N4S: Article tells how rice‑wheat success hides risks and need crop diversity. UPSC frames such themes as big‑picture GS 3 questions that ask you to praise past gains and then dissect hidden costs, just like the 2020 question on the rice‑wheat “bane.” Many aspirants stumble because they quote only Green‑Revolution glory and ignore hard data on water stress, subsidies, and loss of pulses, so answers stay half‑baked. This piece fixes that gap: the subhead “Reasons Farmers Prefer Rice and Wheat” breaks down every push factor, while “Government Policy’s Role in Shaping Cropping Patterns” shows how MSP and power subsidies lock farmers in, and “Climate Change and Future Cropping Patterns” arms you with forward‑looking angles. Grab examples sprinkled throughout—(HD‑3385 wheat, Kamala CRISPR rice, Direct‑Seeded Rice in Haryana)—to prove depth. The standout gem is its “Back to Basics: Understanding Cropping Patterns and Agricultural Priorities” box; it turns fuzzy textbook jargon into crisp, exam‑ready lines that can open or close any answer. Read the article once, and you will have the map, the numbers, and the fresh vocabulary to move beyond stock phrases and hit the analytical sweet spot UPSC rewards.

PYQ ANCHORING

GS 3:  What are the major factors responsible for making rice-wheat system a success? In spite of this success how has this system become bane in India? [2020]

MICROTHEME:  Cropping pattern

“Plant rice and wheat, and your harvest is almost guaranteed.” — That’s the certainty that shapes the choices of millions of Indian farmers every season. But while these staples dominate fields and plates, the promise of food security hides a deeper crisis—of shrinking crop diversity, rising resource stress, and a fragile future for farming.

Across the heartlands of Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh, fields overflow with rice and wheat, backed by government support and decades of research. Yet, behind this abundance lies a stubborn reliance that sidelines pulses, millets, and oilseeds—crops crucial for nutrition, climate resilience, and sustainable farming.

Why does this rice-wheat cycle persist despite growing risks? What role do policies, innovation, and climate change play in locking India into this pattern? And can the country pivot towards a more diverse and secure agricultural future before it’s too late?

The issue in point

Rice and wheat remain the top choices for Indian farmers due to assured government support and continuous scientific advancements in breeding technologies. Other crops lag behind because they lack similar incentives and innovations.

Reasons Farmers Prefer Rice and Wheat

Farmers’ loyalty to rice and wheat is not accidental—it is shaped by decades of support systems, innovations, and familiarity that reduce risks and improve returns.

1. Assured Procurement at MSP: The government guarantees purchases of rice and wheat at Minimum Support Prices (MSP), reducing farmers’ market risks. For example, Punjab’s rice cultivation area increased significantly from 29.8 lakh hectares in 2015-16 to 32.4 lakh hectares in 2024-25, thanks to stable MSP support.
   
2. Lower Yield Risk: Rice and wheat are mostly grown under irrigation and benefit from advanced research, leading to more reliable yields. For instance, the wheat variety HD-3385 (2023) yields about 6 tonnes/hectare and is disease-resistant.
   
3. Breeding Innovations & Higher Returns: Ongoing improvements boost productivity and stress tolerance. The genetically edited rice variety Kamala can yield up to 9 tonnes/hectare and matures faster, saving water and fertilizer costs.
   
4. Government Extension Services: Strong support from Krishi Vigyan Kendras and state agriculture departments helps farmers access quality seeds and timely guidance.
   
5. Familiar Cropping Practices: Farmers are well-acquainted with the input cycle, harvesting methods, and market systems of rice and wheat, reducing uncertainty.
   

Key Drivers of Yield Growth in Rice and Wheat

The productivity boom in these crops is a direct result of targeted scientific efforts and efficient farming methods.

1. Genetic Improvements: Continuous breeding advancements have produced high-yield, stress-resistant varieties like HD-3385 wheat.
   
2. Improved Farming Practices: Techniques like early sowing, fertiliser-responsive seeds, and Direct-Seeded Rice (DSR) enhance yields and save water and labour.
   
3. Public Research Support: Government institutions back rice and wheat research, exemplified by the CRISPR-edited Kamala rice, which matures earlier and requires fewer inputs.
   
4. Precision Agriculture Tools: Use of drones, remote sensing, and soil health monitoring is improving input efficiency and boosting yields.
   
5. Government Schemes: Programs like NFSM (National Food Security Mission) and PM-AASHA provide funding and input access to farmers.
   

Government Policy’s Role in Shaping Cropping Patterns

Policies have played a central role in reinforcing the rice-wheat monoculture, often at the cost of crop diversity and sustainability.

1. MSP and Procurement Assurance: Guaranteed MSP encourages farmers to grow rice and wheat, leading to expansion of these crops (e.g., Punjab and Madhya Pradesh), while crops like cotton have declined.
   
2. Research and Input Bias: Rice and wheat receive more scientific attention and subsidy access than pulses, oilseeds, or cotton.
   
3. Irrigation Infrastructure: Government investments in canals, tubewells, and power subsidies favor water-intensive crops like rice and wheat.
   
4. Power and Fertilizer Subsidies: These heavily benefit rice-wheat growing belts, encouraging their continuous cultivation.
   
5. PDS-Driven Cropping Choices: Government procurement for PDS focuses on rice and wheat, limiting farmers’ incentive to diversify.
   

Recent Innovations in Rice Varieties

Rice breeding has witnessed rapid innovation in recent decades, improving its adaptability, nutritional value, and sustainability.

1. Semi-Dwarf High-Yield Varieties: Such as IR-8 (1966), which increased yields and reduced crop duration compared to traditional varieties.
   
2. Gene Editing (CRISPR-Cas): Precision tools like CRISPR, used in Kamala rice (2024), increase grain number, improve maturity time, and raise yields.
   
3. Abiotic Stress Tolerance: Varieties like Pusa DST Rice 1 show tolerance to drought and salinity, helping farmers in climate-vulnerable zones.
   
4. Aerobic Rice Varieties: Developed to grow under non-flooded conditions, these reduce water consumption significantly.
   
5. Biofortified Rice: New lines enriched with iron, zinc, and other micronutrients are being deployed under public nutrition programs.

Role of Private Sector in Crop Diversification and R&D

While public institutions have traditionally focused on staples like rice and wheat, the private sector is increasingly instrumental in pushing the frontiers of crop innovation, diversification, and commercialization—particularly in under-supported crops like vegetables, oilseeds, and pulses.

Climate Change and Future Cropping Patterns

Climate variability is no longer a distant concern—it’s already influencing cropping zones, water availability, and input use. Adaptive cropping strategies and climate-resilient varieties are critical for long-term food security.

Nutritional Security vs. Caloric Security: The New Policy Pivot

India’s focus on caloric sufficiency—primarily via rice and wheat—has masked its ongoing nutritional crisis. A future-ready food policy must recalibrate towards protein-rich, micronutrient-dense, and biofortified crops.

Way Forward

A resilient and diverse agriculture sector requires policy and research shifts that move beyond rice and wheat.

1. Diversify MSP and R&D: Expand assured procurement and research to pulses, oilseeds, and millets to reduce dependence on rice and wheat.
   
2. Promote Sustainable Practices: Encourage water-saving tech (e.g., DSR), crop rotation, and climate-resilient varieties.
   
3. Disincentivize Water-Intensive Crops: Offer financial incentives for growing low water-use crops in stressed agro-climatic zones.
   
4. Subsidy Reform: Redirect input subsidies to support climate-smart, region-specific farming systems.
   
5. Market & Awareness Push for Alternatives: Boost marketing infrastructure and consumer demand for nutri-cereals and protein-rich crops.

Back to Basics: Understanding Cropping Patterns and Agricultural Priorities

Before evaluating India’s overdependence on rice and wheat, it is vital to decode the fundamental ideas that shape farmers’ choices and national food strategies. This section offers conceptual clarity on cropping patterns, their determinants, and the structural logic behind crop dominance.

Defining Cropping Patterns

Cropping pattern is not just a list of crops grown—it’s a systemic reflection of land use, climatic adaptation, and agricultural priorities over time.

• Definition: A cropping pattern refers to the proportion and sequence in which different crops are cultivated on a given land area across seasons or years.
  
• Static vs. Dynamic: While some regions follow fixed annual patterns, others shift crop choices in response to changing prices, weather, or pest risks.
  
• Mono vs. Mixed Systems: Monoculture involves growing a single crop repeatedly, while intercropping or crop rotation includes multiple species to balance nutrients and risks.
  
• Temporal Variation: Cropping intensity (number of crops grown in a year) varies—single, double, or triple cropping depending on water, labour, and technology.
  
• Data Source: National agencies like the Directorate of Economics and Statistics (DES) compile cropping pattern data for policy use and regional comparisons.
  

 Structural Factors Shaping Cropping Decisions

Farmers’ crop choices are not purely based on tradition or habit. They are shaped by intersecting structural, ecological, and institutional factors.

• Agro-Ecology: Climate zones, soil pH, and topography limit what is feasible to grow and harvest profitably.
  
• Asset Access: Ownership of irrigation facilities, credit access, and landholding size determine whether a farmer can take crop risks.
  
• Labour Requirements: Some crops are labour-intensive (like sugarcane), which may not be feasible in areas with labour shortages or high wage rates.
  
• Input Cycles: Crops have distinct sowing, fertilization, and harvesting schedules—mismatches can prevent efficient multiple cropping.
  
• Tenancy and Leasing: Tenant farmers often grow short-duration or low-input crops to minimize investment under uncertain land arrangements.

Cropping Patterns vs. Cropping Systems

These two terms are often confused but refer to different agricultural frameworks.

• Pattern: Cropping pattern is about what crops are grown and in what proportion.
  
• System: A cropping system considers the entire management approach—rotation, fallow periods, inputs, residue use, and sustainability.
  
• Agroforestry Integration: Some cropping systems combine trees and crops, improving biodiversity and microclimates.
  
• Livestock Linkage: In many regions, crop choices are influenced by the presence of cattle—fodder needs shape the cropping system.
  
• Sustainability Criteria: A cropping system is evaluated not just by yield, but by soil health retention, pest load reduction, and climate adaptability.
  

Historical Legacy of Crop Prioritization

Current patterns are deeply rooted in historical policy interventions and global market forces.

• Green Revolution Bias: The 1960s-70s push for food security drove high-yield wheat and rice adoption, setting a precedent for future policy attention.
  
• Colonial Disruption: Earlier cropping systems were more diverse—colonial emphasis on cash crops like indigo and opium disrupted food crop cycles.
  
• Procurement Culture: The institutional apparatus for grain procurement began as a famine-avoidance measure and evolved into a long-term structural feature.
  
• State Formation Influence: Newly formed states like Punjab and Haryana were incentivized to become national grain suppliers, institutionalizing rice-wheat dominance.
  
• Export Orientation: The liberalization era added new incentives to grow globally tradable crops, affecting what farmers prioritized in market-linked regions.
  

Agricultural Zoning and Regional Prioritization

Geographic targeting is key to understanding where certain crops thrive or fail—and why national cropping strategies cannot be one-size-fits-all.

• Agro-Ecological Zoning (AEZ): Classifies regions by climate, soil, and terrain to recommend crop types; ICAR uses this to guide long-term policy.
  
• Crop Suitability Maps: These use GIS and remote sensing to match soil-climate profiles with ideal crops and their input needs.
  
• Rainfed vs. Irrigated Zones: India has both rain-dependent regions and irrigation-fed belts—these distinctions are central to sustainable crop planning.
  
• Zone-Specific Diseases: Crop selection must factor in pest and disease patterns that vary by region (e.g., blast in rice, rust in wheat).
  
• Input Supply Chains: The physical availability of seeds, fertilizers, and pesticide dealers often aligns with zonal cropping patterns.

SMASH MAINS MOCK DROP

The rice-wheat cropping pattern has ensured food security but at the cost of ecological sustainability and crop diversity.” Critically examine the structural, policy, and technological factors behind this dominance. Suggest a multipronged strategy to promote climate-resilient and nutritionally balanced cropping systems in India.