India has diverse agro-climatic conditions; a large number of agricultural items are produced. Broadly, these can be classified into two groups-food grains crops and commercial crops. Due to the challenge of feeding our vast population and the experience of food shortages in the pre-independence era, ‘self reliance ’in food grains has been the cornerstone of our policies in the last 50 years. Around 66 percent of the total cultivated area is under food grain crops (cereals and pulses). Concurrently, commercial agriculture developed for whatever reasons in the pre-independent phase also kept flourishing during the post independent period. Commercial agriculture not only catered to the domestic market but has also been one of the major earners of foreign exchange for the country. Crop diversification is intended to give a wider choice in the production of a variety of crops in a given area so as to expand production related activities on various crops and also to lessen risk. Crop diversification in India is generally viewed as a shift from traditionally grown less remunerative crops to more remunerative crops.
self reliance, commercial agriculture, domestic market, crop diversification, remunerative
