Net sown area (NSA) refers to the physical extent of land on which are crops are sown and harvested. Hence, it denotes the land that is put into use for cropping (cultivation)once every year.

On the other hand, gross cropped area (GCA) refers to total area sown once as well as more than once in a particular year. For instance, when the crop is sown on a piece of land more than once, the area is counted that many times in the gross cropped area.