Cropping Pattern refers to the proportion of land under different crops at a given point in time, changes in this distribution over time, and the factors influencing these changes. In India, cropping patterns are primarily determined by rainfall, climate, temperature, and soil type. Technology is also important in determining crop patterns. For example, in the mid 1960s, the use of High Yield Varieties Seeds in conjunction with fertilisers in the regions of Punjab, Haryana, and Western Uttar Pradesh significantly increased wheat production. In this article, we will discuss Factors determining cropping pattern in India which will be helpful for UPSC exam preparation.

India's Changing Cropping Patterns

• Cropping pattern is a dynamic concept that changes over time and space. It is defined as the proportion of land under various crops at any given time. Over time, a variety of crops may be grown in combinations and rotations.
• Rainfall, climate, temperature, soil type, technology, and farmers' socioeconomic conditions all influence cropping patterns in India.
• These changes in cropping patterns were primarily caused by an increase in crop prices. Cropping patterns in India have changed dramatically since independence.
• Cropping patterns changed as a result of the Green Revolution. Rice was introduced to the states of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
• Because of the introduction of new technologies in Indian agriculture, crop cultivation has become very profitable and productive.
• Farmers are shifting away from traditional non-cash/non-commercial crops such as cereals and pulses and toward cash/commercial crops such as oilseeds, fruits, vegetables, spices, and so on.
• Farmers have altered their crop patterns in order to reap the benefits of economic expansion as well.
• Climate change has influenced the Indian monsoon, causing cropping patterns to shift.
• Population growth and urbanisation have resulted in land conversion, increased intensive farming, and altered cropping patterns.

Factors Determining Cropping Pattern

Physical Factors

• Soil: The components of soil and the climatic influence of a region determine the type of crop that would be grown using a specific type of soil.
• Climate: The dry regions, where rainfall is scarce and monsoons are unpredictable, rely on jowar and bajra. Rice is grown in flood-prone areas.
• Cropping patterns are also influenced by irrigation facilities. Wherever water is available, not only can a different crop be grown, but also double or triple cropping.

Technical Factors

• Cropping patterns are also affected by technical factors such as the nature and capacity of irrigation facilities available in a region, the availability of improved seeds and chemical fertiliser, and so on.
• The traditional method of cultivation is bound to change as irrigation facilities develop. This allows for a new and improved crop rotation system to be used, as well as the cultivation of new and superior crops.
• Sugarcane, tobacco, oilseeds, and other crops have increased significantly in India as irrigation facilities have been expanded. Furthermore, with the availability of irrigation water, double or triple cropping is possible.
• Again, in the absence of irrigation facilities in some other parts of the country, the concept of "dry land farming" has grown in popularity in recent years.

Economic Factors

• Price and income maximisation: Price fluctuations have a significant impact on acreage shifts. Variation in inter-crop prices caused acreage to shift between crops.
• Farm Size: There is a connection between farm size and cropping pattern. Small farmers are initially interested in producing food grain to meet their own needs. As a result, smallholders devote less land to cash crops than largeholders.
• Risk insurance: The need to reduce crop failure risk explains not only diversification but also some specific features of crop patterns.
• Input availability: Seeds, fertilisers, water storage, marketing, transportation, and other factors all have an impact on cropping patterns.
• Tenure: In the crop sharing system, the landlord has a veto over cropping patterns, which aids in the adoption of crop adjustments that maximise income.

Government Policies

• The government has the ability to influence cropping patterns through legislative and administrative measures.
• Food Crops Acts, Land Use Acts, intensive paddy schemes, cotton and oilseed schemes, and subsidies all have an impact on cropping patterns.
• Subsidies on farm inputs such as seeds and fertilisers have resulted in record food grain production.
• Irrigation, knowledge dissemination, technology demonstrations, and other initiatives have encouraged farmers to grow new crops or use better crop combinations.
• The government can encourage or discourage certain crops for a variety of reasons such as drought, flood, inflation, and so on.
• Farmers prefer rice and wheat with high Minimum Support Price (MSP) over other food crops.

Price and Income Aspect

• The movement of agricultural product prices is related to changes in cropping patterns.
• A remunerative and consistent price for a particular crop provides a better incentive for the producer to produce that crop, whereas an unremunerative price induces the farmer to change the cropping pattern.
• In India, fixed procurement prices for wheat and rice, as well as other government controls, induced farmers to shift to cash crops such as sugarcane.
• Again, low jute prices in Assam and other neighbouring states influenced crop production.
• Furthermore, the aspect of income maximisation is playing an important role in influencing the cropping pattern in the country. Relative profitability per acre has a significant impact on the country's cropping pattern.

Size of Farm

• There is also a positive relationship between farm size and cropping pattern.
• Farmers on a small farm are eager to produce food grains for household consumption.
• Small farmers may choose cash crops after meeting their own food needs in order to maximise their monetary income.
• Farmers on large farms, on the other hand, prefer to follow cropping patterns that maximise their income.

Conclusion

Several factors can influence cropping patterns. Physical and technical factors, economic factors, government agrarian policy, technological advancements, the availability of agricultural inputs and facilities, and so on are some of these. Cropping systems are important not only for optimising crop production but also for improving soil health by balancing soil biodiversity, increasing soil nutrient use efficiency, and decreasing soil-borne pathogens.