Economics of land degradation: a study of India

In India, two thirds of the population depend on agriculture for their livelihoods. Yet, about 44% of India’s land area is degraded due to cultivation of marginal lands, improper crop rotations or deforestation as a consequence of shifting cultivation. Intensive farming, which has been promoted as a result of the Green Revolution, has depleted soil of its nutrients. This has also led to a reduction in agricultural yields. Furthermore, household factors such as poverty, land fragmentation, insecure land tenure and institutional failures are also contributing to land degradation.