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Not AvailableAgriculture in the coastal region of our country is less productive and risk prone. Coastal land resource is vulnerable to various process of land degradation like salinization, waterlogging, drainage congestion, etc. Unlocking the production potential of degraded land in coastal region is the biggest challenge towards achieving food security of the country. Implementing innovative land management practices in combination with productive utilization of opportunities of the coastal areas like excess rainwater and vast brackishwater resources could be a best approach to meet the challenge. Land shaping is an innovative land management practice which provides the scope for unlocking production potential of salt affected degraded land, achieving food security and enhancing livelihood of the poverty stricken farming communities in the coastal region. This technology addresses the key challenges like land degradation (salinity), drainage congestion and scarcity of fresh water for irrigation and in turn have the potential to enhancing production, productivity, income and employment. Different land shaping techniques like farm pond, deep furrow & high ridge, shallow furrow & medium ridge, paddy-cum-fish cultivation, broad bed & furrow, tree tier, pair bed and brackishwater aquaculture pond techniques for improving drainage facility, rain water harvesting, salinity reduction and cultivation of crops and fish (freshwater and brackishwater fish) for livelihood and environmental security were tested on about 400 ha salt affected degraded and low-productive land in disadvantaged areas in Sundarbans region of Ganges delta (West Bengal) and Tsunami affected areas in Andaman & Nicobar Islands covering 32 villages in 4 districts viz. South 24 Parganas and North 24 Parganas districts in West Bengal and South Andaman and North & Middle Andaman districts in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. With land shaping techniques, different land situations like, high land, medium land and low (original) apart from rainwater harvesting structures like farm pond/furrows/trenches etc. were created in low-lying and degraded farmers’ fields. Raising of land and creating water harvesting structures reduced the problem of drainage congestion during kharif season and this provided the scope for growing high value crops like vegetables during this season and it also facilitated early sowing of rabi crops so that the farmers could get better return. It was observed that the salinity build up in the soil of different land situations especially medium land and highland/ridges/ dikes in land shaped area was reduced by 40-65%. Due to creation of different land situations and following cultivation of crops round the year org. C, av. N, P & K and biological activity like microbial biomass C in surface soil have been increased under land shaping techniques compared to land without land shaping. About 1950 water storage structures were created under different land shaping techniques and 13,05,000 m3 rainwater has been harvested annually in these structures in the study area and with harvested rain water about 260 ha areas which were earlier under mono-cropping with rice due to shortage of irrigation water have been brought under irrigation for growing multiple crops round the year. The cropping intensity has been increased upto 240 % from a base level value of 100% due to implementing the land shaping techniques. Land shaping techniques have increased the income of the households by 6-9 times or even more compared to base line value. Average net income per ha of farm land has been increased from Rs.22000 to Rs. 1,23,000 in Sundarbans and Rs.22400 to Rs. 1,90,000 in Andaman & Nicobar Islands. Brackishwater aquaculture was demonstrated through shaping of land into more than 110 shallow depth pond in the coastal areas of Sundarbans particularly near the brackishwater rivers which was remain almost fallow and not being utilized for any agricultural activity on account of high soil salinity. Farmers were getting benefitted from this brackishwater aquaculture with a net income of about Rs. 1,50,000 ha-1 of pond area. Farming activities under land shaping techniques have enhanced the employment opportunities for the farm families in the study areas. As the farmers get employment in their own farm land throughout the year, this has checked the seasonal migration rate of the farm family in search of their livelihood. These techniques were financially viable and attractive proposition for the coastal region. However, major constraints for adoption of land shaping techniques were marginal land holdings that too divided into several parcels, high initial investment, presence of acid sulphate soils near surface or at shallow depth at places, distance from residential village etc. Though the technology have been well adopted at farm level, there is lack of information on larger watershed or basin level hydrological impacts such as availability of rainwater for downstream flow, groundwater recharge etc. There is a need to understand and resolve issues on large scale dissemination of land shaping technology covering the areas of input-supplies and management, market and marketing environment – the driver of change in cropping pattern and production, credit needs and absorption of the farmers, and the role financial institutions therein. More intensive study should be undertaken to address those issues so that the land shaping will be adopted in a large scale for the sustainable agricultural development in the salt affected coastal region.Not Availabl