The agricultural characteristics of the Ganga Basin may be studied with reference to the following factors :

 

• AGRO CLIMATIC ZONES WITHIN THE BASIN

• SOIL CONDITONS IN THE BASIN

• IRRIGATION CAPACITY IN THE BASIN

• CROP PROFILES OF THE BASIN

 

AGRO CLIMATIC ZONES WITHIN THE BASIN

The whole of India has been divided into 15 agro climatic zones by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the Planning Commission(Govt of India), of  which the  Ganga Basin comprises of the following four:

• LOWER GANGETIC PLAINS REGION
• MIDDLE GANGETIC PLAINS REGION
• UPPER GANGETIC PLAINS REGION
• TRANS GANGETIC PLAINS REGION

 

The four agro climatic zones mentioned above may be further subdivided into the following sub zones.

• LOWER GANGETIC PLAINS REGION  

  • • New Alluvial Zone
    • Old Alluvial Zone
    • Red and Lateritic soil Zone
    • Coastal Saline Zone

 

• MIDDLE GANGETIC PLAINS REGION

  •  
    • North west Alluvial Plain
    • North East Alluvial plain
    • South Bihar Plain

 

• UPPER GANGETIC PLAINS REGION

  •  
    •  Bhabar and Tarai Zone
    •  Western Plain Zone
    •  Mid Western Plain Zone
    •  South Western semi arid zone
    •  Eastern Plain Zone
    •  Central Plain Zone

 

• TRANS GANGETIC PLAINS REGION

  •  
    •  Eastern zone
    •  Western Zone
    •  Sub Montane Undulating Zone
    •  Undulating Plain Zone
    •  Central Plain Zone
    •  Western Plain Zone
    •  Western Zone
    •  Irrigated North Western Plain Zone

 

 

 SOIL CONDITIONS IN THE BASIN

The evolution of the Indian subcontinent through various geological time periods and the lithological ,  pedogenetic and climatic conditions prevailing during the commensurate time periods is an appropriate indicator  of the present day soil characteristics in the region. Scientific study of soils commenced in India after the establishment of the  Geological Survey of India in 1846. Preliminary pedological studies carried out in the 1840's and 1850's revealed that the soils found in the Indian subcontinent can be broadly grouped into four classes.

1)Alluvial   2)Black soil.    3)Red soil.  4)Lateritic soils.

The Ganga basin consists of a wide variety of soils. While soils of the high Himalayas in the north are subject to continuous erosion, the Gangetic plain provides a huge receptacle into which thousands of meters of thick layers of sediments have been deposited to form a wide valley plain. The Deccan plateau in the south has a mantle of residual soils of varying thickness arising out of weathering of ancient rocks of the peninsular shield. Some of the soils are highly susceptible to erosion. Mountain

soils, submontane soils and alluvial soils, covering 58 % of the basin area, have very high erodibility; red soils covering 12% of the basin area have high erodibility, red & yellow soils and mixed red and black soils covering an area of 8% have moderate erodibility, and deep black soils and medium black soils covering an area of 14% have low erodibility. Shallow black soils and lateritic soils covering an area of6%have very low erodibility. Broadly, it can be said that soils in Haryana, Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal, through which the main stem of Ganga and all its tributaries flow, have very high erodibility.

 

 IRRIGATION IN THE GANGA BASIN

The Ganga Basin happens to be one of the most widely  and heavily irrigated agricultural lands  in the world. The net area irrigated through all available sources is roughly 3,61,100 sq kms(2008) which constitutes about  57% of the the total net irrigated area across the country. The farmers of this region practice multiple cropping in large parts of the basin, hence the fields get irrigated more than once a year. The sum of these multiple irrigated areas can be estimated to be about  4,84,240 sq kms which is the gross irrigated area. Precipitation through the atmosphere is the sole source of water which falls as rain,snow,sleet, or hail and acts as a water resource to the flowing river as well as the recharging of the Gangotri glacier. Much of the water runs off the land surface and also seeps through the subsoil layer eventually recharging the groundwater . A portion of the water  amounting to about 30% is lost to the atmosphere through transpiration and evaporation. During its movement either on the surface or at the subsurface level, it absorbs large number of chemical constituents, some of which are the residues of pesticides and fertilizers which are used to supplement the growth of crops.

 

   State / Source-wise net area irrigated (2000-2001) in the Ganga Basin

 

Serial Number	Name of the State/UT	Canals (Sq Kms)	Tank (Sq Kms)	Wells (Sq Kms)	Other Sources (Sq Kms)	Total Area (All Sources) (Sq Kms)
1	Bihar	11360	1550	20390	2410	36250
2	Haryana	14760	10	14670	140	29580
3	Himachal Pradesh	30	(a)	140	1070	1240
4	Madhya Pradesh	8080	850	26510	5910	41350
5	Rajasthan	13540	380	34730	420	49070
6	Uttar Pradesh	30910	820	93840	2590	128160
7	West Bengal	2610	1730	13970	5230	23540
8	Delhi	20	-	300	20	340
	Ganga Basin States	81310	5340	205090	17790	309530
	India as a Whole	159890	25240	332770	28920	546820

 

(Source: Water Data- Complete Book, Central Water Commission, GoI, 2005 ) Note: (a): Below 5000 Sq.Km Total may not tally due to rounding off.

 

The net irrigated area in the Ganga Basin constitutes nearly 56.6 percent of India's 546, 820 SqKm of net irrigated area. About 41.4 per cent of the basin's irrigated area lies in Uttar Pradesh alone. In fact, the three Gangetic States - Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and West Bengal - have between them 60.7 per cent of the basin's total area irrigated.

 

CROP PROFILES IN THE BASIN

 

            There is no alluvial basin in the world which can compare with the Ganga Basin in terms of size, fertility, acreage,  and topography. It is the most densely populated river basin in the world and is often characterized as a granary or the bread basket of India.  Agriculture or farming remains the mainstay of the people of this region. The crop profile includes subsistence crops such as cereals as well as cash crops such as sugarcane, oilseeds, pulses, tobacco, cotton etc. The irony of the situation does not reflect the agricultural wealth of the region. Most farmers are trapped in a vicious web of malnutrition, poverty, low productivity and poor health from which they desperately need to be rescued.

 

          The average farmer in the Ganga basin is a subsistence cultivator, who produces for his own needs and is left with very little surplus.The affluent farmers are in a minority and reap the benefits of mechanization, technology as well as expensive farm inputs. They have huge surpluses which can be traded in the markets. The difference, thus between the subsistence and the big farmer is defined by the degree of market participation and and surplus production they generate.

 

          A study of the crop profiling or the cropping pattern indicate that  physical factors such as soil conditions, topography as well as climatic criteria determined the distribution of crops. The green revolution and the legacy of modern technologies it has initiated in the field of agriculture have largely altered the traditional cropping pattern in the region. Irrigation facilities,  chemical pesticides, fertilizers and improved seeds of a high yeilding variety created through the application of genetic engineering are notable examples. Food crops such as cereals and pulses account for 75% of the acreage, non food crops such as oilseeds, sugarcane, jute , cotton and others account for the rest.