There is a story of the agricultural sector beyond slogans: the story is real because it is affecting the distribution of money in the rural sector as well as the cropping pattern. It goes somewhat like the following narrative:
Following the market pattern, productivity of the soil and the nature of the irrigation pattern, there can be a switch from cereal cultivation to cash crop cultivation and vice versa. At a micro level, it may not appear to be a very significant switch, whether from cereal to cash crop or cash crop to cereal. However, as the skill changes, the switch becomes a significant factor in the economy. This is so because availability and utilisation pattern of the cereal and the cash crop are not interchangeable.
Illustratively, rice or pulses are cereals, whereas sugarcane or spices are examples of cash crops. Both, cereals and cash crop cultivation have their exclusive skill profiles. As such, the switch from one to the other has a double edged potential and very often affects the overall supply situation. Magnify the scale, and the problem becomes...
