Gujarat BoardEnglish MediumSTD 12 CommerceEconomicsAGRICULTURE SECTOR3 Marks
Question
Explain Crop Rotation.
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Answer
Crop Rotation means obtaining different crops on a cultivated land area.
Crop Rotation shows the growth of agriculture of that country.
Normally two types of Crops are seen $(i)$ Food Grains $(ii)$ Cash Crops. Wheat, Rice, Bajra etc and pulses are included in Food Grains.
Whereas cash crops includes Oil seeds like Groundnut, Sesame, Lastor, Soyabean etc and Sugarcane, Rubber Cotton jute etc.
There are two factors responsible for crop rotation $(a)$ Technological Factors $(b)$ Economic Factors
$(A)$ Technological Factors:
Due to taking same type of crop from the land few elements of land get totally absorbed and few elements of land get destroyed.
The crops which do not require this elements are grown in crop rotation.
Here land gets benefit due to crop rotation.
Over and above this natural factor like rain, climate etc also affects crop rotation.
For E.g: In Madhya Pradesh after taking crop of millet/bajra for years now rice is grown.
Sugarcane, Tobacco etc is grown where facility of irrigation is available.
This way multiple cropping is possible due to capital, new seeds, fertilizers and credit facilities.
$(B)$ Economic Factors:
Economic factors are also important from crop rotation.
These economic factors are as follows:
$(1)$ At present farmers are doing farming as a profession and they select the crop which would give them maximum income and profit and accordingly they apply crop rotation.
For E.g : Due to industrialization the demand for cash crops has increased and price and profit from cash crops is high.
Farmers are taking more cash crops compared to food crops.
$(2)$ While crop rotation, the availability of agricultural equipments is kept in mind
$(3)$ Few crops are dependent on size of farm.
In the size of the farm is small it might not be favourable for a different crop.
At times crop can be profitable but it might not be possible to rotate crop.
$(4)$ When farmer does crop rotation he is undertaking a risk.
To take such risk or not depends upon the insurance he gets.
$(5)$ When farming is done by the tenant the tenure of farm lease makes a big difference, for farmer going for crop rotation.
In short crop rotation depends upon technological and economic factors availability or scarcity.
Crop Rotation in India:
Agricultural Ministry of India in $2010-11$ has shown this different changes in Crop Rotation.
$(1)$ From $1950-51$ to $2010-11$ i.e. six decades of planning the area growing food crops has decreased whereas the area growing cash crops has increased.
In $1950-51$ from the total land under cultivation $75\%$ land was used to $66\%$. In $2010-11$ whereas area growing cash crops has increased from $26\%$ to $34\%.$
Industrialization in country is a major reason to get better returns for cash crops.
$(2)$ From $1966,$ due to green revolution the crop rotation has increased.
For E.g. in $1970-71, 74\%$ farm which was under cultivation was used for food grains, whereas in $2010-1 1$ this has gone down to $66\%$.
Whereas area under cash crops has increased from $26\%$ to $34\%$
Due to industrialization in India better returns are availed from cash crops.
During first $2$ decades of planning crop rotation was mere $1\%.$
$(3)$ Agricultural Statistic At a glance of $2010-11$ shows that in $1970-71$ the proportion of food grains was $74\%$ whereas cash crops was $26\%$ which changed in $2006-07$ to $64\%$ food grains and $36\%$ cash crops.
That shows steady increase in the area growing cash crops, but after that there has been a decline in the percentage of cash crops.
In $2010-11$ the share of food grains was $64\%$ and cash crops was $36\%.$
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