Crop Diversification in the Asia-Pacific region - United Nations in ...

Table 6 clearly shows that there is a production deficit in the necessary foodcommodities. Hence, in order to meet the demand in the future, certainly the land extentunder these crops needs to be increased. From the expected production of non-rice annuals,a major portion of green gram and maize can be produced under rainfed conditions.However, for crops such as onions, potato and chillies, the majority of the production isexpected from irrigated fields under crop diversification.Similarly, the per capita fruit consumption in Sri Lanka (5.0 kg/person/year) is farbelow that of developed countries (45 kg/person/year). There is no doubt that the productionhas to go up in order to increase the fruit consumption in the country. As a result, fruit cropsthat could be effectively produced in the island have been identified and it is already plannedto increase the land extent under these crops, especially with supplementary irrigation.In Sri Lanka, nearly 34 percent of the population is still living below the povertylevel and in an under- nourished status. Their present level of protein intake is inadequatefor optimal growth and development. The expansion of the production of pulses such asgreen gram, cowpea, soybean and groundnut has to take place to at least supplement part oftheir protein requirements.4.2 Income Growth, Poverty Alleviation and EmploymentAs an outcome of the socio–economic changes that occurred during the last fewdecades some production systems became uneconomical to operate. Rice cultivation in thewet zone and the marginal tea and rubber lands in the mid country are two examples in thisregard. The wetland rice cultivation extent of nearly 94,815 ha and the marginal tea andrubber extent of about 50,000 ha were affected by these changes. This development certainlyaffected the income level of those dependent on these production systems. As describedearlier, crop diversification would generate better income from these lands and transform themarginal operations into profitable enterprises.There are about 195,000 ha of land available for crop diversification in the dryseason. On the other hand, the production of non-rice crops requires more labour throughoutthe year compared to rice which has only a seasonal demand. Therefore, cultivation of nonricecrops would generate more employment opportunities. In addition, diversification maylead to an increase in production of non-rice crops and may create more opportunities foragro-based industries to be developed. Such a change would undoubtedly generate moreincome, employment and help to alleviate poverty.4.3 Judicious Use of Land, Water and other ResourcesThe well drained soils in the major irrigation schemes have high percolation ratesexceeding 100 mm/d. Cultivation of rice in these soils provides low returns for each unit ofwater used for cultivation. On the contrary, cultivation of non-rice crops need less water andprovides relatively higher returns to each unit of water used. Since the cost of irrigationwater is fairly high, it is a pre-requisite to use this resource in the most effective manner.Meanwhile, the selection of crops based on the land classes can be practiced effectively. Theappropriate crop selection would assure the productivity of the crop, improve the soilconditions and also favour the environment. Crop diversification provides an opportunity forthe farmers to shift from one crop to another, depending on market prices and productivity.123