Agriculture in odisha
Answers
Explanation:
The State has about 64.09 lakh hectares of cultivable area out of total geographical area of 155.711 lakh hectares, accounting for 41.16 percent. Total cultivated area is about 61.50 lakh hectares. About 40.17 lakh hectares of cultivable area has acidic soil and approx. 4.00 lakh hectares suffers from salinity. About 3.00 lakh hectares of cultivable area suffers from water logging.
Agriculture contributes about 26% in the State Gross Domestic Product (SGDP). About 65% of the workforce depends on agriculture for their employment.
The average size of holding in the State is 1.25 ha. The small and marginal farmers constitute about 83% of the farming community.
The State is divided into 10 Agro-climatic zones on the basis of soil structure, humidity, elevation, topography, vegetation, rainfall and other agroclimatic factors.
The average rainfall in the State is 1452 mm, of which about 80% is confined to monsoon months (June-September). The total irrigation potential created is 27.63 lakh hectares in Kharif and 13.31 lakh hectares in Rabi.
The total food grain production in the State during 2007-08 is estimated to be 92.13 lakh tones which is approx. 4.06 percent of national food grain production. Rice is the main crop of the State.
Agriculture in Odisha is characterized by low productivity on account of various factors. These factors include problematic soil (acidic, saline & waterlogged), lack of assured irrigation, low seed replacement rate, low level of fertilizer consumption (53 kg/ha. against national average of 113 kg/ha.), low level of mechanization etc. The serious gaps in yield potential and the technology transfer provide an opportunity to the State to increase production and productivity substantially.
Answer:
As much as 76% of the total population of Odisha is engaged in agricultural activities. The total cropped area is 87,46,000 hectares, of which 18,79,000 is under irrigation. Odisha is one of the largest producers of rice in India. The other crops cultivated are: jute, oil seeds, pulses, coconut, mesta, sugarcane, tea, rubber, cotton, gram, mustard, maize, sesame, ragi, potato, and soybean. Cuttack, Dhenkanal, Baleshwar and Sambalpur are the major agricultural hubs of the state.
Odisha has four zones—coastal plains, central tableland, northern plateau and eastern ghats—that are further subdivided into 10 agro-climatic zones. The state’s climate is tropical, characterized by high temperatures, high humidity, medium to high rainfall and short and mild winters. The state usually receives rainfall of around 1451.2 mm. However, it suffers from frequent natural calamities such as cyclones, droughts, and flash floods. The soil type ranges from fertile, alluvial, deltaic soil in the coastal plains, mixed red and black soil in the central tableland, to red and yellow soil with low fertility in the northern plateau and red, black and brown forest soil in the eastern ghat region. They differ widely from highly acidic to slightly alkaline to light sandy to stiff clay.