Cropping Pattern

The cropping patterns in India can be presented by taking the major crops into consideration as the base crop and all other possible alternative crops. At farmers’ level, potential productivity and monetary benefits act as guiding principles while these decisions with respect to choice of crops and cropping systems narrowed down under influence of several other forces related to infrastructure facilities, socio-economic factors and technological developments, all operating interactively at micro-level.

Recent Developments

Provisional Agriculture Census Data Released

  • The government on October 1, 2018 released agriculture census for 2015-16 that showed a 1.53 per cent decline in total operated area at 157.14 million hectare as compared to 2010-11 data, but a rise in both operational holdings and female participation.
  • The first census was conducted with reference year 1970-71. So far, nine censuses have been done and this is the 10th in series.

Size of Operational Holding

  • The average size of operational holding declined to 1.08 hectares (ha) in 2015-16 compared to 1.15 ha in 2010-11, as per the provisional data.
  • The census also found out that the percentage share of female operational holders has increased from 12.79 per cent in 2010-11 to 13.87 per cent in 2015-16. In terms of operated area, the share of women increased from 10.36 per cent to 11.57 per cent.
  • Total operated area, which includes both cultivated and uncultivated area provided part of it is put to farm production, fell from 159.59 million ha in 2010-11 to 157.14 million ha in 2015-16.
  • Semi-medium and medium operational holdings (2-10 ha) in 2015-16 were 13.22 per cent, with 43.61 per cent of operated area.
  • The large holdings (10 ha and above) were merely 0.57 per cent of total number of holdings in 2015-16 and had a share of 9.04 per cent in the operated area as against 0.71 per cent and 10.59 per cent, respectively for 2010-11 census.

Small and Marginal Holdings

  • As per the census data, small and marginal holdings taken together (0-2 ha) constitute 86.21 per cent of the total holdings in 2015-16 against 84.97 per cent in 2010-11. Their share in the operated area stands at 47.34 per cent in the current census as against 44.31 per cent in 2010-11.

State-wise Data

  • The average operational holding was highest in Nagaland (5.06 ha) and lowest in Kerala (0.18 ha).
  • The latest data show UP at 23.82 million, had the highest number of operational holdings, followed by Bihar (16.41 million), Maharashtra (14.71 million), Madhya Pradesh (10 million), and Karnataka (8.68 million).
  • In the operated area, Rajasthan reported highest of 20.87 mha, followed by Maharashtra (19.88 mha), Uttar Pradesh (17.45 mha), MP (15.67 mha) and Karnataka (11.72 mha).
  • The highest variation in the number of operational holdings was reported in MP at 12.74 per cent, followed by Andhra Pradesh (11.85 per cent).

Realignment of Cropping Pattern

  • The Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare emphasize (on august, 2018) for holistic development of agriculture including land, crop and water productivity. In order to enhance water use efficiency and judicious use of irrigation water, incentives are given for water saving devices like sprinklers, drip, raingun etc. besides promotion of resource conservation technologies under the Schemes like Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY) (per drop more crop) etc.
  • The cropping pattern is dependent on various factors viz. agro- climatic condition of the region, availability of resources like land & water, market forces, socio-economic condition of the farmers and change as per the available resources.
  • The farmers are encouraged to use available resources like land and water judiciously. The new technologies on cropping pattern are demonstrated at the farmers’ fields through State Department of Agriculture/Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR)/State Agricultural Universities (SAUs)/Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), etc.

Cropping Pattern in India

Cropping pattern is a dynamic concept because it changes over space and time. It can be defined as the proportion of area under various crops at a point of time. A broad picture of the major cropping patterns in India can be presented by taking the major crops into consideration.

Cropping Season

Major Crops Cultivated

Northern States

Southern States

Kharif (June-September)

Rice, Cotton, Bajra, Maize, Jowar, Tur

Rice, Maize, Ragi, Jowar, Groundnut

Rabi (October-March)

Wheat, Gram, Rapeseeds and Mustard, Barley

Rice, Maize, Ragi Groundnut, Jowar

Zaid (April-June)

Vegetables, Fruits, Fodder

Rice, Vegetables, Fodder

  • Among the kharif crops, rice, jowar, bajra, maize, groundnut and cotton are the prominent crops to be considered the base crops for describing the kharif cropping patterns. Among the rabi crops, wheat, gram and sorghum or jowar are considered the base crops for explaining the rabi cropping pattern.

Advantages of Cropping Pattern

  • Soil fertility can be restored.
  • Less competition, faster growth of crops.
  • Weeds, diseases and insects can be managed better.
  • Proper utilization of all resources.

Disadvantages of Cropping Pattern

  • Mechanized planting and harvesting are difficult.
  • It is more difficult to apply needed fertilizers and other chemicals as in sole cropping.
  • Experimentation with intercropping is more complex and difficult to manage than with sole cropping.

Emerging Problems in Cropping Patterns

Over the years the emerging scenario in the cropping pattern points to the following observations:

  • The dominance of cereal crops in the food grains point to the poverty of the people. It meets the demand of the low-income people, in whose case a large proportion of income is spent on cereals. Even pulses which are the source of protein for this class of people is not grown on a significant scale. Most of the farmers being marginal and small are the net purchaser of food grains and hardly can afford the high input cost for raising a successful non-food cash crop.
  • The predominance of food grains group together with the fact that a significant proportion of agricultural production is concentrated in small farms, leads one to conclude that much of the cultivation is for self-consumption.
  • The fact that large areas remains under food grains shows that land productivity has not increased at par with technological possibilities.
  • Despite significant changes in cropping pattern, the shift towards high valued commercial crops has been very small. The result is an insignificant impact on the growth of the crop output.

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