What are the present challenges before crop diversification? How do emerging technologies provide an opportunity for crop diversification?. UPSC IAS Mains 2021 General Studies (Paper – 3)
Crop diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to agricultural production on a particular farm taking into account the different returns from value-added crops with complementary marketing opportunities. The aim of crop diversification is to increase crop portfolio so that farmers are not dependent on a single crop to generate their income.
Benefits:
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- At present, 70-80% farmers have land below 2 hectares. To overcome this, existing cropping patterns must be diversified with high value crops such as maize, pulses, etc.
- Crop diversification can better tolerate the ups and downs in price of various farm products and it may ensure economic stability of farming products.
- It refers to sudden adverse weather conditions like erratic rainfall, drought, hail, incidence of insect and pest disease. Under this situation, crop diversification through mixed cropping may be useful.
- Most of the Indian population suffers from malnutrition. Crops like pulses, oilseed, horticulture and vegetables can improve socio-economic status by adding quality to the food basket and also improve soil health with the aim of food safety and nutritional security.
- Adoption of crop diversification helps in conservation of natural resources like introduction of legume in rice-wheat cropping system which has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen to help sustain soil fertility.
Challenges:
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- Majority of cropped area in the country is completely dependent on rainfall.
- Sub-optimal and over-use of resources like land and water cause a negative impact on the environment and sustainability of agriculture.
- Inadequate supply of seeds and plants of improved cultivars.
- Fragmentation of land holding less favouring modernisation and mechanisation of agriculture.
- Poor basic infrastructure like rural roads, power, transport, communications, etc.
- Inadequate post-harvest technologies and inadequate infrastructure for post-harvest handling of perishable horticultural produce.
- Very weak agro-based industry.
- Weak research – extension – farmer linkages.
- Inadequately trained human resources together with persistent and large-scale illiteracy among farmers.
- Host of diseases and pests affecting most crop plants.
- Poor database for horticultural crops.
- Decreased investments in the agricultural sector over the years.
Role of emerging technologies in crop diversification:
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- With the help of IT revolution, farmers are directly connected with grocery-customers (farm to fork model) leading to cultivation of high value perishable products (e.g., Big Basket, BlinkIt startup platforms).
- Aquaponics and urban farming are a technique of controlled environment cultivation which help in crop diversification in order to meet the heavy urban demand for perishable items.
- Through financial inclusion and digitisation, small farmers and women self-help groups have been able to ensure crop diversification by credit supply.
- In arid areas, technologies like Urea Deep Placement (UDP), Poly-bag Nursery farming, etc. have been introduced by Indo-Israel Agriculture Project.
- Soil health management assisted in facilitating right fertiliser usage, developing organic farming and providing GIS based thematic mapping for soil.
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