6 November 2024 : Daily Answer Writing

Q1) The skewed emphasis on certain crops has distorted the cropping pattern in India, which has led to grave socio-economic and environmental consequences. Elaborate.

(250 Words/15 Marks)

ANS

Cropping pattern refers to the proportion of land under cultivation of different crops at different points of time. Distorted cropping pattern in the country with skewed emphasis on certain crops has led to adverse consequences, as discussed:

1. Social
2. The local communities suffer the most as land available for the growth of their staple diet is now diverted. E.g., cassava and millets are becoming sparce due to plantation/commercial crops.
3. Nutrient deficiencies due to neglect of locally sourced food products. Eg: high iron deficiency in women, prevalence of obesity and malnutrition etc.
4. It also leads to loss of culture and extinction of local cuisines.
5. Economical
6. Un-scientific cropping may ensure short-term benefits. In the long term, it inflicts a huge economic loss in terms of green-valuation. Eg: Sugarcane in Rajasthan.
7. Loss of locally suited crops adds to food expenses and leads to food-inflation of the mainstream crops including potatoes, etc.
8. Environmental
9. Soil exhaustion- Punjab and Haryana have become the granaries of India since the Green Revolution owing to high-cropping intensity, good irrigation and use of fertilizers. This has exhausted the soil beyond repair.
10. Water misuse- Water intensive crops like Sugarcane which are now being grown in deficient states like Rajasthan are causing depletion of the already spare resource.
11. Threat to local microflora- Crops from outside the agroclimatic zone act as alien species and can endanger the local flora and fauna. E.g., loss of Himalayan herb species due to monocultures.
12. Loss of varieties- Due to certain government policies as MSP, local and wild varieties of similar crops are on the verge of extinction. E.g., India has above 1200 varieties of rice but only about 34 are mainstreamed.

Thus, there is need to adopt a scientific cropping pattern that aligns with regional agro-climatic conditions. Following measures can be taken:

1. Localized MSP: Decentralized procurement of local crops, suited to local agro-climatic realities need to be ensured. E.g., procurement of red rice in Uttarakhand, Jowar in Rajasthan etc.
2. Policy support is needed for mainstream local crops. In this regard declaration of International Year for millets, is a step in the right direction.
3. Botanical gardens and Herbariums to be present at every district level to preserve and even market, seeds and plants of local varieties.
4. Training, capacity building and market linkages for conservation agriculture, organic farming, ZBNF etc., should be ensured.
5. Popularization of local cuisines through fairs and even social media can give an incentive to boost the production of regional crops.

Agro-climatically suited crops provide better disease resistance as well as climate tolerance. The need of the hour is to provide locally suited crops with the necessary support to ensure long-term food/nutritional security.