Growth, Diversification and Temporal Dynamics of Major Crops in Himachal Pradesh
Published by: Admin
Authors: Suresh Kumar and Tilak Raj
Abstract
Crop diversification is widely recognized as a successful agricultural growth strategy. Farmers in Himachal Pradesh have shifted towards cash crops such as fruits and vegetables since the late 1960s, particularly in the districts of Shimla, Solan, Kullu, and Lahaul-Spiti. This study analyzed the temporal dynamics and growth rates of area, production and yield of major crops, and crop diversification, measured with the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) in Himachal Pradesh from 1991-92 to 2021-22. Data were collected from various government records. This study showed that the area and production under wheat, maize, and rice were recorded as high in the districts Kangra and Mandi during all the study periods. According to the categorizations of the HHI, district Kinnaur was highly diversified with 0.127 HHI value and district Hamirpur was less diversified which lie in the specialized category with 0.453 HHI value during 2001-02, whereas all other districts were recorded as moderately diversified, and some were recorded as less diversified during all the study periods from 1991- 92 to 2021-22. The study emphasized the need to target high diversification; therefore, the government and other stakeholders should support technology through the varietal improvement and extension programmes.