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Region is one of the basic concepts in geography. It has been defined differently by different geographers. A widely accepted definition of region is ‘an area that is differentiated from other areas according to a specific criteria.’ In other words, ‘region is a differentiated segment of the earth surface. (Whittlesey, 1936)
Agricultural region is an uninterrupted area having some kind of homogeneity with specifically defined outer limit. It is an area which depicts homogeneity in respect of agricultural land use, agricultural practices, and cropping patterns. Agricultural region, in fact, is a device for selecting and investigating regional
groupings of the complex agricultural phenomena found on the earth’s surface. In other words, any segment or portion of the earth surface possessing a distinctive form of agriculture is an agricultural region. Agricultural region is a dynamic concept which changes in space and time.
The main characteristics of agricultural regions are: (i) they have location; (ii) they have transitional boundaries; (iii) they may be either formal or functional; and (iv) they may be hierarchically arranged.
Since the boundaries of agricultural regions are transitional and not sharply dividing lines, their precise delineation is a difficult task. Some of the important techniques used for the delineation of agricultural regions by the geographers are:
(i) Empirical Techniques
(ii) Single-element Technique
In the multi-element or statistical techniques, the agricultural regions may be demarcated with the help of the following;
ii) Cropping patterns, crop concentration, and crop diversification
(ii) Crop combination
(iii) Regional patterns of agricultural productivity
Some of the studies made with the help of the multi-element techniques gave very reliable agricultural regions. In the developing co untries the non-availability of reliable data is a limiting factor in the application of this technique.
(iv) Quantitative-cum-Qualitative: The technique in which the physical (geo-climatic factors), socio-economic, cultural, and political factors are taken into consideration for the demarcation of cultural regions is known as the quantitative-cum-qualitative method. The factors which are taken into consideration for the delineation of agricultural regions on the basis of quantitative-cum-qualitative techniques are six physical traits: (i) relief, (ii) climate, (iii) surface and subsoil water, (iv) soil, (v) sub-soil, and (vi) natural vegetation; and six functional traits: (i) rural population, (ii) cultural and religious values, (iii) technological, (iv) farming operations, (v) dependent rural population, and (vi) degree of commercialisation.
The non-availability of reliable data and the quantification of cultural-cum-religious values are the limiting factors in the delineation of agricultural regions with the help of this technique.
Many of the scholars have attempted to delineate the agricultural regions of India. The divisions of India into climatic divisions made by L.D. Stamp (1958),
M.S.A. Randhawa (1958), O.II.K. Spate and A.T.A. Learmonth (1960), P. Sengupta and G. Sdasyuk (1967), R.L. Singh (1971) andjasbir Singh (1975) are important. A brief account of some of the important agricultural regionalisations of India have been given in the follow ing section.