Cropping Pattern of Food-grain crops in India

• Among, food-crops, increased area under cereals and decreased area under millets.
• Among food-grains to non-food grains area, there is a gradual shift from Non-food grains to food-grains.
• High  MSP of wheat and rice has kept the farmers encouraged to grow them in more and more quantity.
• Strategic objectives of India's agriculture policy have been focussing on the increased food grain production.

Types of Cropping Pattern in India

1)   Mono Culture: The Practice of growing a single crop in a large area in particular cropping season. It is typical in commercial farming however it is also popular in Indian where subsistence farming is practiced. Rice & Wheat in Punjab are grow almost in a manner resembling monoculture –

Rice                 Wheat                         Bajara

↓                                            ↓                         ↓

W.B.                Punjab             W. Rajasthan

2)   Double Cropping: There are two Types of double dropping. 

Inter Cropping

Practice of grow more than one crop on the same field in the same growing season it is achieved planting two or more crops in rows, mustard & Wheat in Punjab 'and Haryana traditionally cultivated (20 rows mustered & 30 rows wheat).

Relay Cropping

Grow two crops simultaneously making the crop selection in such a manner that while one crop matures and is harvested the other crop has already started growing. It is generally practiced in well, distributed annual rainfall those areas where assured irrigation facilities are available. For ex- Soyabean can be planted while wheat matures.

3)   Mixed Cropping

Refers to growing variety of crops in a particular growing season under this system different crops are grown on different fields. It is typical of the areas of subsistence farming where farmers try to produce everything. Whatever they need they cultivate on their on farmland. This practice is just opposite to monoculture.

4)   Multiple Cropping

Practice of growing more than one crop in a year on the same land. This practice can be only adopted in areas where the rainfall is well distributed over the year or assured means of irrigation is available. Fertility of land will also be maintained usually by the use of manures and fertilizers, No land kept fallow is this practice. It is also practiced in the areas of Green Revolution.

Cropping pattern of non-food grains

• Among non-food grain crops, oil seeds form an important group which also include other crops like cotton, jute, sugarcane, tobacco, tea, coffee, etc. accounting for about 14% of total cropped area. The area has shown increasing and decreasing trends.
• Sometimes there is an increase in the area and sometimes there is a decrease in the area but overall there was not much change in the area of cultivation.

Factors affecting cropping pattern in India

Geographical Features

• Cropping pattern of any region depends upon geographical features as soil, climate, rainfall, etc. Apart from this, it depends on the nature and availability of irrigation facilities. Terrain & Slope both determines the nature of crop i.e. tea... hilly areas but rice or jute in plane areas.
• Where physical diversity is less, the Cropping Pattern are also less diversified & vice versa. e.g. rainfall deficient areas of Rajasthan farmers grow Bajra while in fertile Brahmaputra/Hugali Valley of W.B. rice has the status of monoculture contrary to this soil of Indo-Gangetic plains (Eastern India) are suitable for cultivation of numerous crops.

Economic Motivations

• Economic motivations are also important in determining the cropping pattern. The prices influence the acreage under the crops in two ways. One is that the variations in the intercrop price disparities lead to shifts in acreage between the crops
• Another is that the maintenance of a stable level of prices for a crop provides a better incentive to the producer to increase the out put than what a very high level of price does, if there is no certainty of this level being maintained over a number of years.
• Demand based, cropping pattern in agricultural regions i.e. cotton cultivation, in vidarbh region of Maharashtra. Jute in W.B., Rice in Punjab.
• Farmers also would choose the combination of crops which would give them maximum income. Relative profitability per acre is the main consideration which influences the crop pattern.
• Small farmers are first interested in producing food grains for their requirements and devote only a small relative acreage to cash crops than large farmers.

Government Policies

• Fixed procurement price of wheat and rice and other Government controls have induced farmers to shift the cultivation to cash crops like sugarcane.
• Food Crop Acts, Land use Acts, intensive schemes for paddy, cotton, oil seed etc. all these bring sharply into focus the possibility that while each individual measure may push the crop pattern in the direction intended to, but if the overall effect of all measures taken together on the entire crop pattern is taken, it may not be in accordance with national requirements.

Social / cultural

• It is concerned with food habbits which are socially defined and influence cropping pattern. Wheat in western Indian states. Rice cultivation in eastern India, eastern & western coastal plain are few examples.

Crop productivity is measured as the ratio of agricultural outputs to agricultural inputs, e.g. yield per hectare. Before independence the productivity of food grains showed a decline. With the introduction of economic planning in 1950-51, and with special emphasis on agricultural development, there was a steady increase in the productivity 

In last three decades, India has seen significant progress towards increasing production, yield levels and crop diversification. Still, the agricultural productivity in India i.e. average yield per hectare is among the lowest in the world. Also there exist vast differences in productivity between states[1].

Causes for Low Productivity: Some of the main factors are as follows:

Small Size of Holdings

• The average size of holdings in India is very low (1.16 hectares) and they are fragmented and small. Since they are small, scientific cultivation techniques cannot be adopted.
• Small sized holdings lead to great waste of time, labour and cattle power, difficulty in proper utilization of irrigation facilities and consequent litigation among farmers etc.
• There are limitations to the expansion of area for cultivation.

Overcrowding in agriculture

• The increase in population could not be absorbed in industries. Consequently, the pressure of population increased the pressure on land.
• Increased population led to sub-division and fragmentation of holdings thus there was a decline in the area of land available for cultivation per capita[2].
• Disguised unemployment and low marginal productivity because too many people are directly dependent on farming.

Social Factors

• Discouraging rural atmosphere
• Indian farmers are mostly illiterate ignorant, superstitious and conservative and they feel satisfied with their primitive system of cultivation.
• Very few farmers are quick in following modern technology; but vast majority of farmers are not motivated to learn and try new ways. However, this has steadily changed in recent years.

Institutional factors

• Land tenure system dominated by big landlords- failure of land reforms
• Institutional supply of inputs
• Poor extension network that covers only 40% of farmers.
• Inadequate Farm Credits
• Farm Credits have been inadequate despite the efforts of the government and RBI to increase it.
• In recent times, Farm credits have grown steadily. The role of cooperatives has also expanded.

Lack of storage facilities

• Farmers are unable to secure storage facilities in towns and sometimes they were cheated by wholesalers and commission agents.
• The situation remains grim in most of the villages as of now. The government has launched a Rural Godown Scheme whose results are far from expectations.
• Now to create storage infrastructure the government has launched 'Private Entrepreneur Guarantee Scheme' under which private entrepreneurs will invest in constructing storage infrastructure and the government will guarantee its usage for a fixed period.

Technological factors

• Poor techniques of production
• Most farmers in India are tradition-bound and poor they have not adopted the techniques which are so widely adopted in the countries of the West and Japan.
• Only in recent years and that too to a limited extent, the farmers have started adopting improved implements like steel ploughs, sugarcane crushers, small pumping sets, water lifts, hose, seed drills etc.
• Poor R&D , HYV, Machines

Inadequate irrigation facilities

• Indian agriculture is mostly dependent on rainfall and very few farmers avail the facility of artificial irrigation. As per records, only 35% of arable land is under reliable irrigation.
• Though more area was brought under irrigation, still there is a great scope for improving the irrigation facilities.
• Weather forecasting etc

Suggestions for Improvement

• There should be necessary programmes which demonstrate the technology and show the importance of crop rotation, multi-cropping etc. to the farmers.
• Agricultural Mechanization Corporation can be established which can help an average farmer who cannot manage with hired labour[3].
• Greatest importance should be given to the promotion of transport, marketing facilities and consolidation of holdings.
• Improvement in storage facilities, providing tenant security, implementing the recommended projects in rural areas for improving the irrigation facilities for supplementing better quality seeds and for increasing awareness among the people about hybrids, varieties, disease resistant varieties, drought resistant varieties, etc. are the other major aspects to be concentrated upon.
• There is no scope for increasing the area of cultivation in future but through multiple cropping, relying on irrigation facilities, high yielding varieties, etc. we can raise the agricultural productivity.
• Expand credit facilities and insurance schemes for farmers.
• Promote cooperatives among farmers.

Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF)

The Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) has emerged as an important scheme for financing rural infrastructure projects of the State Govts. The RIDF was set up by the Government in 1995-96 for financing ongoing rural infrastructure projects. The Fund is maintained by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).Domestic commercial banks contribute to the Fund to the extent of their shortfall in stipulated priority sector lending to agriculture.

• The main objective of the Fund is to provide loans to State Governments and State-owned corporations to enable them to complete ongoing rural infrastructure projects.
• An allocation of Rs 25,000 crore has been made for RIDF in Budget 2014-15.
• The scope of RIDF has been widened to include activities such as rural drinking water schemes, soil conservation, rural market yards, rural health centers and primary schools, mini hydel plants, shishushikshakendras, anganwadis and system improvement in the power sector. The activities to be financed include minor irrigation projects/micro irrigation, flood protection, watershed development/replacement of waterlogged areas, drainage, forest development, market yard/godown, apna mandi, rural heats and other marketing infrastructure, cold storage, seed/agriculture/horticulture forms, plantation and horticulture, grading and certifying mechanisms such as testing and certifying laboratories, etc.