Chhotaudepur is a pre-
dominantly tribal district. It was carved out of Vadodara district in 2013 with its headquarters at Chhotaudepur town. The district headquarters is located 110 km away from Vadodara. It shares its borders with the two States of Madhya Pradesh & Maharashtra. The district was created to facilitate decentralization and ease of access to government services.
It has six blocks, viz., Chhotaudepur, Pavi Jetpur, Naswadi, Kawant, Bodeli & Sankheda. The workforce in the district is pre-dominantly engaged in agriculture and also consists of migrant labour. Sankheda is famous for its ethnic furniture and is an industry by itself.
Chhotaudepur district has a large deposits of dolomite, fluorite, granite and sand, all of which are mined. Soil of the district is black to sandy-loam type.
Agriculture sector engages vast segment of the total workforce. Consequent upon availability of improved irrigation potential, ‘Agriculture’ sector is gaining advantage and people are taking up the farming activities with vigor. The rural households coming in Below Poverty Line (BPL) category comprise tribal population (79.94%) spread over in six blocks. The district provides tremendous scope for horticulture and agro-processing activities.
The major crops grown in the district are cotton, maize, tuwar and paddy. Banana, Mango, Guava and Papaya are the main horticultural crops. Brinjal, Okra, Cluster bean and Tomato are cultivated extensively in the district. In some patches, cultivation of Ginger, Turmeric and Fenugreek is also taken up.
- Agro-climatic conditions
Based on the agro-climatic conditions of the regions, Gujarat has been divided into 8 Agro- Climatic zone. Chhotaudepur district falls under ‘Middle Gujarat’ Agro-climatic zone which is categorized as semi-arid zone. Cash crops occupied substantial area as compared to other crops in the district. The major crops grown in the district are Cotton, Tur, Maize, Paddy, Soybean, etc. Banana, Mango, Papaya etc. are the main horticultural crops. Vegetables are grown extensively in all the 6 blocks. As monsoon continues to be erratic, greater focus on water resource management are needed. Farmers need to be incentivized for saving water by adopting suitable cropping pattern on their farms. There is a need for conserving soil moisture so that “more-crop-per-drop” can be achieved.
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- Soil Type
Soil type of the district is “black” to “sandy loam”. District comes under the agro-climatic zone of ‘Gujarat Plains and Hills Region – Middle Gujarat’. The climate is semi-arid. The average rainfall of the district is 1012 mm.
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- Cropping Area
Gujarat is a diversified agricultural economy. The State’s agriculture economy has witnessed a shift towards high-value crops like cotton, fruits and vegetables and spices from low-value crops. The district with a gross cropped area of 232600 ha has cropping intensity of 122.24%. The net sown area of 190278 ha constitutes about 54.85% of the total geographical area (3,46,871 ha) and the net irrigated area (1,01,527 ha) forms 53.35% of the net sown area
(Source: District Statistical Handbook 2020-21).
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LAND UTILIZATION [Ha]
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|
|
|
|
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Area in ha
|
|
Block
|
Total Area Reported
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Forest Land
|
Area Not Available for Cultivation
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Land for non-agricultural use
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Permanent pasture and grazing land
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Cultivable Wasteland
|
Current Fallow
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Net Sown Area
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Area Cultivated More than Once
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Gross cropped area
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|
Bodeli
|
51400
|
2540
|
1700
|
4200
|
1350
|
160
|
120
|
31174
|
7978
|
39152
|
|
Chhotaudepur
|
62410
|
18650
|
4324
|
4422
|
2850
|
110
|
206
|
33793
|
8199
|
41992
|
|
Jetpur pavi
|
62500
|
10280
|
2703
|
5618
|
2140
|
510
|
227
|
33250
|
6655
|
39905
|
|
Kawant
|
58510
|
15772
|
2975
|
2770
|
3020
|
1220
|
455
|
33161
|
6171
|
39332
|
|
Naswadi
|
53479
|
16422
|
1122
|
3051
|
2660
|
780
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0
|
30535
|
7010
|
37545
|
|
Sankh eda
|
51230
|
3003
|
1534
|
4865
|
1180
|
93
|
314
|
28365
|
6309
|
34674
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Total
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339529
|
66667
|
14358
|
24926
|
13200
|
2873
|
1322
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190278
|
42322
|
232600
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Landholding
Out of the total landholding of 1,13,377, 72% land holdings belong to small & marginal farmers. However, 59% of the total area is with big farmers.
Block wise Land holding pattern is as under
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Block
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Marginal Farmer (With agricultural land holding up to 1 ha)
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Small Farmer (With agricultural land holding 1-2 ha)
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Large Farmers (with land holding more than 2 ha)
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Total holding
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|
Number
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Area ( ha)
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Number
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Area ( ha)
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Number
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Area (ha)
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Number
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Area
( ha)
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Bodeli
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8627
|
4689
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6946
|
9895
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6540
|
22237
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22113
|
36821
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Chhotaudepur
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8686
|
5193
|
7919
|
9909
|
4224
|
19246
|
20829
|
34348
|
|
Jetpurpavi
|
8672
|
5092
|
7670
|
10803
|
4212
|
14426
|
20554
|
30321
|
|
Kawant
|
6514
|
4113
|
7379
|
10379
|
5095
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