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Data Intelligence Report
India’s Farmland:
Sown Area, Irrigation and Cropping Intensity
State-wise gross and net sown area, gross and net irrigated area, and cropping intensity, 2004-05 to 2023-24. India is farming the same land more often, and watering more of it.
Source: Land Use Statistics at a Glance, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare (Tables 53–57)
Cropping intensity
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Net sown area irrigated
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Gross sown area
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Net sown area
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Gross irrigated area
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Same Land, More Harvests
All India: net and gross sown area (million ha) and cropping intensity (%)
Net sown area counts each field once; gross sown area counts it once for every crop grown in the year. Cropping intensity = gross ÷ net × 100, so 157% means the average field carries about 1.6 crops a year.
Watering More of It
All India: irrigated area (million ha) and share of sown area irrigated (%)
Net irrigated area counts each irrigated field once; gross irrigated area counts every irrigated crop. The jump in 2023-24 is partly Maharashtra’s estimated irrigated area doubling (see the note below).
Map
Hover for values; click a State for its profile.
Up to 2012-13 Andhra Pradesh is the undivided State, so it also colours Telangana (dashed outline); from 2013-14 they are reported separately. Ladakh is shown with Jammu & Kashmir. UTs left dark (Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Lakshadweep) are not in the source. Map: State boundaries from the DataMeet India community (CC BY 4.0), consistent with the official boundary of India as per the Survey of India; simplified for display, not to scale.
Ranking
Water Brings a Second Crop
Share of net sown area irrigated (x) and cropping intensity (y)
Each dot is a State; dot size = net sown area. States with more irrigation tend to grow more crops on each field. Small States with under 100 thousand hectares of net sown area are left out.
Where the Extra Cropping Came From
Change in gross sown and gross irrigated area by State, thousand ha
Average of 2021-22 to 2023-24 compared with 2004-05 to 2006-07. Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are combined so the two periods are comparable. Odisha’s fall reflects a break in its series in 2009-10 (see the note below).
State Profile
One State’s farmland over time
State Table
Click a heading to sort · click a row for its profile
Areas in thousand hectares. * = taken from the latest Agriculture Census or estimated (per the source). n/a = not available. 2023-24 is provisional.
Key Findings
More harvests, not more land
Net sown area stayed at about 140 million hectares, but gross sown area rose from 191 to 218 million hectares. Cropping intensity climbed from 136% to 157%.
Six in ten fields now irrigated
Net irrigated area grew from 59 to 82 million hectares, and the irrigated share of net sown area rose from 42% to 59%. Gross irrigated area grew 61% to 131 million hectares.
Madhya Pradesh transformed
Madhya Pradesh’s irrigated share doubled from 40% to 82% and its cropping intensity rose from 135% to 194%, adding 10 million hectares of gross sown area, more than any other State.
Punjab at the ceiling
Punjab irrigates all its farmland and grows two crops a year on it (201%). Haryana (92% irrigated) is close. In Assam, Kerala and Jharkhand barely a fifth is irrigated.
Source: Land Use Statistics at a Glance, Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare, Government of India: Tables 53–57, State-wise pattern of land use (gross sown area, net sown area, gross irrigated area, net irrigated area, cropping intensity), 2004-05 to 2023-24 (2023-24 provisional). Notes: Areas in thousand hectares. “Share irrigated” = net irrigated area ÷ net sown area (calculated). In the source “-” means not available and “.” not applicable; “*” marks figures taken from the latest Agriculture Census or estimated (Maharashtra, Manipur and Sikkim from 2013-14; Mizoram 2015-16 to 2021-22; Delhi in most years from 2012-13; Gujarat 2012-13 and 2013-14). Andhra Pradesh is undivided up to 2012-13; Telangana is reported from 2013-14. The source notes that State figures may not add up to the All-India total. Oddities left as reported: Odisha’s figures fall sharply in 2009-10 (gross sown area 9,071 to 5,510; irrigated area halves), a break in its series; Maharashtra’s estimated irrigated area roughly doubles in 2023-24 (gross 5,926 to 10,457), and its reported cropping intensity for 2021-22 (145.6%) differs from gross ÷ net sown area (155.1%); Manipur’s net sown area drops from 382 to 215 in 2023-24 while gross sown area is unchanged, and its intensity is exactly 100% in every other year; Nagaland 2021-22 and Jharkhand 2022-23 dip sharply; Tripura’s gross sown area jumps in 2009-10. Small differences between reported intensity and gross ÷ net area for Delhi and Puducherry are rounding.
