Crop diversification and intensification depends on various factors related to:

♤ Soil and climatic parameters: It determines overall agro-ecological setting

♤ Resource: It covers irrigation, rainfall and soil fertility

♤ Technology: Varieties of seeds, cultural requirements, mechanization, plant protection, and access to information etc.

♤ Infrastructure facilities: Irrigation, transport, storage, trade and marketing, post-harvest handling and processing etc.

♤ Condition of Household: Food and fodder self-sufficiency requirement as well as investment capacity.

♤ Socio-economic conditions: Financial resource base, land ownership, size and type of land holding, household needs of food, fodder, fuel, fibre and finance, labour availability etc.

♤ Pricing Structure: It includes output and input prices as well as trade policies and other economic policies that affect these prices either directly or indirectly.

♤ Institutions: It covers farm size and tenancy arrangements, research, extension and marketing systems and government regulatory policies.

Apart from this the factors determining the choice of crops by a farmer may depend largely on:

• Size of the Land Holding: In India marginal and small farmers represent the majority of farming community. So the mono crop paddy has become predominant as it fulfils the household needs and perpetuates the subsistence agriculture with little scope for commercial Cop husbandry.

• Literacy: Majority of the farmers are ignorant of the scientific methods involved in mixed- cropping, mono cropping and other technological knowhow for practicing better

• Disease and pest: The cropping pattern also depends on the possibility of disease and pest infections.

• Ecological Suitability: The cropping pattern of a particular region is highly dependent on the ecological condition (temperature, rainfall, humidity, etc.).

• Moisture Availability: The source of irrigation greatly determines the type of the cropping pattern to be practiced. For example, in low rainfall area, dry land farming is best possible way to profit maximisation.

• Financial Stability: The economic condition of the farmers also affects the cropping pattern. As the cash crops (for example, cotton) involve high capital investments, these are practised only in estate farming. The marginal section of the farms community adopts low cost crops.