Gandhinagar:
An agriculture census will be conducted in Gujarat this year as part of a pan-India exercise to collect various data related to the key sector, Agriculture Minister RC Faldu informed the legislative Assembly here on Thursday.
Faldu said data regarding farmers’ land holdings, collected from the periodic exercise, is crucial for formulating policies for the agriculture sector.
“An agriculture census is conducted (across the country) every five years. It was first conducted in Gujarat and in the country in 1970-71 and the last one was conducted in 2015-16, which was the tenth edition of the census.
“Results of the last census were released in 2020,” Faldu informed the House during Question Hour.
He said results are usually published four to five years after the census is conducted.
“The next agriculture census would take place this year (in India and Gujarat). The main aim of the exercise is to fetch data regarding operational land holding, which means the land which is actually used for cultivation by a farmer.
“The data helps us in formulating agri policies and strategies to boost the sector,” Faldu said.
Citing the past data, some opposition Congress MLAs claimed that the number of small and marginal farmers, who own less than 2 hectares of land, has decreased in Gujarat because of the “wrong policies” of the BJP government.
Countering them, the minister said the number of such farmers has in fact increased.
“The number of (small and marginal) farmers has actually increased as land gets divided between each family member and each one of them becomes a farmer.
“Similarly, land under cultivation has also increased as farmers are allowed to buy wasteland adjacent to their farms and make it cultivable with their efforts,” said Faldu.
Periodic agriculture censuses are the main source of information on basic characteristics of operational holdings such as land-use, cropping pattern, irrigation status, tenancy and dispersal of holdings, among others.
