Assessing the Prospects of Agricultural Sustainability in Central Brahmaputra Floodplain Environment of Darrang District, Assam

Abstract

Ensuring agricultural sustainability with escalating population is a real challenge before humanity. At present, heightened demand of state’s rich farmland for non-agricultural activities is posing a pressing need for assessing the prospects of agricultural sustainability. Being a part of central Brahmaputra floodplain in Assam, Sipajhar revenue circle of Darrang district has experienced extraordinary population pressure on land resources over time, which leads to vulnerability of agro-ecological conditions. As per census report, the circle has witnessed 108% increase of population over 40 years. The circle with diverse agriculture and its allied activities has borne the brunt of population pressure in some caste-community concentration areas. The present study assesses the prospects of agricultural sustainability across the gram panchayats of the circle on the basis of six sustainability indicators, namely castes and communities; agriculture and allied practices; spatial pattern of crop productivity; agricultural input–output relation; agro-ecological conditions; and sustainable methods of agriculture selected from social, economic and ecological dimensions of sustainable development. After synthesising these indicators, prospects of agricultural sustainability have been assigned to three groupings of gram panchayats in the circle. This investigation is also intended to provide a rationale for future orientation of agricultural planning in laggard districts like Darrang of Assam.