Integrated Land Use Planning for Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development

Land represents an important resource for the economic life of a majority of people in the world. The way people handle and use land resources impacts their social and economic well-being as well as the sustained quality of land resources. Land use planning is also integral to water resources development and management for agriculture, industry, drinking water, and power generation. This valuable work brings to the forefront the state of practice of land use planning in India, highlighting governmental programs and research with wide-ranging chapters on important topics.

Covering various agro-ecosystem, including irrigated, rainfed, coastal, semi-arid, arid (drylands), and hill and mountain (temperate) regions, this volume discusses a variety of issues related to sustainable agriculture and rural development.

Chapters address the following questions:

What are the sources, scales, and quality of land resources and land use data for efficient planning

Which are the agroecological systems hot spots that are have been degraded? How can these areas be rejuvenated in terms of quality?

What should be the unit of planning for a holistic approach for the conservation and efficient use of natural resources at different administrative levels and domains?

What are the roles of state land use boards and district planning committees?

How can various programs be integrated and implemented by central and state agencies?

What are the technologies, new policies, and support systems required to address sustainable land use?

What are the legal issues?

What should be the role of communities in planning for poverty alleviation and integrated planning for sustainable agriculture based livelihoods?

What is the role GIS in sustainable agriculture and rural development?

With high population growth, endemic poverty, and weak existing institutional capacity for land management, India (and other regions of the world) require strong scientific and strategically important land use policies and methods for sustainable development. This book helps to show the way.

This volume is being published in association with the Centre for Agrarian Studies and Disaster Mitigation of the National Institute of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj (NIRD and PR).

M. V. Rao, PhD, is presently working as director general of the National Institute of Rural Development and also as chief executive of National Fisheries Development Board, Ministry of Fisheries, Government of India. He obtained his doctoral degree in development administration from Sambalpur University, Sambalpur, Odisha, India. He belongs to the 1988 Batch of Indian Administrative Service and served the state and the nation in different capacities for the uplifting of rural communities. As District Magistrate of the largest district in India, with a population of one million, and as Commissioner of Rural Development, Government of West Bengal, he has helped millions of small and marginal resource-poor farmers in alleviation of poverty and enhancing their standard of living. Publications in which he has been involved include Community Health in Community Hands, Development for the People: Innovations in Administration, Persistence and Change in Tribal IndiaSaga of Tribal People of West Midnapore, and Panchayats and Building of Model Villages.

V. Suresh Babu, PhD, is currently associate professor at the National Institute of Rural Development, Hyderabad, India. He earned a doctoral degree in agronomy from the University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore, Karnataka. He has worked at the Regional Centre of the National Afforestation and Eco-Development Board (NAEB) in Bangalore. His published books include Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge for Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture, Agrarian Crisis in India, The Way Out, Comparative Assessment of Success or Failure of JFM and Its Impact on Natural Forest cover in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, Role of Tree Shelterbelts in Coastal Areas in Mitigating Harsh Effects of Cyclones in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, and Risk, Vulnerability and Coping Mechanisms in Rainfed Agriculture-A Study in Three States. He currently teaches agriculture courses on Integrated Farming System, Bio-Inputs, Agro-Forestry, Watersheds, Mangroves Restoration, and Joint Forest Management, etc.

K. Suman Chandra, PhD, is currently professor and head of the Centre for Agrarian Studies at the National Institute of Rural Development in Hyderabad, India. He obtained a doctoral degree in sociology from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam, India. His areas of specialization include agrarian reforms in general and tenancy reforms in particular. His published books include Agrarian Crisis in India, The Way Out; Indigenous and Traditional Knowledge for Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture; Proceedings of the National Workshop on "Accelerating Rural Development and Strengthening Local Self Governance; Evaluation of National Child Labour Projects in AP, and Farmers Suicides in AP and Karnataka. He currently teaches courses in the field of agrarian reforms, tenancy reforms, wage and income mobility in Indian labor market, and disaster management including drought mitigation and coping strategies.

G. Ravindra Chary, PhD, is currently working as a principle scientist in the All India Coordinated Research Project for Dryland Agriculture (AICRP-DA) of the Central Research Institute for Dryland Agriculture (CRIDA), Hyderabad, India. He obtained a doctoral degree in agronomy and has served in different capacities in Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) institutions. He had worked at the National Bureau for Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSSLUP), Nagpur, for a period of 10 years. He has published 20 books on such topics as land use planning, drought management, rainfed farminga compendium of doable technologies, real time contingency planning, etc. Some of his publications include Rainfed FarmingA Compendium of Doable Technologies, Adaptation and Mitigation Strategies for Climate Resilient Agriculture, District Level Contingency Planning for Weather Aberrations in Himachal Pradesh, Contingency Crop Planning for 100 Districts in Peninsular India, and District Level Contingency Plans for Weather Aberrations in India. He teaches courses on land use planning, rainfed farming, drought management, rainfed farming systems, contingency planning, agronomic management practices including soil and moisture conservation, and crop planning and cropping systems.