Sustainable Land Use Practices and Agricultural Innovations in India: A Case Study from Murshidabad District of West Bengal

This book discusses sustainable land use practices  in relation to agricultural innovation, with a local focus by land size classes on the Murshidabad District of West Bengal. Chapter 1 presents the different aspects of the physical and cultural set-up of the Murshidabad district. Chapter 2 provides a background and overview of sustainable agricultural land use and development. Chapter 3 presents the dynamics of sustainable agricultural land use and cropping patterns at the local level. Chapter 4 discusses the overall agricultural innovations concerning the input and output aspects of a spatial context under different land size classes. Chapter 5 covers the relationship between sustained agricultural land use and agricultural innovations. Chapter 6 analyses agricultural innovations and agricultural land use based on household survey data in selected sample villages. Chapter 7 uses a SWOT analysis to understand contemporary issues and challenges of agriculture innovation.

Dr. Hasibur Rahaman is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, School of Earth Science, Hemvati Nandan Garhwal University (A Central University), Uttarakhand, India. With prior academic roles at Aligarh Muslim University, Odisha IAS Academy, and Shibli National College, Dr. Rahaman brings a wealth of teaching and research experience. Notably, he was selected as Assistant Professor at Hooghly Women’s College in 2024 through the West Bengal College Service Commission.

An accomplished scholar, Dr. Rahaman has qualified for the UGC-JRF and NET and received the UGC-JRF-SRF during his Ph.D. His research portfolio includes over ten publications in leading journals such as Springer, Sage, and Wiley. His expertise lies in crop diversification, agricultural development, climate change, and rural development. Recently, he co-coordinated an ICSSR-sponsored Research Methodology Course and is currently leading an ICSSR-funded research project worth ₹20 lakhs.

Dr. Sakil Ansari is currently a Research Associate on an ICSSR-funded project in the Department of Geography at Aligarh Muslim University, Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, India. Previously, he served as a Young Fellow at the National Institute of Rural Development (NIRD), Hyderabad.

Dr. Ansari's research interests focus on agricultural development, land use dynamics, and rural livelihoods. He has published his work in reputed journals, including those by Sage and Wiley. During his academic journey, he was awarded UGC-JRF and SRF fellowships to support his research endeavours.