India’s Cropping Choices

Despite various policy efforts to promote crop diversification, rice and wheat continue to dominate Indian agriculture across regions, including Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, and even parts of Eastern India like Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. This pattern is not incidental. It is shaped by a combination of price support, yield reliability, irrigation access, and continuous technological advancements.

Why India opts for rice and wheat?

• In India, agriculture is not just an economic activity but also a high-risk livelihood—subject to: unpredictable monsoons, input cost volatility (fertilisers, labour), market price crashes and crop failure due to pests or weather.
• In such a risky environment, farmers naturally prefer crops that give them: assured prices, stable yields, government procurement support, low probability of complete crop loss
• This is where rice and wheat fit perfectly.
• Minimum Support Price (MSP) system: The biggest driver behind India’s rice and wheat dominance is the MSP system, backed by actual government procurement.
  • The Food Corporation of India (FCI) and other agencies procure wheat and rice in bulk.
  • Procurement is almost guaranteed, especially in states like Punjab, Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, and Telangana.
  • Even if market prices crash, farmers get the pre-announced MSP, which acts like an insurance cover.
• Irrigation Advantage + Low Yield Risk: Rice and wheat are extensively grown under irrigated conditions, which reduces dependence on rainfall.
  • Wheat is a rabi (winter) crop; irrigation helps during dry spells.
  • Rice traditionally requires a lot of water, but is supported by canal irrigation in states like Punjab or by groundwater pumping in Telangana.
    • Because of this, these two crops have less chance of total failure. They are more fertiliser-responsive and have predictable outcomes.
• R&D Breakthroughs: The Green Revolution made India self-sufficient in food grains — and its gains have been heavily concentrated in rice and wheat.
  • Wheat: First-generation wheat varieties like Kalyan Sona, newer wheat varieties (e.g., HD-3385)
  • Rice: Semi-dwarf, fast-growing varieties (e.g., IR-8, Samba Mahsuri). New gene-edited varieties like Kamala and Pusa DST Rice 1 developed using CRISPR-Cas9 technology

What’s happening to other crops?

• Crops like cotton have not seen any major breeding breakthroughs after Bt cotton (2002–2006).
• The lack of approval for new GM crops (e.g., in mustard, brinjal, etc.) further limits productivity gains in other sectors.
• This absence of innovation, coupled with weak procurement systems, makes pulses, oilseeds, and millets less economically attractive, despite their nutritional and ecological importance.
• Crops like millets, pulses, or oilseeds may be more suited to India’s agro-climate, especially in rainfed areas, but:
  • Their price realisations are unstable.
  • They don’t enjoy mass procurement or assured markets.
  • They face higher yield risk due to less irrigation and poor research attention.

Required Measures

• To correct this imbalance, there is a need to:
  • Extend R&D support to other crops.
  • Build robust procurement systems for pulses and oilseeds.
  • Encourage climate-resilient and water-saving practices (e.g., direct seeding in rice, conservation agriculture in pulses).
  • Promote nutri-cereals like millets, especially under the National Food Security Mission and International Year of Millets 2023 legacy.
• Regions beyond the South, such as Eastern Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, and parts of Central India, also offer untapped potential for diversified cropping if supported by infrastructure, irrigation, and market access.