chapter v cropping pattern, crop diversification and value addition

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per cent of the total wheat. Its share in the country's maize production is 9.60 per cent,which is progressively increasing.Table 5.2: Cropping Pattern in Bihar Agriculture (1993-94 and 2006-07):Area, Production and Yield of Principal CropsParticulars Rice Wheat Maize Sugarcane1993-94Area 3321 2012 598 120Production 4749 4265 1113 4291Yield 1430 2120 1861 357582006-07Area 3571 2151 646 119Production 4409 5019 1515 4083Yield 1235 2333 2343 34353Note: Area: 000 hectares, Production: 000 tonnes, and Yield: Kg\ha.Source: CMIE (2007); Agriculture Statistics at a Glance, Government of India.Table 5.3: Percentage Change in Area, Production and Yield of Major Cropsin Bihar(1993-94 To 2006-07)Particulars Rice Wheat Maize SugarcaneArea 7.53 6.91 8.03 -0.83Production -7.16 17.68 36.12 -4.85Yield -13.64 10.05 25.90 -3.93Source: CMIE (2007) and Agriculture Statistics at a Glance, Government of India.The dominance of foodgrains, mainly rice and maize, is not a disadvantage per se. Themain argument in favour of moving towards a non-foodgrains economy in Bihar is thechanging pattern of the consumer demand, with progressively smaller amounts being spenton foodgrains. However, the demand for foodgrains is also expected to increase over aperiod of time, though at a slower pace, and Bihar needs to augment its foodgrainproduction in order to ensure its food security. According to the Working Group on CropProduction for the Eleventh Five Year Plan, India's demand for foodgrains is likely toincrease by 2.3 per cent over the next five years. Besides, the prices for thesecommodities are hardening all over the world, including in India. Bihar can take advantageof this situation by improving its grain production. There is, however, scope fordiversification in the cropping pattern at the margin towards non-foodgrains, particularly infavour of horticulture crops, to augment the incomes of the cultivators.2
The emphasis on foodgrains has another positive implication for Bihar. As reportedearlier, a large proportion of its cultivated land is concentrated in small and marginalholdings, and foodgrains occupy a significant portion of the land under these holdings. Anemphasis on foodgrains will also help them meet their goal of food security. In addition,even the foodgrain crops have ample scope for value addition. The use of maize used forproducing bio-fuel or starch and for other industrial uses is an excellent example ofthis.The scope for value addition by substituting more suitable crops in different agro-climaticregions needs to be exploited. For example, upland paddy can be replaced by arhar orurad. Wheat can be replaced by winter maize. With the extension of irrigation, currentfallow land can be brought under pulses. The indicative targets for the proposed changes inthe cropping pattern in foodgrains, fruits and vegetables, along with their production, areprovided in Tables 5.5 to 5.7.Apart from the fact that dairying is already a widely practised enterprise diversificationstrategy (there is more on this in the next section), small patches of land even on the smallholdings can be devoted to non-foodgrain crops. This is what the farmers in several areasare doing to generate cash incomes. It is important to advise and help them selectappropriate non-foodgrain crops. Crops which can contribute to value addition even on thesmall holdings are maize, horticulture crops and vegetables.The main reason for adopting a cautious approach to large-scale crop diversification is therisk involved in the latter. Even for a limited extent of crop diversification, it is important tostrengthen marketing linkages as also to ensure easy access to and reasonable prices ofstaple foodgrains to the small and marginal farmers. There are numerous examples offarmers being pushed to grow some unfamiliar crop and then left to themselves to findmarkets. Similarly, with inadequate and unsatisfactory functioning of the PublicDistribution System (PDS) in foodgrains, the farmers may have to face double jeopardy ifthey abandon foodgrains.5.2 STRATEGY FOR VALUE ADDITION ON SMALL FARMSA multi-pronged strategy for value addition on the farms, especially on small farms,needs to be adopted and the following sub-sections detail the important aspects ofthe proposed strategy.5.2.1 Filling-in Productivity Gaps in the Staple Crops3
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