Assam’s net sown area declines by 42,715 hectares in a decade

Staff Reporter

Guwahati: Assam has recorded a marginal decline in the net sown area over the last ten years, with cultivated land shrinking by 42,715 hectares between 2015-16 and 2024-25, according to official data.

The data on the shrinking of cultivated land was stated in the ongoing budget session of the Assam Legislative Assembly by Agriculture Minister Piyush Hazarika in reply to an unstarred question posed by Congress MLA Rekibuddin Ahmed regarding the statistics related to the total cultivated area in the state and whether the net sown area has decreased in the last decade. In his reply, the Agriculture Minister informed the House that the net sown area in the state has decreased in the last decade.

According to the data submitted by the Agriculture Minister, the state’s net sown area stood at 28,01,472 hectares in 2015-16, which declined to 27,58,757 hectares in 2024-25. This marks a reduction of around 1.5% over the decade.

The data shows that the net sown area declined steadily until 2019-20, when it touched a decade-long low of 26,99,467 hectares. However, the cultivated area has since shown signs of recovery, rising to 27,23,620 hectares in 2020-21; 27,49,115 hectares in 2021-22; 27,44,212 hectares in 2022-23; 27,56,492 hectares in 2023-24; and 27,58,757 hectares in 2024-25, indicating relative stability in recent years.

Moreover, the net sown area in the state was 28,01,472 hectares in 2015-16; 27,73,855 hectares in 2016-17; 27,22,530 hectares in 2017-18; and 27,23,466 hectares in 2018-19.

According to the Minister, the overall decline in agricultural land has been minimal. The reduction has been attributed mainly to riverbank erosion, land rendered unsuitable for cultivation due to recurring floods, and the diversion of agricultural land for infrastructure development, including national highway expansion and industrial projects.

Also Read: Assam Marks Historic Milestone as IIM Guwahati Launches First MBA Batch and Centre of Excellence