Vol. 7 No. 4 (2020)
Space and Culture, India

Research

Assessment of Spatial Pattern And Distribution Of Major Crops in Assam, India

Published 2020-03-29

  • Ujjal Deka Baruah
    • ,
  • Nitashree Mili
    • ,
  • Manjil Basumatary
    • ,
  • Anup Saikia

Ujjal Deka Baruah
Gauhati University

Nitashree Mili
Department of Geography, Cotton University,Guwahati-781001, India

Manjil Basumatary
Department of Geography, Gossaingaon College, Gossaingaon, India

Anup Saikia
Professor, Department of Geography, Gauhati University, Guwahati-781014,India

Abstract

Various indicators such as production, yield, mechanisation of farms, workforce engaged in farming are generally used for the evaluation of the status of the agricultural sector in a region. Of these, the cropping pattern is one such indicator that signifies how developed the farming system of a region is. To assess the cropping pattern, a number of statistical indices are available—cropping intensity, crop combination, crop concentration, and crop diversification. This research seeks to evaluate the cropping pattern in Assam, India and examines the status of its agricultural sector. It was found that the cropping intensity increased at a gradual rate of 3% per decade. A total of nine statistical indices were used to estimate crop diversification. These indices were compared amongst themselves to determine the most optimal method for the study area. It was found that the ogive and entropy methods were best suited to Assam in an evaluation of its crop diversification. Further, these crop diversification values were ranked and thereafter, a composite score (Kendall’s method) was derived. The composite score indicated that much of western and northern Assam had a high degree of crop diversification.

Keywords

Assam, cropping pattern, crop diversification, Ogive and Entropy method, Assam, Cropping pattern, crop diversification, ogive and entropy method

pdf

References

  1. Ahlawat, Vanita, & Renu. (2016). Regional Disparity in Cropping Intensity and Relative Impact of Irrigation in Haryana. IOSR Journal of Business and Management, 18(09), 41-45. DOI: https://doi.org/10.9790/487X-1809034145
  2. Attaran, M., & Zwick, M. (1987). Entropy and Other Measures of Industrial Diversification. Quarterly Journal of Business and Economics, 26,(4), 17-34.
  3. Baruah, U. D. (2018). Crops and Farmers’ Responses to Climate Change: A Case study of Assam. (unpublished doctoral dissertation), Gauhati University, Guwahati, India.
  4. Bhatia, S. S. (1965). Patterns of crop concentration and diversification in India. Economic Geography, 41(1), 39-56. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/141855
  5. Boserup, E. (1965). The Conditions of Agricultural Growth. Chicago, IL: Aldine Press.
  6. Bradshaw, B., Dolan, H., & Smit, B. (2004). Farm-level adaptation to climatic variability and change: crop diversification in the Canadian prairies. Climate Change, 67(1), 119-141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-004-0710-z
  7. Caviglia, O.P., & Andrade, F.H. (2010). Sustainable intensification of agriculture in the Argentinean Pampas: capture and use efficiency of environmental resources. American Journal of Plant Science Biotechnology, 3, 1-8.
  8. Das, B., & Mili, N. (2012). Pattern of Crop Diversification and Disparities in Agriculture: A Case Study of Dibrugarh District, Assam (India). Journal Of Humanities And Social Science, 6(2), 37-40. DOI: https://doi.org/10.9790/0837-0623740
  9. De, U. K., & Kamal, B. (2014). Crop Diversification in Assam and Use of Modern Inputs under Changing Climatic Condition. Journal of Climatology & Weather Forecasting, 2(2), 1-14. doi: 10.4172/2332-2594.1000120 DOI: https://doi.org/10.4172/2332-2594.1000120
  10. De, U.K. (2003). Economics of Crop Diversification. New Delhi: Akansha Publishing House.
  11. DES. (2015). State / district wise area, production, price and value of ten major crops in assam from 2003-04 to 2012-13. Beltola: Department of Economics and Statistics, Government of Assam, India.
  12. Duncan, J. M. A., Saikia, S. D., Gupta, N., & Biggs, E. M. (2016). Observing climate impacts on tea yield in Assam, India. Applied Geography, 77, 64-71. doi: 10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.10.004 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeog.2016.10.004
  13. FAO (2001). Crop diversification in the Asia-Pacific region.RAP Publication 2001/03. Food and Agriculture Organization, Bangkok.
  14. Gebreyesus, Baharu. (2016). Determinants of Livelihood Diversification: The Case of Kembata Tambaro Zone, Southern Ethiopia. Journal of Poverty, Investment and Development, 23, 1-10.
  15. Gibbs, J., & Martin, W. (1962). Index of Diversification. In R. Hammond & P.S. McGullagh (Eds.), Quantitative Techniques in Geography: An Introduction (pp. 386). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
  16. Guha, A. (1966). Ahom Migration: Its Impact on Rice Economy of Medieval Assam. Artha Vijayana, 9(2,), 135-136. DOI: https://doi.org/10.21648/arthavij/1967/v9/i2/116720
  17. Hart, P. E. (1971). Entropy and other measures of concentration. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, Series A (General), 134(1 ), 73-85. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2343975
  18. Hazra, C.R. (2001). Crop diversification in India. In M.K. Papademetriou & F.J. Dent (Eds.), Crop diversification in the Asia-Pacific region (pp. 32-50). Bangkok, Thailand: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
  19. Hussain, M. . (2001). Syatematic Agricultural Geogrpahy. New Delhi: Rawat Publications.
  20. Jain, R., Raju, S.S. , Immanuelraj, K., Srivastava, S.K., Kaur, A.P., & Singh, J. (2015). Manual on Methodological Approach for Developing Regional Crop Plan. New Delhi: ICAR - National Institute of Agricultural Economics and Policy Research.
  21. Jones, W. D. (1930). Ratio and Isopleth Maps in Regional Investigation of Agricultural Land Occupance. Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 20, 177-195. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/00045603009356925
  22. Kendall, M. G. (1939). The Geographical Distribution of Crop Productivity in England. Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, 102(1), 21-62. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/2980138
  23. Mandal, R. (2010). Cropping Patterns and Risk Management in the Flood Plains of Assam. Economic and Political Weekly, 45(33), 78-81.
  24. Mandal, R. (2014). Flood, cropping pattern choice and returns in agriculture: A study of Assam plains, India. Economic Analysis and Policy, 44(3), 333-344. doi: 10.1016/j.eap.2014.08.001 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eap.2014.08.001
  25. Mandal, R., & Bezbaruah, M. P. (2013). Diversification of Cropping Pattern: Its Determinants and Role in Flood Affected Agriculture of Assam Plains. Indian Journal of Agricultural Economy, 68, 169-181.
  26. Mengxiao, Z. (2001). Crop diversification in China. In M.K. Papadimitriou & F.J. Dent (Eds.), Crop Diversification in the Asia-Pacific Region (pp. 24-31). Bangkok, Thailand: FAO Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific.
  27. Novelli, Leonardo E., Caviglia, Octavio P., & Piñeiro, Gervasio. (2017). Increased cropping intensity improves crop residue inputs to the soil and aggregate-associated soil organic carbon stocks. Soil and Tillage Research, 165, 128-136. doi: 10.1016/j.still.2016.08.008 DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.still.2016.08.008
  28. Pal, S., & Kar, S. (2012). Implications of the methods of agricultural diversification in reference with Malda district: Drawback and rationale. International Journal of Food, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, 20(2), 97-105.
  29. Palan, N. (2010). Measurement of Specialization –The Choice of Indices. FIW – Working Paper, 62.
  30. Raju, A. (2012). Patterns of Crop Concentration and Diversification in Vizianagaram District of Andhra Pradesh. Transactions of the Institute of Indian Geographers, 34(2).
  31. Ranjana. (2012). Trends in crop diversification in Punjab-Haryana plains: 1965-66 to 2005-06. (unpublished doctoral dissertation), Punjabi University, Patiala, India.
  32. Roy, P. B., & Barman, U.K. (2014). Crop Concentration and Diversification in Jalpaiguri District Of West Bengal: A Case Study. International Journal of Food, Agriculture and Veterinary Sciences, 4(3).
  33. Samen, S. (2010). A primer on export diversification: key concepts, theoretical underpinnings and empirical evidence (pp. 1-23): Growth and Crisis Unit World Bank Institute.
  34. Saraswat, S.P., & Sharma, H. (2014). Dynamics of Diversification in Hill Agriculture - A case study of Village Kot, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh. In B. Gangaiah, B.S. Bhandari, Sukh Pal Singh, Pramod Kumar, Chandrasekhar Rao & Narain Singh (Eds.), Agricultural Situation in India (Vol. LXX). New Delhi: Directorate of Economics and Statistics, Department of Agriculture and Co-Operation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India.
  35. Scherer, F.M. (1980). Industrial market structure and economic performance (Second Edition ed.). Boston: Hougton Mifflin Company.
  36. Schuh, E., & Barghouti, S. (1988). Agricultural diversification in Asia. Finance and Development, 25, 41-44.
  37. Sharma, K.R. (2008). Measuring Economic Diversification in Hawaii: Research and Economic Analysis Division (READ), Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism of Hawaii.
  38. Singh, J. (1976). Agricultural Geography. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Publishing Co. Ltd.
  39. Sinha, K. (2001). Evaluation of agricultural policies of Assam a politico geographical basis for economic liberalisation. (unpublished doctoral dissertation), North-Eastern Hill University, Shillong, India.
  40. Smith, H.L. (1949). Agricultural Land Use in Iowa. Economic Geography, 25, 190-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/141331
  41. Tabner, I. (2007). A Review of Concentration, Diversity or Entropy Metrics in Economics, Finance, Ecology and Communication Science. The International Journal of Interdisciplinary Social Sciences, 2(4), 53-60. DOI: https://doi.org/10.18848/1833-1882/CGP/v02i04/52345
  42. Tauer, L.W. (1992). Diversification of production activities across individual states. Journal of Production Agriculture, 5, 210-214. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2134/jpa1992.0210
  43. Tress, R. C. (1938). Unemployment and Diversification of Industry. The Manchester School, 9(2), 140-152. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9957.1938.tb01420.x
  44. Wasylenko, J.M., & Erickson, R.A. (1978). On Measuring Economic Diversification. Land Economics, 54(1), 106-109. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3146208
  45. Weaver, J.C. (1954a). Changing Patterns of Cropland Use in the Middle West. Economic Geography, 30, 1-47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/142233
  46. Weaver, J.C. (1954b). Crop Combination in Middle West. Geographical Review, 44, 175-200. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/212355

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.