Application of the ecological footprint method for measuring sustainability of agricultural land use at a micro level in Barddhaman district, West Bengal, India

In the present study we used the ecological footprint method to numerically measure the sustainability of agricultural production at the micro level. For this, two community development blocks of Barddhaman district, West Bengal, India were selected. As a consumption-based method, it is most suitable for measuring cropland footprint, biocapacity of croplands, and their ecological surplus and deficit status of an environmental indicator. The integrated result represents higher sustainability of agricultural system, but crop-wise assessment explores some negative aspects with respect to self-sufficiency of the study area that demand necessary transformation of existing cropping pattern.