Cropping Pattern In India

Cropping Pattern In India

By crop pattern we mean the proportion of area under different crops at a point of time, changes in this distribution over a period of time, and factors determining this change in distribution. The cropping pattern in India is determined mainly by natural factors like rainfall, climate and soil conditions. However, technological factors have also played an important part. Significant facts about the cropping pattern in India are summarized below:

Food crops including cereals, millets, pulses, vegetables and fruits cover nearly three-fourths of the total cropped area. Of the total area of 122.6 million hectares under foodgrain in 2015-16, the share of cereals was 97.4 million hectares (i.e., 80 per cent). This shows that the area under pulses was only about 20 per cent of the total area under foodgrain both in 1950-51 and 2015-16. Rice is the most important foodgrain crop in India. In 1950-51, it was grown on 30.8 million hectares which amounted to. 31.6 per cent of the total area is devoted to foodgrains. In 2015-16, it was grown on 43.4 million hectares which amounted to 34 per cent of the total area under foodgrains. This shows that rice is grown on more than 1/3 of the total area under foodgrains. In fact, the area under rice has increased in almost all the States in recent years.

The second important foodgrain crop in India is Wheat. In 1950-51, it was sown on 9.8 one million hectares (i.e., 10 per cent of the area under foodgrains). However, it has consistently improved its position after the green revolution. In 2015-16, wheat was grown on 30.0 million hectares which comes to 24.6 per cent of the area under foodgrains i.e., more than one-fifth of the total area under foodgrains. The area under wheat has risen El considerably in Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

The case of coarse Cereals is disappointing. The combined area under jawar, bajra and maize declined in percentage from 28.6 in 1950-51 to 19.4 (as per cent of food grain area) in 2015-16. High yielding varieties of these cereals can yield three to seven times more than traditional varieties but most of them are location specific and are susceptible to pests Put and diseases. Coarse cereals also face competition from superior cereals like rice and wheat which in some areas are available at prices lower than that of coarse cereals. ice Area under Oilseeds was 10.7 million hectares in 1950-51 and 19 million hectares in 198586. To meet the domestic requirements of edible oils, the government had to import considerable quantities of oilseeds in the early eighties. To achieve self-sufficiency in edible oils, the government launched a number of programmes in the eighties like National Oilseeds.

As a result of these programmes, an area under oilseeds increased rapidly from 19 million hectares in 1985-86 to 26.2 million hectares in 1998-99. Thereafter, it is started falling and in 2003-04, the area under oilseeds was 23.7 million hectares. However, in 2015-16, the area under oilseeds rose to 26.1 million hectares. Coming to Commercial Crops we find that the area under Sugarcane increased from 1.7 million hectares in 1950-51 to 2.8 million hectares in 1995-96 and 5.0 million hectares in 2013-14. The area under cotton rose from 5,9 million hectares in 1950-51 to 11.7 million hectares in 2013-14. The area under Jute increased marginally from 0.6 million hectares in 1950-51 to 0.8 million hectares in 2015-16.

To a large extent and thus become victims of exploitation. The phrase ‘once in debt, always in debt’ expresses the condition of these farmers graphically. For a long, the Indian peasant has been living the life of a bonded land slave. It is this type of existence that is responsible for their economic bankruptcy (bankruptcy is a term to denote the state of a person who is unable to pay debts and has been judged insolvent by the court) and consequently for their continued indebtedness.

Check out these notes on Factors Determining Cropping Pattern In India.

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