An Analysis of Crop Diversification in India

  1. Home
  2. January 2018
Keywords : Agricultural, land holdings, cropping pattern, crop diversification, horticulture


Abstract

Agriculture plays an important role in India’s economy where more than half of the rural population are involved in agriculture and allied activities as their principal means of livelihood. Indian agriculture had experienced radical changes after the introduction of New Agricultural Technology during mid-sixties and it has undergone several transformative changes thereafter. It has been observed that since 1990s there is an increasing trend of diversification in Indian agriculture. Crop diversification is one of the strategies in agricultural diversification that the farmers have adopted in order to reduce their vulnerability to face the risk and challenges involved in agriculture and also to increase their farm income. Agriculture in India has been diversifying in favour of more remunerative and high-valued crops due to the change in consumption basket of the economy. This paper tries to analyze the diversification of crops in agriculture sector of the economy. It covers the share of Gross Domestic Product in agriculture, changing pattern of land holdings, average holding size, changes in cropping pattern and the diversification towards horticulture sector. This analysis has found that the contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP has been continuously falling along with decline in total agricultural workers in the economy. The agriculture sector is dominated by 67% of marginal farm holdings. Percentage share of Gross cropped area has shifted from food crops to non- food crops and the crop production have mainly diversified towards horticulture sector mostly in favour of fruits and vegetables.

Download

Comments
No have any comment !
Leave a Comment