Reasons for the decline or stagnation in in foodproduction:

1. Increased use offertilizers, pesticides have badly affected the fertility of soil, in turn impacting overall agricultural production.2. Scarcity of water- Till today most of the farmers are dependent on monsoons to meet their irrigation needs which again affects production. Scarcity of water reduces the area under irrigation.3. Excessive Irrigation by some farmers- excessive irrigation increasessalinisationof the soil,due to evaporation that affects the fertility of soil. Irrigation may also lead to water logging of the soil which in turn effects the production of crops.Many large scale farmers have their own private wells or tube wells and over use the water, this has led to reduction in the ground water level.4. Green revolution has turned out to be partial revolution, not all states and farmers have benefited from it in terms of increasing their production5. There also has been reduction in net sown areas,6.There has been increase in land areas which is used for non agricultural purposes from 4.95% in 1960 to 7.92% in 2002. More land has been rather used for buildings, construction of roads etc.

Forests are one of the most important resources of Jammu and Kashmir. Spread over 2,236 sq. kms. of the demarcated area forests accounts for 20% of the total geographical area of the state on this side of the Line of Control. More than 99% of forest area is confined to the province of Jammu & Kashmir only, with largest area of 5848 sq. kms. in district of Doda and smallest are of 481 sq. kms. in the district of Budgam. Over 19,236 sq. kms. is under coniferous softwood (Pine) and 946 sq. kms. under non-coniferous softwood. In the coniferous category.Fir accounts for 3355 sq. kms., Kail for 1874 sq. kms., Chir for 1773 sq. kms. and Deodar for 1122 sq. kms. Forests require abundance of moisture in the soil. So they are found in the areas where there is sufficient rainfall or along the banks of the rivers where sufficient water is available. In the State of Jammu and Kashmir forests are mainly found where annual rainfall is about 100 cms. However, scrub forests are found, where rainfall is even less than100 cms.

The valley of Kashmir has deciduous vegetation. The Chinar, Poplar, Deodar, Fir, Pine, Kail, Partal, Mulbery, Walnut and other fruit trees grow throughout the valley. Baramulla and Anantnag districts have respectively 71% and 60% of their areas under forests.

Iron ore is a metal of universal use. It is the backbone of modern civilisation. It is the foundation of our basic industry and is used all over the world.

(i) Magnetite

This is the best quality of iron ore and contains 72 per cent pure iron. It possesses magnetic property and hence is called magnetite. It is found in Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.

Production and Distribution:

The total in situ reserves of iron ore in the country are about 12,317.3 million tonnes of haematite and 5395.2 million tonnes of magnetite. The resources of very high grade ore are limited and are restricted mainly in Bailadila sector of Chhattisgarh and to a lesser extent in Bellary-Hospet area of Karnataka and in Jharkhand and Orissa.

Haematite resources are located in Orissa, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan. Magnetic resources are located in Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Kerala, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.