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One of the major challenges concerning the farm sector of India in the
11th Five-Year Plan is to reverse the deceleration in agricultural growth. The two major sources of growth
in agriculture, viz., area expansion and productivity growth, which served well in the past,
are now plagued by some limitations. While the scope of area expansion is limited by
the inelastic supply of land, it is argued that any significant technological breakthrough
cannot be expected in the near future and hence one has to depend on the exploitation of
the potential of the existing technology (GOI, 2006). Therefore, a third alternative, which
may prove to be very useful in this context, at least in the short run, is to move
toward diversification, particularly, into high value crops.
The dominance of wheat-paddy system has led to serious economic, social and
ecological problems such as deceleration in productivity growth, drop in agricultural
employment, overexploitation of groundwater resources and decline in soil fertility, especially in the
Green Revolution areas of the country. In Punjab, soil has deteriorated because of excessive use
of chemical fertilizers and cultivation of same crops over and over again (Sidhu and
Dhillon, 1997). According to Sidhu and Sidhu (1988), Punjab's overdependence on rice and wheat
has led to some serious ecological and production-related marketing problems. Moreover,
the gradual changes in the consumption pattern within the country as well as abroad are a
clear indication that the policy focus needs to be reoriented toward diversifying the
cropping pattern to meet the emerging market needs. Diversification of agriculture in favor of
more competitive and high value quality products assumes greater importance in the context
of opening up of the economy and its competitiveness, particularly in the farm sector.
The lesson for Assam, from the experience of the Green Revolution areas in India, is
not to concentrate only on one or two crops but to go for a diversified cropping pattern to
avoid adverse environmental consequences apart from reaping other benefits, such as stability
of yields, reduced risk of crop failure, increased productivity, increased agro-returns,
and enhanced employment. It should be noted that there is a special need for diversification
of crops in Assam. The winter or 'Sali' paddy that has traditionally occupied a major
share in the total cropped area is very much prone to frequent floods, which is a major source
of instability of agricultural production in the state. Hence, diversification into not only
crops but also seasons may provide a boost to agricultural production and its stability to a
great extent. |
