Crop pattern means the proportion of area under different crops at a particular period of time. A change in cropping pattern means a change in the proportion under different crops.
Factor Affecting the Cropping Pattern:
Cropping pattern in agriculture is, among other things, ultimately governed by farmers’ cropping choices in individual farms. This implies decision making on the part of the farmers in favour of one or preference for one over other competing crops. These choices are directly governed by specific purposes for which the crops are to be grown and these are conditioned by geographical factors and modified by the emergent social and economic circumstances.
The choice for growing a particular crop in a particular region is an outcome of these factors:
(i) The general agricultural conditions, particularly the soils, climate, water supply, and sub-soil water table, etc.
(ii) Aim of agricultural production, scale of production, size of holdings; techniques of agriculture, and change in market prices.
In areas of scanty rainfall, where there is high uncertainty of Monsoons, there is to be found a greater dependence on millets, jowar, bajra, ragi etc. On the other hand, areas with assured rainfall or those having irrigation facilities, are devoted to rice, jute, sugarcane and tobacco. In water-logged areas of the Doab in Punjab and U. P., South-West Coast of Andhra Pradesh or West Bengal, one comes across the paddy fields, but in newly reclaimed lands of M. P., and U. P., millets are first grown for a few years before they are shifted to rice.
Soils do affect the cropping pattern, through the plant nutrients available in them. Sandy soils are rather devoid of crops, but alluvial soils grow a large variety of crops ranging from wheat to rice, sugarcane, jute, tobacco. Black soil favours the cultivation of cotton and wheat; while laterites attract coffee, rubber, cinchona, and tapioca plantations, etc.
The size of the farm also affects the cropping pattern. The small holders till recently used to devote only a smaller hectarage to cash crops than the larger holders. But the empirical studies like that in Deoria district of U. P., indicate that now all farmers do try to grow cash crops for these bring them more money.
The land tenures and land systems, e.g., under the crop sharing system, the landlord has a dominant voice in the choice of the cropping pattern, and this helps in the adoption of income-maximising crop pattern adjustments.
Changes in the market prices, rent, interests, wages, etc., availability or otherwise of means of transport and the distance from the market also affect the cropping pattern. A study of the intercrop price parities (made by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture) shows how price variation influences the hectarage shifts.
“It seems that prices influence the hectarage under the crops in two ways. One is that the variations in the inter-crop price parities lead to shifts in hectarage as between the crops. Another is that the maintenance of stable level of prices for a crop provides a better incentive to the producer to increase the output than what a very high level of prices does, if there is no uncertainty of this level being maintained over a number of years.”
Personal factors relating to the cultivator also influence cropping pattern. Under these are included the requirements for home and family consumption, meeting cash requirements of the family or for selling in the market, for meeting the feed and fodder needs of the year; for maintaining soil fertility by sowing crops that follow in proper rotation or for green manuring; for seed purposes and outside stimuli, i.e., under the influence of incentives, persuasion and propaganda made by the NES and other agencies and for minor factors.
The Government Policy also affects the cropping pattern. Policies relating to priorities given to various crops, exports, taxes, supply of credit, development of backward regions determine the nature of crops and the area under them. New technology has also affected the change in the cropping pattern.
The following observations of a Scheme on Factors influencing Cropping Patterns on Individual Holdings in Some States (initiated by ICAR) will be found instructive:
1. Some crops require more water than others. The water requirements of gram, barley, bajra etc., are much lower than that of rice, maize, cotton and sugarcane. While the former groups of crops can be successfully grown with a little rainfall, the latter will succeed only with sufficient irrigation or assured rainfall obtained frequently throughout the growing period of crops.
2. On irrigated area, the percentage area under food crops (chiefly rice, wheat, gram, maize) tends to decrease with the increase in the size of holding. The percentage area under fibre and cash crops increases with the increase in the size of holding.
3. Percentage area under food crops is higher under the crop-sharing than that of owned and cash-rented land.
4. Mechanised farming has a good impact on the cropping pattern. Grains and fodder crops occupy less area on the tractor cultivated holdings (54 per cent and 9 per cent in the Punjab) than those on the bullock-cultivated ones (58 per cent and 17 per cent); but cash crops claim more area on the former (30 per cent) than on the latter (18 per cent).
The outstanding features of the cropping pattern in India are:
1. The amazing variety of crops, and
2. The preponderance of food over non-food crops.
1. Amazing Variety of Crops:
The large extent of its area and a great variety of physical and natural features and climate combined with natural fertility of the soil, enable the country to produce almost every kind of vegetable life. Herein, one finds not only the tropical products but also the products of the temperate zone as well. The most important among the tropical products grown here are- rice, coffee, sugarcane, jute, cinchona, spices, India rubber, pineapples, bananas and other kinds of tropical fruits.
The principal sub-tropical crops are cotton, opium and tea. Of the products of the temperate climate, the more important are- wheat, maize, barley, pulses, millets, potatoes, hemp and flax and various kinds of citrus and stone fruits. Besides these many miscellaneous commodities are produced such as various kinds of oilseeds, gums, timber, indigo, etc. Thus, the striking feature of Indian agriculture is its amazing variety.
It would be interesting to note that in Eastern India, east of 80° each longitude; and in the coastal lowlands, specially the western coast south of Goa, rice is the predominant crop. Tea and jute are distinctive crops of East India; West of 80° east longitude and north of Surat (where rainfall is less than 100 cm), jowar, bajra, pulses, cotton and groundnut are the chief crops in the plateau; and wheat, including pulses, gram, cotton, oilseeds, jowar, bajra and in irrigated tracts sugarcane, are all grown in the alluvial plains of Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Haryana.
2. Preponderance of Food over Non-Food Crops:
The other peculiar feature is that about three-fourths of the total cropped area is under food crops, as would be evident from the table given below:
Food grain crops such as wheat, paddy jowar, bajra, maize, gram, tur etc. are sown on about 120 million hectares. Though the total area under food grain crops has declined after 1990-91. Total area under food grain crops declined from about 128 million hectares of 1990-91 to 120 million hectares in 2000-01. It has further increased to about 127 million hectares in 2010-11.
Thus, a moderate shift is taking place in the cropping pattern of the country, but still the food grain crops dominate the cropping scenario of the country in the absence of any capital improvement in the technique of cultivation large areas have been under these crops in order to cater to the food necessities of the teeming millions and a large sized live stock.
The ‘rationale’ behind its importance could be traced to its comparable returns and consumer preference apart from climatic conditions. Some varieties are tolerant of dry conditions as barley- others can grow in water. Conforming fairly closely to the regional pattern of rice are such tropical crops as coconut, palmyra, areca palms and betel nut palms. A number of spices, the mango, the banana and other sub-tropical fruits will match this same pattern.
Next to rise, millets are the most common food, jowar, bajra, ragi, kodo, etc., are all most tolerant of drought and poverty and grown on poor soils in the hilly tracts in Deccan and the edges of North-West India. Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Karnataka have more than 45 per cent of the total area under these crops. The rationale of this dominance is explained by the fact that more than 60 per cent of the net cultivated area in India lacks irrigation facilities.
Wheat comes between rice and millets in its water requirements and does not tolerate high temperature. It is grown in areas where physio-climate conditions are suitable for its cultivation as in M.P., Gujarat, Maharashtra, Punjab, Haryana, Northern Rajasthan, Western U.P., etc. The stone fruits, apricots, peaches, pears, grapes, melons and walnuts belong to the wheat zone and are found in the north and in the mountain wall uplands. It may be noted that though a substantial area also lies under tobacco, potatoes, fruits and vegetables, tea, coffee, rubber and coconuts, but their share in the total cropped area is relatively small.
It may be observed that the increase in acreage under food grains has been of the order of 24.0 per cent between 1950-51 and 1976-77, whereas the output of food grains rose by 115.3 per cent during the same period. In spite of this rather conspicuous increase in production, internal production falls short of requirement. This has been due to an unprecedented increase in the population of the country from 361 million in 1951 to 547 million in 1971.
This situation has made the imports of cereals from abroad essential. However, since 1966, there is noticed an appreciable fall in the quantity imported from 107.95 thousand tonnes in 1966 to 446 thousand tonnes in 1972. Since then the imports increased due to severe floods and droughts which affected agricultural production. In 1974, the imports were of the order of 4,874 thousand tonnes; 7,407 thousand tonnes in 1975; and 6,515 thousand tonnes in 1976. During 1977 (upto Sept.), 492 thousand tonnes of cereals were imported.
Trends in Cropping Pattern:
At the beginning of the present century, more than 83 per cent of land was put under food-crops and about 17 per cent on non-food crops. By 1944-45, area under food crops had come down to 80 per cent and area under non-food crops had eased to 20 per cent. This shift in crops reflected a change from subsistence cropping to commercial cropping. Between 1950-51 and 1982-83, the total hectarage increased by about 41 million hectares, the increased in non-food crops was much more than the increase in food crops.
An important aspect of the cropping pattern of India is that the area under food crops is declining. About 77 per cent of the cropped area was under food grain crops in 1950-61. It declined to 70.5 per cent in 1988- 89. Another aspect of the cropping pattern emerged during the plan period is increase in the area under non-food crops. Total area under vegetable, oilseeds, potatoes, onions and tobacco has increased.
It is also notable that area sown more than once is also increasing. In 1950- 51 only 13.1 million hectare area was sown more than once. Area sown more than once increased to 38.0 million hectares in 1988-89. Area sown more than once is increasing as net irrigated area is increasing.
Though, there is preponderance of food crops over non-food crops but now the cropping pattern is shifting in favour of non-food crops particularly in plantation crops. Index number, of area under food grain crops declined to 94.4 in 2000-01 in comparison to 100 of the base year particularly in plantation crops. Index number of area under food grain crops declined to 94.4 in 2000-01 and further increased to 97.5 in 2008-09 in comparison to 100 of the base year 1981-82.
There is very sharp decline in area under coarse cereals. The index number of area under coarse cereals declined to 66.0 in 2010-11 in comparison to 100 of 1980-81, the index number of area under coarse cereals further declined to 65.6 in 2008-09. Similarly area under pulses has also declined to 88 in 2000-01. There has been some increase in the index number of area under pulses.
It is due to intensive efforts under technology Mission on Pulses. The index number of area under pulses reached to 115.5 in 2010-11. On the other hand, area under non-food grain crops has increased index number of non-food grain crops increased to 145.6 in 2008-09 in comparison to 100 of 1980-81.
Index number of area under various principal crops is given below:
The highest increase has taken place in area of wheat followed by rise under food grain crops. There has been very high increase in area under plantation crops. It shows that the effect of golden revolution is very important in India. The increase under wheat, maize and rice may be accorded to the use of hybrid varieties of seeds and other agricultural inputs, i.e., fertilizers, timely irrigation, insecticides, pesticides and modern techniques for maximising output.
In a country like India, which is dominated by farmers steeped in poverty and conservatism and with tiny holdings, cropping patterns can be made more rational through appropriate changes in economic motives. It should be a wise policy to emphasise on the increase in production of both food grains and cash crops rather than laying stress on any one crop. Cropping pattern of India is now more diversified. There is explicit in favour of commercial crops.
Commercial crops have received more importance to meet the domestic demand and export requirements. Cropping pattern has gone perceptible change. Non-traditional crops like summer moong, soya bean, summer groundnut, sunflower etc., are generally gaining importance. In order to utilise scarce resources optimally short duration varieties have been introduced to use the residual moisture available from post kharif and post rabi cultivation.
The NCAER has made certain important suggestions for improving the cropping pattern.
They may be summarised as below:
Firstly, the present way of haphazard allocation of area to different crops by individual farmers in not in the best interests of the farmers or of the country. It is also a fact that the crop plans drawn out for different irrigation projects are not strictly adhered to, because individual farmers may not like to change their existing crop pattern either due to inertia or to ignorance, resulting in a wastage of capital, land and irrigation resources. As persuasion is slow remedy, it favours legislative compulsion (as in U.S.S.R. and USA) to bring about a desired cropping pattern in different areas.
Secondly, District Planning Officers may be appointed who could plan the crops for each season according to changes in the seasonal and other factors like prices, yields etc. The fanners should work in close cooperation with departments of agriculture, irrigation, etc., so that chalked-out programmes may be implemented.
Thirdly, an Agriculture Mechanisation Corporation should be set up where the size of holdings is too large and where the average farmer is unable to manage with hired labour. The Corporation should advance the farmers the requisite machinery.
Finally, the Governments should give the greatest importance to the promotion of transport and marketing facilities and consolidation of holdings.