How would you distinguish between net sown area and gross cropped area?
Net Sown Area (NSA) refers to the physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested. It represents the actual area of land cultivated during an agricultural year, counted only once regardless of the number of crops grown on it.
Gross Cropped Area (GCA) represents the total area under crops, where the same land is counted multiple times if multiple crops are grown on it during a single agricultural year. For instance, if one hectare of land is used to grow two crops in a year, the NSA remains one hectare, but the GCA becomes two hectares.
The relationship between the two is expressed through Cropping Intensity, calculated as GCA/NSA × 100, which measures the intensity of land use for agriculture.
Explanation
The textbook defines Net Sown Area as 'the physical extent of land on which crops are sown and harvested.' The Gross Cropped Area is inferred from the Cropping Intensity formula (GCA/NSA × 100), which shows that GCA accounts for multiple cropping on the same land within an agricultural year. The context discusses technologies that 'increase the total output per unit area of land from all crops grown over one agricultural year by increasing land-use intensity,' supporting the distinction that GCA counts the same land multiple times for multiple crops.