Focus on Crop diversification for sustainable agriculture

Dr Hannah Krujia 
ACTO Agronomy, KVK Phek

Diversification of agriculture refers to the shift from the regional dominance of one crop to regional production of a number of crops, to meet the increasing demand for cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, fibres, fodder and grasses, fuel, etc. Crop diversification takes into account the economic returns from different value-added crops. Moreover, it implies the use of environmental and human resources to grow a mix of crops with complementary marketing opportunities, and involves a shifting of resources from low value crops to high value crops. 

Diversified farms are usually more economically and ecologically resilient. By growing a variety of crops, farmers are at economic risk and are less susceptible to the drastic price fluctuations associated with changes in supply and demand. There are two approaches to crop diversification in agriculture. First is horizontal diversification, which is the primary approach to crop diversification in production agriculture. Here, diversification takes place through crop intensification by adding new high-value crops to existing cropping systems as a way to improve the overall productivity of a farm or region's farming economy. The second is the vertical diversification approach in which farmers and others add value to products through processing, regional branding, packaging, merchandising, or other efforts to enhance the product. 

Crop diversification is the outcome of several interactive effects of many factors:

1.     Environmental factors.

2.     Technology  factors 

3.     Household  factors 

4.     Price  factors 

5.    Institutional and Infrastructure factors 

All these five factors are interrelated. The adoption of crop technologies is understood to be influenced primarily by resource related factors when institutional and infrastructure factors can play as much or more of a role in their adoption.

Major Driving Forces for Crop Diversification

1. Increasing income on small farm holdings.

2. Withstanding price fluctuation.

3. Mitigating ill - effects of abnormal weather.

4. Balancing food demand.

5. Improving fodder for livestock animals.

6. Conservation of natural resources (soil, water, etc.).

7. Minimizing environmental pollution.

8. Reducing dependence on off-farm inputs.

9. Decreasing insect pests, diseases and weed problems.

10. Increasing community Food security

Immediate Need for crop diversification

1. Processing of farm produce into value added products offers scope for employment in non-farm works 

2. There is a need to generate place based approaches for diverse farming situations under various socio-economic conditions, domestic needs, market infrastructure, input supply, etc.

3. The research on crop diversification is best done in a farmer participatory mode 

4. A concept of sustainable productivity for each unit of land and water through crop diversification needs to be promoted.

5. There is need to support co-operatives in rural areas to solve micro-level and location-specific problems.

6. Major thrust should be given on horticulture and animal husbandry to support a vigorous and expanding export market, balanced with supplying local markets with affordable, healthy food.

7. Strengthening food processing and other value-added industries in rural areas is a means to provide employment to rural youth.

8. There is need to develop rural infrastructure such as roads, markets, medical and educational facilities in the villages with efficient utilization of local resources for farming community in a more practical way.

9. Crop diversification provides efficient use of farm inputs and contributes to a strong rural economy

10. Alternate cropping systems and farm enterprise diversification are most important for generating higher income, employment and protecting the environment.

11. Numerous opportunities to adopt subsidiary occupations viz., vegetable farming, fruit cultivation, floriculture, medicinal and aromatic plants cultivation, mushroom farming, dairying, piggery, goatery, poultry and duckery, fishery or aquaculture, bee-keeping, agro forestry, biodiesel farming with Jatropha Curcas (veranda), palm, neem, etc. 

12. Enterprise diversification generates more income and rural employment year round.

Diversification areas

*     From Low value to High value crops

*     From Water Loving crop to Water Saving crop (Aerobic rice, SRI)

*     From Single crop to Multiple / Mixed crop

*     From Crop alone to crop with Crop-livestock-fish-apiculture

*     From Agriculture Production to Production with Processing and Value Addition.

Constraints in Crop Diversification

a)    Over 117 m/ha (63 percent) of the cropped area in the country is completely dependent on rainfall.

b)    Over-use of resources like land and water resources causes a negative impact on the environment and sustainability of agriculture.

c)    Inadequate supply of seeds and planting materials of improved cultivars.

d)    Fragmentation of land holding less favouring modernization and mechanization of agriculture.

e)    Poor basic infrastructure like rural roads, power, transport, communications etc.

f)    Inadequate post-harvest technologies and inadequate infrastructure for post-harvest handling of perishable horticultural produce.

g)    Very weak agro-based industry.

h)    Inadequately trained human resources together with persistent and large scale illiteracy amongst farmers.

i)    Host of diseases and pests affecting most crop plants.