TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL ANALYSIS OF CROPPING PATTERN IN KERALA
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Date
41838
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University of Agricultural Sciences GKVK, Bangalore
Abstract
Change in cropping pattern implies a change in proportion of area under different
crops. The study aimed at analyzing the changes in cropping pattern in Kerala with the
help of time series data for a period of 20 years from 1993-94 to 2012-13 and for four sub
periods viz. Period I (1993-94 to 1997-98), period II (1998-99 to 2002-03), period III
(2003-04 to 2007-08) and period IV (2008-09 to 2012-13) over districts of the state. Data
are collected from the Department of Economics and Statistics, Thiruvananthapuram.
Kerala state experienced declining trend in area under food crops while the area
under cash crops increased during the study period. The state experienced diversified
cropping pattern during last twenty years and the inference is supported by Kendall’s
coefficient of concordance and rank correlation coefficient. Extent of diversification
varies considerably across the districts, while some districts have highly diversified
cropping pattern. Certain other districts have shown tendency to move towards
specialization. Multiple regression analysis revealed that annual rainfall, number of
market, road length and land holdings were the factors responsible for the changes in
cropping pattern. Though the environmental factors are more congenial to diversify crops
in the state, socio-economic factors do act as barriers in adopting diversified cropping
pattern. On the other hand the development of infrastructure like road and markets
facilitates to move towards specialization.
Ginger, tapioca and sweet potato showed higher degree of maladjustment
indicating that districts with higher area under these crops have registered lower
productivity.
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Keywords
crops, area, cropping patterns, productivity, land resources, tillage equipment, yields, biological development, rice, fruits