ABSTRACT

Land is nonrenewable resource and plays an important role in agriculture, as a medium for crop production as well as space for livestock. The total geographical area of Punjab province is 20.63 mha and total reported area is 17.50 mha, out of which1.52 mha are classified as culturable waste and 12.52 mha as cultivated area as well as 0.49 mha are under forests. The current fallow area is 1.89 mha, net area sown is 10.63 mha, area sown more than once is 5.89 mha and total cropped area is 16.52 mha, respectively. Punjab has 12.52 mha of cultivated land which includes 3.35 mha canal irrigated, 2.82 mha tube-well irrigated and 2.48 mha under rain-fed conditions. Farmer's dependence over groundwater varies according to climatic conditions, cropping pattern, and availability of surface water supplies. The land resource is also faced with degradation due to salinity, water logging, soil erosion, desertification, climate change, and infrastructure projects. In Pakistan, the soil affected by various type of salinity and sodicity constitutes 5.328 mha and 50% of it lies in Punjab Province. Water logging, salinity, and sodicity has reduced the drainage capacity of the soils resulting in lower soil fertility, and a decline in crop yields and biodiversity. The diversity of topographic features, land textures, climatic features, technologies, and markets have created a range of agroecological divisions which provide us an opportunity to grow a full range of commodities. The urban land use, uneven distribution of ownership rights, and fragmentation are obstructing optimal land use. The urbanization and industrialization are major land reducing agents in the country. Only in Lahore city, from 1970 to 2010, the agricultural land has been reduced from 94.2% to 29.5% of the total area. High cropping intensity along with low use of organic matter, unfit irrigation water resource use, and the unbalanced use of chemical fertilizer are having serious implications on soil health, especially for the sustainability of marginal and small farms. The digitization of land records presents a new opportunity to develop new land reclamation and consolidation strategies. Afforestation and stabilization of rangelands are also neglected in action plans. The urban sprawls must be restricted with the creation of new market towns and industrial estates in the hinterlands and along the CPEC routes. A land use policy or a new legislation is needed to restrict unbridled housing schemes around big cities and rural towns pouching highly fertile lands and to arrest the land fragmentation process due to laws of inheritance. Reclamation of saline and water logged soils must be accelerated. The desertification process due to deforestation, erosion, and overgrazing must be addressed. Land degradation is a perpetual threat to agriculture. This continues to occur due to improper land use, intensive cultivation of land without sufficient fallow periods, deforestation, overgrazing, faulty agricultural practices, inappropriate crop rotations, injudicious use of fertilizers, pollution, and over pumping of groundwater. Revision of the present land classification systems is needed. The distribution/allotments and encroachment of state lands must be contained to save the land as a trust for the future generations. Restriction on groundwater pumping must be imposed. Irrigation water should be priced and cultivation of low delta crops should be incentivized. There is a need to pursue development of a scheme for wetlands, rain water harvesting, flood canals, river dredging, river lakes, river locks, canal water storage, on farm storage, and groundwater recharge wells. There is dire need of development and implementation of land use policy to save agricultural land from urbanization and industrialization. GIS-based Land Information System (LIS) for land use monitoring and decision-making can be helpful in this land saving process. Legislation to avoid fragmentation, land consolidation and strengthen role of departments like Soil Survey, Soil Fertility, Soil Reclamation and Land Utilization to realize full potential of land use.