Agriculture in Haryana
Overview
Haryana is one of India's most agriculturally productive states despite comprising only 1.4% of the country's geographical area. It contributes significantly to the national food basket, particularly wheat and rice for the central pool. The state was at the forefront of the Green Revolution in the 1960s-70s, which transformed it from a food-deficit region into a surplus producer.
For HTET, this topic appears regularly in the Haryana GK section. Questions typically focus on major crops and their districts, irrigation sources and canal systems, Green Revolution figures, and the dairy cooperative model. Students must know specific statistical facts (crop production rankings, canal names) alongside the broader agricultural economy of the state.
Haryana's agriculture is characterised by high mechanisation, intensive irrigation, and a dominant wheat-rice cropping pattern. However, the state also faces challenges of depleting groundwater, soil degradation, and crop diversification needs—themes that occasionally appear in exam questions.
Key Concepts
- **Wheat-Rice Dominance**: Haryana follows a wheat (rabi) and rice/paddy (kharif) rotation in most irrigated areas, especially in the northern and eastern districts. This pattern emerged post-Green Revolution.
- **Agro-Climatic Zones**: Haryana has two main zones—the eastern humid zone (rice-wheat belt along Yamuna) and the western arid/semi-arid zone (bajra, cotton, oilseeds in Hisar, Sirsa, Bhiwani).
- **Green Revolution Impact**: Introduction of High Yielding Variety (HYV) seeds, chemical fertilisers, pesticides, and assured irrigation dramatically increased wheat and rice yields from the late 1960s onward.
- **Irrigation Dependency**: Over 85% of cropped area is irrigated—one of the highest in India. Tubewells contribute more than canals now, leading to groundwater stress in many blocks.
- **Canal Systems**: Western Yamuna Canal (oldest, from Yamuna), Bhakra Canal System (from Bhakra Dam on Sutlej), and Gurgaon Canal are the major canal networks.