T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y June 16, 1962

Changes in Cropping Pattern Economic Criteria

S H R I S C Jain suggests tha t y i e ld rates be used as an ind ica tor

o f the desirable shifts in c ropp ing pat tern . On the basis of per hectare y ie ld comparisons of some crops, he makes out a case for shift­i n g area under low y i e ld ing to h i g h y i e ld ing crops,1

The above a rgument suffers f r o m a number of shortcomings. The con­cept of y ie ld per u n i t of land, though impor t an t in the context of increas­i n g overall ag r icu l tu ra l p roduc t ion , can ha rd ly f o r m the m a i n basis for a farmer to shif t acreage f r o m one crop to another because wha t matters to an i n d i v i d u a l , by and large, is the economic r e tu rn f r o m f a r m i n g rather than the physical re turn (quan t i t y of produce per un i t o f l a n d ) . Thus, the "yie ld-ra te concept" neglects two considerations. F i rs t is the pr ice factor2 , the inclu­sion of w h i c h reflects gross re turns ;

* In the article by Shri S S Bhatia, macro-level economic factors (such as marketing and transport facilities) are presumably included under geographical factors, although no specific mention is made of these im­portant considerations as such.

1 Even though it is nowhere put in de­finitive terms, it appears that the author is confining himself to the pro-blent of increased food-grains' avail­ability; thus, the absence of reference to other high-yielding crops, such as, sugarcane which, over large land areas, also enjoys comparative econo­mic advantage over most other crops, may be a purposive omission.

2 Also, inasmuch as prices vary a good deal from region to region, gross monetary returns would also differ in the various regions, even where the physical output per acre is the same; this points up the desirability of using regional prices in the context of evaluating the profitability of various crops.

this would definitely enhance the value of the yield-rate c r i t e r ion for de te rmin ing shifts in acreage f r o m the v iewpoin t of the farmer . I t i s t rue that generally the h i g h y ie l ­d ing foodgrains l ike rice, wheat, etc, have not only relat ively h i g h y ie ld rates per un i t of land b u t also command relat ively h i g h prices and, in view of this di rect ional cor­respondence, y ie ld alone may serve as a sufficient ind ica tor of useful shifts in acreage. However, there are certain minor crops, e g, some of the "other pulses", which are also pr iced qui te h i g h . Therefore, no uncondi t ional case can be made for a shif t f r o m small mil le ts and minor pulses to h i g h y i e ld ing cer­eals; a recommendation to this efTect must be preceded by a proper s tudy of y ie ld characteristics as wel l as the price structure w i t h respect to the various crops under conside­ra t ion ,

The 'Net ' Return Secondly, what u l t imate ly counts

(or should count under ideal con­di t ions) w i t h the farmer is the net return that he obtains f rom f a r m ­ing ," and i t cannot be denied that some influence is def in i te ly exercised by the net re turn. 4 especially in re-

8 Assuming for the moment that the influence of non-economic factors (eg, greater utility, in the estimation of the farmer, of a variety for table purposes, even though its market price is relatively low) is constant.

4 Also, there is, in a large number of cases, sound economic justification (though sometimes interpreted by the farmer in an aggravated form, such as, undue discounting of re­turns in the light of risk) for the farmer's production policies and practices.

gard to the in t roduc t ion of new enterprises. To elaborate the po in t pe r ta in ing to net r e t u r n : f o r some of the crops, the cost of cu l t iva t ion is very low w i t h the result that even though the y i e ld per u n i t of land is small (and if the price is posi t ively correlated w i t h y ie ld , the gross re­t u r n is also smal l ) , the tact r e tu rn may be h igh because a l l that the farmer p robably does to realise the r e tu rn is to broadcast the seed after meagre prepara t ion of land and harvest the crop when i t i s ready. In extreme cases of this type, no i r r i g a t i o n is given, no manure or fer t i l i ser is appl ied and no in te rcu l tu re w o r t h the name is performed. Under such c i rcum­stances, for poorer soils and /o r in backward f a r m i n g regions where inputs i n ag r i cu l tu ra l p roduct ion are low (quant i ta t ive ly and qual i­t a t i v e l y ) , crops l i ke small mi l le ts and pulses m a y be the r i g h t enter­prises for the farmer. Generally, the h igh y i e ld ing crops are sensi­t ive in the mat ter o f fu l f i lment o f their agronomic and physiological requirements, and would not do well under such adverse c i r cum­stances; whereas, some of the minor crops do qui te we l l in c i rcum­stances normal ly regarded as un­favourable, and may ho t really do much better under improved con-di t ions o f i n p u t appl ica t ion and adoption of better f a r m i n g prac­tices5.

I t would be p r o m p t l y conceded that the task of de te rmin ing net returns is a difficult one owing to 8 Some of the oilseed crops, which have

responded very poorly to intensive measures of cultivation, illustrate the case in point.

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H S Singh

In evolving criteria for determining the possibilities of crop shifts, full appreciation is not generally accorded to economic factors which operate at the micro level. In two recent articles on the subject id-The Economic Weekly (S C Jain, "Possibilities of Crop Shifts", January 13, 1962, and S S Bhatia, "Possi­bilities of Crop Shifts: Yield Criteria Not Sufficient", April 7, 1962) , for example, no reference is made to economic considerations at all.*

'Certainly, the farmer, while taking a decision to vary crop acreages or to add or drop crop-enter-prises, does not put aside considerations of monetary return. It would be readily granted that in the Indian agricultural economy there are factors other than the economic which are important determinants in regard to such decisions, and that commercialisation of farming or the resort to economic calculus have not permeated deeply into the thinking of most Indian farmers. However, some rough guidance is undoubtedly provided by the financial return.

June 16, 1962 T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y

the inadequacy of data on costs of product ion . However, of late, a number of studies have been made in various regions to supply some­what l imi t ed but , nonetheless, very valuable in format ion on the sub­j e c t . Also, i t should be possible to construct enterprise-budgets f r o m the data gathered by quick field inqui r ies , or even to draw up hypothetical budgets u t i l i s ing the date available f r o m Government Agr icu l tu ra l Farms (experimental and commerc ia l ) , or basing these on the experience of agr icu l tura l workers (extension personnel, etc) as also of intel l igent farmers

Economic Factors

Other drawbacks — other than the neglect of economic considera­tions — that accompany the adop­t ion of the simple "yield-rate con­cept" cr i ter ia put f o r t h by Shr i S C Jain, have been pointed out by Shr i S S Bhatia in his ar t icle . The i m ­portance of geographical factors and the preva i l ing phyaico-cultural environment has been proper ly em­phasized. Thus :

"the problem of crop pat tern change cannot be isolated f rom the geographical facts concern­i n g the d i s t r ibu t iona l patterns of crops in I n d i a as well as f rom the functional aspects of small mil lets and other pulses in the agr icul tura l landscape Be­side the macro and micro physi­cal factors, the human factors too are impor tan t . A m o n g the human factors affecting crop patterns may be included the food habits, the local t radi t ions bu i l t in the agr icu l tura l calendar and the f a m i l i a r i t y as well as the association of the local populace w i t h certain crops that have been grown there previous ly ."

However, stress on the impor­tance of these factors to the com­plete exclusion of economic factors amounts to stretching the argument too far. Growing monetization in

6 Sec, for example, "Studies in the Economics of Farm Management", issued by the Economic and Statis­tical Adviser to the Government of India, Ministry of Food and Agri­culture, based on regional studies in Bombay, Madras, Punjab, UP, West Bengal and Madhya Pradesh, con­ducted between 1954-55 and 1956-57. Work at some additional centres is in progress currently.

the ru ra l sector, in t roduct ion and the enhanced avai lab i l i ty of mo­d e m inputs o f agr icul tura l produc­t ion , improved means of t ransport and communications, g rowing con­tact of the farmers w i t h the out­side wor ld , par t iculary the exten­sion agencies, have all broadened the vision of the man-behind-the-plough and presented h i m w i t h an array of possibilit ies in regard to the va ry ing scales of operat ion of the exis t ing enterprises, introduc­t ion of new enterprises and changes in the composit ion and use-Ievels of the various input-resources.

Importance Wil l Grow

Economic considerations, in fact, always d i d play a p a r t in influenc­i n g the crop-patterns. In t roduc­t ion of and increases in acreage under crops l ike groundnut and tobacco (which are not native c rops) , and first the increase and then the ul t imate d w i n d l i n g in acreage under indigo took place be­cause economic circumstances were favourable or unfavourable for the par t icular crop, and not because the geographical or physico-cul tural environment were governing the pace of their changing fortunes.

As a matter of fact, in a number of cases, economic factors would seem to have exercised in such matters? a great influence — greater than what is warranted by thei r importance. Whi l e t a lk ing about the imbalance between economic and geographical factors, an Econo­mic Geographer has complained that a large part of I n d i a n ju te is grown in relatively unfavourable geographical conditions7 .

A n d . in future, the impact of economic factors would be increas­ing ly felt w i t h the progress of planned programmes of develop­ment. Economic factors at the macro level would faci l i tate changes in crop patterns while farmers are expected to respond increasingly to economic considerations at the micro level. The point being empha­sized is that geographical factors and the preva i l ing physico-rul tura l environment are not something which cah be treated as s t r i c t ly "g iven" . Progress in scientific, economic and social field? would 7 Sen Gupta, (Miss) P "The Indian

Jute Belt". Orient Longmans, 1959, P 147.

open up opportuni t ies fo r adjust­i ng crop patterns to sui t the chang­i n g needs of the advancing economy.

The Comparative Advantage Criteria

To revert to Shri S C Jain's a r t i ­cle, another c r i t e r ion may be added to those described by h i m . (The two possibilities mentioned there are: "E i the r to shif t or transfer the areas of small millets and other pulses to the higher y ie ld ing Rabi or K h a r i f cereals and millets and pulses; or to evolve improved strains of small millets and other pulses so that the y i e ld per acre could increase cons iderab ly" ) . The cr i ter ion recommended here is that whenever the per acre y ie ld of a par t icular crop varies between the two regions (say, Regions A and B ) , attempts may be made to concent­rate the growing of the crop where the yie ld per uni t of land is higher (say, in Region A ) , provided the cost structure does not vary s igni ­ficantly between the two regions. This proposi t ion needs, of course, to be examined in the l igh t of the alternative possibilities for the use of land in Region B. In case the crop in question, though low y ie ld­ing as compared to its output in other regions, is the best alterna­tive for farmers in Region B ( f r o m where it is proposed to transfer it to the other region, viz. Region A ) , the farmers should, of course, continue growing this crop unless better alternative land uses are developed8.

ft would be clear f rom the above that it is possible to increase the overall yield per hectare by shift­i n g the crop f rom areas of low per un i t y ie ld to areas of h igh per un i t y ie ld , provided, of course, that other conditions are more or less s imilar . A n d , therefore, the concluding statement of Shr i S S Bhatia that "better strains, extension of i r r i ga ­t ion facilities- and appl icat ion of ferti l izers, etc are perhaps the only means available fo r increasing agri­cul tura l p r o d u c t i v i t y " ( i tal ics m i n e ) , leaves out the p romis ing avenue of increasing p r o d u c t i v i t y through

8 See Singh, H S "Land-Use Planning in India with Special Reference to Agriculture", Address to the Indian Georgaphers Association. New Delhi, 1959; published in The Indian Geographer, Vol 5. Nos I and 2. December, 1960.

T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y June 16, 1962

9 5 3 .

June 16, 1962 T H E E C O N O M I C W E E K L Y

regional specialisation in the l igh t of comparat ive advantages.

Lack of Opportunities Not Unwillingness

Perhaps too much emphasis is l a id on the unwill ingness of far­mers to t r y new varieties and to take to the cu l t iva t ion of crops not g rown previously. Shr i S C Jain, for instance, states that "most of the cul t ivators are reluctant to adopt new varieties and those who are w i l l i n g to adopt them, do not get the opportunity to introduce such new varieties" ( i ta l ics mine). I t appears tha t the i tal icised par t of the sentence embodies the real hurdle , ra ther than the reluctance of the farmers to t r y new things. The difficulties under th i s head are f a i r l y wel l -known. At t empts should be made to overcome the same by m a k i n g advance arrangements for teaching farmers the g r o w i n g of new varieties or types of crops. The experience in some of the areas wh ich were brought under the " c o m m a n d " o f major i r r i g a t i o n p ro ­jects has been unsatisfactory be­cause no advance preparat ions were made to t r a i n cult ivators in the art of using water and ra is ing new crops, and even where the farmers possessed will ingness and the neces­sary know-how there were other difficulties (ma in ly due to defective organisat ional set-up) in f u l l u t i l i sa­t ion of the faci l i t ies created.

I t may be emphasised that phy­sical su i t ab i l i ty of land, c l imat ic factors and the ava i lab i l i ty of prere­quisites fo r efficient p roduc t ion of the proposed crop should not be overlooked whi le deciding land use in the l i gh t of economic considera­tions. In some of the lands un­der small mil lets and pulses. it w o u l d be v i r tua l ly impossible to grow rice, e g, in some sandy soils of the south-eastern port ions of the Punjab . A n d , in some of the lands under small millets and pulses where rice can be grown today if water is made available, it should not be g rown on long-run agronomic and physiographic considerations. In br ief , economic motivat ions should not surpersede non-economic considerations relevant to the plann­i n g of efficient and f lexible land use pa t te rn .

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