plantation crops, livestock
and fisheries), identification and prioritization of the con-
straints, second section takes stock of the technology and
future prospects for agricultural economy, third section
discusses the emerging institutional reforms and future
needs and finally conscientious recommendations are
formulated. These are suggested to be pursued vigorously,
particularly should receive highest attention in the 12th
Five-Year Plan for the NER.
Specific researchable issues related to crop planning
There are ample scopes to pin point specific
researchable issues related to crop planning in the NER
viz.
•Rabi fallow and waste land utilization
•Boro rice cultivation in low lands with suitable
fertilizer dosages
•Breeding cold-tolerant rice varieties and rice va-
rieties for high altitude
•Rain-fed upland rice/direct seed/transplanted
“ahu” rice
•Wheat in rabi with emphasis on developing short
duration HYV
•Short-and long-term impact of the shallow tube
well (STW) programme
•Crop diversification for efficient utilization of ir-
rigation water through STW
Land use planning in NER
294
•Rain water (Watershed) management
•Improvement in ‘Jhum’ cultivation
•Post-harvest management of horticultural/animal/
fishery products.
The extension/ developmental issues include:
•Watershed development
•Micro-irrigation/sprinkler programmes
•Value-addition to ‘ahu’ rice for making beaten rice
and rice-bran oil
•Commercialization and post-harvest management/
value-addition of rice
•Strengthening research-extension-farmer (REF)
linkage
•Supply of seeds/planting materials/feeds/animals/
vaccine/soil testing
•Agricultural extension/credit/market facilities/
market information
•Promotion of allied enterprises (apiculture, seri-
culture, floriculture, etc.) and
•Development of appropriate rural infrastructures
by promoting aids to rural crafts
It is therefore necessary to develop effective and
strategic land use plans and policy issues in the NER of
the country. The policy research issues should include
land reforms, market reforms, backward and forward link-
ages with corporate/plantation agriculture, peoples’ in-
stitutions on participatory approach mode with traditional
knowledge, self-help groups, farm management commit-
tee (FMC), shifting cultivation (impact analysis of ‘Jhum’
control scheme), medicinal and aromatic plants, etc.
Agricultural scenario of NER
The burning issues in the NER may be depicted
in following points:
•Low agricultural productivity leads to hampered
food security in the region
•The cultivation practices are age old with poor
level of farm management badly affecting the
yield of crops
•Severe soil erosion hazards due to inherent soil
acidity, unscientific cultivation practices and
weak geological formations
•Severe flood hazards in the banks of
Brahmaputra and some tributaries
•Over exploitation of forests for livelihood se-
curity
By and large, agriculture is traditional. The ag-
ricultural productivity is low, irrigation facility almost
non-existent in many of the areas and consumption of
fertilizer is extremely low in the region. If the present
scenario of adoption of agricultural technology contin-
ues, it will be difficult to catch up with required rate of
productivity to meet the demand of food arising from the
growing population.
In the NE states of the country, as whole, agri-
cultural land including fallow is 22.20% (varying between
as high as 37.43% in Assam and as low as 4.40% in
Arunachal Pradesh) as against 54.47% in India. The fer-
tilizer consumption in the region is low enough viz. con-
sumption of NPK (kg ha-1) is 130.5 in Manipur, 46.6 in
Assam, 29.4 in Tripura and 17.0 in Meghalaya (Patel
2013). NER is endowed with 33% of country’s water
resources. Due to high rainfall, NER has inherent advan-
tage to exploit rain-water harvesting. However, the rate
of harnessing and utilizing irrigation potential has been
low since only 11% of net cultivable land is irrigated.
Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Program (AIBP) empha-
sizes exploiting surface irrigation through Minor Irriga-
tion (MI) schemes in NER. Under MI schemes, irriga-
tion potential of 46,500 ha has been created of which
34,300 ha (73.76%) are being utilized. Besides, irriga-
tion potential of 2,93,110 hectares under Bharat Nirman
is targeted comprising 1,09,140 ha under major and me-
dium irrigation and 1,83,970 ha under MI schemes (Patel
2013). NER has significant amount of unexploited irri-
gation potential, particularly in the Imphal valley of
Manipur and in Tripura. Till recently, about 19% of the
total potential of 5.7 lakhs ha is exploited in Assam as
against 40% in India. Manipur can attain about 10% of
its potential to cover 65,000 ha. Irrigation potential in
Tripura can cover 2.81 lakhs ha. Surface irrigation po-
tential in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland, and Sikkim
needs to be exploited since topographical conditions do
not favour exploitation of groundwater for irrigation. In
Utpul Baruah et al.
295
view of high rainfall and fragile top soil, an integrated
program for water development and soil management is
considered necessary. The program should have appro-
priate institutional mechanism and should mobilize ad-
equate funds to equitably spread the benefits of irriga-
tion.
The major rice farming systems of NER are (i)
direct seeded, rain-fed in upland (on steep slopes), (ii)
direct seeded rain-fed on level bench terraces, (iii) trans-
planted on wet terraces and (iv) transplanted in valley
lands. The total rice production of NER is estimated to
be around 5.50 Mt with average productivity 1.57 t ha-1,
which is much below the national average 2.08 t ha-1
(Pattanayak et al. 2006).
As far as the productivity scenario of rice in the
NE states is concerned, the in depth report is available
with status paper on rice in North East India (Ngachan et
al. 2009) and in Rice Knowledge Management Portal
(RKMP). The rice production scenario of NER showed
an increasing trend starting from 35.26 lakh Mt during
1980-81, to 67.18 lakh MT during 2008-09 with area
coverage of 30.64 lakh ha to 35.00 lakh ha, respectively.
The percentage share of NE India in total rice produc-
tion of the country stood at alarming low of 6.96 % (2008-
09) and average productivity was 1919 kg ha-1 against
the national average of 2 178 kg ha-1. Area under rice
was maximum in Assam and minimum in Mizoram. Rice
production in Mizoram gained momentum as area under
the crop increased from 0.15 (2000-01) to 1.47 lakh ha
(2008-09). The productivity of rice was highest in Tripura
(2586 kg ha-1) followed by Manipur (2357 kg ha-1) and
Nagaland (1994 kg ha-1) during 2008-09. Assam regis-
tered highest production (41.74 lakh Mt) in 2008-09 shar-
ing 62.18% of the total NE rice production (67.18 lakh
Mt) in 2008-09. The share of NE India to total national
production of rice was 6.57%, 6.07%, 6.66% and 6.96%
in 1980-81, 90-91, 2000-01 and 2008-09 respectively.
The state wise growth rates of area, production and yield
of rice in NE India revealed that during the period 1997-
98 to 2007-08, the area under rice in the region increased
marginally while per ha yield increased/decreased sig-
nificantly. The area expansion as well as yield increases
caused the output to grow at an annual rate of 2.52%.
The low productivity growth rate of NE India was due to
lack of technological breakthrough in most of the states
of the region. Out of the seven states in the NE India,
four states showed positive trends and three states nega-
tive trends in growth of area under rice. But except
Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland, the growth rates of
area in other states of the region were significantly low
(less than 1%). It was due to the various restrictions im-
posed by the respective state Governments to the prac-
tice of ‘jhum’ cultivation since the late eighties. Rates of
growth of production and yield were observed to be posi-
tive in all the states except Meghalaya. Mizoram experi-
enced the highest growth rate of rice production and the
least being Meghalaya.
The shifting cultivation is one of the common
practices followed particularly in the hill areas. Shifting
cultivation locally known as ‘Jhum’ system has several
unique features of the cultivation in hilly areas of north-
east India. At present, it covers as much as 14,660 km2
providing livelihood to 4.44 lakh ‘jhumia’ families. The
virtues of the system include, a long evolution process
over the ages, employs the local knowledge and judge-
ment for efficient management of natural resources. It is
a slash and burn method of cultivating an admixture of
crops continuously for a couple of years. Use of external
inputs is minimal in ‘Jhum’ and hence is a model of pure
organic farming system. It also uses minimum tillage and
less or no inputs besides being an eco-friendly system
(Barah 2001). Shifting cultivation is the chief means of
livelihood of tribal people in the hilly areas of NE India
(Satapathy and Sarma 2002). ‘Jhum’, as practiced in the
region, is a highly complex farming system with wide
variation based on cropping and yield potential. These
variants based on ecological and cultural variations in
the tribal societies are highly insulated because of topo-
graphical barriers.
Land use planning in NER: An overview
A number of research workers have assessed
lands for best possible agricultural planning towards sus-
tainable development in the state of Assam and as well
Land use planning in NER
296
as other North Eastern states of the country at various
scales.
Rice-based cropping system is very much com-
mon in the River Island of Majuli, Assam. However, con-
tinuous mono-cropping in this area has led to declined
productivity. Soil site suitability showed that wheat, po-
tato, cabbage, french bean, tomato, cowpea, pea and rape-
seed are highly promising in paddy fallow region because
of the favourable soil conditions as well as economic vi-
ability (Vadivelu et al. 2004) and swamps were suitable
for paddy-fish integrated farming (Bhaskar et al. 2005).
The soils of Jorhat district were suitable for mustard,
groundnut, potato, onion, cabbage, peas, french bean,
tomato, fodder maize, lucerne, cowpea and banana crops
in post kharif season (Vadivelu et al. 2003; 2005). Soil
pH and coarse texture were the major limitations.
Whereas, suitability assessment of soils of Brahmaputra
valley showed that levee and meandering scar are pro-
ductive and suitable for growing ahu rice and rabi crops
in post kharif season (Walia and Chamuah 1992).
The most profitable cropping pattern in upper
Assam is autumn rice (ahu) followed by winter rice (sali),
winter rice-pea, autumn rice-mustard/potato/black gram/
vegetables whereas, in lower Assam, autumn rice (ahu)
followed by winter rice (sali), summer rice-wheat, jute-
rice-rice (Barthakur et al. 1998; Sharma 2002), whereas,
Bhowmick et al. (1999) studied the farming system in
six agro-climatic zones existing in the state viz. lower
Brahmaputra valley zone, northern bank plain zone, up-
per Brahmaputra valley zone, Barak valley zone and hill
zone. The prevailing farming system in different agro-
climatic zones is a mixed type. It is basically a diversi-
fied system with dominance of crop activities. Some of
the allied activities like sericulture and weaving, apicul-
ture with bee keeping, cane craft, bamboo craft etc. un-
der the homestead component will further increase the
relative share of net returns and employment.
Being a rain-fed state, 90% of the crops are pro-
duced in kharif season in Nagaland. Agriculture is one of
the significant contributors to the net state domestic prod-
uct and is the largest employer of the working force in
the state. About 86.14% of the cultivable area in Nagaland
is under the traditional Jhum and Terrace Rice Cultiva-
tion (TRC) system and rest under commercial and other
crops (HRD 2004). In jhum lands on moderately sloping
hills, paddy with short duration varieties like Bhalum-3,
4 and SARS-1, 2 may be grown. In TRC, transplantation
of 30-35 days old seedlings of local paddy varieties (var.
Nagaland special) is recommended. The local varieties
of ginger and turmeric may be grown in high hill slopes
in ridges/ furrows with mulching. Since, the entire state
is hilly; the irrigation in the state is painstaking. To in-
crease production and productivity of crops on hilly ter-
races, the following improved practices are found eco-
nomically viable and socially acceptable, viz. (i) jhum
intensification with fallow land management, (ii) Alder
based agriculture, (iii) wet terrace rice cultivation
(WTRC) with paddy cum fishery and snail culture and
(iv) integrated farming system. On hills with variable
slope gradients from moderate slope (8-15%) to steep
slope (>30%), the fruit crops like banana, papaya, or-
ange and citrus may be grown in bench terraces, half moon
terraces and in contour bunds (Sharma et al. 2006;
NASTEC 2008). Alder based cropping system and
Panikheti system and Zabo farming are quite popular in
Nagaland. These indigenous methods are enriched with
traditional base of water harvesting and soil fertility man-
agement and are sustainable as long as the population
pressure is low (Das et al. 2012).
In Sikkim, the maize based cropping system
rotated with wheat, barley, mustard and intercropped with
pulses, finger millet and vegetables or ginger based crop-
ping system, ginger-sweet potato/chilli, ginger-tapioca,
ginger-maize/garlic, depicted the best profitable cropping
systems in the state (Singh et al. 1988). In Meghalaya,
land use planning was carried out at various scales viz.
district, block, watershed and village levels. Different
farming systems attempted successfully in the state like
developing suitable cropping system in bench terraces,
contour bunds and flat lands as agriculture based land
use, utilization of watersheds through fodder crop pro-
duction. Afforestation of grasslands by creating buffer
zones around the existing forests, social forestry, fencing
Utpul Baruah et al.
297
and restriction of coal and sand mining and suitable soil
and water conservation measures in gently sloping land-
scapes of Cherrapunji (Nair et al. 2006). Das et al. (2014)
recommended alternate land use options for
Mawryngkneng block of East Khasi Hills district of
Meghalaya based on natural resource assessments. Open
forest and wastelands with dense scrub are suggested for
plantation with multipurpose and fast growing climati-
cally adopted tree species. Intensive cultivation of major
crops of the study area is suggested in existing agricul-
ture area with good soil and water conservation prac-
tices. Orange and pine apple plantation is suggested in
the wastelands with open scrub.
In Tripura drainage, flooding, erosion and wa-
ter logging are the major soil problems. Coconut, pa-
paya, arecanut, lemon, pepper, ginger, turmeric, banana,
pineapples can be grown in well drained, fine loamy soils
occurring on gently sloping undulating plains and mounds
(Tillas), whereas, betelvine, potato, jute and vegetables
can be well grow in poorly drained, clayey soils on very
gently sloping floodplains (Bhattacharyya et al. 1996).
In Mizoram, Lallianthanga and Sailo (2013)
attempted to develop alternate land use plan using re-
mote sensing satellite data (LISS-III and Cartosat-I) for
Mamit district. Analysis showed that there is good po-
tential for agricultural/horticultural system. In addition,
the available flat lands could provide extensions for tak-
ing up other allied agricultural activities such as WRC,
pisci-culture and terrace cultivations.
Strategic measures of NER
The strategic measures for agricultural development
may be depicted as follows:
(i) Crop diversification in rice-fallows in
Brahmaputra plains
Introducing micro-irrigation facilities by shal-
low tube well with pump sets on cooperative basis would
be one of the logical solutions towards rabi cropping in
rice-fallows. Crop rotation with short term pulses (black
gram, green gram etc.) will append economic benefit to
crop performances reducing the costs of fertilizers and
maintaining soil health.
(ii) Rain-fed rice cultivation in hills
Hill agriculture is always painstaking due to in-
accessibility of irrigation water at high altitude and thus
is mostly rain-fed. However, high yielding and short du-
ration varieties of rice may be introduced with efficient
package of practices by judicious fertilizer recommen-
dations. In case of ahu-rice, short term direct seeded
breeds may be sown in rain-fed uplands and hills.
(iii) Waste land utilization
Short term legumes namely, lucerne, glyricidia,
etc., may be grown for maintaining long term soil health
of waste lands and at the same time the output may be
used as forage crops for feeding the animals.
(iv) Market reforms
One of the major agriculturally related con-
straints in NER is the poor accessibility of markets in
terms of availability of good quality of agricultural in-
puts and proper linkages to the farmers. Supply of im-
proved seeds/planting materials/feeds/animals/vaccine/
soil testing/agricultural extension/credit/market facilities
are of utmost importance. Furthermore, provisions must
be held post harvest management of agricultural/horti-
cultural/animal husbandry and fishery products with jus-
tified selling prices. There must be the direct linkage of
market to the producers for getting higher net profit with
rational benefit to cost ratios.
(v) Soil and water conservation measures
Irrespective of sufficient rainfall and favourable
humid climate in the region, it is afraid to state that
there is still a gap in the region in efficient water utiliza-
tion for agriculture, fishery and animal husbandry. Rain
water harvesting in earthen dams, small ponds or in struc-
tural water harvesting units may be encouraged by the
state soil and water conservation departments. Steep
slopes in hills are one of the major hurdles towards ham-
pered crop growth. Various terracing practices viz., con-
Land use planning in NER
298
tour terrace, bench terrace, half moon terrace, etc. are
efficient measures of soil conservations. Various water-
shed development programmes may further assist the land
managers to implement need based agricultural planning
on priority area basis based on soil quality, drainage char-
acteristics, intensity of crop growth and severity of ero-
sion hazards.
(vi) Promotion of allied enterprises
The state line department may encourage the
farmers by employing themselves in agriculturally allied
enterprises, namely, apiculture, rural crafts, sericulture,
mushroom production, floriculture, etc. as subsidiary
sources of income generation.
(vii) Human resource development
The stake-holders may be encouraged in participat-
ing hands on demonstration/ training programmes, build-
ing self-help groups, farm management committee
(FMC), etc. for dissemination of scientific knowledge
and techniques.
(viii) Livestock development
Animal husbandry is a sub-sector of agricultural
economy and plays a significant role in rural economy
by providing gainful employment, particularly to the small
and marginal farmers, women and agricultural laborers.
Livestock production in Assam is pre-dominantly the
endeavor of small holders. Almost 90% of the rural house-
holds keep livestock of one species or the other. Live-
stock farming is practiced traditionally mostly for agri-
cultural operations. Milk production is secondary to ag-
ricultural operations. There are hardly any commercial
livestock farms in the rural areas although in the periph-
ery of cities and towns a few commercial dairy farms
exist. The major constraints hindering the development
of animal husbandry in NER are:
1. Acute shortage of feed concentrate and green
fodder
2. Absence of quality breeds of animals
3. High animal density is a management deterrent
4. Small land holding size limiting cultivation of
fodder
5. Poor perception of the farmers towards livestock
production as a viable alternative
6. Recurrence of flood causes high incidence of
parasitic disease in ruminants and
7. Lack of stated policy on animal breeding.
The strategic measures may be depicted as follows:
•There is a need to evolve a comprehensive live-
stock development policy in the state involving
the Agricultural University, Department of Ag-
riculture, Department of Industry and the De-
partment of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary.
•Genetic improvement of the indigenous nonde-
script animals through crossbreeding with su-
perior germplasm.
•Upgrading the indigenous buffaloes through
improved breeding of animals of Indian origin.
•Utilization of straws/crop of cereals and food
crops with suitable treatment.
•Suitable plan and strategy for cultivation of
green fodder in the fallow land.
•Facility for artificial insemination and pregnancy
diagnosis at farmers’ door needs to be located.
•Timely prophylactic measures and emergency
of services for treatment of livestock, and,
•Intensive epidemiological studies of the live-
stock diseases particularly the infectious dis-
eases should be under taken to plan programme
for control and eradication.
The key to better livestock production is the
availability of quality animals, quality feed and fodder
and effective disease control measures. There should be
a comprehensive policy approach to deal with the above
key factors. The fallow land needs to be exploited for
cultivation of green fodder and the utilization of non-
conventional feed resource may augment the feed sup-
ply situation.
Utpul Baruah et al.
299
NBSS&LUP on land use planning
The Bureau has developed a mammoth soil re-
source data base at state levels during soil resource map-
ping of India. The most recent achievement of the Bu-
reau is to attain district level land use planning (LUP)
through development of district wise land management
unit by unique combination of soil, land use-land cover
and bio-climate using GIS platform followed by incor-
poration of agricultural production system on it. The de-
cision support system (DSS) has been designed in such a
way that alternate land use options as per each manage-
ment unit appear at sub-divisions, blocks and even at vil-
lage levels.
In this consequence, there is enough scope to
develop state level LUP programme by using the avail-
able data sets and maps. State level LUP will have differ-
ent aspects than district and watershed/village levels. In
district level LUP, the incorporation of bio-climate fac-
tor may not always be important due to existence of single
agro-climatic feature in a district in most of the cases.
However, in state level, bio-climate varies from one dis-
trict to another and hence it is one of the essential factors
for land management interventions. Moreover, due at-
tention has to be made in generalization of soil map for a
state where the ground truth verification are to be carried
out where the observations are lacking to avoid the in-
formation gap on soil and site parameters. For state level
planning evaluation of productivity potentials for field
crops, plantation, pasture and forestry will be more ef-
fective. Crop data collected from State Agricultural Re-
search Farms may be used to assess land suitability for
crops which may be extrapolated to the similar adjoining
areas. This will assist land managers to identify specific
zones for crop and horticultural planning, pasture man-
agement and conservation of forest covers in the state.
The state level LUP is to be made in consortia
mode with state line departments for monitoring LUP
activities and their subsequent planning and implemen-
tations. The relevant organizations will be:
State Departments: The involvement of SLUB is for pro-
viding necessary land use-land cover information at vil-
lage/block level from land record surveys and as well as
constant monitoring of land use planning activities at
various phases.
State Remote Sensing Centre: The importance of State
Remote Sensing Centre is because of supplying neces-
sary remote sensing input on land use-land cover infor-
mation of the state and for further follow-up actions to
be taken in generalization of mapping units for manage-
ment interventions.
They will act as nodal agencies for supplying
information of agricultural production and productivity
of the state at districts/blocks/village levels for planning
and implementation, as well as in assisting for collection
and collation of socio-economic data in relation to iden-
tify problems and potentials as and when required and
also assisting to identify window areas/ specific zones
for improvement in horticulture, agri-silviculture, agro-
pastoral, agro-forestry, etc. in the state.
Methodology for district level land use planning
The methodology of LUP may be divided into
following four phases:
1st Phase:
•Soil resource data base at district level (1: 50,000 to
1: 250,000 scale) can be used to generalize soil map
considering the key features of both dominant and
sub-dominant soils on which the crop growth is af-
fected viz. landform, soil depth, surface texture, in-
ternal drainage, etc.
•The land use-land cover map of the district can be
obtained from the state remote sensing centre. This
map has to be further generalized upto level-II land
use-land cover classification as per standard guide-
lines.
•From generalized land use land cover map major
land units under agriculture, forest cover, fallow area
and land other than agricultural use may be identi-
fied which will further help in generating different
management units.
Land use planning in NER
300
•In the district, variability in bio-climate is an essen-
tial criterion for interpreting management interventions
which may be ascertained by considering various agro-
ecological units occurring in the district.
Spatial integration of soil, land use-land cover and
agro-ecological unit layers may be performed in GIS
platform to obtain land unit map (Fig. 1)
Fig. 1. Flow diagram of methodology for district level land use planning
•Secondary agronomic information will be collected
from state line departments to identify major farm-
ing systems, cropping systems will be the primary
components and fishery and animal husbandry will
be the subsidiary components.
•The faming system may be broadly categorized to
rain-fed and irrigated. In rain-fed farming system,
the cropping system may be single or may be inte-
grated with backyard livestock and fishery, whereas,
for irrigated farming system may include mixed crop-
ping system, mixed integrated cropping system etc.
•The land management unit map of the district will
be obtained after due incorporation of major farm-
ing systems existing in the state to the land unit map.
•Each land management unit will represent homoge-
neous soil and site characteristics occurring under
particular land use types and characterized by spe-
cific farming systems towards their management in-
terventions.
•Land suitability will be assessed using quantitative
methods will be followed viz. evaluation of produc-
tivity potential. Evaluation of productivity potential
of land will help in sectoral identification of spe-
cific zones for agriculture, horticulture, pasture and
forestry in the district for improvement field crops,
plantation and forestry in the district in a spatial
mode.
Utpul Baruah et al.
301
2nd Phase:
•A comprehensive socio-economic appraisal is re-
quired in the state to analyze the current and future
land utilization types and identify constraints and
potentials towards agricultural productivity of the
district.
•Key socio-economic parameters are to be identified
on region specific mode for district level land use
planning.
•One of the major steps in socio-economic appraisal
is stake-holder analysis. In stake-holder analysis,
major stake-holders are identified; their interests and
level of influence on land use planning activities are
measured by conducting meetings, interviewing se-
lected farmers.
•Number and kinds of datasets to be used has to be
standardized for state level land use planning. State
Agricultural Departments along with KVKs in each
district may be identified to take the lead role in car-
rying out district wise socio-economic appraisal.
•Trend analysis may be an effective tool in assessing
the future land use scenario for perspective planning
of the state.
3rd Phase:
•Crop growth models are emerging as new tools for
land evaluations to quantify production scenario and
to highlight constraints under different land use sys-
tems.
•Various crop simulation models may be proposed to
be operated for assessing land suitability on static
or dynamic resource basis.
•Evaluations of land index by Stories’ method or
FAO’s framework on crop yield estimations are the
examples of static methods. In dynamic resource
basis, crop simulation models like WOFOST,
INFOCROP, DSSAT, etc. are used for yield estima-
tion.
•For quantitative economic assessment of lands for
evaluation of crop performance, interactive multiple
goal linear programming (IMGLP) may be applied.
IMGLP is a part of land use planning and analysis
system (LUPAS) in which the objective function are
fixed depending up on the policy issues of the con-
cerned area. Sectoral allocation of lands will be pos-
sible for various field and plantation crops in the
state based on the quantitative economic evaluation
of crop performances.
4th Phase:
•The entire data base may be put to standard
softwares, viz., JAVA, MS-ACESS, etc. to build up
query form to generate a suitable decision support
system for the state for disseminating the suggested
action plan for agro technology transfer.
•Stake-holder’s interaction meet are to be organized
at different phases of work.
A case study of district level land use planning
Jorhat district is situated in the upper
Brahmaputra plains of Assam covering an area of
2,85,100 ha. Despite richness in natural endowment, the
district is among one of backward one in the state. The
district suffers from drought situation in summer, severe
floods inundating vast plain areas on monsoon as well.
Under these circumstances, if resources are not properly
developed and managed, the food security in the pre-
dominantly agrarian economy will be endangered. The
agricultural productivity is low owing to lack of farm
mechanization, poor irrigation facility and inadequate
consumption of fertilizers. A decreasing trend has been
noticed in past five years in the district on acreage, pro-
duction and productivity in high yielding as well as com-
mon varieties of cereals. About 41.9% of the total geo-
graphic area of the district is net sown. Paddy is the main-
stream cultivation. In parts of Majuli Sub-division and
Titabar block paddy is grown thrice a year, viz. boro paddy
during January to April, autumn paddy during Aril to
August and kharif paddy during August to November.
Only 11.3% of the total area is multi-cropped. The de-
mand and supply equation shows that demand for food
out strips the production and the gap is increasing over
time. It thus, implies the need for policy imperatives for
enhancing production by inducting appropriate technol-
Land use planning in NER
302
ogy and necessary institutional change along with good
governance.
The results on district land use planning of Jorhat
district showed that the following points may take into
consideration:
1. Improvement of irrigation facility through short-
and long-term impact of STW (Shallow Tube
Well) approach on co-operative basis in rice-
fallows for rabi crops.
2. Waste land utilization by short term green ma-
nuring.
3. Introduction of improved varieties of kharif and
boro rice with the help of State Agricultural
University.
4. Encouraging cultivation of wheat in rabi with
emphasis on developing short duration and high
yielding variety.
5. Preparation of rain water harvesting structures
and identification and management of micro-
watershed with the help of Soil and Water Con-
servation Department.
6. Animal disease forecasting and cross breeding
local animals.
7. Cultivation of fodders (napier, alpha-alpha) as
livestock feeds.
8. Encouraging producers for integrated paddy-
cum-fish particularly in flood prone areas of the
district.
9. Post-harvest management of horticultural/ani-
mal/fishery products.
10. Micro-irrigation/sprinkler for horticultural
crops.
11. Strengthening research-extension-farmer (REF)
linkage.
12. Supply of seeds/planting materials/feeds/ani-
mals/vaccine/soil testing/agricultural extension/
credit/market facilities/market information.
13. Promotion of allied enterprises/activities (bee-
keeping, rural crafts, sericulture, mushroom pro-
duction, floriculture etc.).
14. Development of appropriate rural infrastructures
and market reforms, and
15. Backward and forward linkages with corporate/
plantation agriculture.
Conclusions
Optimum utilization of available farm level re-
sources with scientific farm mechanization techniques and
adequate extension services will certainly elevate the
agricultural productivity of the NER quite a many folds.
Keeping in view the land-man-animal relationship along
with food production vis-a-vis consumption scenario, the
need of the day is to develop perspective land use strate-
gies as well as monitoring and maintenance of the qual-
ity of natural resources.
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