What are the major crops farmers cultivate?
Till 1970, about 25 per cent land was used to grow cash crops. Currently, cash crops are being cultivated in nearly 60 per cent land and food crops cultivation has come down by 50 per cent. Farmers are moving away from the normal food grain and fruit, vegetable cultivation to more remunerative crops such as teak, casuarina and bamboo plantations. Even in the Cauvery delta comprising Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur and Thanjavur districts, which are considered to be the rice bowl of paddy cultivation, food crops have come down by 44 per cent, compared to a decade ago. Is there any reason for this decline? The main reason is that farmers feel cultivating food crops is no longer remunerative. In addition, migration of people from villages to cities has created severe manual shortage leading to labour problems. For growing paddy in one acre a farmer has to spend about Rs 9,000. After six months, he gets a net income of about 10,000. To earn more, he uses chemical fertilisers and hybrid seeds. Thou
