Problems with current cropping pattern:

♤ In India, there is an existing imbalance in the cropping pattern of the food grains because a large proportion of the area under food grains is occupied by rice and wheat.

♤ Further, there is a gradual shift from non-food grains to food grains. Reasons of imbalance in Crop Pattern Prices of food grains have been rising quite fast and the farmers have started growing food crops in the similar way they grow commercial crops like cotton, oil seed crops sugarcane etc. Cultivation of food grains has become highly remunerative and productive under the influence of new technology and reasonably high Minimum Support Prices for wheat and rice.

♤ There has been a change in the consumption pattern and people have moved from coarse cereals to wheat and rice for their main dietary grain. This is because of the increase in the income of the people and coarse cereals being the inferior goods.

♤ Constant increase in the production of rice and wheat with little emphasis on other cereals. This is the result of government's procurement at MSP, example being Punjab

♤ Cultivation of water intensive crops despite low ground water levels.

♤ Use of excess quantities of fertilizers without considering the existing soil quality

♤ Indiscriminate use of pesticides and insecticides resulting in water pollution and reduction in soil fertility

♤ Use of HYV which require high cost inputs

All the above cropping patterns are inefficient not sustainable and there is need to move away from the present rice wheat dominant cropping pattern.