Vol. 12, Issue 1 (2023)

Author(s):
Thejaswi Kumar J and Gajanana TM

Abstract:
The present study was carried out in southern transition and dry agro-climatic zones of Karnataka using farm level primary data. The study was majorly focused on deriving empirical evidences on micro level pattern of allocation in diverse agro-climatic zones and to assess nature and extent of crop diversification across the two zones. The study also analyzed the pattern of allocation across different farmers’ category in order to understand the decision making behavior of the farm households. The data was collected from 180 farm households across two agro-climatic zones by selecting two taluks in each zone. The level of crop diversification was higher in southern transition zone (0.71) compared to southern dry zone (0.66). The crop diversification was higher among marginal and small farmers compared medium and larger farmers in southern transition zone whereas the opposite pattern was observed in southern dry zone. Commercial crops and vegetables occupied major share in allocation in southern transition whereas, vegetables and fruits were the major crop groups in southern dry zone. The shift from traditional subsistence crops to High Value Crops (HVCs) was evident from the study mainly attributed to high remunerative income from these crops compared to other regular crops. The study provide policy implications on market stabilization and improvement of secondary vertical and horizontal supply chains for sustaining the present HVCs cropping system across the study regions.