SPATIO-TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF CROP DIVERSIFICATION IN KARNATAKA: AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS
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Date
2022-12-31
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University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore
Abstract
The present study examines the spatial and temporal subtleties of Crop Diversification (CD) in Karnataka using primary and secondary data. The temporal analysis carried out from 2000-01 to 2018-19 indicated steady improvement of CD in Karnataka. The area and production of horticulture & plantation crops, commercial crops and condiments & spice crops exhibited positive growth. However, higher instability was observed in condiments & spices and commercial crops compared to cereal crops. The transitional probability matrix revealed the shift in area towards horticulture & plantation crops, commercial crops and condiments & spices. The major drivers of CD were cropping intensity, rural road density, rainfall and per capita district agricultural income. The micro level evidences from Southern Transition Zone (STZ) and Southern Dry Zone (SDZ) of Karnataka indicated higher CD in STZ (0.71) compared to SDZ (0.66). In STZ, commercial and vegetable crops occupied major share in land allocation whereas, vegetable and fruit crops were the major crop in SDZ. The major share in total net returns from crops was contributed by High Value Crops (HVCs) in both the zones. The elasticities of stochastic input distance function revealed the existence of output complementarity between HVCs and subsistence crops like cereals and pulses thereby indicating potential for economies of diversification. The mean Technical Efficiency (TE) was higher in SDZ (0.86) than STZ (0.81) while CD had negative effect on TE in STZ. The variability in returns was found significantly higher in commercial and vegetable crops compared to cereals and pulses in both the zones. The important diversification enablers included credit, irrigation, education and technology. Thus, study emphasizes the need for market stabilization and strengthening of secondary vertical and horizontal supply chains for sustaining the present HVCs cropping system across the study regions.