Crop Diversification:Definition,Benefits, Challenges and Strategies

Introduction to crop diversification

India, an agriculture-dependent country, has its 60-65% rural population dependent on agriculture for their livelihood. During the green revolution, we moved from being a food-deficient country to being a food-sufficient country. However, associated negative effects of the green revolution on biodiversity and the environment, as well as crop adaptation to climate change, are a growing concern.

We strongly believe that agriculture that is environmentally, economically and socially sustainable can make a vital contribution in our response to most urgent challenges, reducing poverty and ensuring food security.Dacian Ciolos and Andris Piebalgs

What is crop diversification?

Food and agriculture organization of the united nations (FAO) defines crop diversification as:

The addition of new crops or cropping systems to agricultural production on a farm. FAO,2017

Crop diversification also known as agricultural diversification refers to the addition of new crops or cropping systems to existing farmland taking into account the different returns on investment. It is shifting from traditionally grown less profitable crops to more profitable crops.

Diversification in agriculture can also be refers to either a change in cropping patterns or the expansion of other non-farming activities like poultry farming, animal husbandry, etc. By doing so, farmers are able to expand their production, thereby generating more income. 

These changing farming patterns can range from food and nonfood crops, conventional and organic farming, high-value and low-value crops, etc. Diversification of agriculture is possible by growing livestock, fishery, and forestry products in addition to field crops.

Crop diversification depends on a region’s Geo-climatic conditions, socio-economic development, and technological progress. To meet ever-increasing consumer demand for coarse cereals, pulses, vegetables, fruits, oilseeds, grains, and sugarcane, crop diversification has been designed to shift from the regional dominance of one crop to regional production of multiple crops. 

Index of crop diversification in India

STATES	1994-95	2005-06	2010-11	2014-15
Karnataka	0.92	0.93	0.94	0.94
Gujarat	0.91	0.90	0.89	0.90
Andhra Pradesh	0.87	0.87	0.85	0.86
Rajasthan	0.87	0.87	0.89	0.88
Haryana	0.83	0.80	0.79	0.77
Uttar Pradesh	0.81	0.79	0.79	0.78
Punjab	0.71	0.68	0.66	0.66
Bihar	0.70	0.72	0.74	0.73
West Bengal	0.55	0.61	0.66	0.65
National (avg.)	0.90	0.90	0.90	0.89

Source : Economic survey, 2017-18

Broad classification of types of crop diversification

The Crop diversification in India can be broadly classified into two categories :

Horizontal crop diversification

This kind of crop diversification aligns with farmer’s basic understanding of agricultural diversification i.e. not to depend on just one crop. Small farmers with small pieces of land can benefit most from horizontal crop diversification.

Instead of cultivating a single crop, this involves multiple crops or a mix of crops. In this way, they are able to earn more through increasing crop diversity. 

Vertical crop diversification

Combined with multiple cropping, vertical crop diversification involves the incorporation of industrialization. This kind of agricultural diversification practice is suitable for relatively big farmers with enough finance and land.

Instead of just farming multiple crops, farmers also setup facilities for downstream activities such as milling, processing or packaging. This can also include activities like livestock rearing, forestry, polyhouse, horticulture etc.

Reasons for crop diversification

There are various factors of traditional farming, which have triggered the need of crop diversification in India. Plenty of old farming methods and principles which were profitable in the past are now failing to produce desired results. Some of the reason fro crop diversification in India are listed below:

• Degradation of natural resources such as cultivable land, water scarcity, and soil.
• Climate Change effecting the yield and quality of regional crops
• Decreasing employment in agriculture business.
• Increasing price of food.
• Decreased or plateaued yield of rice-wheat cropping systems.
• Decreased level of organic carbon in soil in Indo-Gangetic Plains (IGP).
• Deficiency of nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sulphur, Boron, etc in soil (Noticeably, in rice based cropping systems).
• Decrease in income and purchasing power of farmers.
• weed like canary grass developing resistance to herbicides.
• Increase in insect pest and diseases.
• Inability to exploit new agricultural produce export opportunities.
  
  

Types of crop diversification

Following table (source: Modified from Lin, 2011) lists out types of crop diversification in India.

Diversification types	Description of diversification	Main characteristics
Increased structural diversity	Makes the crops within the field more structurally diverse e.g. strip cropping,	Farm level same land unit
Genetic diversity in monoculture	Growing mixed varieties of a species in a monoculture.	Farm level same land unit
High-value crops	A shift from less profitable and sustainable crop or cropping system to more profitable and sustainable system.	Farm level same land unit
Crop rotations	Temporal diversity through crop rotations.	Farm level different spaces, different times
Polyculture	Growing two or more crop species and wild varieties within the field. Spatial and temporal diversity.	Farm level different spaces, different times
Diversify field with non- crop vegetation.	Growing weed strips or vegetation banks in and alongside crops.	Farm level, different spaces
Mixed farming	Crops and animal husbandry.	Farm level, different spaces, different times
Agroforestry	Growing crops and tree species together.	Farm level, different spaces, different times
Mixed landscapes	Development of diversified landscapes with multiple ecosystems	Larger scale, spatial and temporal.

Benefits of crop diversification

Crop diversification has proven to beneficial not just because its a modern new farming technique, but also because it manages to overcome a lot of farming problems caused by changing environment, landscape, disease and pest behavior, government policies, supply and demand and trends.

• Greatly reduces farmers risk as the farmer now does not depend on just one crop for income. Unlike the traditional farming methods where failure of the crop resulted in complete exit of that farmer from the market.
• Small farmers are majorly empowered as the total yield of the multiple commercial plants and crop increases.
• Multiple cropping system or multi tier cropping systems greatly increase employment opportunities.
• Increases income of small farms.
• Crop diversification helps in balancing and fulfilling food demand.
• Crop diversification also helps in increasing production of good quality fodder for livestock animals.
• Reduces the ability of pests,insects and weed to become resistant to pesticides and herbicides.
• Agricultural diversification helps in maintaining the quality of natural resources (soil nutrients / soil fertility and water).
• It also helps in minimizing environmental pollution which is caused by excessive use of herbicides and pesticides.
• It opens up new agrobusiness opportunities for budding entrepreneurs (who wish to step into the world of food processing) and also opens up new frontiers for exports of crops, vegetables and fruits.

Challenges in adopting crop diversification

The implementation of crop diversification is facing many issues in its implementation. These issues can be climatic, geographical, financial or human.

• More than 60% of the country’s cultivated area is rain-fed and is dependent on rainfall. Hence, areas with less rain have fewer options for crops for crop diversification.
• Suboptimal and excessive use of resources such as land and water, causing negative effects on the environment and sustainability of agriculture.
• An insufficient supply of high-quality seeds and planting materials that are suitable for regional climates. 
• In India, in some cases, the landownership can be divided into multiple parties ( such as siblings and relatives). The difference of opinion and personal interests also hampers the implementation of crop diversification methodology.
• Sometimes the size of the landholding by a farmer is not enough to achieve agricultural diversification.
• Inability to finance also plays a major part in not being able to adopt this farming methodology.
• Lack of basic infrastructure such as roads, power, transportation, and communications in rural areas.
• The post-harvest handling of perishable horticulture products such as milk, meat, fruits and vegetables, is inadequate due to insufficient technologies and infrastructure.
• The agro-based industry (such as processing units, cold storage, dry storage, government storage, packaging units etc) is weak. Farmers and local markets are not properly connected to the agro-industry.
• The linkage between farmers and research-extension is poor and hence farmers do not have the knowledge of this practice or lack guidance on how to implement it successfully.
• Low farmer illiteracy and insufficiently trained human resources.
• Most crop plants are being affected by new species of diseases and pests.
• There are insufficient investments in the agricultural sector and a poor database of horticultural crops.

Key strategies in crop diversification

• Replacing low yielding and low yielding value crops with high yielding and high yielding value crops that have a longer shelf life.
• Including legume farming in agricultural diversification. Legume farming saves water in the land for the subsequent crop.
• Replacement of high-water-using crops with crops that require less water.
• Including energy-efficient crops and plants.
• Planting intercrops in rain-fed areas.
• The inclusion of domestically and internationally demanded crops.
• Farming drought-resistant oilseed crops to replace high-risk crops.
• Adopting crop systems that are more productive, profitable, and sustainable.

Government policy and aid in crop diversification

Numerous central and state government schemes have been launched or announced in relation to agricultural development, and crop diversification in particular. 

• Watershed development fund (established in 2002 to develop rainfed lands countrywide).
• In 2014-15, the NMSA (National mission for sustainable agriculture) was launched with the aim of improving the efficiency of farming, the use of water, and soil health management. It also aims to synergize resource conservation across all parts of the country.
• Seed crop insurance : The government has launched a pilot program for seed crop insurance, which covers the risk factor associated with the production of seeds.
• PKVY (Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojna): In 2015, the central government launched a program to promote organic farming in India.
• Seed bank scheme : Approximately 7-8% of seed produce will be kept in buffer stocks to meet any eventualities during a drought, flood, hailstorm, etc
• Gramin bhandaran yojna : A program created in 2001 to provide storage facilities for agricultural products in rural India and to promote grading, standardization, testing and quality control to make the products more marketable.
• Mera pani meri virasat : Haryana state government initiative that will give beneficiaries Rs 7000 per acre if they switch from rice to low water-use field crops and Rs 10000 if they plant 400 hundred trees per acre.
• Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) : Central government scheme to provide aid and financial surety to the farmer.

Summary and conclusion

Agriculture might suffer serious adverse effects if farmers’ incomes stay low. In order to improve the livelihood of almost half of India’s population and secure the future of the agricultural sector, it is imperative to improve farmer welfare and boost agricultural income. 

For agricultural diversification to be successful, identification of appropriate crops suitable for different geographical locations and soil types is very important.

Crop diversification will not only help the farmers by increasing their income and market exposure, but also help consumers as the prices of the commodities will be low or consistent.

There is a need of conscious high level efforts to provide education and knowledge to farmers and to persuade and incentivize them to adopt multi crop farming system and inclusion of new crop varieties (rather than opting for treditional regional crops).

Agricultural diversification has huge potential of taking India to new heights. However, to achieve this, all the agrobusinesses associated with agriculture should be able to provide the appropriate assistance and support.