An estimation of the proportion of land under various crops cultivation in Rajasthan: A case study of Bharatpur region

Abstract

Rajasthan is the largest state of India in terms of area, it accounts for 5.67% of the total population of India, whereas this state has only 10.4% of the total geographical area. There are 7 divisions and 33 districts in the state of Rajasthan. Agriculture and allied activities play an important role in the economy of the state, although its contribution to NSDP is continuously declining, yet agriculture and allied sectors form the backbone of the state's economy. Change in cropping pattern is an important and robust tool in agriculture for minimizing risk and maximizing farmers' profits. Change in cropping pattern means to change the ratio of area of different crops so that desired and beneficial objectives can be fulfilled. In the present study a systematic attempt has been made to analyze the cropping pattern through cross section data of production of major crops in Rajasthan. The above analysis is based on the analysis of data collected primarily for the year 2019-20 of Bharatpur division. Out of 4 districts of Bharatpur division, 120 prescribed farms have been studied, which have been divided into highly irrigated, medium irrigated and low irrigated farms and data has been obtained on random basis. The results of the above study related to cropping pattern clearly indicate that along with increasing the certainty of irrigation, the area under cash crop and Rabi season crop was increasing. The results of the study show that with the increase in the assuredness and certainty of irrigation, the percentage of cropped area under food grains has been increasing gradually and at the same time an increase in the area of oilseed crops has been achieved. It is also clear from the present study that on Low irrigated, medium irrigated and high irrigated farms, the crop intensity was getting increasing by work which was 158.51%, 168.69% and 175.09%.