Highlights of agriculture census 2010-11
Department of Agriculture, Cooperation& Farmers Welfare has released Agriculture Census 2010-11(Phase-II). Highlights of the Census are:
Highlights
As per Agriculture Census 2010-11,
- Total number of operational holdings were estimated as 138.35 million.
- The total operated area was 159.59 million hectare.
- The average size of the holding has been estimated as 1.15 hectare. The average size of holdings has shown a steady declining trend over various Agriculture Censuses since, 1970-71.
- The Size Group wise percentage of number and area of operational holdings are given in the following table.
| Sl.No | Size-Group | Percentage of number of operational holdings to total | Percentage of area operated to total |
| 1 | Marginal (below 1.00 ha.) | 67.10 | 22.50 |
| 2 | Small (1.00 – 2.00 ha.) | 17.91 | 22.08 |
| 3 | Semi-medium (2.00 – 4.00 ha.) | 10.04 | 23.63 |
| 4 | Medium (4.00 – 10.00 ha.) | 4.25 | 21.20 |
| 5 | Large (10.00 ha. & above) | 0.70 | 10.59 |
- The Gross Cropped Area (GCA) was estimated at 193.76 million hectare.
- The nine States, viz., Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and West Bengal together account for about 78 per cent of the Gross Cropped Area in the country.
- Out of the total 64.57 million hectare Net Irrigated Area, 48.16 percent is accounted by Small and Marginal holdings, 43.77 percent by Semi-medium & Medium holdings and 8.07 percent by Large holdings.
- The Cropping Intensity as per Agriculture Census 2010-11 works out to 1.37.
- For 96.95 per cent of operational holdings, entire operated area was located within the village of residence.
- Among various sources of irrigation, Tube-wells was main source of irrigation followed by canals.
All India level, during 2010-11, the proportion of net irrigated area to net area sown was 45.70 percent.
Agriculture Census in India is conducted at five yearly intervals for collection of information about structural aspects of agricultural holdings in the country. The basic statistical unit for data collection is ‘Operational Holding’. The reference year for the present Census was Agriculture Year 2010-11 (July-June). Agriculture Census data is collected in three phases. During Phase-I, data is collected on primary characteristics such as number and area of operational holdings. In Phase-II, detailed data is collected on sample basis from 20 per cent villages covering characteristics such as tenancy, land use, irrigation, cropping pattern, dispersal of holding etc. During Phase-III, generally referred to as Input Survey, data is collected on pattern of use of inputs.
The concept of agricultural operational holdings does not include those holdings which are not operating any agricultural land and are engaged exclusively in livestock, poultry and fishing etc. On the basis of operated area, operational holdings in Agriculture Census are categorized as follows:-
| Sl.No. | Category | Operated Area |
| 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 1 | Marginal holdings | Below 1.00 hectare |
| 2 | Small holdings | 1.00 – 2.00 hectares |
| 3 | Semi-Medium holdings | 2.00 – 4.00 hectares |
| 4 | Medium holdings | 4.00 – 10.00 hectares |
| 5 | Large holdings | 10.00 hectares and above |
The results of Phase-I and Phase-II of Agriculture Census 2010-11 have already been finalized and released. The detailed data /tables of Agriculture Census are available in the website of the Department at http://agcensus.nic.in. The All India Report of Agriculture Census 2010-11 is based on the data collected during Phase-II of the Census.