Permanent pastures and grazing land
Topic: Land Use, Farming Systems and Cropping Seasons in India · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 1 "Resources and Development"; Class 12, Ch 3 "Land Resources and Agriculture"
Meaning
Permanent pastures and grazing land is land kept for animals to graze on. Most of it is owned by the village panchayat or the government, and only a small part is privately owned. The part owned by the panchayat is a common property resource. This means every villager may use it, with duties attached, but nobody owns it. It matters most to landless people and marginal farmers, who depend on it for fodder.
Example
Villages in Rajasthan have common grazing lands (gochar) where herders from the village take their cattle, goats and sheep to feed.
Don't confuse with
- Culturable wasteland: idle land that could be farmed after reclamation. Pasture land is in use, but for grazing instead of crops.
Related concepts
- Reporting area
- Land use categories
- Area classified as forest
- Barren and wasteland
- Land put to non-agricultural uses
- Culturable wasteland
- Current fallow
- Fallow other than current fallow
- Net sown area