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DAIRYING IN GUJARAT
A Statistical Profile
2013
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Part VII:
AGRICULTURE
Gujarat State covers an area of about 20million hectares or about six per cent of the geographical area of
India. Of this, 53 per cent is net sown, 10 per cent is under forests, 4.5 per cent is under permanent pasture
and grazing land, 13 per cent is barren and uncultivable, and 6 per cent is under non-agricultural use.
The State comprises eight agro-climatic zones, of which six are semi-arid. Only south Gujarat receives
heavy rainfall and has a humid climate, whereas the rest of the State is a semi-arid zone.
The irrigated area served by canals increased from 0.64 million hectares in 1997-98 to 0.77 million
hectares in 2010-11. Wells and tubewells continued to be the major source of irrigation, accounting for
78 per cent of the irrigated area in 2010-11. Areas irrigated through other sources increased in terms
of both area as well as share.
The groundwater status in Gujarat improved and the number of talukas under the semi-critical, critical
and over-exploited categories declined. However, 33 out of 45 talukas in north Gujarat continue to be
classified under the semi-critical, critical, over-exploited and saline categories.
Cereals, Oilseeds, Cotton, Pulses and Sugarcane are the major crops and accounted for 34 per cent, 27
per cent, 23 per cent, 8 per cent and 2 per cent respectively, of the total gross cropped area of about
11.6 million hectares in 2010-11. In the last decade, the total area under food grains, oilseeds and cash
crops like cotton and tobacco has gone up significantly.