HT Digital
GUWAHATI, Mar 8: Assam’s gross agricultural area has declined marginally in the last nine years, though irrigation coverage in the state has gone up considerably, Irrigation Minister Ashok Singhal told the Assembly on Friday.
Replying to a question from Independent MLA Akhil Gogoi, Singhal presented statistics indicating that while the total agricultural area of the state dipped marginally, the area covered under irrigation has almost doubled.
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As per the minister, Assam’s gross agricultural land was 35.09 lakh hectares in 2015-16 but has decreased to 34.94 lakh hectares in 2024-25. But net agricultural land experienced a moderate increase, going from 28.01 lakh hectares to 28.62 lakh hectares in the same timeframe. This shows that although there has been some reduction in overall land under cultivation, the cultivated land has increased marginally.
One of the most significant advances in Assam’s agricultural sector has been the substantial growth of irrigation facilities. During 2015-16, the state’s net irrigated area and gross irrigated area were 3.25 lakh hectares and 4.55 lakh hectares, respectively, covering just 11.60 percent of the total agricultural land. By 2024-25, these numbers had risen immensely, with the net irrigated area going up to 6.95 lakh hectares and the gross irrigated area reaching 8.80 lakh hectares.
This indicates irrigation now extends over 24.28 percent of Assam’s agricultural land, a great advancement in water accessibility for cultivation. Singhal made it clear that the data of 2015-16 were taken from the Statistical Handbook, 2017, and records of the irrigation department, while the most recent data of 2024-25 were taken from the most recent evaluations of the department.
The increase in irrigation coverage will be helping the productivity of the crops and more stable production in agriculture despite the overall agricultural land decreasing by a small percentage.
