Changes in the Land Use Pattern and Cropping Pattern among Different Gradients of Tiruchirapalli District – A Farm Level Analysis

Agriculture plays a vital role in an Indian Economy. Changes in land use subsequently leading to decreased agricultural land in favour of the provision of residential accommodation in most urban settlements. The extent of land use is also influenced by technological changes over a period of time. The technological changes in agriculture ignited intensive cultivation resulting in conversion of marginal lands into productive agricultural lands through capital intensive cultivation. Changes in farming and land use patterns result in urbanisation, which puts ecological stability and food security at risk. Within this background, the study has been formulated with the objectives of land use pattern and cropping pattern is to analyse the temporal changes in the land use pattern and the loss of agricultural land in the selected rural, peri-urban and urban gradients, to study the changes and shift in cropping pattern and to estimate the crop diversification across the gradients. A multistage stratified random sampling technique was used. The data has been analysed using descriptive statistics, diversification indices, multiple regression analysis and garett ranking. The results of farm level analysis revealed that the conversion of the agricultural land through human settlements and other uses was more pronounced in the urban and peri-urban households than the rural households, might be due to urbanization and industrialization. The results also revealed that the gradual shift in the cropping pattern was pronounced in the rural gradient, followed by peri-urban and urban gradients. The major constraint faced by the sample respondents were water scarcity and labour scarcity for the land use and crop diversification.