Md. Ashraful Alam*
Urban and Rural Planning Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna-9208, Bangladesh
Dulal Chandra Roy
Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh.
Land ownership; Land use; Socio -economic impact; Bangladesh
Dauniafad and Guptamari of Batiaghata Thana of Khulna District
Socio-economic and Policy
Trend analysis
Brief Information about Study Area The study area comprises two villages (Dauniafad and Guptamari) of Batiaghata Thana of Khulna District and comprises a land area about 206 acres, of which the government owned about 7.5 acres. Rural households own the rest of the land. The two villages under the study area have a total population of 780 (156 families). The average size of family is 5.0.
Changing Land Ownership Pattern Land ownership not only affects the size of the land holdings, field patterns, land use practices and cropping intensity, but it is also an important yardstick in assessing the socio-economic conditions of the farmers. That the number of owners has increased consistently over the years being 98 and 156 in 1962 and 1998 respectively. There is some variation in the quantum of total land for the two periods because of variations in the amount of land owned by the government.
It reveals that over the period the relative share of land owned by the large land holding categories - ‘7.1 to 8 acres’, ‘8.1 to 9 acres’, and ‘10 acres and above’ have declined. During 1962, these groups constituted about 10% of the total owners and owned more than 45% of the total land. In 1998, their share declined to 26.82% and their number also declined very sharply to 3.20%. In contrast to these, the share of small owners has increased and their number has increased much more than the increase in their share of land. Thus their position in terms of per household land owned has not improved at all. The share of land owned by the small land holding categories ‘0.1 to 1 acre’, ‘1.1 to 2 acres’ and ‘2.1 to 3 acres’ have increased. During 1962, these groups constituted about 53% of the total owners and owned more than 27% of the total land. In 1998, their share increased to 39.65% and their number has remained about 50%.
Farm Size Changing Pattern During The Period 1962-1998 Over the last few decades, land distribution among major three farms, small, medium and large farms has changed significantly.
Changes In Plot Distribution The plot number and their distribution by eleven size categories. It reveals that while in 1962 total land of the study villages were divided into 212 plots (average size of each plot being o.97 acre), the same land in 1998 was divided into 304 (average size of each plot being o.68 acre). Most discouraging picture that emerges from the table is that while in 1962, the number of plots belonging to ‘0.01 to 0.50 acre’ and ‘0.50 to 1.00 acre’ size were 108 and 46 and about 50.94% and 21.70% of the total plots respectively, in 1998 their number increased to 184 and 63 respectively, being 60.52% and 20.72% of the total plots. In general, the number of plots of relatively bigger size groups is fewer in 1962 as against in 1998. This situation reflects the increasing pressure of a fast growing population on limited land resulting in decreasing plot size as well as loss of land for making plot boundaries. Very small sized plots are creating problems in agricultural operations such as tilling and levelling of land difficult with adverse effect on production. The mechanisation of agriculture, especially the use of power tiller, which is going to be an imperative in the context of shortage of bullock power, will become difficult in very tiny plots.
Khulna University Studies, Vol. 1, Issue 2, December 1999, pp. 329-337
Journal