Underutilization of Land in the Context of Technological and Policy Changes: An Analysis of Andhra Pradesh

This study attempts to examine the possibilities of bringing more land under cultivation in Andhra Pradesh. It focuses mainly on estimating the extent of underutilization across drought and nondrought districts over a period of time. The authors also try to identify the factors that influence underutilization of land keeping in mind the two distinctive features of Indian agriculture. One is the technological revolution that has taken place during late 1960s and 1970s and the other is the liberalization process during the 1990s that has ushered in some changes in the agricultural sector. This study points out that the extent of underutilization of agricultural land is considerable and stresses the need for immediate concern in this regard. The authors expose that the advent of new technology did not make any impact on underutilization of land but had aggravated the situation. This study points out that the increase in underutilized land is more prominent in the drought prone districts whereas in the nondrought prone districts it has increased marginally over a period of 40 years. However, this study did not provide any strong evidence regarding the importance of rainfall in determining the underutilization of land. In this context, this study further points out that economic and technological factors play a dominant role. This study concludes that as long as these regions depend on the dwindling groundwater resources, underutilization of land is bound to go up resulting in further deprivation of economy. Finally, this study suggests that Andhra Pradesh should focus on the policies for improving the access to water in these regions and easing the resource constraints. In this context, the authors feel that the renovation of traditional water bodies like tanks with watershed development needs immediate attention in Andhra Pradesh.