THE SURVEY details degradation of cultivable land after introduction of chemical farming in India and excessive use of chemicals and pesticides and very wrong crop patterns adopted by farmers and promoted by state and agriculture universities, which has resulted in deterioration of more than 120 million hectors of land.

The Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) farmers activist group has urged the central government to publish a Wihte Paper on the recent survey and the findings of the National Bureau of Soil Survey and Land Use Planning (NBSS & LUP) that of the total 329 million hectare land area of the country, 120.4 million hectare, which the UPA government has been claiming is at the doorstep of a second green revolution with help of genetic engineering promoted by America, is in a terrible condition and not conducive to sustainable agriculture. 

Kishor Tiwari, president VJAS, in a press statement said, "We have been raising this issue of degradation of soil in Vidarbha due wrong cultivation practices and non-fertility of land resulting in very low yield. This has resulted in farmers to either commit suicide or quit farming. This is very serious issue as review over uncontrolled use of toxic chemicals and fertilizers to increase the yield of crops should be addressed. Ee demand complete ban on chemical farming in agrarian crisis hit area where farmers are being forced for mono crop and use unregulated fertilizers and pesticides."

Kishore addes that, "Now the government's own survey says that many regions of India where dry land farmers are doing cash crops such as cotton and sugarcane, there is severe degradation of land due to reasons such as soil erosion, accumulation of toxic waste, saline deposits, wind erosion, and water logging, and hence corective action by the state is a must."