Levels of Crop Diversification and Its Impact on Poor Farmers: A Case Study of Jashpur District, Chhattisgarh State, India

Abstract

Crop diversification of a region is expected to have an indirect implications to the supply (or availability) as well as the demand sides (or affordability) of food. The study area is geographically located in between 22017' North to 23015' North latitudes and 83030' East to 84024' East longitudes. The present study is analyzed the levels of crop diversification and its impact on poor farmers with reference to tribal populated Jashpur district considering various parameters like socio-economic conditions of poor farmers, change in cost cultivation, change in income and self-sufficiency of the farmers. Both, primary data and secondary data were used for the study. The main findings of this paper are that, high degree of crop diversification is generally found due to a combination of various factors. Farmers of the study area adopt crop diversification to reduce the impact of climate shocks, market fluctuations and pests, while also aiming to increase household income and improve dietary intake. Crop diversification has been shown to have significant impacts on poor farmers in the study area, as crop diversification improves their livelihoods, enhances food security and increases their resilience to climate change.