Farmers’ perceptions of climate change and its implication on livestock production in mixed-farming system areas of Bale highlands, Southeast Ethiopia; Challenges and extents of Soil and Water Conservation measures in Guba-Lafto Woreda of North Wollo, Ethiopia; Evaluation of milk production performance of lactating Fogera cows fed with urea and effective micro-organisms treated rice straw as basal diet.

E3 Journal of Agricultural Research and Development

E3 Journal of Agricultural Research and Development Vol. 6 (3) pp. 056-064, September 2016; © E3 Journals; ISSN 2276-9897
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.18685/EJARD(6)3_EJARD-15-020


Changing Cropping Pattern around the Urban Centre: Analyzing the Role of Consumption Pattern of the People

Ghuncha Firdaus 1 *
1 Post-Doctoral Fellow, Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai
*Corresponding Author E-mail: Phone No: 91-9884266599
Accepted 28 July 2016

Abstract

Cropping pattern in developing countries has been undergoing a major transformation from cereals to non-cereals cash crops, but, there is dearth of study evaluating cause and effect relationship of this phenomena. The objectives of the present study were to analyze the consumption pattern of major food items and its impact on cropping patterns in India as a whole and in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi particularly. The analysis depicts that cereal consumption/person/day in the country were declined by 11.6%, whereas the consumption of eggs, vegetables and fruits were increased by 80.41%, 41.58%, and 39.13% respectively during 1993–2013. The impact of changing consumption behaviour on cropping pattern was depicted by increasing areas under fruits (14.4%), vegetables (15.37%), spices (16.9%) and plantation crops (13.16%). A similar trend was observed in the case of NCT of Delhi. Information collected from 896 farming households revealed that vegetables (28.38%), potatoes (25.32%) and cereals (23.9%) were the prime crops in the study area. Increasing demand of non-cereal crops in the city markets, (p<0.000), in the local market, and in commercial establishments (p<0.05) were determined the cropping pattern. With changing consumption pattern, more and more agricultural land may be devoted to non-grain crops. Integrated planning for land allocation between grain and non-grain crops is needed for sustainable agriculture development.

Keywords: Delhi, consumption pattern, cropping pattern, food grain, non-cereals

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