Land-use changes and common property

As an economy grows and shifts from farming to industry and services, more land goes to non-agricultural uses: houses, roads, factories, offices.

But the pressure on farmland does not fall, because many people still depend on farming, and a growing population must be fed.

Between 1950-51 and 2019-20:

• these rose: forests, land under non-agricultural uses, permanent pastures, current fallows, and net area sown;
• these fell: barren and wasteland, land under tree crops and groves, and other fallows.

Land under non-agricultural uses rose at the fastest rate: buildings and roads are eating into fields and wastelands.

Common property resources (CPRs), such as village pastures, ponds and community forests, belong to the whole community. They give fodder, fuel and forest products, and are especially important to the landless, marginal farmers and women.