Economic characterization of predominant farming systems in West Bengal, India

Transcription

1 Amrican Journal of Agricultur and Forstry ; (: - Publishd onlin Sptmbr, ( doi:./j.ajaf.. Economic charactrization of prdominant farming systms in Wst Bngal, India Soumitra Chattrj, Manabndra Ray, Pallabndu Haldr, Rupak Goswami Assistant Profssor in Agricultural Economics, AICRP on IFS, BCKV, Kalyani, India Assosciat Profssor in Agronomy, AICRP on IFS, BCKV, Kalyani, India Snior Rsarch Fllow in Agronomy, AICRP on IFS, BCKV, Kalyani, India Assistant Profssor, IRDM Faculty Cntr, Ramakrishna Mission Vivkananda Univrsity, Narndrapur, Kolkata, India addrss: soumitra.soum@gmail.com (S. Chattrj To cit this articl: Soumitra Chattrj, Manabndra Ray, Pallabndu Haldr, Rupak Goswami. Economic Charactrization of Prdominant Farming Systms in Wst Bngal, India. Amrican Journal of Agricultur and Forstry. Vol., No.,, pp. -. doi:./j.ajaf.. Abstract: This papr sks to charactriz and valuat prdominant farming systms in conomic trms across all agroclimatic zons of Wst Bngal, India as wll as to assss th xtnt of crop divrsification among diffrnt siz classs. A multi-stag random sampling mthod followd by a farm survy with structurd intrviw schdul rvald that farming community of all siz classs intndd to shift from thir traditional ric cropping systm to mor incom gnrating systms lik fruits, vgtabls, livstock, plantation, spics and piggry sub-systms in Hilly tract, fibr and vgtabls systms in Trai and Old uvium rgions, vgtabls systms in Nw uvial, sugarcan and vgtabl systms in Latritic Rd Soil zon and fishry, oilsds and plantation (btl vin systms in th Coastal blt of th stat. Th xtnt of crop divrsification was maximum among small and marginal farmrs and a strong and contind shift towards vgtabls and orchard crop was obsrvd. Th farmrs across all rgions consciously invstd watr and inputs in fruits and vgtabls to achiv gratr rturn in comparison to ric and othr agronomic crops. Jut crop, dspit of its odditis with pric, was mor of agronomic compulsion, which was visibl in Trai and Old uvium tract. Jut rndrd mor bnfits with vgtabls than ric in th sam pic of land. Dspit of svral odds in th problmatic Latritic Rd Soil rgion of th stat, sugarcan was idntifid as prdominant crop with good conomic rturn. Livstock raring was also on th ris along with fishry in th problmatic Coastal Salin blt. This has bn a wlcom shift and divrsification of farm ntrpris. With gradual dpartur from ric and othr crals and shift favouring vgtabls, orchard, livstock and fishry ntrpriss farm familis hav bttr productivity and rmunration pr unit of land and might provid mploymnt opportunity with lss gstation. Kywords: Prdominant Farming Systm, Economic Charactrization, Crop Divrsification, Economic Rturn. Introduction Idntification and charactrization of farm typs is of critical importanc for prcis tchnological intrvntion and policy support. Farming systm is dscribd as a unit consisting of a human group (usually a houshold and th rsourcs it manags in its nvironmnt, involving th dirct production of plant and/or animal products []. Typology of farming systm is dictatd by climat, production goals and cultur of a socity. This classification of th farming situations of dvloping rgions may b as varid as availabl natural rsourc bas, climat, landscap, farm siz, tnur and organization, dominant pattrn of farm activitis and houshold livlihoods, which dtrmin th intnsity of production and intgration of crops, livstock and othr activitis []. Unfortunatly, both in agricultural and social scincs, complxity and divrsity has rmaind undrvald, and xcludd from govrnmnt statistics and policy framwork []. Th htrognity across diffrnt rgions as wll as variation in diffrnt farms ar inflncd by a host of biophysical (.g. climat, soil frtility, slop tc. and/or socio-conomic (.g. prfrncs, prics, production objctivs tc. factors []. Dvloping a typology constituts an ssntial stp in any ralistic valuation of th constraints and opportunitis that xists within farm housholds for forwarding appropriat

2 Amrican Journal of Agricultur and Forstry ; (: - policy intrvntions [,, ]. Th factors that dfin farm typology vary gratly from study to study and/or from rgion to rgion. Ths may b as divrs as agro- infrastructural and cological, socio-conomic, managrial, broadr isss of livlihoods []. With laps of tim, agricultur in many small farms, hav assumd commrcial proportion, rplacing its traditionally subsistnc natur. Hnc, farm typology dlination on montary incom sms to b a pragmatic approach. This will also sav rsourcs by significantly curtaining th volum of survy data. With conomic charactrization of farms as th objctiv at hand, th authors assum that classification of farms on conomic rturns will giv mor ffctiv insights rgarding farm typs. Kping this viw in mind, an attmpt was mad to idntify, charactriz and valuat prdominant farming systms of Wst Bngal stat, India to find out th conomically profitabl farming systms, its contributions to ovrall livlihood of th farming community and xtnt of crop divrsification across all agro-climatic zons of th stat. Matrials and Mthods As pr th dtaild guidlins of Indian Agricultural Statistical Rsarch Institut, Pusa, Nw Dlhi, a multi- stag random sampl survy mthod has bn usd to prform th ntir survy work rgarding charactrization and valuation of prdominant farming systms across all National Agricultural Rsarch Projct (NARP zons of Wst Bngal, India. According to NARP rport, Wst Bngal has six agro-climatic zons namly: Hill Zon, Trai Zon, Old uvial Zon, Nw uvial Zon, Latritic Rd Soil Zon and Coastal Salin Zon (Fig.. From ach zon on district ach on advancd and on backward in trms of xisting cropping intnsity was takn for th study. From ach district, four rprsntativ Blocks and thr villags from ach of th Block was slctd randomly. Six rprsntativ farmrs comprisd of marginal-small, mdium and larg, in trms of oprational holding siz, wr takn up randomly for th survy. Th sampling schm slightly swrvd from th standard in pockts whr marginal-small farming communitis wr prdominant in natur. Furthr, th convntional siz classification of th farming community prscribd by th dpartmnt of Land Rform, Govrnmnt of Wst Bngal was not followd prcisly bcaus of th ovrwhlming proportion of marginal-small farming community in backward zons of th Stat. Ovrall, marginal farming community (<. ha., small (.-. ha., mdium (.-. ha. and larg on (>. ha. hav bn framd purposivly for th convninc of th survy work. Svnty two farming communitis from ach district and from ach NARP zon (xcpt Hill zon was survyd, classifid and catgorizd for th idntification of th prdominant farming systm. Thus, a total of farms wr survyd. Th prdominant farming systm was idntifid on th highst gross incom rcivd from a farming systm componnt. In idntifying sub-systm, componnt contributing highst incom was followd by th componnt contributing nxt bst incom to th systm, and so on. Th nam of componnts in a givn sub-systm has bn put as pr thir contributions to th whol farm gross incom. For xampl, sub-systm Ric + Jut + Vgtabls mans that Ric contributs highst to th farm incom followd by Jut and Vgtabls. Economics of diffrnt farming systms has also bn calculatd to valuat conomically most profitabl systm for ach zon. Th following figur rprsnts th rdfind six agro- India whr zon to has climatic zons of Wst Bngal, bn dmarcatd with diffrnt colours whr, zon dnots Northrn Hill Zon (.K sq. Km compriss of ntir Darjling district xcluding Siliguri sub-division and small part of Jalpaiguri. Zon rprsnts Trai Tsta Flood plain of Bngal (K sq. Km compriss of Coochbhar, Jalpaiguri and part of Uttar Dinajpur districts. Zon rprsnts th Gangtic Flood plain (.K sq. Km including part of Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Uttar Dinajpur, Burdwan, Murshidabad, -Parganas (North, -Parganas (South, Howrah, Hooghly, Birbhum and th ntir Nadia district. Zon dnots th Undulating Latritic rgion (.K sq. Km compriss of (ntir Purulia district and part of Burdwan, Birbhum, Bankura and Wst Midnapor. Zon rprsnts Vindhyan Old Flood plain (.K sq. Km compriss of part of Murshidabad, Howrah, Hooghly, Burdwan, Birbhum, Wst and East Midnapor. Finally zon dnots th Coastal Salin zon (.K sq. Km compriss of major part of -Parganas (South and East Midnapor and a small part of Howrah and -Parganas (North.

3 Soumitra Chattrj t al.: Economic Charactrization of Prdominant Farming Systms in Wst Bngal, India.. Data Basd on an xtnsiv rviw of litratur, initial cas xplorations in th fild and xprt counsl, a structurd intrviw schdul was dvlopd for th study. Apart from socio-conomic paramtrs of th housholds, farm siz, xisting and mrging farming systms of th sampl housholds, information on cost of cultivation and yild of diffrnt crops and pric rcivd by th farmrs was includd in th data collction instrumnt. Th draft intrviw schdul was thn pr-tstd on non-sampld rspondnts of ach agro-climatic zon to incorporat ncssary modifications in th instrumnt. Two of th important variabls and thir masurmnt is dscribd blow -.. Cost Bnfit Analysis For masuring th production fficincy bnfit cost ratio can b workd out as follows Bnfit cost ratio =.. Masurmnt of Crop Divrsification Hrfindahal indx as divrsification masurs hav bn usd in th following form: HI= n i=pi Whr, Pi=Ai/, i=,,.numbr of crop ntrpriss. Pi=proportion of ara undr crop, Ai=ara undr i th crop and Ai=gross croppd ara of th farm. Th val of Hrfindahal indx varis from to whr indicats complt spcialization and indicats prfct divrsification.. Rsults and Discussion.. Farm Siz-Wis Idntification of Prdominant Farming Systms Farm-siz wis prdominant farming systms across all agro-climatic zons of Wst Bngal was idntifid that showd that Hill zon was dominatd by vgtabl farming systm (.% followd by dairy (.% and plantation systms (.%. small farmrs, dominant in this zon, adoptd divrsifid farming systm apart from growing traditional cral crops. Trai zon was dominatd by convntional cral- farming systms (%, followd by vgtabl sub-systm (%, and jut systms (.%. In Old uvial zon, a zon situatd in th Gangtic alluvium tract and on of th high productivity zons of th stat,.% housholds followd cral farming systms. was found to b th nxt popular systm adoptd by th farming community. Nw alluvial zon was prdominatd by vgtabl- farming systms (.%. In many parts of this rgion, dpartur from traditional cropping pattrn has bn a trnd for th last on and half dcads [, ] mostly for nhancing incom from fragmntd land rsourcs. Vgtabl farming systm was also prdominant in th Rd Latritic rgion (.% contribution to total of th stat, which was known to b on of th problmatic zons of th stat with unfavourabl watr rgim, topography, soil frtility and socio-conomic condition of th farm familis. Th rgion is known to b th dry tract of Bngal whr rainfd ric was cultivatd as monocrop. Barring scarcity in irrigation watr, sugarcan was idntifid as a prdominant crop in this rgion with.% farm housholds following this systm. Anothr problmatic tract of th stat is Coastal blt of Bngal whr high soil salinity rsults into poor agricultural production. Rainfd ric has bn rgistrd as th most prdominant farming systm in this rgion that covrs around.% of th farm family, followd by fishry sub systms (.% contribution to total. Th rgion is wll connctd to Kolkata and non-farm activitis hav a significant ffct on socio-conomic status and rural livlihoods of th farm familis of th zon (.% of total farming community survyd (Tabl. This is not surprising sinc non-farm incom has bcom a burgoning rality of rural India spcially for th smallholdrs and this has oftn bcom th largst sourc of rural farm incom []. Tabl : Farm siz-wis numbr of farmrs having diffrnt farming systms in all NARP Zons of Wst Bngal Hill Zon Trai Zon Old uvial Zon Nw uvial Zon Latritic & Rd Soil Zon Coastal Salin Zon Catgo ry Mar- Mdi Mar- Mdi Mar- Mdi Margi Larg Larg Larg Md/La Margi Md/La Margi Md/La um um um nal rg nal rg nal rg Cral (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Vgta bl (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Oilsd s (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Pulss (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Sugarc an (. (. (. (. Fibr (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (.

4 Amrican Journal of Agricultur and Forstry ; (: - Catgo ry Fruit Piggry Fishry Plantati on Spics Othrs Total Hill Zon Trai Zon Old uvial Zon Nw uvial Zon Latritic & Rd Soil Zon Coastal Salin Zon Mar- Mdi Mar- Mdi Mar- Mdi Margi Larg Larg Larg Md/La Margi Md/La Margi Md/La um um um nal rg nal rg nal rg (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Figurs in th parnthss indicats prcntag to total (. (. (. (. (... Farm Siz Wis Shar of Gross Incom Rcivd from Diffrnt Farming Systms (. (. Cral sub-systms xistd across all th rgions of th stat, highst shar bing in th Latritic Rd Soil zon with.% contribution to gross farm incom. Th shar in Coastal salin zon was.%. Ths two problmatic rgions suffrd from climatic variability, topography and soil structur, and wr known to b a monocrop rgion, rainfd ric bing th sol crop cultivatd. Nxt to crals, vgtabls farming systms xistd in all th zons. Hill zon dmonstratd highst shar (.% followd by Old alluvial (.%, Coastal (.% and Rd latritic soil zon (.%. Oilsds sub-systms showd.% shar in Coastal zon, whr sunflowr and ssam wr prdominant crops. Clos to th Coastal rgion was Old alluvial tract (.%. Puls- farming systm xistd in Old alluvial, Latritic rd soil and Coastal blt of Bngal, highst prcnt shar bing rgistrd in Old alluvium tract (.% followd by Coastal (.% and Latritic rd soil zon (.%. Sugarcan- farming systm shard.% contribution to gross farm incom in Latritic rd soil tract, whil contribution of Jut- farming systm in Trai tract was.%. - farming systms wr obsrvd to hav dvlopd in almost all th zons of th stat. Hill and Old alluvial zons had maximum numbr of farming community undr livstock and cattl raring. Contribution to graoss farm incom was highst in Hill (.% followd by Old alluvium tract (.%. Fruit- systms dvlopd in (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Hilly tract of Bngal (.% shar whr orang was found to b th most profitabl fruit in trms of conomic rturn. Piggry- sub-systm was obsrvd in Hill zon with a shar of.%. Fishry dominatd in th Coastal blt of th stat xhibiting a.% shar across all siz classs of farm familis. Plantation- systms wr prdominant in Hilly tract of Bngal, ta plantation bing th highst in making montary rturn to th gross farm incom. Ovrall, a.% shar of gross incom rcivd from th plantation- farming systms in this zon. Coastal blt of th stat is famous for btl vin cultivation that contributd.% of th gross incom from plantation farming systms. Spic farming systms was found in Hilly rgions (.% shar, cardamom, black pppr, cumin bing th significant contributors. Barring Trai zon, contribution of non-farm incom to th ovrall incom was found in ara adjacnt to Kolkata city, whr th largst numbr of labour forcs cam from th rural aras of Nw alluvial and Coastal zons. In Trai rgion, bamboo cultivators, wickr baskts producr and willow wood cuttrs wr significant nonfarm occupations (Tabl. It was th marginal-small farming communitis, who showd tndncy to divrsify thir prdominant farming systms into cash arning systms for improving thir livlihood status. This might b d to th prssing nd of incrasing farm incom from small fragmntd holdings. Th numbr of smallholdrs has incrasd in Wst Bngal [] and thr is also vidnc of incrasd crop divrsity on fragmntd lands in th stat []. Tabl : Farm siz-wis prcnt shar of gross incom rcivd from diffrnt systms in all NARP Zons of Wst Bngal Hill Zon Trai Zon Old uvial Zon Nw uvial Zon Latritic & Rd Soil Zon Coastal Salin Zon Ma Mar Mar Catgory r- Mdi Lar - Mdi Lar - Mdi Larg Margi Sma Md/L Margi Sm Md/L Margi Smal Md/L Sm um g Sma um g Sma um nal ll arg nal all arg nal l arg all ll ll Cral (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. (. Vgtabl

5 Soumitra Chattrj t al.: Economic Charactrization of Prdominant Farming Systms in Wst Bngal, India Catgory (. Oilsds Pulss Sugarcan Fibr Fruit Piggry Fishry Plantation Spics Othrs Hill Zon Trai Zon Old uvial Zon Nw uvial Zon Latritic & Rd Soil Zon Coastal Salin Zon Ma Mar Mar r- Mdi Lar - Mdi Lar - Mdi Larg Margi Sma Md/L Margi Sm Md/L Margi Smal Md/L Sm um g Sma um g Sma um nal ll arg nal all arg nal l arg all ll ll. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (. ( (.. (.. (... (.... (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (. (... (... (... (.. (... (.. (.. (.. (... (... (... (... (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (... (.. (.. (.. (.. (... (... (... (.. (.. (... (.. (.. (. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (..... ( (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (. (..... (.. ( Figurs in th parnthss indicats rspctiv avrag land holding siz (ha. of diffrnt siz classs. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (. (.. (... (... ( (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (. (.. (.. (.. ( (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (. (. (. (. (.. ( (... (.. (... (... (... ( (.. (... (. (..... (. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (.. (... Economic Analysis of Profitabl Sub Farming Systms Economic analysis of diffrnt sub-systms xhibitd highr conomic rturn from (Econ. B: C., Plantation (Econ. B: C. and Piggry- farming systms (Econ. B: C. than xisting cropping systms in Hilly tracts of Bngal. Vgtabl bcam an incom gnrating systms in almost all th rgions of th stat and vgtabl sub-systms rgistrd highr conomic rturn in Latritic rd soil zon (Econ. B: C., Coastal salin blt (Econ. B: C., Old alluvial zon (Econ. B: C., Nw alluvium or Gangtic alluvium tract (Econ. B: C. and Trai zon (Econ. B: C.. Orang bcam a profitabl fruit crop in Hilly tracts, whr orang sub-farming systms xhibitd conomic rturn of.. Sugarcan bcam popular in Latritic rd soil rgion that gnratd a rturn of.. Fishry and btl vin- sub-farming systms dominatd in th Coastal salin zon of th stat, xhibiting an conomic rturn of. and. rspctivly. Baruipur sub-division undr Coastal salin zon is famous for guava cultivation whr fruit- farming systms showd high conomic rturn (. in this rgion. Jut cultivators dominatd th north Bngal and Gangtic alluvium tract of th stat, but Trai zon xhibitd bttr conomic rturn from this short-duration cash crop (Econ. B: C.. Old alluvium tract xhibitd an Economic B:C of. for jut- sub-systms. Nw alluvial zon is famous for vgtabls cultivation and orchard (Banana and Papaya. Fruit sub-systms also xhibitd a highr conomic rturn (. (Tabl. typs of farmrs in svral pockts of th stat hav shiftd to vgtabls and fruit cultivation, owing to bttr irrigation and xtnsion support, in rcnt tims (Mitra and Pathak,. Ovrall, divrsifid farms showd a rlativly highr cost-bnfit ratio. Incrasing dpndnc on costly xtrnal inputs has rndrd an incras in cost of cultivation for lss divrsifid farms, rlativ to systm nt rturn, irrspctiv of farm typs [].

6 Amrican Journal of Agricultur and Forstry ; (: - Tabl : Farm siz-wis conomically most profitabl diffrnt sub-farming systms in all NARP zons of Wst Bngal Zons Hill Latriti c and Rd Soil Coastal Salin Old uvial Nw uvial Farming Systms Crals Fruit Piggry Plantation Spics Vgtabl s Cral Oilsds Vgtabl s Sugarcan Othrs Pulss Cral Fishry Fruits Oilsds Plantation Pulss Vgtabl s Othrs Cral Vgtabl s Fibr Fishry Oilsds Plantation Pulss Vgtabl s Cral Fibr Sub Farming Systms Farm Catgory Systm GR (Rs. Systm COC (Rs. Systm NR (Rs. Cral+Plantation++Fruits+Spics Larg.... +Vgtabls+Crals+Goatry Mdium.... Fruits+Vgtabls++Crals+Poultry Mdium.... Piggry+Fruits+Crals+Pulss+Vgtabls+Plantation Mdium.... Plantation+Fruits+Crals Mdium.... Spics+Fruits++Crals Mdium.... Vgtabls++Crals+Oilsds... Crals+Oilsds+Goatry+Othrs Marginal.... Oilsds+Crals+ Vgtabls+Crals+Oilsds+Othrs+ Vgtabls+Oilsds+Crals+Poultry Sugarcan+Vgtabls+Crals+Oilsds+Othrs+Fishry+Goatry +Crals Marginal and Md/Larg Md/Larg Md/Larg Marginal Marginal and Md/Larg Syst m B:C Ratio Othrs+Crals++Oilsds+Poultry Marginal.... Pulss++Goatary+Poultry+Crals Md/Larg.... Crals+Fishry+ Mdium.... Fishry+Crals+ Fruits+Othrs+Crals+Vgtabls+Pulss, Mdium and Larg Oilsds+Pulss+ Larg.... Plantation+Crals and Mdium... Pulss+Othrs+Crals Mdium.... Vgtabls+Crals+ Mdium.... Othrs+Crals+Pulss+Vgtabls Crals+Vgtabls++Goatary and Mdium Mdium and Larg Vgtabls+Crals+Oilsds+Fishry+ Larg.... Fibr+Vgtabls+Oilsds+Crals+ Larg.... +Fishry+Vgtabls+Crals+Fibrs Larg.... Fishry+Vgtabls++Crals+Oilsds Larg.... Oilsds+Fishry Mdium.... Plantation+Pulss+Fibr+Crals Larg.... Pulss+Fishry+Crals+Poultry Vgtabls+Oilsds+Crals+Fibr Vgtabls+Pulss+Oilsds++Fibr+Poultry+Goatary Crals+Vgtabls+Fibr +Vgtabls+Fibr+Pulss+Oilsds+Goatary+Crals+Poultry Fibr+Crals+Oilsds++Goatary+Poultry Md/Larg Md/Larg

7 Soumitra Chattrj t al.: Economic Charactrization of Prdominant Farming Systms in Wst Bngal, India Zons Trai Farming Systms Fruits Cral Vgtabl s Fibr Fruits Livstock Othrs Sub Farming Systms Fruits+Vgtabls++Oilsds+Crals+Fibr+Goatary+Poultry Farm Catgory Systm GR (Rs. Systm COC (Rs. Systm NR (Rs. Syst m B:C Ratio.... Crals+Pulss+Fibr+Fruits+Vgtabls+Poultry+Piggry Larg.... Vgtabls+Crals+Fibr+Fruits+Livstock+Oilsds+Spics+Goatary Larg.... Fibr+Crals+Othrs+Vgtabls+Livstock+Fruits Mdium.... Fruits+Crals+Livstock+Poultry Mdium.... Livstock+Vgtabls+Crals+Fibr+Fruits+Oilsds Larg.... Othrs+Livstock+Crals+Fibr+Fruits+Vgtabls+Oilsds+Poultry+Puls s Mdium.... Not: GR: Gross Rturn, COC: Cost of Cultivation, NR: Nt Rturn, B:C ratio: Bnfit Cost ratio.. Extnt of Crop Divrsification among all Siz Classs Th papr also valuats and asssss th xtnt of crop divrsification among diffrnt siz classs using Hrfindahal indx across all agro-climatic zons of Wst Bngal (Tabl. small farming community divrsifid thir cropping pattrn to a mor incom gnrating systm such as short trm vgtabls, fruit orchard, fishry, dairy and piggry as compard to larg farmrs. In Hilly tracts, xtnt of divrsification among marginal and small farming community wr. and. rspctivly. This was d to th cultivation of wintr and summr vgtabls, orang as fruit, dvlopmnt of cattl- ntrpris and piggry as altrnativ sourcs of incom. Th xtnt of divrsification varid from. to. for marginal farmrs and. to. for th mdium farmrs. Howvr, th xtnt of crop divrsification among marginal and small farm familis rachd its maximum in Trai rgion (., Old alluvium tract of th rivr Gangs and dry tract (Latritic rd soil zon of Wst Bngal indicating significant shift in cropping pattrn. This shift was from low-val/subsistnc to high-val crop, supportd by tchnology adoption and xtnsion support. Th pictur is mor or lss similar in rst of th zons. Mdium siz catgory of farmrs in Nw alluvial zon divrsifid thir cropping systm (. to vgtabls- sub systms for mor incom gnration. (. as wll as larg (. farming community divrsifid thir cropping in Coastal salin blt of Bngal towards mor incom gnrating fishry and plantation (btl vin systms to rais thir ovrall livlihood status. Intrstingly, smallr farms hav shown highr divrsification in incom which also is in lin with availabl litratur [, ]. Tabl : Extnt of Crop Divrsification among diffrnt siz classs across all agro-climatic zons of Wst Bngal Catg ory Margi nal Mdiu m Larg Hill Zon Trai Zon Old uvial Zon Nw uvial Zon Min..... Ma x..... Avra g.... Min..... Ma x..... Avra g.... Min..... Ma x..... Avra g.... Min..... Ma x..... Avra g.... Latritic & Rd Soil Zon Min Ma. x. Avra g Coastal Zon Min Ma. x Salin Avra g..... Conclusions Across all agro-climatic zons of Wst Bngal, farming community of all siz classs startd to shift from thir traditional ric- cropping systm to mor incom gnrating systms on fruits, vgtabls, livstock, plantation, spics and piggry. Piggry- sub-systms in Hilly tract, fibr- and vgtabls- systms in Trai as wll as Old alluvium rgions, vgtabls in Nw alluvial, sugarcan and vgtabls in Latritic rd soil zon and fishry, oilsds and plantation (btl vin in th Coastal blt of th stat. Howvr, Hrfindahal crop divrsification masurmnt showd a tndncy of marginal, small and mdium farmrs to divrsify thir cropping pattrn. Th rang varid widly among th diffrnt siz classs of farmrs indicating complt divrsification to prfct spcialization to traditional farming systm. This could hav bn possibl only d to facilitation with bttr knowldg and propr intrvntion by agricultural xtnsion. Nw alluvial zon, owing to its proximity to Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, th sol Stat Agricultural Univrsity in southrn Bngal, dmonstratd a

8 Amrican Journal of Agricultur and Forstry ; (: - strongr dpartur from ric- farming than othr zons, and that was most pronounc among marginal farmrs. and marginal farmrs wr still proccupid with thir land with littl off-farm shift in livlihoods. Mdium and larg farmrs had alrady divrsifid into othr occupations, and contrary to blif, farming might hav bcom a scondary occupation for thm. This saw lss divrsification among this class. Among th crops, ric showd a divrs shift to svral sub-farming systms. Jut was still prdominant in traditional pockts and showd stability of acrag and production. Fruits and vgtabls wr on th ris across agro-cological zons and siz catgoris. Livstock, fishry, piggry and plantation wr incorporatd in spcific farming systms of spcific aras. This scnario is wlcom. Farmrs across all rgions had prhaps bcom largly conscious that watr and othr inputs had a gratr rturn whn invstd in fruits and vgtabls compard to ric and othr agronomic crops. Jut crop, dspit its odditis with pric, was mor of agronomic compulsion. Morovr, jut rndrd mor bnfits with vgtabls than ric in th sam pic of land. Livstock was also on th ris along with fishry in th problmatic coastal salin blt. This also is a wlcom shift mbodying divrsification in ntrpriss. With gradual dpartur from ric and othr crals and shift favouring fruits and orchard ntrpris, and livstock and fishry, bttr productivity and rmunration pr unit of land is imminnt and this might b providing nhancd opportunity of mploymnt with lss gstation. Acknowldgmnts For prforming th ntir survy work th contribution and assistanc of all th sampld farming communitis, block and district officials, Assistant Dirctor of Agricultur of th rspctiv blocks ar bing duly acknowldgd. Furthr, th Projct Dirctorat of Farming Systm Rsarch, ICAR is bing duly acknowldgd for providing funds for th ntir survy work across all th zons of Wst Bngal, India. Rfrncs [] FAO.. Farming Systms Dvlopmnt: Guidlins for th conduct of a training cours in Farming Systms Dvlopmnt. Rom, Italy. [] Dixon, J., Gullivr, A., Gibbon, D.. Farming systms and povrty: improving farmrs' livlihoods in a changing world. Rom: FAO. [] Ojim, J., Riddr, N., Vanlauw, B., Gillr, K.E.. Socio-cological nich: a concptual framwork for intgration of lgums in smallholdr farming systms. Intrnational Journal of Agric. Sustainability. (,. [] Ganpat, W., Bkl, I.. Looking for th trs in th forst: farm typology as a usful tool in dfining targts for xtnsion. In: Emrging Trnds in Agricultural and Extnsion Education (J.R. Lindnr, d., Procdings of th th Annual Confrnc of th Association for Intrnational Agricultural and Extnsion Education. - Arpil, Baton Roug, Louisiana. [] Timothy, W.O.. Idntifying targt groups for livstock improvmnt rsarch: Th classification of sdntary livstock producrs in wstrn Nigr. Agricultural Systms.,. [] Vanclay, J.K.. Using a typology of tr-growrs to guid forstry xtnsion. Annals of Tropical Rsarch. (,. [] Tittonll, P., Muriukid, A., Shphrd, K.D., Mugndif, D., Kaizzig, K.C., Okyoa, J., Vrchot, L., Co, R., Vanlauwa, B.. Th divrsity of rural livlihoods and thir inflnc on soil frtility in agricultural systms of East Africa A typology of smallholdr farms. Agricultural Systms. (, -. [] Goswami, R.. Undrstanding farmr-to-farmr communication within th Sustainabl Rural Livlihood framwork. Thsis PhD, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya, Dpartmnt of Agricultural Extnsion, Wst Bngal, India. [] Mhta, R.. Rural livlihood divrsification and its masurmnt isss: focus India. Wy City Group on statistics on rural dvlopmnt and agricultur houshold incom, Scond Mting, at FAO HQ, Italy, Rom, - Jun. Availabl at group// [] D, U.K.. Divrsification of Crop in Wst Bngal: A Spatio-Tmporal Analysis, Artha Vijnana, : -. [] Bagchi, B. D., S. B. Roy, W. M. H. Jaim and Hossain, M.. Divrsity, spatial distribution, and th procss of adoption of improvd ric varitis in Wst Bngal, In: M. Hossain, W.M.H. Jaim, T.R. Paris and B. Hardy (Editors Adoption and diffusion of modrn ric varitis in Bangladsh and astrn India. IRRI, Philippins, pp -. [] Vyas, V. S.. Agricultur: scond round of conomic rforms, Economic and Political Wkly, : -. [] D, U.K.. Economics of crop divrsification. Akansha Pub. Hous, Nw Dlhi. [] Joshi, P.K., A. Gulati and R. Cummings Jr.. Agricultural Divrsification and holdrs in South Asia. Acadmic Foundation, Nw Dlhi, India. [] Chambrs, R., Pacy, A., Thrupp, L.A.. Farmr first: farmr innovation and agricultural rsarch, London: Intrmdiat Tchnology Publications.