Exploring the dimensions and economic factors influencing crop diversification across different agro-climatic regions of Chhattisgarh

Introduction

India is a global agricultural powerhouse. As per Indian economic survey 2020-21, agriculture employed more than 50 per cent of the Indian workforce and contributed 20.2 per cent to the country's GDP. More than 70 percent of India's population lives in rural areas, where agriculture is the primary occupation. India has made tremendous progress in the agricultural sector over the last 50 years. In order to feed the growing vast population, self-reliance in food grains has been the major agenda of policies. The changing scenario of agriculture has forced the farming community and policy makers in agriculture to search for a more remunerative and viable production portfolio. The diversification of agriculture towards non-food grain and high value commodities has been the right answer for it, because these commodities have potential of income augmentation, employment generation, poverty alleviation and export promotion (Jha1996; Chand 1996 andJoshi et al. 2004) [6, 4, 7] . Crop diversification, a vital aspect of agricultural development, entails the shift from traditional cropping patterns to a variety of crops that are more sustainable, profitable, and resilient to climatic and market uncertainties. In the Indian context, especially in agrarian states like Chhattisgarh, crop diversification plays a crucial role in ensuring food security, enhancing farmer incomes, and maintaining ecological balance. Chhattisgarh, known for its significant contribution to India's rice bowl, has predominantly followed a monoculture approach centered around paddy cultivation. However, this dependency poses several challenges, including soil degradation, water scarcity, and economic vulnerabilities arising from market fluctuations. Agriculture employs over 80 per cent of the population in the State, while arable land under cultivation is 43 per cent of the total land area. The cropping pattern was found to be dominated by Niger, soybean, and groundnut under oilseeds, and paddy, kodo-kutki, maize, and wheat under cereals, chickpea and lathyrus an under pulses. Given its diverse agro-climatic zones, Chhattisgarh has untapped potential for crop diversification, which could lead to more sustainable agricultural practices, enhanced economic resilience, and a reduction in environmental stresses. Thisstudy was done with a purpose of examining the status and pattern of crop diversification along different agro-climatic zones of Chhattisgarh state and to decipher the economic factors influencing crop diversification in the state. The study was based on time series data over the period of 22 years (2001-02 to 2022-23).

Methodology

Simpson Diversity Index (SDI)

Where, Pi = Proportion of area under i th crop N = Total number of crops cultivated

The value of SDI ranges from zero (0) to one (1). SDI takes a value close to zero (0) when crop diversification is minimal, but a value close to one (1) under high diversification situations. Levels of diversification according to Simpson Diversification Index: 1. Low-index value less than 0.25 2. Moderate-0.25 and more than 0.25 3. High-0.5 but less than 0.75 4. Very high-index value more than 0.75 Multiple linear regression analysis was carried out using the time series data for the period from 2001-02 to 2022-23 to identify the important economic factors affecting crop diversification. The functional form used was:

Where, Y= Simpson Diversification Index (%) X 1 = Per capita Gross State Domestic Product X 2 = Percentage of area under High Yielding Varieties of Cereals X 3 = Percentage of gross irrigated area to gross cultivated area X 4 = MSP of paddy X 5 = Procurement price of pulses X 6 = Average land holding X 7 = Market density (number of markets per 1,000 ha of gross cropped area) X 8 = Fertilizer consumption (Kg/ha) X 9= Road length (square km per 1,000 ha of gross cropped area X 10 = Percentage of small and marginal landholders in total holdings U= Error term.

Results and Discussion

Status and pattern of crop diversification in Kharif and Rabi season in Chhattisgarh Plains

The study on the crop diversification trend in Chhattisgarh Plains from 2001-02 to 2022-23 revealed that, varying patterns across the Rabi and Kharif seasons. The performance of periodic as well as Annual Simpsons Diversification Index (SDI) in Chhattisgarh plains during Rabi and Kharif seasons, as well as overall from 2001 to 2022 is being represented in Table (1). The Rabi season exhibited a relatively higher and more dynamic diversification trend, with a Simpson Diversification Index (SDI) of 0.703 in the first sub-period and 0.745 in the second sub-period and an overall of 0.733. In contrast, the Kharif season consistently demonstrated low crop diversification, with SDI values of 0.143, 0.139 and 0.141 in sub-period 1, sub-period 2 and overall respectively. At the aggregate level, the overall crop diversification index showed moderate diversification, with fluctuations over time. It is quite apparent from (fig. 1) that, the rate of diversification effect in kharif, rabi and whole during the period of 2001-02 to 2022-23.

Status and pattern of crop diversification in Kharif and Rabi season in Northern Hills

The performance of periodic and annual SDI in Northern Hills during Rabi and Kharif seasons as well as overall from 2001 to 2022 is presented in the table (3). From the table it can be observed that, the Rabi season has executed a high crop diversification with SDI ranging from 0.73 in 2001-02 to 0.72 in the recent years of 2022-23. In the Kharif season, it exhibited a moderate level of diversification in Northern Hills as it can be observed from table. The diversification Index SDI stood at 0.42 in the first sub-period, where it was 0.44 in the second sub-period. Overall SDI was 0.43 over the study period in the Kharif season. Taking the overall diversification in Northern Hills, it executed a highly moderate level of crop diversification ranging from 0.52 in the first sub-period and 0.53 in the second sub-period with an overall diversification index of 0.53.

Economic factors influencing crop diversification in Chhattisgarh

The estimated regression function for the determinants of crop diversification was presented in the table (5) The regression analysis revealed that the per capita GSDP has exerted a positive and significant effect on crop diversification in Rabi. A negative insignificant influence on Kharif season and total crops. The regression coefficient for proportion of area under High Yielding Varieties of cereals was negative in the three cases and the effects were insignificant. The proportion of gross irrigated area to gross cultivated area exerted a negative impact on crop diversification in both Rabi and Kharif season and in overall crops. The negative effect was significant in Kharif season. The Minimum Support Price (MSP) of rice had a significant negative impact on crop diversification in the Kharif season, indicating that government policies may inadvertently discourage diversification. In contrast, the procurement prices of pulses had a positive and significant effect on crop diversification in Rabi season, suggesting that targeted policies can promote diversification. It can be observed that, the effect of average landholding is mixed. It showed insignificant negative effect on diversification of crops in both Rabi and Kharif and an insignificant positive effect on total crops taken together. Market density also exerted a mixed effects on diversification. It had an insignificant positive influence on crop diversification in Rabi and an insignificant negative influence on diversification in Kharif and overall crop taken together. It is observed that fertilizer consumption exerted a dampening effect on diversification. It was negatively significant in both Rabi and Kharif season. In overall crop taken the negative effect was insignificant. Road length had a positive effect on diversification. It can be observed that the effect was insignificant and positive in Rabi, Kharif and overall crops taken together. Proportion of small and marginal landholders to the total holdings exerted a mixed effect on diversification of crops in the state. It can be observed that it had an insignificant positive influence on crop diversification in both Rabi and Kharif. A negative and insignificant effect can be observed of the same in overall crops. By considering these factors, policymakers and practitioners can develop more effective strategies to promote crop diversification and improve agricultural sustainability in Chhattisgarh.

Conclusion

Indian agriculture has undergone significant diversification with impressive improvements in the crop sector and from the share of livestock and fisheries sectors. Through diversification, India enjoys a comparative advantage due to its diverse agro-eco regions in meeting the challenge posed by a multiplying population. Most part of the eastern India is bestowed with plenty of rainfall and good quality of natural resources basic to agriculture, but poor resource management of these resources and unscientific land use planning has led to a situation where people of this "resource rich region are resource poor". Chhattisgarh, known for its significant contribution to India's rice bowl, has predominantly followed a monoculture approach centered around paddy cultivation. Given its diverse agro-climatic zones, Chhattisgarh has untapped potential for crop diversification, which could lead to more sustainable agricultural practices, enhanced economic resilience, and a reduction in environmental stresses. This study on the status and pattern of crop diversification in Chhattisgarh and across its various agroclimatic zones from 2001-02 to 2022-23 revealed varying patterns across the Rabi and Kharif seasons. The Rabi season exhibited a relatively higher and more dynamic diversification trend, with a gradual increase in the Simpson's Diversification Index (SDI) across all agroclimatic zones whereas the Kharif season consistently demonstrated low crop diversification, with SDI values remaining low throughout the study period. At the aggregate level, the overall crop diversification index showed moderate diversification, with fluctuations over time. This study highlights the dominancy of paddy monoculture in the state and it's untapped potency for an efficient diversification within the crop sector. The analysis of the economic factors influencing crop diversification in the state reveals that economic and policy factors influence crop diversification differently across seasons. Rabi diversification benefits from higher per capita Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) and pulse procurement prices, while Kharif diversification is negatively affected by MSP for rice and irrigation expansion. Fertilizer consumption significantly reduces diversification in both seasons, while market density, road length, and landholding size show mixed or insignificant effects. These insights suggest that targeted policy interventions, such as revising MSP policies, promoting diverse cropping patterns, and optimizing irrigation and fertilizer use, can encourage better diversification in the state. Harnessing the potential of diversification presupposes gradual restructuring of policies, credit and fiscal setup into the diversification encouraging ones, thereby promoting a sustainable agricultural development in the state.

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